KR20200049665A - Position adaptive provision of components at a pickup position of a component supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a component supply device (100, 500, 600, 605) which provides parts to a pickup position. The component supply device (100, 500, 600, 605) comprises: (a) chassis (110); (b) a mechanism for transporting components to a provision structure (186), wherein a pickup position is placed within or on the provision structure; (c) drive devices (115, 520, 542, 544) having fixed components coupled with the chassis (110) and movable components (540, 552) coupled with the provision structures (180, 186); and (d) a control device which controls the drive devices (115, 520, 542, 544) such that the provision structures (180, 186) are movable with respect to the chassis (110) in at least a Z direction. In addition, the present invention relates to an assembly system (630) having the component supply device (l00, 500, 600, 605) and a method for providing components using the component supply device (l00, 500, 600, 605).

Description

Adaptive positioning of parts at the pick-up point of the parts feeder {POSITION ADAPTIVE PROVISION OF COMPONENTS AT A PICKUP POSITION OF A COMPONENT SUPPLY DEVICE}

The present invention relates generally to the technical field of assembly of (electronic) parts and component carriers, and more particularly to supplying parts to an assembly process carried out by an assembly machine. In particular, the present invention relates to a component supply device that provides parts at a pick-up position, where the parts can be picked up by an assembly head and then placed on the part carrier. The invention also relates to an assembly machine and an assembly system comprising at least one said component feeding device, and a method of providing parts using said component feeding device.

When mechanically assembling (electronic) parts with component carriers, the parts to be processed are fed into an assembly process that is generally carried out in an assembly machine. The supply of parts is generally made so that the parts are provided at a designated part pick-up position, and thereafter, picked up quickly and reliably by the assembly head of the assembly machine so that they can be seated in a predetermined spatial position and orientation on the part carrier.

The parts are usually packaged in so-called parts belts to ensure a reliable supply or delivery of parts. The belts are approached to the assembly machine step by step by means of a special belt part feeder, so that the parts placed in the part belt are transported sequentially and into a part pick-up position at a specified spatial location. However, packaging parts with such a component belt is complicated. In addition, the belt material must be disposed of as waste after separation of the parts.

To avoid complicated packaging and the aforementioned waste problems, it is known to use so-called vibrating conveyors that can transport parts to be processed in the form of bulk material. However, the sequential bringing of the parts to a specific part pick-up location requires significant particularly mechanical costs. To achieve this, the vibrating conveyor is designed to provide parts sequentially and in suitable orientation by mechanical guide units, sometimes referred to as “baffles”.

In order to ensure reliable pickup of parts and thus high process reliability, it is important to know the pick-up position accurately in relation to the coordinate system of the assembly machine, so that the assembly head can accurately "access" to the parts provided. Providing parts in an undesired position relative to the assembly head is not sure of access to each part and / or the assembly head must have an unnecessary travel distance to hold each part.

The object of the invention is to improve the provision of parts for the assembly process so that the parts can be reliably and efficiently picked up by the assembly head of the assembly machine.

This problem is solved by the objects of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a component supply device is provided which provides components at a pick-up location. The described component supply device comprises: (a) a chassis; (b) a mechanism for transporting parts into a providing structure, wherein the pickup position is placed in or on the providing structure; (c) a drive device having a fixed component (solidly) coupled with the chassis and a movable component (solidly) coupled with the providing structure; And (d) a control device for controlling the drive device such that the providing structure is movable relative to the chassis along at least the Z direction.

The described component feeding device is characterized in that the component pick-up position is spatially changed, such that the assembly head of the assembly machine (removably) mounted by a suitable interface to access the component provided with the assembly head and / or the assembly machine It is based on the perception that the components can be optimized in terms of the shortest travel path of the assembly head even during the operation of the component feeding device. During operation of the component feeder, changes along the Z direction, which are generally perpendicular (parallel to gravity), are caused by the component holding device displaceably mounted on the assembly head, in particular the movement path along the vertical Z direction of the suction gripper. It can be shortened, so that the assembly process can be implemented to accelerate. This improves the assembly performance, where the expression "assembly performance" means the number of parts that can be seated on a component carrier to be assembled by the corresponding assembly machines within a predetermined period of time.

In this specification, the expression "chassis" may mean a frame structure or a support structure that supports individual components of a component supply device. In particular, a suitable interface for mounting (removably) the component feeder on the assembly machine is mounted or formed on the chassis. These interfaces not only include a pure mechanical interface, but also provide the component supply with an electrical interface, for example for supplying energy from the assembly machine to the component supply, and / or a data interface for communication between the assembly machine and the component supply. Can be.

In the present specification, the expression "mechanism for transporting parts" may mean each functional unit capable of transporting parts from a reservoir to a pick-up position. Depending on the type of component feeding device, the functional unit can be formed completely differently.

In the case of a so-called belt conveyor, the mechanism in particular comprises a rotary drive and a pin wheel connected to it, which is engaged in the opening of the corresponding component belt and moves the component belt to the component pickup position upon activation of the rotary drive. . In the case of a belt conveyor, skeins or bobbins in which the part belt is wound with parts each stored in a so-called belt pocket can be regarded as a part store.

In the case of a vibrating conveyor, a vibrating conveyor structure having a transport path or transport area formed on the upper surface of the conveyor structure together with suitable vibrating actuators in some cases can be regarded as a "mechanism for transporting parts". The reservoir is in this case a container in which parts are placed in the form of bulk material. The providing structure can be a simple (flat) plate where the parts are presented to the assembly head for pickup.

In the case of a vibrating conveyor, the pick-up location where the part is transported by vibration is not known or determined in advance. Thus, prior to pickup, measurements are still required for each individual part, for example optical detection by a camera, for example where the pick-up position for each part is correctly placed. It is known in advance that this pick-up location only lies within a specific spatially extended presentation area within or on the provision structure. With respect to this background, in the context of the present specification, the expression “providing parts at the pick-up position” means that the part is carried “somewhere” into the presentation area. The (arbitrary) position for each individual part from which the process of vibration transport (for the part above) ends and the part is picked up from there is the pick-up position.

In the present specification, the expression "provided structure" may mean each structure in which parts can be presented to the assembly head for pickup. In the case of a belt conveyor, the providing structure includes suitable guides and / or support surfaces to ensure that at least the section of the component belt from which the actual component is removed is placed in the precisely specified spatial position possible. In the case of a vibrating conveyor, a provision structure can be implemented with a simple flat surface where one or more parts are presented to the assembly head for pick-up (in some cases with a boundary to prevent undesired dropping of the parts).

In this specification, the expression "driving device" may mean any type of operating unit configured to move the providing structure relative to the chassis. The drive device may be (a) a mechanical drive device, for example a spindle or eccentric, (b) an electric drive device, for example a linear motor and / or (c) a pneumatic or hydraulic drive device, for example a lifting cylinder. .

The expression "control unit" may mean a driving circuit for a driving device and / or a data processing unit that ensures that the providing structure is preferably moved. Software for calculating the optimal Z position for the provision structure can be applied to the data processing unit. This is the case, for example, by calibrating the area around the interference contour and pick-up position (by means of the camera) so that the optimum distance to the assembly head can be established, where the vertical movement distance of the component holding device of the assembly head is minimized. ).

For example, a change in the Z position of the provision structure can be made (dynamically) if a replacement of the type of component provided by the described component supply device is carried out. In particular, if parts having a greater height compared to previously processed parts are provided, the providing structure can be moved down. Correspondingly, since the provision structure is moved upward upon replacement from a high part to a low part, only the minimum distance along the Z direction when picking up the part needs to be covered by the part holding device and / or the assembly head. In all cases, a contribution to high assembly performance can be made by the possibility of adjustment along the Z direction.

Changes in the Z position of the providing structure may be made, for example, to compensate for individual tolerances for the component feeding device and / or for individual mechanical mounting of the component feeding device on the assembly machine. Thus, the accuracy of providing parts for each individual part supply device can be increased individually and a "part supply device individual contribution" to high assembly performance can be made.

Specifically, the described component feeding device has a function to (dynamically) change the pickup position along the (vertical) Z direction. The Z position of the pick-up position can be set by the control device so that the pick-up position is as close as possible to the assembly head. Therefore, since the vertical movement path of the assembly head and / or the corresponding component holding device can be minimized, a contribution to high assembly performance can be made. Also, since tolerances can be compensated, different component feeding devices exhibit at least almost the same behavior with respect to the distance between the assembly head and the pick-up position.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the component supply device further includes at least one other drive device whose provision structure can be controlled (by a control device) to be variable with respect to the chassis along at least the X direction and / or the Y direction. Where X and Y directions are perpendicular to the Z direction.

In this embodiment, the pick-up position can vary at least along different spatial directions, whereby pick-up accuracy and / or pick-up efficiency can be further improved. The aforementioned tolerance compensation can also be preferably implemented for at least one other direction.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the component supply device further comprises an interface structure that can be mounted or formed (directly or indirectly) on the movable component (directly or indirectly) and / or on the provision structure (interface or directly). The structure is configured such that the providing structure can be detachably mounted (directly or indirectly) on the movable component. This has the advantage that one of a variety of providing structures, which is sometimes used to transport different (type) parts, can be detachably or reversibly mounted on a movable component, respectively. For example, in the case of replacement of parts, particularly in the range of so-called retrofitting of an assembly machine, the providing structure can be replaced with another (different dimension) providing structure.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the component supply device further comprises an optical system for detecting the type, number and / or location of at least one component provided in or on the provision structure.

(Accurate) optical detection of one provided part or multiple provided parts has the advantage that the provided process can be monitored and high process reliability can be achieved. By detecting the type of at least one provided part, it can be prevented, for example, that the wrong part is picked up by the corresponding assembly head and used for assembly. Parts that are perceived as being wrong or damaged can be disposed of in a way that is supplied to the waste storage. By detecting the exact position of the at least one part, the pick-up process can be improved such that the assembly head picking up the part when the part is displaced can be properly positioned, so that the position tolerance when providing at least one part can be compensated.

In the vibrating conveyor, by optical detection of the parts conveyed to the providing structure on the conveying path by vibration, the conveying behavior of the vibrating system of the part feeding device can be monitored and adjusted if necessary. In particular, this adjustment is always to provide a suitable number of parts for reliable pickup by the assembly head in the area of the providing structure. In some cases, parts may be back-transferred or reverse-vibrated. This "reverse feed" is desirable if, for example, there are too many parts in the presentation area, so the spacing between the various parts is too small, so that reliable pickup of parts is not possible.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the control device and the drive device are configured such that the providing structure can be moved into the focal plane of the optical system. This has the advantage that reliable optical detection of at least one component is always possible even in various spatial configurations.

Reliable optical detection, especially when different types of parts with different heights are supplied by the described component feeding device, since the providing structure is movable into the focal plane or, depending on the size of the component, into the area around the focal plane This can be guaranteed.

In addition, the described portability of the providing structure relative to the focal plane can be preferably applied even when providing structures of spatially different dimensions are used in the described component feeding device. This applies to vibrating conveyors where parts are transported in replaceable cartridges, which cartridges also include a transport area with a transport path in addition to the provided structure, for accommodating a large number of individualized parts and the individualized parts on the transport area ( Metering) includes a reservoir for discharging. The storage, transport area and providing structure can be formed (in one piece) as long “cartridges”. Cartridges of different dimensions, which can be coupled directly or indirectly on the movable component of the drive by a suitable (mechanical) interface, can be preferably used for different (sized) parts, for example. This increases the flexibility of the described component feeding device while maintaining high process reliability with regard to handling of different components.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the providing structure includes an optically transparent presentation plate having an upper surface on which parts are provided. In addition, the optical system includes a camera and an optical device configured to allow parts placed in the pickup position to be detected through an optically transparent presentation plate from below. This embodiment has the advantage that the optical system can be integrated into the part feeder in a space-saving manner. Thus, the component feeding device can be implemented as a compact module that can be mounted on an assembly machine instead of or in addition to other component feeding systems that carry components packaged on a belt.

The optical device can include a lens and / or a mirror. The mirror may include a (bent) imaging mirror or a simple (planar) reflector or deflecting mirror.

For the possible assured optical detection of the parts, the providing structure must be moved towards the optical system and thus the side of each part as detected by the camera is moved to a position that lies as precisely as possible within the focal plane.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the component feeding device is formed as a vibration conveyor with an actuator system for vibrating the providing structure, and the driving device is at least one actuator of the actuator system for moving the providing structure along the Z direction. It is implemented by.

Specifically, the actuator of the actuator system that provides vibration to the providing structure during operation of the component supply device also functions to displace the providing structure along the Z direction instead of its own separate actuator. Thereby, a separate actuator for displacement of the providing structure preferably along the Z direction can be omitted. This has a favorable effect on the space design as well as the manufacturing cost of the component feeding device, which can be realized in a particularly compact installation space by the "multiple use" of at least one actuator.

The actuator system can be operated by its own control unit. However, preferably, a control device that provides displacement of the providing structure along the Z direction is used to control actuators of the actuator system.

This is actually done relatively infrequently, since the displacement of the provision structure is specifically a spatial reconstruction of the part feeder. The reason for the displacement of the provision structure may be in particular the replacement of the type of parts to be supplied and / or the (new) calibration of the part supply device. Therefore, the "frequency" of the displacement along the Z direction is significantly lower than the vibration frequency. Depending on the type of vibration actuator that is also used for displacement, the setting of the Z position can be regarded as a position offset. In the case of actuators based on electrical and especially piezoelectric effects, this position offset can be generated by a direct current voltage, while vibration of the providing structure can be generated by a suitable alternating voltage.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the actuator system for vibrating the providing structure includes at least two Z actuators, the actuators being assigned to the driving device for moving the providing structure along the Z direction. This means that the driving device for moving the providing structure along the Z direction includes at least two Z actuators that are also provided for vibration of the providing structure.

Given a suitable space spacing of the two Z actuators, a stable translational motion along the Z direction can be carried out without undesirably larger tilting of the providing structure. It also contributes to improved process reliability when picking up parts.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the two Z actuators can be controlled in-phase or in-phase.

In this regard, in-phase control means that the two Z actuators are moved equally. When the first actuator of the two Z actuators moving the providing structure along the positive Z direction is controlled, when the in-phase control of the other actuator of the two Z actuators is controlled, the providing structure is also moved along the positive Z direction. Correspondingly, inverse phase control means that when the other of the two actuators is moved along the negative Z direction, the one actuator is moved along the positive Z direction.

By the inverse phase movement of the two Z actuators, the degree of freedom of rotation of the providing structure can be excited by vibration for the transportation of parts. The axis of rotation for this rotational vibration is an axis oriented perpendicular to the Z direction. The in-phase movement of the two Z actuators translates the provision structure along the Z direction or oscillates the provision structure along the Z direction to adjust the elevation of the pick-up position according to the " frequency " here.

As described above, the control of the actuators of the actuator system can be effected by a control device and / or a special control unit provided for vibration of the provided structure.

According to another embodiment of the invention, the component supply device further comprises at least one motion sensor mounted on the provision structure or mechanically rigidly coupled to the provision structure.

Using the motion sensor, preferably, the actual movement behavior of the provision structure can be detected, and thus the movement of the provision structure can be controlled and regulated. This applies to the movement or positioning according to the invention of the providing structure for the adjustment of the (vertical) position of the pick-up position, and also to the actual vibration behavior alternatively or in combination. Monitoring of the actual vibration behavior is particularly preferred in embodiments given an optical system (described above) for detecting the position of individual parts, whereby the transport behavior can be controlled and regulated.

The at least one motion sensor described can be a position sensor, a speed sensor, an acceleration sensor, or any combination of these types of sensors.

According to another aspect of the invention, an assembly system for automatically assembling parts with component carriers is described. The described assembly system comprises: (a) a component supply device of the type described above that provides components at a pickup position; And (b) an assembly machine with an assembly head, said assembly head comprising: (i) for receiving the provided parts, (ii) for transferring the received parts over the part carrier to be assembled, and (iii) transferred Provided for seating parts onto a part carrier.

The described assembly system comprises a component holding device displaceably mounted on the assembly head, movement of the suction gripper, by means of a component providing device described herein with adaptive adjustment of the pick-up position along at least the (vertical) Z direction. It is based on the perception that the path can be shortened along the (vertical) Z direction, thereby speeding up the assembly process and thus improving assembly performance.

According to another aspect of the invention, a method for providing parts for automatic assembly of component carriers in an assembly machine, in particular for providing individualized electronic parts, is described. In the method according to the invention, the above-described component feeding device is used. The described method includes adjusting the spatial position of the pick-up position along the Z direction with respect to the chassis by control of the drive device.

The described method is based on the recognition that the parts can be provided at a pick-up position variable with respect to at least the Z-direction by the above-described parts feeding device. Thus, preferably, one pick-up position can be set for different parts and / or different provision structures, and the pick-up position holds the parts along the Z direction when picking up the parts by the part holding device of the assembly head. Provides a short path of travel for the device or assembly head.

Embodiments of the present invention have been described for different invention objects. In particular, some embodiments of the invention are described in device claims and other embodiments of the invention are described in method claims. However, unless otherwise specified, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art reading this specification that, in addition to the combination of features included in one type of invention object, any combination of features included in different types of invention object is also possible. will be.

Other advantages and features of the invention are presented in the detailed description below of preferred embodiments. The individual drawings in this specification are only schematic and are not to scale.

1 is a principle diagram of lifting of a provided structure formed as a plate of a component feeding device formed as a vibration conveyor,
FIG. 2 shows various elevations for two different kky components,
Fig. 3 shows the altitude setting of the pickup position for two different sized component cartridges,
4 shows different elevations of the provided structure formed as a plate for two different part cartridges of the same height,
FIG. 5 shows a schematic structure of a vibrating conveyor comprising two bearing units, which are connected to each other by an intermediate body and allow the operation of the providing structure to be of different degrees of freedom, respectively.
6 is a schematic view of an assembly system with multiple assembly heads mounted on both sides of the assembly machine and an assembly system including multiple component feeders.

In the detailed description below, features or components of various embodiments that are identical or at least functionally identical to corresponding features or components of another embodiment are given the same reference numbers, or corresponding identical or at least functionally Drawing numbers of the same features or components and the last two numbers are given the same drawing number. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, features or components already described on the basis of the above-described embodiment are not described in further detail later.

In addition, the embodiments described below present only a limited selection of possible embodiment variations of the present invention. In particular, since the features of the individual embodiments can be properly combined with each other, it is considered that many various embodiments are clearly disclosed to those skilled in the art by the embodiment modifications explicitly shown herein.

1 shows a schematic view of a component supply device 100 formed as a vibration conveyor. The component supply device 100 includes a chassis 110 used as a base body or frame structure for other components (not shown) of the component supply device 100. The vibration conveyance of the component feeder 100 is first a bulk material contained in the reservoir 182 whereby the given parts are conveyed through the conveyance area or conveyance path 184 to the providing structure 186. The actuator system used for vibration generation is not shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 1.

According to the embodiment shown here, the reservoir 182, the transport area 184, and the providing structure 186 are components of the (integrated) cartridge 180. The providing structure 186 is a simple plate through which parts (not shown) are transported by vibration. According to the embodiment shown here, the plate 186 is formed from below, i.e., through the transparent glass plate 186, as a transparent glass plate allowing to detect parts by an optical system (also not shown). do. By proper optical detection and subsequent image evaluation, the exact location of each of the individual parts placed on the glass plate 186 can be determined. Based on the exact information about the location of the parts to be picked up, the assembly head, not shown, can be positioned so that the component holding device of the assembly head can pick up the part. The pickup movement of the component is schematically illustrated by arrow 186a in FIG. 1.

The component supply device 100 further includes a drive device 115 capable of moving the cartridge 180 relative to the chassis 110 along the (vertical) Z direction. As the altitude of the cartridge 180 increases, the (vertical) travel distance of the component holding device along the Z direction required for picking up the component becomes shorter. The short travel distance of the component holding device shortens the time for the assembly process of each individual component. Thus, the possible high altitude of the cartridge 180 significantly contributes to the high assembly performance of the assembly machine.

The upper limit for the altitude of the cartridge 180 is given by the horizontal line shown by the broken line in FIG. 1. This line represents the lower limit 190a of the collision area required by the assembly head for movement of the assembly head in a plane perpendicular to the Z direction. When the cartridge 180 rises higher above the broken line, the assembly head may collide with the cartridge 180.

2 shows various elevations for two different sized parts 296-1 and 296-2. In the illustration of FIG. 2, the first parts 296-1 are placed in the first cartridge 280-1, and the second parts 296-2 are placed in the second cartridge 280-2. According to the embodiment shown here, the two cartridges 280-1 and 280-2 are the same size. However, to account for the different sizes of the parts 296-1 and 296-2, the provision structure 186 formed as a transparent glass plate in the first cartridge 280-1 (the first cartridge 280-1) Is placed at a relatively low altitude). Correspondingly, the provision structure 186 in the second cartridge 280-2 is placed at a relatively high altitude (relative to the bottom surface of the second cartridge 280-2).

The two cartridges 280-1 and 280-2 are movable along the Z direction by a driving device (not shown), respectively. The focal plane 270a of the camera, not shown, is shown in FIG. 2 as a reference for the movement along the Z direction. The thickness of the line representing the focal plane 270a in FIG. 2 is a measure for a focal region or a focal depth region in which an object should be placed in order to generate a sharp image in the image plane of a camera not shown. A possible tolerance for the altitude of the glass plate 186 along the Z direction is shown for the first cartridge 280-1 in FIG. 2A and is indicated by the double arrow 286a.

In the left part of FIG. 2, referred to below as FIG. 2A, the drive device is in a neutral position. This means that a (electrical) signal or a signal of zero intensity is not applied to the driving device. A non-zero signal will deflect the moving component of the drive relative to the fixed component of the drive. In this state, free space 280a to the lower limit 190a of the collision area of the assembly head (not shown), shown as the upper dashed line for the two cartridges 280-1 and 280-1, is obtained. . (All) In FIG. 2, the lower dashed line indicates the upper limit 290b of the collision area for the driving device.

In the middle portion of FIG. 2, referred to herein as FIG. 2B, since the two cartridges 280-1 and 280-2 are pulled down by the drive, the lower surface of the component 296-1 or 296-2 Each is placed on the focal plane 270a. The corresponding force required for this is indicated by the arrow Fact.

In the right part of FIG. 2, referred to herein as FIG. 2C, two cartridges 280-1 and 280-2 are respectively pushed up to the maximum by a driving device, thereby picking up the parts 296-1 and 296-2 The path of movement of the component holding device 294 required for this is minimized. The minimized travel path along the Z direction is shown by the arrow numbered 294a. The force required for the "push up" of the two cartridges 280-1 and 280-2 is shown in FIG. 2C by the arrow Fact respectively.

Specifically, during the assembly process, several positions of the pick-up height shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C are given.

-FIG. 2A shows the neutral Z position set in the non-energized state of the driving device.

-FIG. 2B specifically shows a position that can be referred to as a "camera Z position". In this position, imaging of each part 296-1 or 296-2 is made. Depending on the (vertical) range of the focal region 270a, the neutral position may coincide with the "camera Z position". Otherwise, the cartridge 280-1 or 280-2 must be moved down to the "camera Z position" for a clear image.

-Figure 2c shows where the parts are picked up. This position can be specifically referred to as a "pickup Z position". To pick up the parts by the assembly head, the corresponding cartridge 280-1 or 280-2 is moved up a distance that can be obtained from a calibration procedure in which the lower limit of the collision region 190a is determined.

The Z stroke required for picking up parts by the assembly head can be minimized by placing the glass plate as high as possible within the available installation space in the cartridge, regardless of the active elevation of the cartridge already. The lower interference contour area of the moving assembly head means an installation space limitation to prevent mechanical collision.

Equally high assembly performance can be achieved irrespective of the size of the parts, since basically two methods of optimizing the height position of the cartridge are given by adaptive or actively configurable Z position of the cartridge. In addition, the spectrum of different sized parts that can be processed by the component feeding device can be expanded without taking a decline in assembly performance by a settable Z position compared to known component feeding devices. These two possibilities are explained below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In the variant shown in Figure 3, the height of the cartridge is adjusted according to the size of the parts. The distance between (a) the provided structure or the transparent glass plate and (b) the interface between the component feeder and the assembly machine is constant. In the variant shown in FIG. 4, the height of the cartridge (for different sized parts) is constant, but the distance between (a) the provided structure or the transparent glass plate and (b) the interface between the part feeder and the assembly machine is large. It is smaller than the smaller case.

 3 shows the altitude setting of the pickup location for two different sized component cartridges. The relatively large or high first cartridge is provided with reference number 380-1. A relatively small or flat second cartridge is provided with reference number 380-2. The first cartridge 380-1 includes relatively large first parts 296-1. The second cartridge 380-2 includes relatively small second parts 296-2.

 Each part feeder includes an interface that allows the part feeder to be connected to the frame structure of the assembly machine. The interface is schematically illustrated in FIG. 3 by reference number 388.

For the first parts 296-1 placed in the first cartridge 380-1, the minimum distance between the top surface of the glass plate 186 and the top surface of the cartridge 380-1 is indicated by the double arrow hc1. . For the second parts 296-2 placed in the second cartridge 380-2, the minimum distance between the top surface of the glass plate 186 and the top surface of the cartridge 380-2 is indicated by the double arrow hc2. . The vertical distance between the glass plate 186 for the assembly machine and the interface 388 of the part feeder is the same for the two cartridges 380-1 and 380-2. In other words, lower cartridges with smaller parts should be raised to a higher "Z pickup height" than higher cartridges with larger parts.

The different lengths of the two double arrows hc1 and hc2 are explained by the parts having sufficient "vertical free space" within each cartridge, regardless of the size of the parts. This ensures a high "process reliability" of part delivery due to the intended vibration.

4, for two different part cartridges 480-1 and 480-2 of the same height, different elevations of each provision structure 186 formed here as a transparent glass plate are shown. The glass plate 186 in the first cartridge 480-1 including the relatively large first parts 296-1 is the second cartridge 480-2 including the relatively small second parts 296-2. It lies at a lower height or a smaller vertical distance hg1 to the interface 388 (between the component feeder and the assembly machine) than the inner glass plate 186. For the second cartridge 480-2, the (larger) distance between the interface 388 and the glass plate 186 is indicated by the double arrow hg2.

Specifically, for small parts, the glass plate in the corresponding cartridge is displaced upward. The cartridge with the glass plate placed high must be pulled down or pushed into the “camera Z position”.

Since pulling or pushing the cartridge out of position is usually related to specific energy consumption, the energy consumption for the operation of the component feeding device is determined according to the application, for example, the selection of a bearing system for a cartridge that allows vibration transport. To minimize, it should be individually determined whether it is more desirable to place the neutral Z position of the glass plate closer to the pickup height or closer to the "camera Z position".

5 shows a schematic structure of a component supply device 500 formed as a vibration conveyor. The vibrating conveyor 500 is schematically shown in a side view in the YZ plane. The X direction is perpendicular to both the indicated Z direction and the indicated Y direction.

The vibration conveyor 500 includes two bearing units that allow vibration of the cartridge 180 with different movement degrees of freedom. Bearing units are also referred to herein as bearing levels. Each bearing unit or bearing level is assigned an actuator that can accurately operate the corresponding degree of freedom. Specifically, for each degree of freedom, exactly one actuator is provided, so the number of actuators is equal to the number of degrees of freedom. This means that the entire vibration system of the component feeder 500 is not “underworked” or “overworked”. Thus, “proper operation” is given independently of each other for both bearing units. In other words, neither underoperation nor overoperation is given. This preferably provides good vibration decoupling between various degrees of freedom. Thus, individual control possibilities of multiple degrees of freedom decoupled from each other (usually) are given. This characteristic applies separately for the two bearing units and the corresponding actuator system.

Specifically, the component supply device 500 includes a first bearing unit 520 shown below having a fixed component (not shown) and a movable component 528. The fixed component is (solidly) connected to the chassis 110. The movable component 528 is (solidly) connected to the intermediate body 540. Accordingly, the intermediate body 540 can be vibrated along the degrees of freedom allowed by the first bearing unit 520.

According to the embodiment shown here, the first bearing unit 520 comprises an assembly of two solid body joints 522 and 524. The solid body joint 522 consists of a horizontally oriented simple leaf spring that connects the chassis 110 (with elasticity) to the intermediate body 540. The solid body joint 524 consists of two L-shaped bent or bent double leaf springs, sometimes referred to as "folded leaf springs." The solid body joint 524 also connects the chassis 110 (elasticly) with the intermediate body 540.

In this regard, a single "folded leaf spring" has five degrees of freedom and blocks translation in the vertical direction (parallel to the longitudinal direction of the bending edge). Thus, the illustrated combination of a total of four "folded leaf springs" is a bearing assembly for supporting the body with two degrees of freedom (Tz, Rα) in one plane (here YZ plane). Where Tz is the translation along the Z direction, and Ra is the rotation about the X axis parallel to the X direction.

The first bearing unit 520 is assigned with two actuators 542 and 544 each schematically shown as a “force arrow” and acting on the projection of the movable component 528, respectively. The two actuators 542 and 544 each drive a translational motion Tz along the Z axis. As described above, in-phase operation (with the same amplitude) causes translational motion (Tz) along the Z axis. The antiphase operation causes a rotational motion (Rα) (around the X axis perpendicular to the drawing plane).

The second bearing unit 550 of the component feeding device 500 comprises an intermediate body 540 as a fixed component, a movable component 552 and two planar air bearings 556 and 558, the air bearings being intermediate Three degrees of freedom in the XY plane with respect to the body 540 Tx (translation along the X axis), Ty (translation along the Y axis) and Rγ (rotation around the Z axis) allow movement of the cartridge 180. To this end, three actuators, a first X actuator 562, a second X actuator 563, and a Y actuator 564 are assigned to the second bearing unit 550, and the actuators are arranged on the X axis during proper control. Following translation (Tx), rotation about the Z axis (Rγ) and / or translation along the Y axis (Ty) can be activated.

Specifically, in the component feeding device 500, the first bearing level 520 is assigned a degree of freedom (Tz and Rα) and is operated by two linear drive devices 542 and 544 acting in the Z direction. do. That is, by the proper control of the two linear drive devices 542 and 544, the pure translational motion (Tz) along the Z axis, the pure rotational motion (Rα) about the X axis and the two motions (Tz and Rα) Any combination can be achieved. By means of the parallel kinematics used, the two linear drive devices 542 and 544 can always be designed with particularly small dimensions since they always implement a given motion together.

The degree of freedom for the cartridge 180 is the “sum” of the degrees of freedom of the first bearing unit 520 and the degrees of freedom of the second bearing unit 550. According to the embodiment shown here, the cartridge 180 is operable with five degrees of freedom of movement (Tx, Ty, Tz, Rα and Rγ). To adjust the altitude of the glass plate 186, according to the embodiment shown here, two Z actuators 542 and 544 "authorized" are also used for the vibration degrees of freedom (Tz and Rα).

As shown in FIG. 5, the component supply device 500 further includes an optical system 570 with a camera 572 and a deflecting mirror 574. The camera 572 detects components (not shown) placed under the cartridge 180 and placed on the glass plate 186 from below (by the beam path through the deflecting mirror 574). As mentioned above, by detecting the exact position of the part to be picked up by the part holding device of the assembly head, the assembly head can be properly positioned (in the XY plane), so that the part holding device is placed on the part just before picking up the part. It is placed correctly. Therefore, high process stability can be achieved when the parts are picked up.

6 shows a schematic diagram of an assembly machine 632 with two assembly heads 634 movable independently of each other and an assembly system 630 including a number of component feeders 600 and 605 formed as a module. do. The part supply devices are formed as (a) a part supply device 600 for supplying parts from bulk material or (b) as a part supply device 605 for supplying parts laid in the part belt in a known manner. According to the embodiment shown here, four component supply devices 605 and one component supply device 600 are mounted on the left side of the assembly machine 632. On the right side of the assembly machine 632, two parts supply devices 600 and two parts supply devices 605 are mounted.

The different widths of the component feeding devices 600 and 605 in the illustration of FIG. 6 are arbitrarily selected and mainly intended to distinguish different types of component feeding devices. The two component feeding devices are practically preferably of the same width.

The expression “comprising” does not exclude other elements, and the indefinite article “a (an)” does not exclude revenge. Also, elements described in connection with different embodiments may be combined. Also, the drawing numbers in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

100 parts supply
110 chassis / base body
115 Drive
180 cartridge / conveyor structure
182 Store
184 Transport Area / Transport Path
186 Offer structure / transparent glass plate
186a pickup transfer
Collision area of the 190a assembly head
270a Focal Plane / Focus Area
280-1 cartridge 1
280-2 cartridge 2
280a free space
286a provided structure / tolerance of transparent glass plate
Impact area of 290b actuators
294 Parts Holding Device / Suction Gripper
294a Moving parts
296-1 part 1
296-2 Part 2
Fact Actuator force to deflect cartridge from exact position
380-1 cartridge 1
380-2 cartridge 2
388 Parts Feeder-Assembly Machine Interface
hc1 / hc2 provision structure-distance of the top surface of the cartridge
480-1 cartridge 1
480-2 cartridge 2
hg1 / hg2 provision structure-distance of interface 388
500 parts feeder / vibration conveyor
520 1st bearing unit / 1st bearing level
522 solid body joint (plate spring)
524 solid body joint (2 parallel aligned leaf springs)
528 movable components
540 medium body
542 Z actuator
544 Z actuator
550 2nd bearing unit / 2nd bearing level
552 movable components
556 air bearing (flat)
558 Air bearing (flat)
562 X actuator
563 X actuator
564 Y actuator
570 optical system
572 cameras
574 deflection mirror
Parts supply for individualized electronic components from 600 bulk materials
Parts supply for electronic components placed in the 605 belt
630 assembly system
632 assembly machine
634 assembly head

Claims (12)

A component supply device (100, 500, 600, 605) for providing parts at a pickup location,
The parts supply device (100, 500, 600, 605)
Chassis 110;
A mechanism for transporting parts to a delivery structure 186, wherein the pickup position is placed in or on the delivery structure;
A driving device (115, 520, 542, 544) having a fixed component coupled with the chassis (110) and movable components (540, 552) coupled with the providing structures (180, 186); And
A component supply device (100) comprising a control device that controls the drive device (115, 520, 542, 544) such that the providing structure (180, 186) is movable along at least the Z direction relative to the chassis (110) , 500, 600, 605). According to claim 1,,
At least one other driving device 562, 563 in which the providing structures 180, 186 can be variably controlled along at least the X direction and / or along the Y direction perpendicular to the Z direction with respect to the chassis 110 , 564), parts supply device (100, 500, 600, 605). The method of claim 1 or 2,
To be mounted on or formed on the movable component 552 and / or on the providing structure 180, 186 and so that the providing structure 180, 186 can be detachably mounted on the movable component 552. A component supply device (100, 500, 600, 605), further comprising a configured interface structure. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A component supply device (100, 500, 600, 605) further comprising an optical system (570) for detecting the type, number and / or location of at least one component provided in or on the provision structure (186). The method of claim 4,
The control device and the drive device are configured such that the providing structure is movable into a focal plane 270a of the optical system 570, a component supply device (100, 500, 600, 605). The method of claim 4 or 5,
The providing structure includes an optically transparent presentation plate 186 having an upper surface on which parts are provided,
The optical system 570 includes a component feeding device, including a camera 572 and an optical device 574 configured to allow parts placed on the pickup location to be detected through the optically transparent presentation plate 186 from below. (100, 500, 600, 605). The method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The parts supply device is formed as a vibration conveyor with actuator systems 542, 544, 562, 563, 564 for vibrating the providing structures 180, 186, and the driving device is provided with the providing structures along the Z direction. A component supply device (100, 500, 600) implemented by at least one actuator (542, 544) of the actuator system (542, 544, 562, 563, 564) to move (180, 186). The method of claim 7,
The actuator system 542, 544, 562, 563, 564 includes at least two Z actuators 542, 544 to vibrate the providing structure, and the actuators Z the providing structure 180, 186 Component feeding device 100, 500, 600, which is assigned to the driving device for movement along a direction. The method of claim 8,
The two Z actuators 542, 544 can be controlled in-phase or out-of-phase, component feeding device 100, 500, 600. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
A component supply device (100, 500, 600, 605) further comprising at least one motion sensor mounted on the providing structure (180, 186) or mechanically rigidly coupled to the providing structure. An assembly system 630 for automatically assembling parts with part carriers,
The assembly system 630 is
A component supply apparatus (600, 605) according to any of claims 1 to 10, which provides parts at a pick-up location; And
(a) for receiving the provided parts;
(b) for transporting the received components over a component carrier to be assembled; And
(c) for seating the transferred parts on the part carrier
Assembly system 630, including assembly machine 632 with assembly head 634 A component providing device for automatically assembling component carriers in an assembly machine 632 using a component feeding device (600, 605) according to any one of claims 1 to 10, in particular providing individualized electronic components. As a method,
The above method
And adjusting the spatial position of the pick-up position along the Z direction with respect to the chassis 110 under the control of the driving devices 115, 520, 542, 544.

Images