KR20230063934A - Smd storage tower system - Google Patents

Abstract

In a Surface Mounted Device (SMD) storage tower system, a reel loader configured to load SMD reels, and a reel tower configured to load SMD reels into a designated storage location - the reel towers having a plurality of orthogonal types A reel carrier is included, and each of the plurality of reel carriers includes an extremely narrow pick-up robot for storing and taking out SMD reels on an internal shelf - by loading at least one SMD reel called by a user into a box It includes a reel unloader configured to unload, a recording unit configured to store data for a plurality of SMD reels, and a control unit configured to control storage and output operations of the SMD reels.

Description

SMD storage tower system {SMD STORAGE TOWER SYSTEM}

The present disclosure relates to a SMD storage tower system, and more particularly, to a system for loading SMD reels into a reel tower through an SMD reel loader and unloading them through a reel unloader.

SMT (Surface Mounting Technology) is a surface mounting technology for mounting and soldering electronic devices (eg, SMD (Surface Mount Device)) on a PCB. In the SMT line, a SMD reel made by winding electronic elements (or SMD) into a reel form for easy automation is used, and the SMD reel is stored or loaded in the SMD tower, and the SMD reel is taken out of the SMD tower and used according to the necessary process do.

Conventional SMT logistics processing was difficult to automate due to the occurrence of countless control factors according to the type of device for each electronic product and the combination of inventory quantities. Accordingly, unlike the SMT process with a high automation rate, logistics management still has a problem of manual work. . For example, when a material is received, the barcode used by the supplier of the material is reattached to the barcode corresponding to the line, and the process of loading or unloading the SMD reel had to be performed manually. In addition, since such logistics processing causes a bottleneck in SMT productivity, improvement of logistics automation to improve SMT productivity is recognized as the most urgent problem in the SMT industry.

Embodiments disclosed herein provide a configuration in which SMD reels are stored and transported into a reel tower through a reel loader and a reel unloader, and the reel tower stores and transports SMD reels in an internal shelf through an orthogonal reel carrier. do.

In a Surface Mounted Device (SMD) storage tower system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a reel loader configured to load SMD reels, and a reel tower configured to load SMD reels in a designated storage location - The reel tower includes a plurality of orthogonal reel carriers, and each of the plurality of reel carriers includes an extremely narrow pick-up robot for storing and taking out SMD reels on an internal shelf - at least one called by the user It includes a reel unloader configured to load and release the SMD reel into a box, a recording unit configured to store data on a plurality of SMD reels, and a control unit configured to control the storage and output operations of the SMD reels.

According to one embodiment, the SMD storage tower system further includes a conveyor belt configured to transfer the SMD reels between the reel loader, the reel tower and the reel unloader.

According to one embodiment, in the SMD storage tower system, the reel loader includes a barcode reader for recognizing a first type of barcode attached to the incoming SMD reel, and the control unit reads the SMD reel information recognized by the barcode reader. It is further configured to determine the storage location of the SMD reel to be received based on the basis, and to store the determined storage location in the recording unit.

According to one embodiment, in the SMD storage tower system, the storage location of the SMD reel is determined using a Cartesian coordinate system.

According to one embodiment, in the SMD storage tower system, the reel loader further includes a barcode generator configured to generate a second type of barcode and attach it to a received SMD reel, and the controller includes SMD reel information recognized by the barcode reader , the storage location of the SMD reel and the information associated with the second type of barcode are stored in the recording unit in association with each other.

According to one embodiment, in the SMD storage tower system, a barcode of the second type is attached over the barcode of the first type.

According to one embodiment, in the SMD storage tower system, the reel tower is expandable by connecting additional orthogonal reel carriers to a plurality of orthogonal reel carriers.

According to one embodiment, in the SMD storage tower system, each extremely narrow pick-up robot includes an image sensor, and the control unit moves the extremely narrow pick-up robot to the storage position of the SMD reel to be shipped, and uses the image sensor to move the SMD reel to the storage position. It is further configured to check whether the reel exists.

According to one embodiment, in the SMD storage tower system, an unmanned transfer robot transfers the SMD reel shipped from the reel unloader to Surface Mounting Technology (SMT) equipment.

According to various embodiments of the present disclosure, in association with the first type of barcode attached to the SMD reel by the reel loader, the second type of barcode including the information and storage address of the SMD reel is attached and transferred, thereby manually By automating this necessary process, bottlenecks can be alleviated.

In addition, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, by using an orthogonal (rectangular parallelepiped parallel arrangement) reel carrier structure and modularizing the reel carrier to expand to meet customer needs, space efficiency is improved compared to conventional cylindrical reel carriers can increase

Effects of the present disclosure are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description of the claims.

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings described below, wherein like reference numbers indicate like elements, but are not limited thereto.
1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an SMD storage tower system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a configuration of a reel tower storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
3 is a top view of a reel tower storage system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
4 is a diagram illustrating various arrangement methods of an SMD storage tower system and arrangement methods of SMT equipment according to the SMD storage tower system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
5 is a diagram illustrating a movement method of an extremely narrow pick-up robot included in an orthogonal type reel carrier according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
6 is a perspective view of a reciprocating slider configured in an extremely narrow pick-up robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
7 is a side view illustrating a configuration and movement method of a reciprocating slider configured in an extremely narrow pick-up robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
8 is a perspective view illustrating an internal shelf configured in a reel tower according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
9 is a diagram illustrating a process of loading or unloading SMD reels to an internal shelf through a reciprocating slider according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
10 is a flowchart illustrating a method of wearing an SMD reel to a reel tower according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
11 is a flowchart illustrating a method of shipping SMD reels loaded in a reel tower according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Hereinafter, specific details for the implementation of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, in the following description, if there is a risk of unnecessarily obscuring the gist of the present disclosure, detailed descriptions of well-known functions or configurations will be omitted.

In the accompanying drawings, identical or corresponding elements are given the same reference numerals. In addition, in the description of the following embodiments, overlapping descriptions of the same or corresponding components may be omitted. However, omission of a description of a component does not intend that such a component is not included in an embodiment.

Terms used in this disclosure will be briefly described, and the disclosed embodiments will be described in detail. The terms used in this specification have been selected from general terms that are currently widely used as much as possible while considering the functions in the present disclosure, but they may vary according to the intention of a person skilled in the related field, a precedent, or the emergence of new technology. In addition, in a specific case, there is also a term arbitrarily selected by the applicant, and in this case, the meaning will be described in detail in the description of the invention. Therefore, the terms used in the present disclosure should be defined based on the meaning of the terms and the general content of the present disclosure, not simply the names of the terms.

In this disclosure, expressions in the singular number include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates that they are singular. Also, plural expressions include singular expressions unless the context clearly specifies that they are plural.

In the present disclosure, when a part includes a certain component, this means that it may further include other components without excluding other components unless otherwise stated.

In the present disclosure, an upper portion of a figure may be referred to as a “top” or “upper side” of a configuration shown in the figure, and a lower portion thereof may be referred to as a “lower” or “lower side”. In addition, the portion between the upper and lower portions or the upper and lower portions of the illustrated configuration in the drawings may be referred to as “side” or “side”. Relative terms such as “upper” and “upper” may be used to describe relationships between components shown in the drawings, and the present disclosure is not limited by such terms.

In the present disclosure, a direction toward an internal space of a structure may be referred to as “inside” and a direction protruding into an open external space may be referred to as “outside.” Relative terms such as “inner” and “outer” may be used to describe relationships between components shown in the drawings, and the present disclosure is not limited by such terms.

Reference to "A and/or B" herein means A, or B, or A and B.

In the present specification, when a part is said to be connected to another part, this includes not only the case where it is directly connected, but also the case where it is connected with another component in between.

Advantages and features of the disclosed embodiments, and methods of achieving them, will become apparent with reference to the following embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below and may be implemented in various different forms, but only the present embodiments make the present disclosure complete, and the present disclosure does not extend the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. It is provided only for complete information.

In the present disclosure, the extremely narrow pick-up robot includes a reciprocating slider, and components included in the reciprocating slider may be included as part of the extremely narrow pick-up robot, and names may be used interchangeably in the following description.

1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an SMD storage tower system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The SMD storage tower system may include a reel tower storage system 110 , a magazine tower 120 , an SMT equipment 130 and a post-processing system 140 . In addition, each process may include an unmanned transfer robot 150 for transferring various materials. The reel tower storage system 110 may perform warehousing, storage, and shipping of SMD reels. At this time, the SMD reel may be warehousing and warehousing through the unmanned transfer robot 150. In one embodiment, the unmanned transfer robot 150 is used to transfer the SMD reel to the reel loader for storage or storage, or to move the SMD reel taken out through the reel unloader to the next process to move to the next process. there is.

In one embodiment, the magazine tower 120 may be a device for storing PCB substrates used in the SMT equipment 130. The SMT equipment 130 may perform a function of surface mounting (or assembling) electronic devices included in the SMD reel on a PCB board. At this time, the SMD reel stored in the reel tower storage system 110 and the PCB board stored in the magazine tower 120 may be transferred through the unmanned transfer robot 150 and mounted in the SMT equipment 130. The post-processing system 140 may perform a post-processing process of the PCB board assembled in the SMT equipment 130 . All operations performed in the reel tower storage system 110, magazine tower 120, SMT equipment 130, post-processing system 140, and unmanned transfer robot 150 can be controlled by a central control server. In addition, the reel tower storage system 110, the magazine tower 120, the SMT equipment 130, the post-processing system 140, and the unmanned transfer robot 150 may each include a control unit for controlling their respective operations. .

2 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a configuration of a reel tower storage system 110 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The reel tower storage system 110 may include a reel loader 210 , a reel tower 220 and a reel unloader 230 . The reel tower storage system 110 may also be referred to as a SMD storage tower system. In addition, the reel tower storage system 110 may include a recording unit configured to store data for a plurality of SMD reels and a control unit configured to control storage and delivery operations of the SMD reels. The reel tower storage system 110 can receive SMD reels through the reel loader 210, store them through the reel tower 220, and ship them out through the reel unloader 230, and the specific function of each device is It will be described later in FIG. 3 . 2, the reel tower 220 is illustrated as including four orthogonal reel carriers, but is not limited thereto, and may include any number of orthogonal reel carriers. For example, it is possible to expand the configuration of the reel tower 220 of FIG. 2 by additionally connecting a plurality of orthogonal reel carriers.

3 is a top view of a reel tower storage system 110 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The reel tower storage system 110 may include a reel loader 210, a reel tower 220, a reel unloader 230, a recording unit, and a control unit. In addition, the reel tower storage system 110 may further include a conveyor belt 320 configured to transfer the SMD reel between the reel loader 210 , the reel tower 220 and the reel unloader 230 .

The reel loader 210 may be configured to load the SMD reel, and may assign a new barcode (eg, issue LOT ID and storage address, etc.) to be used when the SMD reel is loaded into the reel tower. The reel loader 210 may include a barcode reader for recognizing a first type of barcode (eg, a barcode attached by a SMD reel manufacturer) attached to a received SMD reel. In addition, the control unit determines the storage location of the SMD reel to be received based on the SMD reel information (manufacturer information, electronic device information, electronic device number information, etc.) recognized by the barcode reader, and stores the determined storage location in the recording unit. It can be. Here, the storage position of the SMD reel may be recorded using a Cartesian coordinate system. In addition, the reel loader 210 may further include a barcode generator configured to generate a second type of barcode (eg, a barcode to be used in a smart factory) and attach it to an SMD reel to be received. At this time, the control unit may store information related to the SMD reel recognized by the barcode reader, the storage location of the SMD reel, and the second type of barcode in the recording unit in association with each other.

The reel tower 220 may be configured to load SMD reels in a designated storage location and take out the loaded SMD reels. The reel tower 220 includes a plurality of orthogonal reel carriers 310, and the reel carrier 310 may include a plurality of internal shelves. Each of the plurality of reel carriers may include an extremely narrow pick-up robot for storing and unloading the SMD reels on the plurality of internal shelves. In addition, the reel tower 220 can be expanded by connecting additional orthogonal reel carriers 310 to the plurality of orthogonal reel carriers 310 . A detailed description of this will be described later in FIGS. 4 and 5 . The reel unloader 230 may be configured to load and ship at least one SMD reel called by the user into a box. In one embodiment, reel unloader 230 may be configured to load SMD reels in two boxes.

In one embodiment, when the SMD reel is loaded, a first type of barcode attached to the SMD reel is recognized through a barcode reader included in the reel loader 210, and a second type of barcode is converted into a first type through a barcode generator. It can be made by attaching on the barcode of and being transferred to the reel tower 220 by the conveyor belt 320. In one embodiment, the reel loader 210 may include a transfer means (eg, a robot arm) for moving the SMD reel to which the second type barcode is attached to the conveyor belt 320 . At this time, the control unit may control the conveyor belt to transfer the SMD reel to which the second type barcode is attached, transferred to the reel tower.

Also, in storage of the SMD reel, the reel tower 220 may load the SMD reel on a specific internal shelf of the reel carrier 310 according to the determined storage location. For example, when it is determined that the incoming SMD reel is stored on a specific shelf in the reel carrier 310, the extremely narrow pick-up robot of the reel carrier 310 picks up the SMD reel on the conveyor belt 320 and places the inside of the determined position. SMD reels can be moved to the rack and loaded. As another example, the reel carrier 310 may further include a transfer unit (eg, a robot arm) that picks up the SMD reel on the conveyor belt 320 and transfers it to an extremely narrow pick-up robot. The SMD reel may be shipped by loading the SMD reel called by the user into a box (not shown). The process of unloading the SMD reel stored in the reel carrier 310 onto the conveyor belt 320 may be performed in the reverse order of the process of loading the SMD reel. The reel unloader 230 may include a transfer means (eg, a robot arm) for moving the SMD reel on the conveyor belt 320 to the reel unloader 230 (or into a box). The SMD reel released from the factory can be transferred to SMT (Surface Mounting Technology) equipment together with the box by an unmanned transfer robot.

4 is a diagram illustrating various arrangement methods of an SMD storage tower system and arrangement methods of SMT equipment according to the SMD storage tower system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The SMD storage tower system can be expanded by connecting additional orthogonal reel carriers to a plurality of orthogonal reel carriers, and the arrangement of SMT equipment can be determined according to the form of the expanded SMD storage tower system. For example, the SMD storage tower system may expand orthogonal reel carriers in at least one form of serial or parallel.

In one embodiment, the first arrangement example 410 includes a SMD storage tower system 412 in which a plurality of orthogonal reel carriers are arranged in series. The SMT devices 414 , 416 , and 418 may be appropriately arranged according to the length of the SMD storage tower system 412 or the number of the SMD storage tower systems 412 . For example, as shown, three SMT devices 414 , 416 , and 418 may be arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the SMD storage tower system 412 .

In one embodiment, the second arrangement example 420 includes an SMD storage tower system 422 in which a plurality of orthogonal reel carriers are arranged in series and parallel form. The SMT equipment 424 may be appropriately disposed according to the length of the SMD storage tower system 422 or according to the number of deployed SMD storage tower systems 422 . For example, as shown, one SMT device 424 may be arranged side by side in the longitudinal direction of the SMD storage tower system 422 .

In one embodiment, the third arrangement example 430 includes a SMD storage tower system 432 in which a plurality of orthogonal reel carriers are arranged in series and parallel form. The SMT equipments 434 and 436 may be properly disposed according to the length of the SMD storage tower system 432 or the number of SMD storage tower systems 422 disposed. For example, as shown, two SMT devices 434 and 436 may be placed side by side in the longitudinal direction of the SMD storage tower system 432 .

On the other hand, as shown in Figure 4, the shape and number of SMD storage tower systems (412, 422, 432) and SMT equipment (414, 416, 418, 424, 434, 436) are not limited, and different types or numbers of SMD storage tower systems and SMT equipment can be deployed.

5 is a diagram illustrating a movement method of the extremely narrow pick-up robot 500 included in the orthogonal type reel carrier 310 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The reel carrier 310 may be configured in an orthogonal type (eg, a rectangular parallelepiped parallel arrangement type, etc.), and may include a plurality of internal shelves and at least one extremely narrow pick-up robot 500 . For example, the inner shelves may be arranged in several tiers and in several rows. In one embodiment, the inner shelves may be arranged in parallel on both sides along a path along which the extremely narrow pick-up robot 500 moves horizontally, with the extremely narrow pick-up robot 500 in the center.

In one embodiment, the extremely narrow pick-up robot 500 may include a vertical transfer table 510 and a reciprocating slider 520 to store and retrieve SMD reels in an internal shelf configured in the reel carrier 310 . The reciprocating slider 520 may be configured to convert rotational motion of the motor into linear motion. With this configuration, the reciprocating slider can store or retrieve SMD reels in the inner shelf through linear motion. The vertical transfer table 510 may support the reciprocating slider 520 and guide the vertical movement of the reciprocating slider 520 .

The extremely narrow pick-up robot 500 may include a first ball screw for vertically moving the reciprocating slider 520 on the vertical transfer table 510 . Also, the extremely narrow pick-up robot 500 may include a second ball screw to move the vertical transfer table 510 horizontally. The controller may be configured to control the motion of the first ball screw and the second ball screw to move the reciprocating slider 520 to a specific inner shelf position. Thereafter, the control unit may further control the linear motion of the reciprocating slider 520 moved to a specific inner shelf position to store the SMD reel in the inner shelf or take out the SMD reel stored in the inner shelf.

6 is a perspective view of a reciprocating slider configured in an extremely narrow pick-up robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The reciprocating slider 520 may include a slide guide 610 and a pick-up hand 620 . The reciprocating slider 520 may load the SMD reel 630 on the inner shelf of the reel carrier or take out the SMD reel 630 loaded on the inner shelf through the pick-up hand 620 .

The slide guide 610 may guide the movement path of the pickup hand 620 by including a groove or a rail. For example, slide guide 610 may be configured to guide horizontal movement of pick-up hand 620 . The reciprocating slider 520 may be a speed increasing mechanism that increases speed instead of decreasing force when converting rotational motion generated by rotation of the motor into linear motion. When the pick-up hand 620 moves in a straight line to the front of the inner shelf, the lower hand of the two hands of the pick-up hand 620 moves up/down to load the SMD reel 630 on the inner shelf or The loaded SMD reel 630 can be lifted. A detailed description and various embodiments thereof will be described later with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9 .

7 is a side view illustrating a configuration and movement method of a reciprocating slider configured in an extremely narrow pick-up robot according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The reciprocating slider may include a slide guide 710 , a motor 720 , a first link 730 , a second link 740 and a pick-up hand 750 . The slide guide 710 may guide the movement path of the pickup hand 750 by including a groove or a rail.

One side of the first link 730 is connected to the motor 720 to rotate about the motor 720 according to the rotational motion of the motor 720 . The second link 740 may be connected to the first link 730 on one side and to the pickup hand 750 on the other side. The pick-up hand 750 may be configured to horizontally move along the slide guide 710 according to the rotational motion of the motor 720 .

The reciprocating slider may be a speed increasing mechanism that increases speed instead of decreasing force when converting rotational motion generated by rotation of the motor 720 into linear motion. The speed increase ratio may be determined by the length (or length ratio) of the first link 730 and the second link 740, and the length (or length) of the first link 730 and the second link 740 The horizontal movement distance of the pick-up hand 750 may be determined by the ratio of . The reciprocating slider further includes an image sensor 760, and the control unit moves the reciprocating slider (or an extremely narrow pick-up robot) to the storage position of the SMD reel 770 to be shipped, and uses the image sensor 760 to store the It can be configured to check whether the SMD reel 770 is present. In response to determining that the SMD reel 770 exists in the storage location of the confirmed SMD reel 770 to be shipped, the extremely narrow pick-up robot may be controlled to transfer the SMD reel 770 to the conveyor belt. In addition, the control unit may control the conveyor belt to transfer the SMD reel 770 transferred to the conveyor belt to the reel unloader. Although the image sensor 760 is shown attached to the upper hand of the pick-up hand 750 in FIG. 7 , it is not limited thereto.

In one embodiment, the motor 720 may be connected to one side of the first link 730 so that the first link 730 rotates according to the rotation direction. The other side of the first link 730 may be connected to one side of the second link 740 through a separate connecting member (not shown). Also, the other side of the second link 740 may be connected to the pickup hand 750 . As the motor rotates, the first link 730 rotates, and as the first link 730 rotates, the second link 740 connected to the first link 730 may move. At this time, the pick-up hand 750 connected to the other side of the second link may move forward or backward according to the moving path configured in the slide guide 710 . For example, when the motor 720 rotates counterclockwise, the first link 730 and the second link 740 move in a direction corresponding to the rotational direction of the motor 720, and thus the pickup hand 750 ) can move backwards. As another example, when the motor 720 rotates clockwise, the first link 730 and the second link 740 move in a direction corresponding to the rotational direction of the motor 720, so that the pick-up hand 750 can move forward. On the other hand, in the embodiment, the motor 720 has been described as being directly connected to one side of the first link 730, but is not limited thereto, and the motor 720 and the first link through a separate connecting member (not shown) 730 may be connected.

In one embodiment, the pick-up hand 750 loads the SMD reel 770 to an internal shelf (not shown) or picks up the SMD reel 770 when the SMD reel 770 loaded on the internal shelf is taken out. It can be loaded or exported. The image sensor 760 may be installed on a part of the pick-up hand 750 to detect and check whether the SMD reel 770 exists. For example, when the SMD reel 770 is loaded on the inner shelf using the pick-up hand 750, the image sensor 760 determines the storage location of the SMD reel 770 (eg, number, coordinates of the inner shelf). value, whether the SMD reel is loaded, etc.) can be checked and transmitted to the recording unit. As another example, when the SMD reel 770 is taken out of the internal shelf through the pick-up hand 750, the storage location of the SMD reel 770 is checked to determine the information of the SMD reel 770 and whether the SMD reel 770 is loaded. After checking, etc., you can take it out. In addition, when the pick-up hand 750 moves in a straight line (horizontally) to the front of the inner shelf, the lower hand of the two hands of the pick-up hand 750 moves up/down to load the SMD reel 770 on the inner shelf. Alternatively, the SMD reel 770 loaded on the inner shelf may be lifted.

8 is a perspective view illustrating an internal shelf 800 configured in a reel tower according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. A plurality of internal shelves 800 are included inside the reel tower, and SMD reels (not shown) may be loaded on each internal shelf. As described in FIG. 7 , the SMD reel 770 may be loaded on the upper surface of the inner shelf 800 using the extremely narrow pick-up robot, and the loaded SMD reel may be taken out. At this time, as shown, a plurality of protrusions may be formed on the upper surface of the inner shelf 800 to prevent separation of the SMD reel and to restrict movement. Each inner shelf 800 may have a concave groove 810 so that an extremely narrow pick-up robot can lift the SMD reel stored on the inner shelf 800 from the bottom.

In one embodiment, the concave groove 810 configured in the inner shelf 800 is formed when the pick-up hand loads the SMD reel on the inner shelf 800 or takes out the SMD reel loaded on the inner shelf 800, and the pick-up hand It can be configured to load/unload SMD reels without contacting the inner shelf. For example, the concave groove 810 may have a size/shape into which a pick-up hand can enter so that the pick-up hand can load or take out the SMD reel.

9 is a view showing a process of loading or unloading the SMD reel 910 to the internal shelf 800 through the reciprocating slider 920 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, when the pickup hand of the reciprocating slider 920 picks up the SMD reel 910, two hands (upper hand and lower hand) of the pickup hand touch the upper and lower surfaces of the SMD reel 910. It can be configured to wrap. For example, the lower hand of the pickup hand may move up and down so that the pickup hand grips the SMD reel 910 . To this end, the reciprocating slider 920 may include a driving unit (not shown) for moving the upper hand and/or the lower hand of the pickup hand up and down (in a vertical direction).

In one embodiment, referring to FIG. 7 , the control unit controls the extremely narrow pick-up robot to store the SMD reel to which the second type of barcode is attached on the conveyor belt to the determined storage location, and uses an image sensor included in the extremely narrow pick-up robot By doing so, it is possible to check whether there is an SMD reel in the storage location.

In one embodiment, as the lower hand of the pick-up hand moves in the vertical direction, the SMD reel 910 may be held or released. For example, when the SMD reel 910 is loaded on the inner shelf 800 through the pick-up hand of the reciprocating slider 920, the reciprocating slider 920 holding the SMD reel 910 moves to the inner shelf 800. can move horizontally. Then, the lower hand of the pick-up hand moves downward so that the SMD reel 910 held by the pick-up hand can be loaded on the inner shelf 800 . After the SMD reel 910 is loaded on the inner shelf 800, the reciprocating slider 920 can move horizontally out of the inner shelf 800.

As another example, when the SMD reel 910 loaded on the inner shelf is taken out through the pick-up hand of the reciprocating slider 920, the reciprocating slider 920 may move horizontally toward the inner shelf 800. Then, the lower hand of the pick-up hand can move upward to grip the SMD reel 910 loaded on the inner shelf. After gripping the SMD reel 910, the reciprocating slider 920 can move horizontally out of the inner shelf 800.

Meanwhile, in the above-described embodiment, it has been described that the lower hand of the pickup hand moves to grip or place the SMD reel 910, but it is not limited thereto, and the upper hand or the upper and lower hands move in a vertical direction to move the SMD reel 910 ( 910) can be gripped or placed. For example, the pickup hand may hold or release the SMD reel 910 as the upper hand and the lower hand are separated and the lower hand moves in a vertical direction. Alternatively, the pick-up hand may be configured in a form capable of placing the SMD reel 910 on top of the lower hand instead of holding the SMD reel 910 as shown. In addition, before the SMD reel 910 is gripped on the inner shelf 800 by using the reciprocating slider 920 or taken out, it is checked whether the SMD reel 910 to be taken out on the inner shelf 800 exists using an image sensor. Alternatively, it is possible to double check whether the internal shelf 800 on which the SMD reel 910 is to be loaded is empty.

10 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1000 of wearing an SMD reel to a reel tower according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the method 1000 of wearing the SMD reel may be performed by a control unit (eg, at least one control unit configured in a central control system, an information processing system, or a reel tower storage system). As shown, the method 1000 for wearing the SMD reel may be initiated by recognizing the first type of barcode attached to the SMD reel to be worn (S1010). For example, the controller may recognize the first type of barcode (eg, a barcode attached by an SMD reel manufacturer) using a barcode reader included in the reel loader.

Thereafter, the control unit may determine the storage location of the SMD reel to be worn (S1020). At this time, the storage position of the SMD reel may be determined using a Cartesian coordinate system. Here, the control unit determines the storage location of the SMD reel to be received based on SMD reel information (manufacturer information, electronic device information, electronic device number information, etc.) stored in the recognized first type barcode, and stores the determined storage location in the recording unit. can be saved

Thereafter, the controller may attach a second type of barcode to the SMD reel to be warehousing (S1030). For example, the control unit may generate a barcode of the second type (eg, its own barcode to be used within the smart factory) using a barcode generator included in the reel loader and attach it to the SMD reel. Specifically, a barcode of the second type may be attached to a barcode of the first type to cover the barcode of the first type, and only the barcode of the second type may be visible. At this time, the control unit may store the information of the SMD reel recognized by the barcode reader, the storage location of the SMD reel, and the related information of the first type barcode and the second type barcode in the recording unit in association with each other.

Thereafter, the control unit may store the SMD reel to be worn in the determined storage location (internal shelf of a specific location) (S1040). Specifically, the SMD reel to be received may be stored (or loaded) in a designated storage location by a conveyor belt and an extremely narrow pick-up robot, but is not limited thereto. In addition, before loading the SMD reel to be received into the storage location (internal shelf of a specific location), the control unit uses an image sensor to determine whether other SMD reels are loaded in the storage location (ie, whether the corresponding internal shelf is empty). You can check.

11 is a flowchart illustrating a method 1100 for shipping SMD reels loaded in a reel tower according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In one embodiment, the SMD reel shipping method 1100 may be performed by a control unit (eg, at least one control unit configured in a central control system, an information processing system, or a reel tower storage system). As shown, the SMD reel shipping method 1100 may be initiated by confirming the storage location of the SMD reel to be shipped (S1110). For example, the control unit can check based on the storage location of the SMD reel to be shipped stored in the recording unit.

Thereafter, the control unit may check whether the SMD reel exists in the checked storage location (S1120). Specifically, the control unit moves the pickup robot to the storage location of the SMD reel to be shipped stored in the recording unit, and uses the image sensor included in the pickup robot to check the presence or absence of the SMD reel at the corresponding location (inside front). .

Thereafter, the controller may release the SMD reel to be shipped from the confirmed storage location (S1130). Specifically, in response to determining that the SMD reel is present at the corresponding position (inside front) using the image sensor, the control unit may use the reciprocating slider to take the SMD reel out of the inner shelf and transfer it to the reel unloader. .

In one embodiment, the control unit may manage the inventory of electronic devices in the reel tower. Specifically, when the SMD reel is loaded into the reel tower, the storage location of each SMD reel, the type of electronic element included in each SMD reel, and the number of electronic elements may be stored and updated in the recording unit. In addition, when the SMD reel is taken out of the reel tower and some of the electronic elements are used in the SMT equipment, and then the SMD reel is again stored in the reel tower, inventory details of the electronic elements in the reel tower may be updated.

The above-described operation of the control unit may be provided as a computer program stored in a computer-readable recording medium to be executed on a computer. The medium may continuously store programs executable by a computer or temporarily store them for execution or download. In addition, the medium may be various recording means or storage means in the form of a single or combined hardware, but is not limited to a medium directly connected to a certain computer system, and may be distributed on a network. Examples of the medium include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks and magnetic tapes, optical recording media such as CD-ROM and DVD, magneto-optical media such as floptical disks, and ROM, RAM, flash memory, etc. configured to store program instructions. In addition, examples of other media include recording media or storage media managed by an app store that distributes applications, a site that supplies or distributes various other software, and a server.

The operations, methods, or techniques of the control unit of this disclosure may be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchange of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends on the particular application and design requirements imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementations should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

In a hardware implementation, the processing units used to perform the techniques may include one or more ASICs, DSPs, digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs) ), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, electronic devices, and other electronic units designed to perform the functions described in this disclosure. , a computer, or a combination thereof.

Accordingly, with respect to the control unit of the present disclosure, it may be implemented by various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits. For example, the controller may be implemented with a general-purpose processor, DSP, ASIC, FPGA or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of those designed to perform the functions described herein; may be performed. A general purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, eg, a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other configuration.

In firmware and/or software implementation, the techniques include random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), non-volatile random access memory (NVRAM), PROM ( on a computer readable medium, such as programmable read-only memory (EPROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), flash memory, compact disc (CD), magnetic or optical data storage device, or the like. It can also be implemented as stored instructions. Instructions may be executable by one or more processors and may cause the processor(s) to perform certain aspects of the functionality described in this disclosure.

Although the above-described embodiments have been described as utilizing aspects of the presently-disclosed subject matter in one or more stand-alone computing devices or systems, the present disclosure is not limited thereto and may be implemented in conjunction with any computing environment, such as a network or distributed computing environment. may be Further, aspects of the subject matter in this disclosure may be implemented in a plurality of processing chips or devices, and storage may be similarly affected across multiple devices. These devices may include PCs, network servers, and portable devices.

Although the present disclosure has been described in relation to some embodiments in this specification, various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure that can be understood by those skilled in the art. Moreover, such modifications and variations are intended to fall within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

110: reel tower storage system 120: magazine tower
130: SMT equipment 140: post-processing system
150: unmanned transport robot 210: reel loader
220: reel tower 230: reel unloader
310: orthogonal reel carrier 320: conveyor belt
410: First arrangement example 412: SMD tower system
414: first SMT equipment 416: second SMT equipment
418: 3rd SMT equipment 420: 2nd arrangement example
422: SMD tower system 424: SMT equipment
430 Third arrangement example 432 SMD tower system
434: first SMT equipment 436: second SMT equipment
500: Extreme pick-up robot 510: Vertical transfer table
520, 920: reciprocating slider 610: slide guide
620: pickup hand 630, 910: SMD reel
710: slide guide 720: motor
730: first link 740: second link
750: pickup hand 760: image sensor
770: SMD reel 800: inner shelf
810: concave groove

Claims (10)

In a Surface Mounted Device (SMD) storage tower system,
a reel loader configured to load the SMD reel;
A reel tower configured to load SMD reels at designated storage locations, the reel tower including a plurality of orthogonal reel carriers, each of the plurality of reel carriers storing SMD reels on an internal shelf and Including an extremely narrow pick-up robot for carrying out -;
A reel unloader configured to load and ship at least one SMD reel called by a user into a box;
a recording unit configured to store data for a plurality of SMD reels; and
A control unit configured to control the input and output operations of the SMD reel
Including, SMD storage tower system.
According to claim 1,
A conveyor belt configured to transfer SMD reels between the reel loader, the reel tower, and the reel unloader.
Further comprising, SMD storage tower system.
According to claim 1,
The reel loader includes a barcode reader for recognizing a first type of barcode attached to the incoming SMD reel,
The control unit is further configured to determine a storage location of the SMD reel to be received based on the SMD reel information recognized by the barcode reader, and to store the determined storage location in the recording unit.
According to claim 3,
Wherein the storage location of the SMD reel is determined using a Cartesian coordinate system.
According to claim 3,
The reel loader further includes a barcode generator configured to generate a second type of barcode and attach it to a received SMD reel,
Wherein the control unit is further configured to associate SMD reel information recognized by the barcode reader, a storage location of the SMD reel, and information associated with the second type of barcode and store them in the recording unit.
According to claim 5,
Wherein the second type of barcode is affixed on the first type of barcode.
According to claim 1,
Wherein the reel tower is expandable by connecting additional orthogonal reel carriers to the plurality of orthogonal reel carriers.
According to claim 1,
Each of the plurality of reel carriers includes a plurality of inner shelves,
An SMD storage tower system in which concave grooves are formed on each inner shelf so that the narrow pick-up robot can lift the SMD reel stored on the inner shelf from the bottom.
According to claim 1,
Each ultra-narrow pick-up robot includes an image sensor,
Wherein the control unit is further configured to move the ultra-narrow pick-up robot to the storage location of the SMD reel to be shipped, and to check whether the SMD reel exists in the storage location using the image sensor.
According to claim 1,
An SMD storage tower system in which an unmanned transfer robot transfers SMD reels shipped from the reel unloader to SMT (Surface Mounting Technology) equipment.

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