TWI842429B - Supply system, supply method, installation system and installation method for electronic component - Google Patents

Abstract

A supply method includes: picking up a plurality of electronic components, separated by a first pitch, from a supply tray via a supply gripper; increasing a pitch among the electronic components picked up by the supply gripper from the first pitch to a second pitch; scanning barcodes on the electronic components separated by the second pitch via a scanner so as to obtain a plurality of barcode information; decreasing the pitch among the electronic components picked up by the supply gripper from the second pitch to a third pitch; and placing the electronic components on a supply area.

Description

System and method for feeding and installing electronic components

The present invention relates to a feeding method, a feeding system, an installation method and an installation system, in particular to an electronic component feeding method, an electronic component feeding system, an electronic component installation method and an electronic component installation system.

In order to improve the production efficiency of electronic equipment such as servers, most electronic devices are currently assembled using automated processes. Before electronic components such as memory and expansion cards are assembled in electronic devices, they must first pass through the scanning range of the scanner to allow the scanner to scan the barcode of the electronic component so that the system can determine whether the installed electronic component is correct.

In order to ensure that these electronic components can be accurately scanned by the scanner, the current practice is to only clamp a single electronic component each time and scan the barcode of each clamped single electronic component in batches. However, since only a single electronic component can be clamped each time when scanning the barcode of the electronic component, it will make it difficult to improve the efficiency of the scanner in scanning the electronic components. In view of this, how to strike a balance between the scanning efficiency and scanning accuracy of electronic components will be the problem that electronic equipment manufacturers are currently working on solving.

An electronic component feeding method disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention includes picking up a plurality of electronic components spaced at a first spacing on a replenishment tray by a feeding claw; increasing the electronic components picked up by the feeding claw from the first spacing to a second spacing; scanning the barcodes on the electronic components spaced at the second spacing by a barcode scanner to obtain a plurality of barcode information; reducing the electronic components picked up by the feeding claw from the second spacing to a third spacing and placing the electronic components in a feeding area.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses an electronic component feeding system, comprising a feeding claw, a barcode scanner and a controller. The feeding claw is used to pick up a plurality of electronic components on a replenishment tray. The barcode scanner is used to scan the barcodes on these electronic components. The controller is communicatively connected to the feeding claw and the barcode scanner. The controller is used to make the feeding gripper pick up the electronic components on the replenishment tray and increase the electronic components picked up by the feeding gripper from a first spacing to a second spacing so that the barcode scanner can scan the barcodes on the electronic components to obtain multiple barcode information. The controller is also used to make the feeding gripper reduce the picked up electronic components from the second spacing to a third spacing and place the electronic components in a feeding area.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses an electronic component mounting method, comprising: performing at least one left mounting procedure, wherein the left mounting procedure is to mount a plurality of left electronic components in a left feeding area on a motherboard through a mounting clamp; when at least one left mounting procedure is performed and there are insufficient electronic components in a right feeding area, performing a right feeding procedure, wherein the right feeding procedure is to mount a plurality of left electronic components in a right replenishment tray through a right feeding clamp. Supply right electronic components to the right feeding area; perform at least one right installation procedure, the right installation procedure is to install these right electronic components in the right feeding area on the motherboard through the installation clamp; and when at least one right installation procedure is performed and the electronic components in the left feeding area are insufficient, perform a left feeding procedure, the left feeding procedure is to supply multiple left electronic components in a left replenishment tray to the left feeding area through a left feeding clamp.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses an electronic component mounting system, comprising a left feed clamp, a right feed clamp, a mounting clamp and a controller. The controller is communicatively connected to the left feed clamp, the right feed clamp and the mounting clamp. The controller is used to execute at least one left mounting procedure, and to mount a plurality of left electronic components in a left feed area on a motherboard through the mounting clamp, and to perform a right feed procedure, and to supply a plurality of right electronic components in a right replenishment tray to a right feed area through a right feed clamp. The controller is used to execute at least one right installation procedure, and install the right electronic components in the right feeding area on the motherboard through the installation clamp, and to perform a left feeding procedure, and supply multiple left electronic components in a left replenishment tray to the left feeding area through a left feeding clamp.

The above description of the content of the present invention and the following description of the implementation method are used to demonstrate and explain the principle of the present invention, and provide a further explanation of the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

1: Server

2: Motherboard

10: Electronic component installation system

100: Workbench

110: Left feeding area

120: Left feeding area

130: Left discard area

140: Right feeding area

150: Right feeding area

160: Right discard area

200: Left feeding claw

210: Clamping claw part

300: Right feeding clamp

400: Install the clamping claw

500: Controller

600: Left barcode scanner

700: Right barcode scanner

800:Conveyor machine

900: Left tray transport machine

910: Transport device

920: First lifting device

921: First lift platform

930: Second lifting device

931: Second lift platform

940: Filling clamp

1000: Right tray transport machine

1010: Transport device

1020: First lifting device

1021: First lift platform

1030: Second lifting device

1031: Second lift platform

1040: Refilling claws

LT1: Left feeding tray

LT2: Left material loading tray

LT3: Left waste tray

LT4: Left storage tray

RT1: Right feeding tray

RT2: Right replenishment tray

RT3: Right discard tray

RT4: Right storage tray

RE:Right electronic components

LE: Left electronic component

D1,D21,D22,D41,D42,D5: Direction

G1,G2,G3: Spacing

BC: Barcode

S: Surface

N: Normal

Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the electronic component mounting system disclosed according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a block diagram of the electronic component mounting system of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the left tray transport machine in Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the right tray transport machine in Figure 1.

Figure 6 is a three-dimensional diagram of the left installation procedure.

Figure 7 is a three-dimensional diagram of the right installation procedure.

Figures 8 to 11 are detailed schematic diagrams of the left feeding claw in the left feeding process.

FIG12 is a schematic plan view of the left pallet conveyor in FIG3 recovering an empty left replenishment pallet.

Figure 13 shows the left pallet conveyor in Figure 3 placing the fully loaded left storage pallet in the left replenishment area.

Please refer to Figures 1 to 3. Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the electronic component mounting system disclosed according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of Figure 1. Figure 3 is a block schematic diagram of the electronic component mounting system of Figure 1.

In this embodiment, the electronic component mounting system 10 is used to mount electronic components on a motherboard 2 of a server 1, wherein the electronic components are, for example but not limited to, memory.

The electronic component mounting system 10 includes a left feeding clamp 200, a right feeding clamp 300, a mounting clamp 400 and a controller 500. In addition, the electronic component mounting system 10 may also include a workbench 100.

The workbench 100 has a left feeding area 110, a left replenishing area 120, a left discarding area 130, a right feeding area 140, a right replenishing area 150 and a right discarding area 160. The left feeding area 110, the left replenishing area 120 and the left discarding area 130 and the right feeding area 140, the right replenishing area 150 and the right discarding area 160 are respectively located on two opposite sides of the workbench 100. That is, the left feeding area 110, the left replenishing area 120 and the left discarding area 130 are located on one side of the workbench 100, and the right feeding area 140, the right replenishing area 150 and the right discarding area 160 are located on the other side of the workbench 100. The left supply area 110 is used to place a left supply tray LT1, the left replenishment area 120 is used to place a left replenishment tray LT2, and the left discard area 130 is used to place a left discard tray LT3. The left supply tray LT1, the left replenishment tray LT2 and the left discard tray LT3 are used to accommodate left electronic components LE. The right supply area 140 is used to place a right supply tray RT1, the right replenishment area 150 is used to place a right replenishment tray RT2, and the right discard area 160 is used to place a right discard tray RT3. The right feeding tray RT1, the right replenishing tray RT2 and the right discarding tray RT3 are used to accommodate the right electronic component RE, wherein the right electronic component RE and the left electronic component LE can be memories of different capacities or the same capacity. For example, the left electronic component LE can be a 16G memory, and the right electronic component RE can be a 32G memory. Alternatively, the left electronic component LE and the right electronic component RE can both be 16G memory or 32G memory.

The left feeding clamp 200 and the right feeding clamp 300 are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the workbench 100. The left feeding clamp 200 is used to pick up the left electronic component LE in the left feeding tray LT1 and place the left electronic component LE on the left feeding tray LT1 or the left discarding tray LT3. The right feeding clamp 300 is used to pick up the right electronic component RE in the right feeding tray RT1 and place the right electronic component RE on the right feeding tray RT1 or the right discarding tray RT3.

The mounting clamp 400 is disposed on the workbench 100 and is located between the left feeding clamp 200 and the right feeding clamp 300. Specifically, the mounting clamp 400 is located between the left feeding area 110 and the right feeding area 140. The mounting clamp 400 is used to mount the left electronic component LE in the left feeding tray LT1 and the right electronic component RE in the right feeding tray RT1 on the motherboard 2.

The controller 500 is communicatively connected to the left feeding clamp 200, the right feeding clamp 300 and the mounting clamp 400. The so-called communication connection refers to the transmission of signals through a wired or wireless connection.

In this embodiment, the electronic component mounting system 10 may also include a left barcode scanner 600, a right barcode scanner 700 and a conveyor 800.

The left barcode scanner 600 is disposed on the workbench 100 and is, for example, located between the left replenishment area 120 and the left feeding area 110, and the left barcode scanner 600 is electrically connected to the controller 500. The left barcode scanner 600 is used to scan the barcode BC (please refer to FIG. 8 ) of the left electronic component LE picked up by the left feeding gripper 200, and the left barcode scanner 600 scans at a scanning angle of, for example but not limited to, 45 degrees relative to the plane of the workbench 100. The right barcode scanner 700 is disposed on the workbench 100 and is, for example, located between the right replenishment area 150 and the right feeding area 140, and the right barcode scanner 700 is electrically connected to the controller 500. The right barcode scanner 700 is used to scan the barcode (not shown) of the right electronic component RE picked up by the right feeding gripper 300, and the right barcode scanner 700 performs scanning at a scanning angle of, for example but not limited to, 45 degrees relative to the plane of the workbench 100. The aforementioned barcode BC records, for example, the material number and serial number of the electronic component. It should be noted that the positions of the left barcode scanner 600 and the right barcode scanner 700 are not used to limit the present invention, and the positions of the left barcode scanner and the right barcode scanner can be adjusted according to needs. For example, the left barcode scanner can be located at any position on the moving path of the left feeding clamp from the left replenishment area to the left feeding area, and the right barcode scanner can be located at any position on the moving path of the right feeding clamp from the right replenishment area to the right feeding area.

The conveyor 800 is located on one side of the workbench 100 and is communicatively connected to the controller 500. The conveyor 800 is used to convey the server 1 including the motherboard 2, but is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the conveyor can convey the motherboard alone.

In this embodiment, the left feeding area 110, the left replenishing area 120, the left discarding area 130, the right feeding area 140, the right replenishing area 150, the right discarding area 160, the left feeding clamp 200, the right feeding clamp 300, the installation clamp 400, the left barcode scanner 600 and the right barcode scanner 700 are all arranged on the same workbench 100 and are all located on the same side of the conveyor 800, but this is not limited to this. In other embodiments, if the number of workstations is changed to two and they are located on opposite sides of the conveyor respectively, then the left feeding area, left replenishment area, left discard area, left feeding clamp and left barcode scanner can be located on one of the workstations, and the right feeding area, right replenishment area, right discard area, right feeding clamp and right barcode scanner can be located on another workstation, so that the left feeding area, left replenishment area, left discard area, left feeding clamp and left barcode scanner and the right feeding area, right replenishment area, right discard area, right feeding clamp and right barcode scanner are located on opposite sides of the conveyor respectively. Correspondingly, the mounting clamp can be hung directly above the conveyor and still be located between the left and right feed clamps.

Next, please refer to Figures 1 to 5 together. Figure 4 is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the left pallet transport machine in Figure 1. Figure 5 is a partial three-dimensional schematic diagram of the right pallet transport machine in Figure 1.

In this embodiment, the electronic component mounting system 10 may also include a left pallet transport machine 900 and a right pallet transport machine 1000. The left pallet transport machine 900 and the right pallet transport machine 1000 are located on one side of the workbench 100 away from the conveyor machine 800.

The left tray transporting machine 900 includes a conveying device 910, a first lifting device 920, a second lifting device 930 and a replenishing clamp 940. The conveying device 910, the first lifting device 920 and the second lifting device 930 are arranged in sequence, for example, and the conveying device 910, the first lifting device 920 and the second lifting device 930 are communicatively connected to the controller 500. The first lifting device 920 has a first lifting platform 921, and the second lifting device 930 has a second lifting platform 931. The conveying device 910 is used to convey the stacked and fully loaded multiple left storage trays LT4 to the first lifting platform 921 of the first lifting device 920 along a first direction D1, wherein the fully loaded multiple left storage trays LT4 refer to each left storage tray LT4 being fully loaded with multiple left electronic components LE as configured at the factory, the number of which is, for example, 50. The first lifting platform 921 of the first lifting device 920 can move along a second direction D21 or D22 perpendicular to the first direction D1. The second lifting platform 931 of the second lifting device 930 can also move along the second direction D21 or D22 perpendicular to the first direction D1. The replenishing clamp 940 can be movably positioned above the first lifting platform 921 of the first lifting device 920 or above the second lifting platform 931 of the second lifting device 930. The material replenishment claw 940 is used to recover the left material replenishment tray LT2 above the left material replenishment area 120 of the workbench 100 to the second lifting platform 931 of the second lifting device 930, and to place one of the left storage trays LT4 fully loaded on the first lifting platform 921 of the first lifting device 920 in the left material replenishment area 120 of the workbench 100. In this embodiment, the lifting range of the first lifting platform 921 and the second lifting platform 931 can be adjusted according to the number of trays they carry.

The right pallet transporting machine 1000 has the same structure as the left pallet transporting machine 900, and also includes a conveying device 1010, a first lifting device 1020, a second lifting device 1030, and a replenishing clamp 1040. The conveying device 1010, the first lifting device 1020, and the second lifting device 1030 are arranged in parallel in sequence, and the conveying device 1010, the first lifting device 1020, and the second lifting device 1030 are communicatively connected to the controller 500. The first lifting device 1020 has a first lifting platform 1021, and the second lifting device 1030 has a second lifting platform 1031. The conveying device 1010 is used to convey the stacked and fully loaded multiple right storage trays RT4 to the first lifting platform 1021 of the first lifting device 1020 along the first direction D1, wherein the fully loaded multiple right storage trays RT4 refer to each right storage tray RT4 being fully loaded with multiple right electronic components RE as shipped from the factory, the number of which is, for example, 50. The first lifting platform 1021 of the first lifting device 1020 can move along a second direction D21 or D22 perpendicular to the first direction D1. The second lifting platform 1031 of the second lifting device 1030 can also move along the second direction D21 or D22 perpendicular to the first direction D1. The replenishing clamp 1040 can be movably located above the first lifting platform 1021 of the first lifting device 1020 or above the second lifting platform 1031 of the second lifting device 1030. The replenishment claw 1040 is used to recover the right replenishment tray RT2 above the right replenishment area 150 of the workbench 100 to the second lifting platform 1031 of the second lifting device 1030, and to place one of the right storage trays RT4 fully loaded on the first lifting platform 1021 of the first lifting device 1020 in the right replenishment area 150 of the workbench 100. In this embodiment, the lifting range of the first lifting platform 1021 and the second lifting platform 1031 can be adjusted according to the number of trays they carry.

Next, the electronic component mounting method will be described below. Assume that the electronic component mounting system 10 starts to operate when the left feeding tray LT1 is fully loaded with left electronic components LE and the right feeding tray RT1 is fully loaded with right electronic components RE.

First, the controller 500 instructs the conveyor 800 to transport the server 1 to a position. Next, please refer to Figure 6, which is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the left installation procedure. The controller 500 will execute at least one left installation procedure, wherein the left installation procedure is to install multiple left electronic components LE in the left feed tray LT1 on the left feed area 110 on the motherboard 2 of the server 1 through the installation clamp 400. For example, when the left feed tray LT1 is fully loaded, the number of left electronic components LE it accommodates is, for example, 16. In one left installation procedure, the installation clamp 400 will install 4 of the left electronic components LE on the motherboard 2 of the server 1. Therefore, the controller 500 will execute the left installation procedure four times in total, but is not limited to this. The number of times the left installation procedure is performed will vary depending on the number of electronic components that the installation claw 400 can grasp at one time and the number of electronic components that need to be installed on the motherboard 2.

Next, please refer to FIG. 7, which is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the right installation process. The controller 500 will execute at least one right installation process, wherein the right installation process is to install multiple right electronic components RE in the right feeding tray RT1 on the right feeding area 140 on the mainboard 2 of the server 1 through the installation clamp 400. For example, when the right feeding tray RT1 is fully loaded, the number of right electronic components RE contained therein is, for example, 16. In one right installation process, the installation clamp 400 will install 4 of the right electronic components RE on the mainboard 2 of the server 1. Therefore, the controller 500 will execute the right installation process four times in total, but it is not limited to this. The number of times the right installation procedure is executed will vary depending on the number of electronic components that the installation claw 400 can grasp at one time and the number of electronic components that need to be installed on the motherboard 2.

When the aforementioned right mounting procedure is performed and the electronic components on the left feeding tray LT1 of the left feeding area 110 are insufficient, the controller 500 will perform a left feeding procedure, wherein the left feeding procedure is to supply a plurality of left electronic components LE in the left replenishment tray LT2 to the left feeding tray LT1 on the left feeding area 110 through the left feeding clamp 200. For example, during the process of the controller 500 performing the aforementioned right mounting procedure, it will be determined whether the left electronic components LE on the left feeding tray LT1 of the left feeding area 110 are sufficient. Since all the left electronic components LE in the left feeding tray LT1 of the left feeding area 110 have been installed on the mainboard 2 of the server 1, the controller 500 will determine that the left electronic components LE in the left feeding tray LT1 of the left feeding area 110 are insufficient and perform the left feeding procedure.

Next, the left feeding process will be described in detail below. Please refer to Figure 2 and Figures 8 to 11. Figures 8 to 11 are schematic diagrams of the left feeding claw in the left feeding process.

In the left feeding process, the controller 500 instructs the left feeding claw 200 to pick up a plurality of left electronic components LE with a first spacing G1 from the left replenishment tray LT2. For example, the controller 500 instructs the left feeding claw 200 to pick up 4 left electronic components LE with a first spacing G1 from the left replenishment tray LT2.

Next, the controller 500 instructs the left feeding clamp 200 to increase the distance of the picked-up left electronic components LE from the first spacing G1 to a second spacing G2. For example, the clamping parts 210 of the left feeding clamp 200 that respectively clamp the left electronic components LE increase the distance of the left electronic components LE from the first spacing G1 to a second spacing G2 along the pitch changing directions D41 and D42, wherein the pitch changing distances of the clamping parts 210 are not equidistant. Specifically, the pitch changing distances of the two outermost clamping parts 210 are greater than the pitch changing distances of the inner clamping parts 210. In some embodiments, the pitch changing directions D41 and D42 are parallel to the normal line N of the surface S where the barcode BC of the left electronic component LE picked up by the left feeding clamp 200 is located; that is, the pitch changing directions D41 and D42 are perpendicular to the surface S where the barcode BC of the left electronic component LE picked up by the left feeding clamp 200 is located.

Next, the controller 500 instructs the left barcode scanner 600 to scan the barcodes BC on the left electronic components LE spaced at the second spacing G2 to obtain multiple barcode information. For example, the controller 500 causes the left feeding clamp 200 to move in the direction D5 parallel to the pitch change directions D41 and D42, so that the left barcode scanner 600 can scan the barcodes BC on the left electronic components LE picked up by the left feeding clamp 200. In another embodiment, the controller can keep the left feeding clamp stationary and instead instruct the left barcode scanner to move in a direction perpendicular to the grabbing direction, so that the left barcode scanner can scan the barcodes on the left electronic components picked up by the left feeding clamp.

Next, the controller 500 instructs the left feeding gripper 200 to reduce the picked-up left electronic components LE from the second spacing G2 to a third spacing G3. Then, the controller 500 determines whether the barcode information obtained by the left barcode scanner 600 scanning the barcode BC on the left electronic components LE conforms to the preset data. When the barcode information conforms to the preset information, the controller 500 instructs the left feeding gripper 200 to place the picked-up left electronic components LE on the left feeding tray LT1 on the left feeding area 110. On the contrary, when at least one of the barcode information does not conform to the preset information, the controller 500 instructs the left feeding gripper 200 to place the picked-up left electronic components LE on the left discard tray LT3 on the left discard area 130. Then, the controller 500 instructs the left feeding clamp 200 to repeat the above steps of replenishing the left electronic components LE in the left replenishment tray LT2 to the left feeding tray LT1 until the left electronic components LE in the left feeding tray LT1 are fully replenished.

In this embodiment, when the left feeding clamp 200 clamps multiple left electronic components LE at one time, the distance between the multiple left electronic components LE picked up by the left feeding clamp 200 can be increased, so that when the left barcode scanner 600 scans the barcode BC of these left electronic components LE, the barcode BC of the scanned left electronic component LE is not blocked by the adjacent left electronic component LE and can be accurately scanned. In other words, the left feeding clamp 200 can not only scan multiple left electronic components LE at one time to improve the scanning efficiency, but also increase the distance between these left electronic components LE so that the barcode BC of the left electronic component LE can be accurately scanned. In this way, a balance can be achieved between the scanning efficiency and scanning accuracy of electronic components.

It should be noted that determining whether the barcode information obtained by the left barcode scanner 600 scanning the barcodes on the left electronic components LE conforms to the preset data is an optional step. In other embodiments, after the controller 500 instructs the left feeding claw 200 to reduce the picked-up left electronic components LE from the second spacing G2 to the third spacing G3, the left feeding claw 200 can be directly instructing the left feeding claw 200 to place the picked-up left electronic components LE on the left feeding tray LT1 of the left feeding area 110.

After the left and right installation procedures are completed, it means that the left electronic component LE and the right electronic component RE have been installed on the motherboard 2 of the server 1. Then, the installation clamp 400 will press down these left electronic components LE and right electronic components RE to determine whether these left electronic components LE and right electronic components RE are properly installed. For example, the installation clamp 400 has a structure such as a cylinder. In some embodiments, when the mounting clamp 400 is pressing down on the left electronic component LE or the right electronic component RE, if the controller 500 determines that the air pressure value in the cylinder has changed, it means that the pressed left electronic component LE or the right electronic component RE is not properly installed. At this time, the controller 500 will make the mounting clamp 400 place the poorly installed left electronic component LE or the right electronic component RE on the left discard tray LT3 or the right discard tray RT3. It should be noted that making the mounting clamp 400 press down on these left electronic components LE and right electronic components RE to determine whether these left electronic components LE and right electronic components RE are properly installed is an optional step and can be omitted.

Next, in some embodiments, the controller 500 instructs the conveyor 800 to return the server 1 on which the left electronic component LE and the right electronic component RE are installed on the motherboard 2, so as to carry out the subsequent assembly process. Then, the controller 500 instructs the conveyor 800 to transport another server 1 on which the electronic components have not yet been installed on the motherboard 2. Since the left feeding process is also carried out simultaneously during the right installation process of the previous server 1, the left feeding tray LT1 on the left feeding area 110 is in a full-loaded state before the left installation process of the next server 1 is carried out. In this way, the left installation process of the next server 1 can be carried out directly without waiting for the time to fill the left electronic components LE in the left feeding tray LT1. Since the right feeding tray RT1 on the right feeding area 140 is empty after the right installation procedure of the previous server 1 is completed, the controller 500 performs a right feeding procedure when it determines that the right electronic components RE in the right feeding tray RT1 on the right feeding area 140 are insufficient when performing the left installation procedure of the next server 1, wherein the right feeding procedure is to supply a plurality of right electronic components RE in the right replenishment tray RT2 to the right feeding area 140 through the right feeding claw 300. The right feeding procedure is similar to the left feeding procedure, so it will not be described in detail.

In this embodiment, the design of synchronously performing the right feeding process during the left installation process or synchronously performing the left feeding process during the right installation process can avoid delaying the installation process due to the feeding process. In other words, since the left installation process and the right installation process will not be interrupted by the feeding process, the left installation process and the right installation process can be more closely connected and the installation efficiency of electronic components can be improved.

In addition, in these left installation procedures, the installation claw 400 picks up the left electronic components LE from the left supply tray LT1 on the left supply area 110 to install on the motherboard 2, rather than directly picking up the left electronic components LE from the left replenishment tray LT2 of the left replenishment area 120 to install on the motherboard 2, so that even if the number of left electronic components LE left on the left replenishment tray LT2 is less than the number required by the left supply tray LT1 next time, the left installation procedure can be avoided from being interrupted due to the left supply tray LT1 as a supply buffer. Similarly, the setting of the right supply area 140 also has the same effect, and can improve the installation efficiency.

In addition, if the number of left electronic components LE left on the left replenishment tray LT2 is sufficient for the number required by the left supply tray LT1 next time, the above process is maintained to complete the left supply process during the subsequent right installation process. On the contrary, if the number of left electronic components LE left on the left replenishment tray LT2 is less than the number required by the left supply tray LT1 next time, because the time spent on the right installation process is sufficient for not only the left supply process but also the left replenishment process, the left supply process and the left replenishment process can also be completed during the subsequent right installation process, thereby improving the installation efficiency.

The left replenishment process will be described in detail below. During the left installation process, when all the left electronic components LE in the left replenishment tray LT2 on the left replenishment area 120 are picked up, the controller 500 instructs the left tray conveyor 900 to recycle the empty left replenishment tray LT2 and place a fully loaded left storage tray LT4 in the left replenishment area 120 as another left replenishment tray LT2. The following will be described in detail.

Please refer to Figures 12 and 13. Figure 12 is a schematic plan view of the left pallet conveyor in Figure 3 collecting an empty left replenishment pallet. Figure 13 is a diagram of the left pallet conveyor in Figure 3 placing a fully loaded left storage pallet in the left replenishment area.

The controller 500 instructs the replenishment claw 940 of the left pallet conveyor 900 to recycle the empty left replenishment pallet LT2 in the left replenishment area 120 to the second lifting platform 931 of the second lifting device 930, and then adjusts the lifting range of the second lifting platform 931 accordingly according to the number of left replenishment pallets LT2 on the second lifting platform 931. For example, when the number of left replenishment pallets LT2 on the second lifting platform 931 increases to one, the controller 500 instructs the second lifting platform 931 of the second lifting device 930 to descend from the initial position by the height of one left replenishment pallet LT2 to make room for the next empty left replenishment pallet LT2 to be stacked.

Next, the controller 500 instructs the replenishment clamp 940 to place one of the left storage trays LT4 on the first lifting platform 921 of the first lifting device 920 in the left replenishment area 120, and then adjusts the lifting range of the first lifting platform 921 accordingly according to the remaining number of the left storage trays LT4 on the first lifting platform 921. For example, the controller 500 instructs the replenishment clamp 940 to clamp the top one of the left storage trays LT4 on the first lifting platform 921, and instructs the replenishment clamp 940 to move to place the left storage tray LT4 in the left replenishment area 120. At this time, since the number of these left storage trays LT4 on the first lifting platform 921 has decreased by one, the controller 500 causes the first lifting platform 921 to rise from the initial position by the height of one left storage tray LT4, so that the replenishing clamping claw 940 can clamp the next left storage tray LT4 at the same height as the previous left storage tray LT4.

In this embodiment, by adjusting the lifting range of the first lifting platform 921 according to the remaining number of the left material storage trays LT4 on the first lifting platform 921, and adjusting the lifting range of the second lifting platform 931 according to the number of the left material replenishment trays LT2 on the second lifting platform 931, the replenishment clamping claw 940 can be lowered to a lower height without too much to clamp the left material storage tray LT4 on the first lifting platform 921 and place the empty left material replenishment tray LT2 on the second lifting platform 931, so that the structure of the replenishment clamping claw 940 can be simplified.

Then, when there are no left storage trays LT4 left on the first lifting platform 921, the controller 500 makes the first lifting platform 921 descend to the initial position and makes the conveying device 910 convey the other multiple stacked and fully loaded left storage trays LT4 to the first lifting platform 921 along the first direction D1.

In this embodiment, the configuration of the conveying device 910 allows personnel to place multiple stacked and fully loaded left storage trays LT4 on the conveying device 910 in advance, and replenish them immediately when there are no remaining left storage trays LT4 on the first lifting platform 921, thereby improving the overall operating efficiency.

In this embodiment, the process of recycling and replenishing the right replenishment tray RT2 of the right replenishment area 150 (right replenishment procedure) is similar to the process of recycling and replenishing the left replenishment tray LT2 of the left replenishment area 120 (left replenishment procedure) described above, so it will not be described in detail.

In this embodiment, the recycling and replenishment of the right replenishment tray RT2 of the right replenishment area 150 is completed by the right tray conveyor, and the recycling and replenishment of the left replenishment tray LT2 of the left replenishment area 120 is completed by the left tray conveyor, but it is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the recycling and replenishment of the right replenishment tray of the right replenishment area can be completed manually, and the recycling and replenishment of the left replenishment tray of the left replenishment area is completed manually. That is to say, the right tray conveyor, the left tray conveyor and the corresponding steps can be omitted.

In this embodiment, the left feeding process, the left replenishing process, the right feeding process and the right replenishing process can be regarded as a method for feeding electronic components, and the left feeding claw, the right feeding claw, the left barcode scanner, the right barcode scanner, the left tray conveyor, the right tray conveyor and the controller can be regarded as a system for feeding electronic components, but it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the electronic component feeding method may only include the left feeding process and the left replenishing process, or only include the right feeding process and the right replenishing process, and the electronic component feeding system may only include the left feeding claw, the left barcode scanner, the left tray conveyor and the controller, or only include the right feeding claw, the right barcode scanner, the right tray conveyor and the controller.

According to the electronic component feeding method, electronic component feeding system, electronic component mounting method and electronic component mounting system disclosed in the above embodiments, when the feeding clamping claws clamp multiple electronic components at one time, the distance between the multiple electronic components picked up by the feeding clamping claws can be increased, so that when the barcode scanner scans the barcodes of these electronic components, the barcodes of the scanned electronic components are not blocked by the adjacent electronic components and can be accurately scanned. In other words, the feeding clamping claws can not only allow multiple electronic components to be scanned at one time to improve the scanning efficiency, but also increase the distance between these electronic components so that the barcodes of the electronic components can be accurately scanned. In this way, a balance can be achieved between the scanning efficiency and scanning accuracy of the electronic components.

In addition, the design of synchronously carrying out the right feeding process during the left installation process or synchronously carrying out the left feeding process during the right installation process can avoid delaying the installation process due to the feeding process. In other words, since the left installation process and the right installation process will not be interrupted by the feeding process, the left installation process and the right installation process can be more closely connected and the installation efficiency of electronic components can be improved.

Although the present invention is disclosed as above with the aforementioned preferred embodiment, it is not used to limit the present invention. Anyone familiar with similar techniques can make some changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of patent protection of the present invention shall be subject to the scope of the patent application attached to this specification.

100: Workbench

110: Left feeding area

120: Left feeding area

130: Left discard area

140: Right feeding area

150: Right feeding area

160: Right discard area

200: Left feeding claw

300: Right feeding clamp

400: Install the clamping claw

600: Left barcode scanner

700: Right barcode scanner

LT1: Left feeding tray

LT2: Left material loading tray

LT3: Left waste tray

RT1: Right feeding tray

RT2: Right replenishment tray

RT3: Right discard tray

RE:Right electronic components

LE: Left electronic component

Claims (23)

A method for feeding electronic components includes: picking up a plurality of electronic components spaced at a first spacing on a replenishment tray by a feeding claw; increasing the electronic components picked up by the feeding claw from the first spacing to a second spacing; scanning barcodes on the electronic components spaced at the second spacing by a barcode scanner to obtain a plurality of barcode information; reducing the electronic components picked up by the feeding claw from the second spacing to a third spacing; and placing the electronic components in a feeding area. The electronic component feeding method as described in claim 1, wherein the step of placing the electronic components in the feeding area is performed when the barcode information all conforms to the preset information, and the electronic component feeding method further comprises: when at least one of the barcode information does not conform to the preset information, placing the electronic components picked up by the feeding gripper in a discard area. The electronic component feeding method as described in claim 1 further includes: when all the electronic components to be supplied on the replenishment tray are picked up, the empty replenishment tray is recovered through a tray conveyor, and a fully loaded storage tray is placed in a replenishment area to serve as another replenishment tray. An electronic component feeding system includes: a feeding claw for picking up multiple electronic components on a replenishment tray; a barcode scanner for scanning barcodes on the electronic components; and a controller, which is communicatively connected to the feeding claw and the barcode scanner, and the controller is used to make the feeding claw pick up the electronic components on the replenishment tray, and increase the electronic components picked up by the feeding claw from a first spacing to a second spacing, so that the barcode scanner can scan the barcodes on the electronic components to obtain multiple barcode information, and the controller is used to make the feeding claw reduce the picked up electronic components from the second spacing to a third spacing, and place the electronic components in a feeding area. The electronic component feeding system as described in claim 4, wherein the controller is used to place the electronic components in the feeding area when the barcode information all conforms to the preset information, and the controller is used to make the feeding gripper place the picked-up electronic components in a discard area when at least one of the barcode information does not conform to the preset information. The electronic component feeding system as described in claim 4 further includes a tray conveyor, which is communicatively connected to the controller. The controller is used to make the tray conveyor recycle the empty replenishment tray when all the electronic components to be supplied in the replenishment tray are picked up, and place one of the multiple fully loaded storage trays in a replenishment area to serve as another replenishment tray. An electronic component feeding system as described in claim 6, wherein the barcode scanner is located between the replenishment area and the feeding area. The electronic component feeding system as described in claim 6, wherein the tray transporting machine comprises a conveying device, a first lifting device and a replenishing clamping claw, the conveying device, the first lifting device and the replenishing clamping claw are communicatively connected to the controller, and the controller is used to make the conveying device transport the stacked and fully loaded storage trays along a first direction to a first lifting platform of the first lifting device. , the controller is used to make the replenishing claw place one of the storage trays in the replenishing area, and then adjust the lifting range of the first lifting platform according to the remaining number of the storage trays on the first lifting platform, and when there are no remaining storage trays on the first lifting platform, the conveying device will transport the other multiple stacked and fully loaded storage trays to the first lifting platform along the first direction. The electronic component feeding system as described in claim 8, wherein the tray transporting machine further comprises a second lifting device, the second lifting device is communicatively connected to the controller, and the controller is used to make the replenishment clamping claw recycle the empty replenishment tray from the replenishment area to a second lifting platform of the second lifting device, and then adjust the lifting range of the second lifting platform accordingly according to the number of the replenishment trays on the second lifting platform. A method for mounting electronic components comprises: performing at least one left mounting procedure, wherein the left mounting procedure is to mount a plurality of left electronic components in a left feeding area on a motherboard through a mounting clamp; when the at least one left mounting procedure is performed and the electronic components in a right feeding area are insufficient, performing a right feeding procedure, wherein the right feeding procedure is to supply a plurality of right electronic components in a right replenishment tray to the right feeding tray through a right feeding clamp; feeding area; performing at least one right installation procedure, the right installation procedure is to install the right electronic components in the right feeding area on the motherboard through the installation clamp; and When the at least one right installation procedure is performed and the electronic components in the left feeding area are insufficient, a left feeding procedure is performed, the left feeding procedure is to supply a plurality of left electronic components in a left replenishment tray to the left feeding area through a left feeding clamp. The electronic component mounting method as described in claim 10, wherein the step of supplying the left electronic components in the left replenishment tray to the left supply area through the left supply clamp includes: picking up the left electronic components spaced at a first interval from the left replenishment tray through the left supply clamp; increasing the left electronic components picked up by the left supply clamp from the first interval to a second interval; scanning the barcodes on the left electronic components spaced at the second interval through a left barcode scanner to obtain a plurality of barcode information; reducing the left electronic components picked up by the left supply clamp from the second interval to a third interval; and placing the left electronic components in the left supply area. The electronic component installation method as described in claim 11, wherein the step of placing the left electronic components in the left feeding area is performed when the barcode information all conforms to the preset information, and the step of supplying the left electronic components in the left replenishment tray to the left feeding area through the left feeding clamp further includes: when at least one of the barcode information does not conform to the preset information, the left electronic components picked up by the left feeding clamp are placed in a left discard area. The electronic component mounting method as described in claim 11, wherein the step of supplying the left electronic components in the left replenishment tray to the left supply area through the left supply gripper further includes: when all the left electronic components to be supplied in the left replenishment tray are picked up, the empty left replenishment tray is recovered through a left tray conveyor, and a fully loaded left storage tray is placed in a left replenishment area to serve as another left replenishment tray. An electronic component mounting system includes: a left feeding clamp; a right feeding clamp; a mounting clamp; and a controller, which is communicatively connected to the left feeding clamp, the right feeding clamp and the mounting clamp; wherein the controller is used to execute at least one left mounting procedure, and to mount a plurality of left electronic components in a left feeding area on a motherboard through the mounting clamp, and to perform a right feeding procedure, and to perform a right feeding procedure through the mounting clamp. A right feeding clamp is used to supply a plurality of right electronic components in a right replenishment tray to a right feeding area; wherein the controller is used to execute at least one right mounting procedure, and the right electronic components in the right feeding area are mounted on the motherboard through the mounting clamp, and a left feeding procedure is performed, and a plurality of left electronic components in a left replenishment tray are supplied to the left feeding area through a left feeding clamp. The electronic component installation system as described in claim 14, wherein the controller is used to perform the right feeding process when the electronic components in the right feeding area are insufficient during at least one left installation process, and the controller is used to perform the left feeding process when the electronic components in the left feeding area are insufficient during at least one right installation process. The electronic component mounting system as described in claim 14 further includes a left barcode scanner, the controller is communicatively connected to the left barcode scanner, the controller is used to make the left feeding claw pick up the left electronic components spaced at a first spacing from the left replenishment tray during the left feeding process, and increase the left electronic components picked up by the left feeding claw from the first spacing to a second spacing, the controller is used to make the left barcode scanner scan the barcodes on the left electronic components spaced at the second spacing to obtain multiple barcode information, and the controller is used to make the left feeding claw reduce the picked up left electronic components from the second spacing to a third spacing, and place the left electronic components in the left feeding area. The electronic component mounting system as described in claim 16, wherein the controller is used to place the left electronic components in the left feeding area when the barcode information matches the preset information, and the controller is used to make the left feeding gripper place the picked-up left electronic components in a left discard area when at least one of the barcode information does not match the preset information. The electronic component mounting system as described in claim 16 further includes a left tray conveyor, which is communicatively connected to the controller. The controller is used to make the left tray conveyor recycle the empty left replenishment tray when all the left electronic components to be supplied in the left replenishment tray are picked up, and place one of the multiple fully loaded left storage trays in a left replenishment area to serve as another left replenishment tray. An electronic component mounting system as described in claim 18, wherein the left barcode scanner is located between the left replenishment area and the left supply area. The electronic component mounting system as described in claim 18, wherein the left tray transporting machine comprises a conveying device, a first lifting device and a replenishing clamping claw, the conveying device, the first lifting device and the replenishing clamping claw are communicatively connected to the controller, the conveying device is used to transport the stacked and fully loaded left storage trays along a first direction to a first lifting platform of the first lifting device, and the controller The controller is used to make the replenishing claw place one of the left storage trays in the left replenishing area, and then adjust the lifting range of the first lifting platform according to the remaining number of the left storage trays on the first lifting platform, and when there are no more storage trays left on the first lifting platform, the conveying device will transport the other multiple stacked and fully loaded left storage trays to the first lifting platform along the first direction. The electronic component mounting system as described in claim 20, wherein the left tray transporting machine further comprises a second lifting device, the second lifting device is communicatively connected to the controller, and the controller is used to make the replenishment clamping claw recycle the empty left replenishment tray from the left replenishment area to a second lifting platform of the second lifting device, and then adjust the lifting range of the second lifting platform accordingly according to the number of the left replenishment trays on the second lifting platform. An electronic component mounting system as described in claim 14, wherein the left feed area and the right feed area are located on opposite sides of the mounting clamp. The electronic component mounting system as described in claim 14 further includes a conveyor for conveying the motherboard, and the mounting clamp, the left feed area and the right feed area are located on the same side of the conveyor.