WO1998026635A2

WO1998026635A2 - Apparatus for modifying a sequence list in an automatic inserter of electronic components and a method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO1998026635A2
Application number: PCT/KR1997/000234
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yong-Ki Yoon
Original assignee: Daewoo Electronics Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 1996-11-27
Filing date: 1997-11-26
Publication date: 1998-06-18
Also published as: WO1998026635A3; KR19980039113A

Abstract

An automatic inserting path producing apparatus having a function for producing a sequence list automatically modified by a design modification includes an inputting section (120) for receiving computer aided design data of a reference printed circuit board and data relating to components to be automatically inserted into the printed circuit board, a display (170) for displaying the data, a memory for storing the data, a sequence list modifying section for modifying the sequence list based on the old sequence list, automatic inserting path (130) modified by the change or design, the computer aided design data and component data, and a controller (110) for controlling production of a modified sequence list based on the result of the sequence list modifying section (150).

Description

APPARATUS FOR MODIFYING A SEQUENCE LIST IN AN AUTOMATIC INSERTER OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENTS AND A METHOD THEREFOR

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an automatic inserter for automatically inserting electronic circuit components into a printed circuit board, and more particularly to an apparatus for modifying a sequence list, wherein item numbers of components to be assembled to a changed portion of a printed circuit board are received to produce a changed component list of a component reel supplied to an automatic inserter, and a method for adapting the same.

BACKGROUND ART

An automatic inserter which automatically inserts electronic components into a printed circuit board is operated to have enhanced efficiency by producing an operation preparing time and operation conducting table for the automatic insertion. Also, an automatic inserting path is produced in advance to lead the automatic inserter to insert the electronic components along the corresponding path, thereby heightening the efficiency of the operation. In performing the automatic insertion, a plurality of equipment are employed in accordance with the number of electronic components, and the automatic inserting path, automatic inserting order and so forth are determined in view of the characteristics of respective equipment and electronic components. Since the components inserted into the printed circuit board are various in kind and disposed altogether, corresponding automatic inserting equipment is allocated for each component. For example, there are radial components and axial components, in which the representative radial components are condenser components, and representative axial components are resistor components and ceramic capacitor components. Accordingly, once the automatic inserting path is fixed, the apparatus for inserting the radial component performs the automatic inserting process along the fixed path in such a manner that the corresponding equipment sequentially inserts the components placed along its path into the printed circuit board one by one. A sequencer refers an apparatus for editing the plurality of electronic components in the assembling order to attach them to a tape. The sequencer is supplied with various kinds of components, i.e., resistors, diodes, condensers, jump lines, etc., attached to the plurality of component supply reels arranged in a row to edit by attaching them onto the tape in the order of being assembled to the printed circuit board. The tape is released while the supply reel is rotated to permit the components connected by the tape to be cut at regular lengths. A single component supply reel is wound with components of just one kind connected by means of the tape, and the plurality of supply reels are arranged in the order of assembling the components. Therefore, the components can be delivered in the assembling order via a conveyor. The delivered components are taped in accordance with the assembling order in a component editing section and wound about an editing component roller via rollers to be employed for the process of the automatic inserting assembling which will be executed later. In order to supply the components to the automatic inserting equipment, the order of the component supply reels of the sequencer should be listed for arranging them in the order of the components automatically inserted along the automatic inserting path. Additionally, when the model of the printed circuit board is modified, the number of component supply reels allocated to the components deleted by the modification and the number of component supply reels allocated to be replaced or added components must be produced as a list to allow a worker to easily carry out the operation in view of the list produced.

In the actual production line, the current design of the printed circuit board employed in the initial production is partially changed or the kind and position of components are changed because of the addition of a function and the change of replacing components on economic basis as it is repeatedly manufactured. In this case, it is necessary to renew automatic inserting path information with respect to the changed portion of the existing equipment. In order to operate the automatic inserter, workers in the job site determine the automatic inserting path in advance, and then produce a numerical control program and an operation instruction table in terms of the automatic inserting path. However, this operation requires a skilled worker with much knowledge and experience in respect to the equipment. However, even the worker already having worked at the job site takes a considerable long time when manually executing such an operation one by one, and further, the job is very demanding. In addition, since the path and operation instruction table determined in the above manner cannot confirm the improvement of the operational rate of the machine, the need for developing a software for automatically producing a logical operating strategy by using a computer has increased.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

The present invention is devised to meet the foregoing demand heretofore. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for producing a new sequence list by automatically modifying a changed portion of component supply reels provided to an automatic inserter when a printed circuit board is partially changed by a modification of design, and a method therefor.

To achieve the above object of the present invention, the present invention provides an apparatus for modifying a sequence list of an automatic inserter of electronic components comprising: an inputting section for receiving computer aided design data of a reference printed circuit board and data relating to components which are to be automatically inserted into the printed circuit board; a display for displaying the data received via the inputting section; a data storing section for storing the computer aided design data, the component data and automatic inserting path data; a sequence list modifying section for reading out an existing sequence list and the automatic inserting path modified in accordance with the design modification from the data storing section to modify the sequence list based on the computer aided design data of the printed circuit board and component data of the components which are to be automatically inserted into the printed circuit board; and a controlling section for controlling production of a modified sequence list based on the result of the sequence list modifying section.

To achieve the object of the present invention, the present invention provides a method for modifying a sequence list of an automatic inserter of electronic components comprising: an equipment selecting step S410 for selecting an equipment with a sequence list to be modified in accordance with design modification; a confirming step of a sequence list producing key S420 for confirming whether the sequence list production instruction key of the selected equipment is pressed or not, wherein the program proceeds to the equipment selecting step when the production instruction key is not received in the confirming step; an automatic inserting path reading step S430 performed by reading out a modified automatic inserting path in accordance with the design modification when the production instruction key is pressed in the confirming step S420; a sequence list producing step S440 for producing the sequence list in accordance with the readout automatic inserting path; a sequence list comparing step S450 for comparing the existing sequence list with the sequence list produced in the sequence list producing step S440; and a result processing step S460 for displaying the result of the comparison on a screen and storing to output the result. Preferably, the sequence list comparing step S450 comprises: a step S452 for reading out the existing sequence list from the data storing section; a list comparing step S454 for comparing the existing sequence list with the new sequence list produced in the sequence list producing step S440 per station; and a result storing step S456 for storing the result of comparison per station. More preferably, the result processing step S460 comprises a displaying step S462 for displaying the specifications, characteristics and station numbers of added, deleted and changed components on a monitor in accordance with the result of comparison per station; a step S464 for storing the displayed information in the data storing section; and a step S466 for deciding whether the stored information is output or not in accordance with the presence or absence of an output instruction key.

When the apparatus and method for modifying the sequence list according to the present invention is applied, the first advantage is that the optimum automatic inserting path for each equipment can be automatically produced in accordance with the design modification. Second, both computer aided design data and component data are considered to significantly lower an inferiority rate in the automatic inserting operation. Third, the automatic inserting path is easily modified by those who are not skilled workers but are capable of expecting efficiency of a prescribed level in operating the equipment. Fourth, the automatic insertion preparing time and producing time of operating instruction table can be shortened.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The above objects and other advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred embodiments thereof with reference to the attached drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing construction of an apparatus for modifying a sequence list of an automatic inserter of electronic components according to the present invention; FIG. 2 shows a main menu screen displayed on a display of the apparatus for modifying the sequence list of the automatic inserter of electronic components according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart showing a method for modifying the sequence list of the automatic inserter of the electronic components according to the present invention; and

FIGS. 4 and 5 are flow charts showing the detailed order of the method for modifying the sequence list of the automatic inserter of the electronic components according to the present invention.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is the block diagram showing the construction of the apparatus 100 for modifying the sequence list of the automatic inserter of electronic components according to the present invention. The apparatus 100 for modifying the sequence list includes an inputting section 120, a path optimizing section 130, a touch tester 140, a sequence list producing section 150, a data recording section 155, a data analyzing and processing section 160, a display 170, a section for producing a file of inserting result 180, a component distribution section 190, a section for producing operation instruction tables for automatic insertion and insertion by hand 195, and a controller 110. The controller 110 is a personal computer compatible with an IBM PC or pentium PC, which performs the function of controlling the production of the modified component list of the component reel by using computer aided design data and component data received via the inputting section 120, and stores the produced modified component list in the data recording section 155. Additionally, controller 110 controls production of various automatic inserting path data (i.e., an optimum path, a touch test data, a tester file, a result file, a component distribution data and an automatic insert/manual insert instruction table) by controlling respective sections of the automatic inserting path producing apparatus. The controller 110 also produces a changed database with the component data and computer aided design data provided by the worker through the inputting section 120 in accordance with the design modification, and displays the result on the display 170. The inputting section 120 may be a key matrix, a floppy disc driver or scanner, which supplies various data such as component data, computer aided design data, and worker's instruction to the controller 110. The path optimizing section 130 reads out the component data from the database to produce the optimum automatic inserting path with respect to the components allocated to the automatic inserter, and changes the automatic inserting path in accordance with the received changing data when the inputting section 120 generates the modification command. The touch tester 140 tests whether the lead of a component is touched to an adjacent pattern or not during the lead clinching operation of the components to produce a component list file generating clinch error, and marks information about lead generating clinch error on the pattern screen displayed on the display 170. The sequencer list producing section 150 replaces a changed component with a new component in the existing sequence list of the component reel with reference to the changed automatic inserting path to produce a modified sequence list. The data analyzing and processing section 160 produces the database from the computer aided design data and component data received from the inputting section 120. The display 170 displays information demanded from the worker under the control of the controller 110. The section for producing a file of inserting result 180 produces the data such as the order, coordinates and directions to be inserted into the components. The component distribution section 190 distributes the components for respective equipment by taking into consideration a balance between the axial equipment and a special axial equipment and between the radial equipment and a special radial equipment, and marks each equipment by different color. The section for producing operation instruction table of automatic insertion/manual insertion 195 produces the operation instruction table for the automatic inserting operation and the manual inserting operation. FIG. 2 shows a main menu screen 200 displayed on the display shown in FIG. 1. The main menu screen 200 is formed by a component layout 201 produced by the computer aided design data, a pattern 203 for connecting respective components onto the left bottom side of the component layout 201, and a menu 202 for allowing for a menu selection to the right side of the component layout 201 and the pattern 203. The menu 202 includes indication for a model register/modification, a model selection, a component distribution, a touch test, a present condition of component distribution, an equipment selection, an automatic insert path production, a path decision, a manual inserting line composition, a component search, a screen return, a print, and an end.

Hereinbelow, a method for modifying the sequence list of the automatic inserter of the electronic components according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 through 5.

The automatic inserting path according to the present invention is attained by software modules for respective functions. Also, by the systematic combination of the modules per function, the optimum path, touch test data, a tester file, a result file, a components distribution data, an automatic insert/manual insert instruction table, a sequence list modification function, and so forth are realized.

Initially, when the worker supplies electric power to the automatic inserting path producing apparatus, the automatic inserting path producing apparatus displays the main menu screen shown in FIG. 2 on the display 170. The display 170 displays the component layout 201 produced by the computer aided design data, the pattern 203 for connecting respective components, and the function select menu 202. The worker selects the equipment which requires the sequence list modification displayed in the select menu 202 in accordance with the design modification S410. Once the corresponding equipment is selected, the controller 110 checks whether a sequence list producing key is pressed or not. If the sequence list producing key is not pressed, the select menu 202 is to be selected again S420. Whereas, if the sequence list producing key is pressed, the modified automatic inserting path is read out in accordance with a separate module program in view of the design modification S430. The modified automatic inserting path is produced by considering the changes of the reel number, component size, and component kind. Using the modified automatic inserting path as a reference, the new sequence list is produced S440 from the component data and computer aided design data which indicates information of the printed circuit board. Upon completion of the new sequence list production, the previous sequence list before modification is compared with the newly-produced sequence list S450. In step S452 for reading out the sequence list, the sequence list before modification

(hereinafter, reffered to as the old sequence list) is primarily read out. Then, in step 454 for comparing per station, the old sequence list is compared with the new sequence list per station, that is whether respective stations involve an added, a deleted or a changed component one by one is checked. The changed portion in the previous sequence list produced by the computer aided design data and component data is marked by a different color or underlined to be distinct from other unchanged portions. The result of the checking is stored as a file S456. When the sequence list comparing step S450 is completed, the controller 110 marks and stores the changed component, station numbers, and so forth which are changed in accordance with the result of comparison. A step S460 for marking and storing the result comparison comprises a result displaying step S462 which displays the specifications, characteristics, station number and reel number of the component added, deleted or changed in accordance with the design modification on the display 170. In addition to the result displaying step S462, a storing the result as a file step S464, and an output confirming step S466 for permitting the worker to retain the detailed result of comparison as output data are executed.

By employing the foregoing apparatus and method for modifying the sequence list of the automatic inserter of electronic components according to the present invention, the order of component-reels of the sequencer are changed by producing the component modification list of the component reels used for the automatic inserting equipment in connection with the design modification, process and components. As a result, the present invention has various advantageous. First, the optimum automatic inserting path can be automatically produced per equipment resulting from the design modification. Second, both computer aided design data and component data are considered to significantly lower the inferiority rate in the automatic inserting operation. Third, the automatic inserting path is easily modified even by a worker who is less skilled than someone expected to have equipment operating efficiency over a prescribed level. Fourth, the automatic insertion preparing time and producing time of operation instruction table can be shortened. Fifth, fast and accurate preparation of the list improves productivity and shortens the modifying time which results in less cost.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be effected therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

CLAIMES :

1. An apparatus for modifying a sequence list of an automatic inserter of electronic components comprising: inputting means for receiving computer aided design data of a reference printed circuit board and data relating to components which are to be automatically inserted into said printed circuit board; displaying means for displaying the data received via said inputting means; data storing means for storing said computer aided design data, said component data and automatic inserting path data; sequence list modifying means for reading out an existing sequence list and the automatic inserting path modified in accordance with the design modification from said data storing means to modify said sequence list based on said computer aided design data of said printed circuit board and component data of said components which are to be automatically inserted into said printed circuit board; and main controlling means for controlling production of a modified sequence list based on the result of said sequence list modifying means.

2. A method for modifying a sequence list of an automatic inserter of electronic components comprising: an equipment selecting step for selecting an equipment with a sequence list to be modified in accordance with design modification; a confirming step of a sequence list producing key for confirming whether said sequence list production instruction key of the selected equipment is received or not, and proceeding to said equipment selecting step when said production instruction key is not pressed in said confirming step; an automatic inserting path reading step for reading out a modified automatic inserting path in accordance with said design modification when said production instruction key is pressed in said confirming step; a sequence list producing step for producing said sequence list in accordance with the readout automatic inserting path; a sequence list comparing step for comparing the existing sequence list with said sequence list produced in said sequence list producing step; and a result processing step for displaying the result of the comparison on a screen and storing to output said result.

3. The method for modifying a sequence list of an automatic inserter of electronic components as claimed in claim 2, wherein said sequence list comparing step comprises : a step for reading out said existing sequence list from data storing means; a list comparing step for comparing said existing sequence list with said new sequence list produced in said sequence list producing step per station; and a result storing step for storing said result of comparison per station.

4. The method for modifying a sequence list of an automatic inserter of electronic components as claimed in claim 2, wherein said result processing step comprises: a displaying step for displaying the specifications, characteristics, and station numbers of added, deleted and changed components on a monitor in accordance with said result of comparison per station; a step for storing the displayed information in said data storing means; and a step for deciding whether the stored information is output or not to determine the output in accordance with the presence or absence of an output command key.