JPH01220500A - Transfer head for positioning thin component - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To perform the positioning and the conveying of a thin component effectively, by holding the component which is sucked by a pad with pawl-end pushing surfaces, releasing the sucking of the pad, and determining the position of the thin component. CONSTITUTION:A sucking pad 12 sucks a component 1 in a tray 3. A head main body 10 is lifted by the operation of a robot, and the component 1 is lifted. The pad 12 is lifted at a specified stroke S by the operation of a pad lifting and lowering mechanism 13. The component 1 is moved to a positioning point. Thereafter, component positioning pawls 20-22 are closed by the energizing forces of springs 26 and 27 by the lifting operation of a pawl opening and closing mechanism 30. The component 1 is held with pawl pushing surfaces 20a-22a. The sucking of the pad 12 is released until the time the component 1 is conveyed to the upper position of a component transfer part. Then, the component 1 is correctly positioned by the pawl closing operation by the springs 26 and 27. The component 1 is sucked again with the pad 12. The pad is lowered by the lifting and lowering mechanism 13. The component is mounted on a printed board on a component mounting part.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Objective of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) This invention uses a suction pad to suction a thin component (for example, a surface-mounted electronic component mounted on a printed circuit board) in a component suction section. The present invention relates to a positioning and transport head for thin parts that are transported and supplied to a parts transfer section.

(Prior Art) A component transport and transfer device for mounting surface-mounted electronic components (thin components) on a printed circuit board includes a transport head having a component suction pad, and this transport head picks up components from a component tray of a component suction section. A device is provided for correctly positioning the component before it is lifted and mounted on the board of the component transfer section. This thin component positioning device uses a fourth positioning device that positions the thin component 1 by sandwiching it between a plurality of positioning claws 2a to 2d.
The method shown in the figure is adopted. When using this method, there are two methods: a method of providing a dedicated component positioning section 4 between the component tray 3 and the component transfer section 5 (component mounting section) as shown in FIG. 5, and a method of providing a dedicated component positioning section 4 as shown in FIG. - There is a method of creating a device structure that can also be used for positioning.

The method shown in FIG. 5 is divided into a tray 3, a component positioning section 4, and a component transfer section 5. First, a component 1 is lifted from the tray 3 with a suction pad 7, placed on the positioning section 4, and then The pad 7 releases the adsorption of the component 1. Subsequently, the component positioning claws 2a to 2d close to sandwich and position the component 1, and the suction pad 7 again sucks the component 1 on the positioning portion 4. Then, the component positioning claws 2a to 2
d is opened, and the suction pad 7 lifts up the component 1. After that, the suction pad 7 is placed on the printed circuit board 6 on the component transfer section 5.
mounts the component 1, the suction pad 7 releases the suction, moves away from the component 1, and returns to the original component suction position.

In the method shown in FIG. 6, the component positioning section is integrated with the suction pad 8, and a plurality of component positioning claws 9a are attached to the outer side of the suction pad 8 so as to be openable and closable relative to the head body (not shown). , 9b are provided. Then, the suction pad 8 suctions the component 1 in the tray 3 (at this time, the suction pad 8 protrudes downward to prevent the positioning claws 9a and 9b from interfering with the tray 3) and brings it to the component positioning position. When raised, the positioning claws 9a and 9b close and pinch the pad suction component 1 with their tip surfaces, and use their clamping force to slide and position the pad suction component 1.

Simultaneously with this component positioning operation, the head main body having the suction pad 8 and positioning claws 9a and 9b moves onto the component transfer section 5, where the positioning claws 9a and 9b open and the suction pad 8 descends, thereby moving the component. The suction conveyance component 1 is mounted on the printed circuit board 6 of the transfer section 5. Thereafter, the suction pad 8 releases the suction, moves away from the component 1, and returns to the original component suction position.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) In the former method (the case shown in FIG. 5), the component 1 lifted by the suction pad 7 is placed once on the positioning section 4, which takes time. There is.

In addition, in the latter method (in the case of FIG. 6), the suction pad 8
positioning claw 9a while sucking part 1.

Since the part 9b sandwiches and positions the part 1, if the suction pad 8 and the part 1 do not slip well, the positioning claws 9a, 9
Even if the part 1 is sandwiched between the parts 1 and 2, it may not be possible to position it, or the suction pad 8 may be deformed. In particular, when handling thin parts, the above-mentioned problem is likely to occur because they cannot be clamped with very strong force.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a positioning and conveying head for thin parts that can simultaneously position and transport thin parts, and that can position the parts well regardless of slippage between the parts and suction pads. .

[Structure of the invention]

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a head body that is moved from the position of the component suction unit to the position of the component transfer unit, and a head body that is provided on the head body so as to be movable up and down. A suction pad that suctions thin parts that have been suctioned by vacuum force, a mechanism that moves this suction pad up and down with a predetermined stroke, a claw end pushing surface that can press the side surface of the pad suction component, and a bottom surface of the component. a plurality of component positioning pawls each having a receivable pawl end receiving surface and pivotally supported by the head body so as to be openable and closable by being biased by a spring in the pawl closing direction; It is equipped with a pawl opening/closing mechanism that opens the pawl and closes the pawl in the component positioning direction using a spring force, and after the pad suction component is pinched by the pawl end pushing surfaces, the suction of the pad is released and the component is positioned. This is how it was done.

(Function) According to the positioning conveyance head having the above configuration, the positioning section 4 is not placed during conveyance as in the method shown in FIG.
Transport time is reduced. Furthermore, unlike the method shown in FIG. 6, the pad suction component at the component positioning position is sandwiched between the claw end pushing surfaces, and then the pad suction is released and positioning is performed, so that slippage between the component and the suction pad is prevented. There will be no problem.

Moreover, since the component positioning claw has a claw end receiving surface that can receive the bottom part of the component, it prevents the component from falling during positioning when the suction is released, and facilitates component transfer by re-adsorption of the pad. be able to.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a head body that is attached to a robot arm 11 and is moved from a position above the tray 3 of the component suction unit to a position above the component transfer unit 5.
A suction pad 12 serving as a suction nozzle that suctions the thin component 1 (for example, a surface-mounted electronic component) in the tray 3 using vacuum force is provided on the tray 3 so as to be movable up and down. Reference numeral 13 denotes a mechanism for vertically moving this suction pad 12 with a predetermined stroke S. This pad vertically moving mechanism 13 is guided by an air cylinder 14 for vertically moving the pad attached to the head main body 1O and a main body guide 15, and is guided by a main body guide 15. It is composed of a movable body 16 that moves downward by 20 seconds when actuated, and a pad bracket 18 that is attached to the movable body 16 so as to be moved back and forth by the operation of an air cylinder 17 for moving the pad back and forth.

Reference numerals 20, 21, and 22 denote three component positioning claws that can be opened and closed and are arranged on the outer side of the suction pad 12. The spring 26 is pivoted to the head main body IO so that it can be opened and closed as shown by lines and solid lines, and is stretched between the first positioning claw 20 and the second positioning claw 21 as shown in FIG. 1, and the third positioning claw 22 and the main body. Spring hook part 10
A is biased in the claw closing direction by a spring 27 stretched between the claws 27 and 27 as shown in FIG.

Further, the pads are provided at the tips of the first positioning claw 20 and the second positioning claw 21 that face each other left and right. The claw end pressers 20a and 21 are capable of pressing the side surface of the pad suction component 1 lifted to the positioning position in the position shown in FIG.
a, and claw end receiving surfaces 20b and 21b that can receive the receiving part 1L as shown in the right side state in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, a receiving surface 21c in the front-back direction of the component is provided on the front side of the distal end of the third positioning claw 22, which faces the claw end pushing surface 22a of the third positioning claw 22.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a pawl opening/closing mechanism that opens the first to third positioning pawls 20 to 22 toward the outside of the pad as shown in the imaginary lines and closes them to the component positioning position as shown in the solid lines by the biasing force of the springs 26 and 27. The pawl opening/closing mechanism 30 is operated by a pawl opening/closing air cylinder 31 installed in the head body IO as shown in FIG. A movable piece 34 that moves up and down by the operation of the cylinder 31, and a plurality of trochanters that are pivotally supported at positions corresponding to the claws of the movable piece 34 so as to move toward and away from the upper end inclined surfaces 20d to 22d of each of the positioning claws 20 to 22. It is composed of trochanters 35 to 37, and these trochanters 35 to 3
7 is separated from the claw inclined surfaces 20d to 22d when the claws are closed, and when the movable piece 34 is lowered by the operation of the cylinder 31, it engages with the claw inclined surfaces 20d to 22d, and its slope guiding action allows each positioning to be performed. The claws 20 to 22 are opened as shown by imaginary lines.

When picking up the component 1 from the tray 3 facing the same direction, the positioning claws 20 to 22 are opened, and the suction pad 12 is moved along the imaginary line in FIG. 1 to prevent the positioning claws 20 to 22 from interfering with the tray 3. 12'', the head is in a state where it protrudes downward by a predetermined stroke S, and in this state, the entire head is moved downward by a predetermined stroke by robot operation, and the suction pad 1
2 picks up the component 1 in the tray 3. Next, the entire head is raised by robot operation to lift up the component 1 in the tray 3, and the suction pad 12 is raised by a predetermined stroke S by the operation of the pad vertical movement mechanism 13 to move the suction component 1 to the positioning position. After that, the component positioning claws 20~
22 is a spring 21 caused by the upward movement of the pawl opening/closing mechanism 30;
i, close with the urging force of 27, and this claw end pushing surface 20a~
The pad adsorption component 1 is sandwiched between the parts 22a.

At this time, if the suction pad 12 and the component 1 do not slip well, a situation like the one on the left side of FIG. 3 will occur in which the component 1, which is suctioned by the pad in a displaced state, cannot be completely pinched. This state is the part 1
is attracted to a state where it is displaced toward the claw 20 side,
The positioning claw 20 on the left side has its claw end pushing surface 20a in contact with the side surface of the component with a margin corresponding to the displacement of the component left in the closing direction, but the positioning claw 21 on the right side is completely closed to the component positioning portion. The claw end pushing surface 21a is separated from the other side of the component, and the component 1 is not positioned. Therefore, in the present invention, the pad 12 is released from suction after the component 1 is sandwiched between the claw end pressing surfaces 20a to 22a.

This suction release is performed after the component 1 is sandwiched between the positioning claws 20 to 22 and before it is transported to the upper position of the component transfer section 5.The suction pad 12 releases the suction of the component 1, and in some cases Pressurized air is injected backwards to drop the part 1 onto the claw end receiving surfaces 20b and 21b as shown on the right side of FIG. The clearance between the suction pad 12 and the fallen component 1 that occurs at this time is set to a distance that does not hinder the suction pad 12 from sucking up the component 1 again.

When the suction pad 12 is released from suction as described above, the component 1 is correctly positioned at the proper position required for component transfer by the claw closing action of the springs 28 and 27.
Here, the suction pad 12 sucks up the component 1 again, and then the positioning claws 20 to 22 open by the lowering operation of the claw opening/closing mechanism 30, and the component suction pad [2] protrudes downward by the operation of the lowering mechanism 13 and the head The entire assembly is lowered by robot operation to mount the component 1 on the printed circuit board 6 of the component transfer section 5, and the suction pad 12 releases its suction and separates from the component 1. In addition, as mentioned above, you can turn on/off the adsorption,
Operations such as raising and lowering the suction pad 12 and opening and closing the positioning claws 20 to 22 are automatically performed by a control device (not shown).

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the thin component positioning and transport head of the present invention is as described above, the thin component can be positioned and transported at the same time, and the component can be positioned well regardless of slippage between the component and the suction pad. Ru. In addition, since the component positioning claw has a claw end receiving surface that can catch the bottom of the component, it prevents the component from falling during positioning when the suction is released, and facilitates component transfer by re-adsorption of the pad. be able to. Furthermore, unlike the method shown in FIG. 5, since the positioning section 4 is not placed during the transport, the transport time is shortened.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view with main parts cut away of a positioning and conveying head for thin parts according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a left side view of the same positioning and conveying head, and FIG. 3 is a positioning and conveying head for thin parts. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a conventional positioning device using the component sandwiching method, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are illustrations of a conventional component positioning method using the above method. 1... Thin component, 3... Tray of component suction unit, 5...
・・Component transfer part, 6・・Printed circuit board, 1O・・head body, 11・・robot arm, 12・・suction pad, 13・・・downward movement Fa horizontal to pad, 20–22
...Component positioning claw, 20a. 21a, 22a...Claw end pushing surface, 20b, 2
1b...Claw end receiving surface, 28.27... Spring for closing the claw, 30... Claw opening/closing mechanism. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue

Claims (1)

[Claims] a head body that is moved from a position of a component suction unit to a position of a component transfer unit; a suction pad that is movably provided on the head body and that sucks thin components using vacuum force;
The head body has a mechanism that moves the suction pad up and down with a predetermined stroke, a claw end pushing surface that can press the side surface of the pad suction component, and a claw end receiving surface that can receive the bottom surface of the component. A plurality of component positioning claws pivoted to open and close with spring bias in the claw closing direction, and a claw opening/closing mechanism that opens each component positioning claw to the outside of the pad and closes the claws in the component positioning direction with a spring force. 1. A positioning and conveying head for thin parts, comprising: a mechanism for positioning the part by releasing the adsorption of the pad after the pad suction part is sandwiched between claw end pushing surfaces.