JPH01236143A - Aligner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make substrates of every thickness ranging from a thin plate to a thick one alignable as well as to improve the extent of capacity by holding a subguide being closed according to length of the substrate, on an alignment guide. CONSTITUTION:When a substrate 1 has been advanced on a pass line, a substrate detecting sensor detects a fact that the substrate 1 passes through successively, and thereby a stopper 10 goes up at a time when the substrate detecting sensor at the most outlet side has detected the substrate 1. With this stopper's motion, the substrate 1 hits on this stopper 10, so that any curvature of the substrate 1 to its forward direction is corrected. After the elapse of the specified time since this stopper 10 has gone up, as much as numbers the substrate detecting sensor detects the substrate 1, namely, a subguide 8 for a portion of length of the substrate 1 goes down and is inserted into conveyor rolls 2 and closed, and then it is moved up to a position of width where an alignment guide 4 is set up. This substrate 1 is subjected to centering as being pressed by the subguide 8, and simultaneously with completion of alignment, the stopper 10 goes down, and the subguide 8 opens so that the alignment guide 4 is moved to a zero position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an alignment machine, and particularly to an alignment machine that aligns and conveys printed wiring boards (hereinafter referred to as substrates).

[Conventional technology]

Some substrate manufacturing processes feature equipment that must align, position, and transport the substrates for various treatments. If the substrates are placed in the polishing process, the positions of the substrates may shift during the polishing process and are carried out, so a device for aligning and positioning the substrates prior to carrying them into the subsequent process is essential.

A side sectional view of a conventional substrate alignment machine is shown in FIG. 4, and a plan view is shown in FIG. 5.

In the figure, a conveyor roll 2 is arranged in alignment with a pass line L of a substrate 1. Between the rolls of the conveyor roll 2, alignment guides 4 each having freely rotating alignment rolls 3 are disposed on the left and right sides of the substrate 1 in the conveyance direction. The alignment guides 4 can each move in and out around the center of the conveyor. Further, a substrate detection sensor 5 is installed on the entrance side of the conveyor to detect the substrate 1 entering the conveyor.

The conveyor roll 2 is rotationally driven by a conveyor drive motor 6. When the substrate 1 is conveyed on the pass line L, first, the substrate detection sensor 5 detects the entry of the substrate 1.

After a certain period of time after the detection of the substrates 1, the alignment guide drive motor 7 moves the alignment guide 4 to a preset position, and the substrates 1 are aligned. When the alignment is completed, the alignment guides 4 each expand outward and return to their original positions.

By the above operations, the substrate 1 is centered and aligned on a line.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, according to the conventional alignment machine described above, since the alignment roll 3 is disposed between the conveyor rolls 2, the interval between the conveyor rolls 2 becomes wide. Therefore,
There is a problem with thin plates, especially those with a thickness of 01 m or less, that the substrate falls between the conveyor rolls.

Further, when the substrate 1 is transported with a large bend as shown in FIG. 6, if the corner of the substrate 1 gets stuck between the alignment rolls 3, the substrate 1 cannot be moved and alignment becomes impossible.

Furthermore, since the next substrate cannot be inserted until the alignment roll 3 moves and returns to the original position, it is necessary to take a wide interval between substrates, which reduces processing capacity.

An object of the present invention is to provide an alignment machine that solves the above problems.

[Differences between the invention and the prior art]

In contrast to the above-mentioned conventional alignment machine, the present invention can reliably align even thin or greatly curved substrates, and the sub-guide opens and closes according to the length of the substrates, making it possible to reduce the spacing between the substrates. The difference is that it can also improve performance and ability.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, in the alignment machine of the present invention,
a conveyor in which rolls are arranged side by side; a stopper provided at an end in a direction in which the plate to be processed is moved by the conveyor so as to be movable up and down;
A pair of left and right alignment guides are provided above the conveyor that are perpendicular to the traveling direction of the plates to be processed, and the widths of the plates can be reduced or increased; Comprises a plurality of sub-guides, each consisting of a piece-shaped body with a semicircular notch cut out on the lower surface along the circumference, arranged in a row and held by the alignment guide so as to be movable up and down, and corresponding to the sub-guides. The apparatus also includes a plurality of sensors for detecting the presence or absence of a plate to be processed, which are arranged in parallel above or below the conveyor.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the present invention will be explained using FIGS. 1 and 2. In the figure, conveyor rolls 2 are arranged in parallel along a pass line L with narrow pitches such that the interval between each conveyor roll 2 is 1 to 2+m. There are sub-guides 8 on the left and right sides of the conveyance line with respect to the direction of movement of the substrate 1.
A pair of alignment guides 4 are provided, and the sub-guide 8 is a piece-shaped body whose lower surface is cut out in a semicircular shape to match the upper circumferential shape of the roll 2, and the sub-guide 8 is movable up and down by the guide 4 by a cylinder 8a. It is supported, the gap with the conveyor rolls 2 is 1 m or less, and it is inserted between the conveyor rolls 2. The alignment guide 4 is a motor, etc. (not shown).
The alignment guide is moved by the alignment guide driving ball screw 9 through the alignment guide so that the mutual width can be reduced or expanded perpendicularly to the direction of movement of the plate to be processed. At the end of the conveyor consisting of conveyor rolls 2, there is a stopper 1 that spans the entire effective width of the conveyor.
0 is provided, and is moved up and down over a range of several meters from below the pass line L to above the pass line L using an air cylinder. Further, between the conveyor rolls 2, the same number of substrate detection sensors 5 as the sub-guides 8 are arranged in parallel, and detect when the substrate 1 passes on the pass line L.

Next, the operation will be explained. The alignment guide 4 is waiting at a position slightly outside the effective width of the conveyor rolls 2 in an open state with all the sub guides 8 raised from between the conveyor rolls 2. This position is set as the origin. At this time, the stopper 10 is located below the pass line L. When the board 1 advances on the pass line L, the board detection sensor 5
detects that the substrate 1 is passing one after another, and when the substrate detection sensor 5 closest to the exit side detects the substrate 1, the stopper 10 is raised. The substrate 1 hits the stopper 10 and is straightened from being bent in the advancing direction (FIG. 3(a)).

After a certain period of time after the stopper 10 goes up, the number of sub-guides 8 corresponding to the number of substrates 1 detected by the substrate detection sensor 5, that is, the length of the substrates 1, is lowered and inserted between the conveyor rolls 2. Then, the alignment guide 4 is moved to the position of the set width. The substrate 1 is pushed and centered by the sub-guide 8, and the alignment is completed (Fig. 3(b)).
, (c)). At the same time as the alignment is completed, the stopper 10 is lowered, the sub-guide 8 is opened, and the alignment guide 4 is moved to the origin. Through the above steps, the substrate 1 is centered and aligned, and sent to the next device.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the pitch of the conveyor rolls is narrowed and the gap between the conveyor rolls is reduced, so even in the case of a thin plate, the substrate does not fall between the conveyor rolls. Since the substrates are aligned by the sub-guide after the bending in the traveling direction is corrected in advance, the substrates can be aligned reliably. Since the sub-curd closes according to the length of the substrate, the interval between substrates can be reduced, substrates of all thicknesses from thin to thick can be aligned, and processing capacity can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof, FIGS. 3(a), (b), and (c) are views showing the alignment process of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a side sectional view of a conventional alignment machine, FIG. 5 is a plan view of the conventional alignment machine, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating problems with the conventional alignment machine. 1... Board 2... Conveyor roll 3
...Alignment roll 4...Alignment guide 5...
Board detection sensor 6... Conveyor drive motor 7...
・Alignment guide drive motor 8...Sub guide 9・
...Alignment guide drive ball screw 10...Stopper...Pass line (a) Fig. 3 (b) (C) Pressure Fig. 5 Fig. 6

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A conveyor in which rolls are arranged side by side, a stopper that is movable up and down at the end of the conveyor in the direction of movement of the plate to be processed, and a stopper provided above the conveyor that is perpendicular to the direction of movement of the plate to be processed and mutually connected. It consists of a pair of left and right alignment guides whose width can be reduced or expanded, and a piece-like body whose lower surface is cut out in a semicircular shape along the upper circumference of the roll corresponding to each of the pair of alignment guides. , a plurality of sub guides arranged in a row and each held by the alignment guide so as to be movable up and down;
An alignment machine characterized by comprising a plurality of sensors for detecting the presence or absence of a plate to be processed, which are arranged in parallel above or below the conveyor in correspondence with the sub-guide.