JPH0482647A - Method and device for automatic processing of printed board accompanied by automatic feed/discharge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically perform the feed, processing and discharge of a printed board and to improve the work efficiency, by discriminating the form of a printed board at the protection position, setting the work program corresponding to the form at a work control part with its reading from a memory means, and performing the processing. CONSTITUTION:A transfer control means MC selects the specified rack according to the specified order from among racks 2a, 2b, 2c..., based on the indication of a microcomputer CPU, feeding a work unit A to the corresponding printed board stocker 4a. A work control means NC1 feeds the form of the work unit A located on the board stocker 4a to CPU with its discrimination by a form discriminating means 5a, the CPU reads the work program corresponding to a code number from a memory MR, inputting it to a work control means NC1. The work control means NC1 places the work unit A on a work table in succession, executing punching according to the work program.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention automatically supplies and discharges printed circuit boards to and from an automatic processing machine for one or more printed circuit boards, and also automatically processes various types of printed circuit boards. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for performing processing.

[Conventional technology]

Drilling, which is a typical automatic processing of printed circuit boards, usually involves processing a large number of printed circuit boards P, as shown in Figure 11.
Stack them up, put backing plates Q and R on top of each other, fix the four corners with adhesive tape T, and attach reference pins OPI and OP to the front and back.
2 is inserted to form a machining unit A, which is placed on the machining table of a drilling machine, and machining is performed according to a predetermined machining program.

At this time, the paper tape that commands the machining program for the printed circuit board is read by the paper tape league, and the read machining program is input to the NC device of the drilling machine to perform the drilling process. After the machining is completed, the operator manually removes the printed circuit board machining unit from the hole punching machine and replaces it with a new machining unit.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

Conventionally, even when a plurality of hole-drilling machines are installed together to drill holes in printed circuit boards, the printed circuit boards are manually fed and discharged as described above. In addition, there is a recent demand for high-mix, low-volume production of printed circuit boards, and when processing different types of printed circuit boards, it is necessary to perform cumbersome setup changes such as changing paper tape each time, which is inefficient. Ta. This was a problem not only in hole drilling but also in automatic processing of printed circuit boards in general.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a method for automatically supplying printed circuit boards, processing them, and discharging processed printed circuit boards to one or more automatic printed circuit board processing machines, thereby improving work efficiency. and equipment.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the method for automatically supplying, processing, and discharging printed circuit boards according to the present invention provides a method for automatically supplying, processing, and discharging printed circuit boards from a rack or other printed circuit board storage device to a front stage of an automatic processing machine by a conveyor. transport the printed circuit board to the designated storage location,
The type of printed circuit board transported at the storage position is identified, a processing program corresponding to the identified type of printed circuit board is read from the storage means and set in the processing control section of the automatic processing machine, and the processing program is transferred from the storage position to the processing program. The printed circuit board is sent to the automatic processing machine, and the processing is started by positioning it. At this time, the subsequent unprocessed printed circuit board is started to be transported to the storage position, and when the processing is completed by the automatic processing machine, the processing is started. The printed circuit board is automatically ejected to the ejection mechanism.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the automatic processing apparatus for printed circuit boards according to the present invention includes a rack for storing various kinds of printed circuit boards, a conveyor for transporting the printed circuit boards from the rack to the automatic processing machine, and a conveyor for transporting the printed circuit boards from the rack to the automatic processing machine. A stopping means for stopping the printed circuit board conveyed by the conveyor at a pre-stage position of the automatic processing machine, and a printed circuit board stocker for receiving and storing the printed circuit board from the stopping means and sending it to the automatic processing machine at a predetermined timing. and a type identification means, which is included in the printed circuit board stocker and identifies the type of printed circuit board, and a predetermined processing program corresponding to each type of printed circuit board in advance, and which corresponds to a type identification signal from the type identification means. a processing control means for setting and controlling a processing program in an automatic processing machine; a printed circuit board delivery detection means for detecting delivery of a printed circuit board from the printed circuit board stocker to the automatic processing machine; and a printed circuit board sending to the automatic processing machine. The apparatus is equipped with a conveyance control means for controlling automatic supply and conveyance of subsequent unprocessed printed circuit boards in accordance with the sending of unprocessed printed circuit boards.

[Function] In the above configuration, upon receiving a printed circuit board supply command, the transport control means first sends out the printed circuit board from the rack, and
The printed circuit board is supplied to the printed circuit board stocker via the conveyor and the stop means. And the processing control means is
After the type of the supplied printed circuit board is identified by the type identification means, the printed circuit board is supplied to an automatic processing machine. At this time, a delivery signal is sent from the delivery detection means to the transport control means, and the transport control means transports a new unprocessed printed circuit board from the rack. On the other hand, the processing control means automatically performs processing according to the signal from the product type identification means, and discharges the printed circuit board after processing to the discharge mechanism. Immediately thereafter, the processing control means operates the type identification means for the subsequent printed circuit board supplied to the printed circuit board stamping force.

〔Example〕

FIG. 2 shows, as an embodiment of the present invention, an automatic processing device for carrying out an automatic method for supplying, processing, and discharging printed circuit boards to a plurality of printed circuit board drilling machines (hereinafter referred to as drilling machines). In this figure, a plurality of drilling machines 1a, l
b, lc... (hereinafter collectively referred to as 1) is, for example, a single-axis drilling machine, and these drilling mechanisms and a plurality of racks 2a, which house the processing units A of various types of printed circuit boards installed at appropriate locations, 2b... (hereinafter collectively referred to as simply 2), a conveyor is installed between them. Between the transport conveyor 3 and each drilling machine 1, there are printed circuit board stockers 4a and 4b in which the processing unit A is placed on standby before processing.

4c... (hereinafter collectively referred to as simply 4) are respectively deployed. Each printed circuit board stocker 4 includes type identification means 5a, 5b, 5c... (hereinafter collectively referred to as simply 5) for identifying the type of the processing unit A supplied from the transport conveyor 3, and a printed circuit board. Stocker 4
Delivery detection means CPI, CP2 for detecting delivery of the printed circuit board from the hole puncher 1 to the drilling machine 1; CP3... (hereinafter collectively referred to as simply CP) are provided.

Each drilling machine 1 is provided with processing control means MCI, NC2, NC3, . In addition, MC is a processing unit A from the rack 2 to the printed circuit board stocker 4.
This is a conveyance control means for controlling the conveyance of.

As shown in FIG. 3, the drilling machine 1 places a processing table 11 on a bed 1o so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in the figure). A frame 12 is provided approximately at the center of the bed 10, and a spindle 14 for drilling holes is attached to a saddle 13 attached to the front surface of the frame 12 so as to be movable up and down. This drilling machine 1 has a well-known structure, and detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

The machining table 11 of the drilling machine I is equipped with a guide mechanism 20 for accurately receiving and discharging the machining unit A.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the guide mechanism 20 includes a transfer member 21 such as a plurality of belt conveyors provided in the longitudinal direction of the processing table 11, and a reference pin OP provided in the processing unit A.
I, a guide plate 22 for guiding the CP2,
It is connected to the side frames 23 and 24 by a connecting rod 25 to form a frame shape. Furthermore, at the rear end of the guide mechanism 20 (the right end in the figure),
A drive shaft 26 for driving the transfer member 21 is provided. The guide mechanism 20 is always housed in the groove 27 of the processing table 11 (during printed circuit board processing work), and is moved by an appropriate tilting means 28 as shown in FIG. 3 when supplying and discharging the processing unit A. The processing unit A is tilted to a receiving position indicated by a chain line 20a and to a discharging position indicated by a chain line 20b.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the rack 2 includes an elevating shelf 30 that accommodates a large number of processing units A, and an elevating mechanism 31 that sequentially raises the elevating shelf 30.

32 is a receiving shelf attached to the elevating shelf 30 at an angle.

The lifting mechanism 31 includes a rack gear 3 attached to the inner surface of the outer casing 33.
4 is engaged with a pinion gear 35, the pinion gear 35 is driven by a drive motor 36 attached to the elevating shelf 30, and the elevating shelf 31 is raised and lowered. 37 is a front cover plate with an upper opening 38 set at an appropriate height.

When the elevating shelf 30 is raised by the driving of the drive motor 36 and the processing unit A reaches the upper opening 38 of the front cover plate 37, the processing unit A is ejected from the rack 2 by its own weight and is perpendicular to the conveyor 3. It moves onto the provided receiving plate 40.

The conveyor 3 includes a plurality of healds, for example, three healds in this embodiment, which are arranged in parallel at appropriate intervals.

The receiving plate 40 is installed opposite the front cover plate 37 of each rack 2, and has grooves 41 on its upper surface into which each belt of the conveyor 3 is inserted. One end (rack 2 side) of the receiving plate 40 is connected to a tilting cylinder 43 so as to be movable up and down, and the other end is connected to a support shaft 42.
, and a stopper 44 is provided at an appropriate position to protrude upward.

The upper surface of the receiving plate 40 is normally located below the conveyor 3, and when the processing unit A is released from the rack 2, the tilting cylinder 43 is operated to lift the movable end of the receiving plate 40, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
and move it to an upward tilted position. At this position, the processing unit A released from rack 2 is received, and the processing unit A is
It is held on the receiving plate 40 by the collar 44. Receiving board 40
is further provided with a suitable sensor AP for detecting contact of the processing unit A with the stopper 44.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the processing table 11 of the drilling machine 1 is retreated to the rearmost position on the bed 10 and the guide mechanism 20 is tilted to the receiving position 20a, the printed circuit board stocker 4 is installed on the upper surface of the guide mechanism 20, as shown in FIG. It is preferable that the inclination angle is continuous.

As shown in FIG. 4, the printed circuit board stocker 4 has a reference pin OPI OP that guides the processing unit A in a predetermined posture.
2, a stopper 51 for stopping the processing unit A on the printed circuit board stocker 4, a type identification means 5 for identifying the type of the processing unit A, and detecting the sending of the processing unit A to the drilling machine 1. and a transmission detection means CP.

The stopper 51 is connected to the rotating cylinder 53 via a link mechanism 52, and when the processing unit A is supplied to the printed circuit board stocker 4, it protrudes upward at the front end of the printed circuit board stocker 4, and prints the supplied processing unit A. It is held on the substrate stocker 4. Also, the processing unit A is the drilling machine 1.
When feeding the stopper 51 to the rotating cylinder 5
3, the machining unit A is moved downward by its own weight onto the machining table 11 of the drilling machine 1. At this time, the movement of the processing unit A from the supply stocker 4 to the drilling machine 1 is detected by the delivery detection means CP (hereinafter simply referred to as sensor CP).

The type identification means 5 has a function of reading the contents of the type identification part B provided in the processing unit A in advance. FIG. 11 shows an example of a processing unit A having a product identification part B consisting of a large number of grooves Ba formed at different positions and in different numbers depending on the product type.

The product identification means 5 includes, for example, an optical sensor and a large number of parallel limit switches, and sends the unique signals of each processing unit A detected by these sensors to the microcomputer C.
By reading the corresponding machining program from the memory MR built in the microcomputer CPU and supplying it to the machining control means NC of the drilling machine 1, a desired machining is automatically selected and executed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyor 3 is provided with stopping means 60a, 60b, 60c at positions facing each of the printed circuit board stockers 4a, 4b, 4c, . . .
... (hereinafter collectively referred to as simply 60).

The stopping means 60 includes a stopper 61 that stops the processing unit A transported by the transport conveyor 3, and a feeding plate 62 that feeds the processing unit A stopped by the stopper 61 to the printed circuit board stocker 4. As shown in FIG. 5, the stopper 61 is equipped with an elevating cylinder 63, and is normally located below the conveyor 3. When the processing unit A is supplied to the printed circuit board stocker 4, the stopper 61 is moved to the upper surface of the conveyor 3 by the operation of the elevating cylinder 63. The movement of the processing unit A that is being conveyed in a protruding manner is stopped.

The feeding plate 62 has a structure similar to that of the receiving plate 40 described above, and has a groove 6 on the top surface into which the conveyor 3 is fitted, as shown in FIG.
3, one end, that is, the printed circuit board stocker 4 side, is pivotally supported by a support shaft 64, and the other end is connected to a tilting cylinder 65. The feeding plate 62 is normally located below the conveyor 3, and when feeding the processing unit A to the printed circuit board stocker 4, the feeding plate 62 is tilted to the inclined position shown in FIG. 3 by the tilting cylinder 65. At this time, the processing unit A moves to the printed circuit board stocker 4 due to its own weight. The stopping means 60 further includes a sensor BP that detects contact of the processing unit A with the stopper 61.

In FIG. 3, 70 is a discharge rail, 71 is a discharge conveyor, and 72 is a discharge plate. The ejection rail 70 is located below the printed circuit board stocker 4, and is inclined so as to be connected to the ejection position 20b when the guide mechanism 20 on the processing table 11 is tilted to the ejection position 20b shown in FIG. The carry-out conveyor 71 is composed of, for example, three belts. The discharge plate 72 has a structure similar to that of the feed plate 62, and has a groove 73 formed on its upper surface into which the discharge conveyor 71 is inserted.One end, that is, the discharge rail side, is connected to a tilting cylinder 74, and the other end is connected to a support shaft. 75
It is pivoted by. The discharge plate 72 is normally connected to the discharge conveyor 7.
1, and when carrying out the machining unit A, the tilting cylinder 74 is actuated to move to the inclined position shown in FIG. The processing unit A is placed on the carry-out conveyor 71.

Note that the above-mentioned sensor CP also sends a signal to the conveyance control means when the processing unit A is discharged onto the discharge rail 70, thereby causing the tilting cylinder 74 to operate.

Next, the operation of the above-mentioned automatic processing device and the multiple drilling machines 1
The procedure for automatically supplying and automatically discharging the processing unit A of the printed circuit board will be explained with reference to FIG. 10. However, PCB in the figure indicates a printed circuit board, that is, a processing unit A.

Automatic supply, processing and processing of printed circuit boards according to embodiments of the present invention
The discharge method is as follows: process unit A from rack 2, receiving plate 40,
After being supplied to the printed circuit board stocker 4 via the transport conveyor 3 and the stop means 60 and subjected to hole drilling, the printed circuit board is delivered to the carry-out conveyor 71 via the discharge rail 70 and the discharge plate 72.
After the process H of transporting the printed circuit board to be carried out and the type identification of the processing unit A by the type identification means 5 on the printed circuit board stocker 4, the processing unit A is sent to the processing table 11 via the guide mechanism 20 for drilling. After the machining, the machining process is performed and the machining process is again discharged from the machining table 11 to the discharge rail 70 via the guide mechanism 20.

The conveyance process H is controlled by a conveyance control means MC. First, when a supply command for processing unit A is issued to the conveyance control means MC,
Based on instructions from the microcomputer CPU, the conveyance control means MC selects a predetermined rack (for example, 2a) from the racks 2a+2b+2c, . By tilting, the processing unit A is delivered from the rack 2a to the receiving plate 40. When the processing unit A comes into contact with the stopper 44 of the receiving plate 40, the sensor AP detects this and sends a signal to the conveyance control means MC, whereby the receiving plate 40 is returned to the horizontal position and the processing unit A is moved to the conveying conhair 3. placed on top. By operating the conveyor 3, the printed circuit board is conveyed in the direction of the punching machine.

Simultaneously at this time (or after a predetermined period of time has elapsed), the conveyance control means MC controls the stop means 60 (for example, la) corresponding to the desired drilling machine 1 (for example, LA) in response to an instruction from the microcomputer CPU or based on a signal from a sensor CP, which will be described later. For example, a stopper 61 (60a) is made to protrude from the upper surface of the conveyor 3. Processing unit A transported by transport conveyor 3
When the sensor B comes into contact with the stopper 61 of the stopping means 60, the sensor B
P detects this and sends a signal to the conveyance control means MC, whereby the corresponding feeding plate 62 is tilted and the processing unit A is fed to the corresponding printed circuit board stocker 7 4a. After feeding the processing unit A, the feeding plate is returned to the horizontal position.

Thereafter, the machining unit A is automatically machined by the drilling machine 1a in the machining process 1 to be described later, and the machining unit A is automatically machined by the drilling machine 1a in the machining process 1 to be described later.
is discharged. When the processing unit A is discharged onto the discharge rail 70, the sensor CP detects this and sends a signal to the conveyance control means MC, whereby the corresponding discharge plate 72 is tilted to receive the processing unit A, and then horizontally Returning to the posture, the processing unit A is placed on the carry-out conveyor 71 and carried out.

The machining process K (KL) is controlled by a machining control means NC. For example, if the machining unit A is not placed on the machining table lI of the drilling machine 1a, the corresponding machining control means N
The CI places the processing table 11 at the rearmost part of the bed 10, and tilts the guide mechanism 20 to hold it at the receiving position 20a.

Therefore, the processing control means NCI first activates the product type identification means 5a to carry out the transfer process H so that the printed circuit board stocker 4a
Identify the type of processing unit A supplied above.

If the processing unit A is not on the printed circuit board stocker 4a, it remains on standby. The type read by the type identification means 5a is sent to the microcomputer 02, and the microcomputer CPU reads the machining program corresponding to the code number from the memory MR and inputs it to the machining control means NCI.

Next, the processing control means NCI controls the printed circuit board stocker 4a.
The stopper 51 is lowered, the processing unit A is moved onto the guide mechanism 20 while maintaining the predetermined posture, the guide mechanism 20 is returned to the horizontal position, and the processing unit A is placed on the processing table 11.

Here, when the processing unit A is sent out from the printed circuit board stocker 4a, the sensor CP detects this and sends a signal (printed circuit board stocker empty signal) to the transport control means MC, which instructs the supply of the processing unit A. As a result, the conveyance process H
is started, and subsequent unprocessed processing units are released from the rack 2.

On the other hand, when the processing unit A is placed on the processing table 11,
The processing control means NCI moves the processing table 11 forward, and uses the spindle 14 to perform drilling according to the processing program. After finishing the machining, the machining control means NC
1 moves the processing table 11 backward again, and the guide mechanism 2
0 to the ejection position 20b and ejects the processing unit A onto the ejection rail 70. After that, the guide mechanism 20 is in the acceptance position! 20
It is tilted to a. Therefore, as mentioned above, the processing control means NC
1 is started in the machining process by I.

The above-mentioned machining process 1 is the same in other drilling machines 1b, lc... (2. and 3... in the figure), and the conveyance control means MC is operated based on instructions from the microcomputer CPU.
actuates the stop means 60 and supplies the machining unit A to each punching machine 1 without delay.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, printed circuit boards are supplied from a storage device such as a rack to a printed circuit board stocker installed in an automatic processing machine by a conveyor, and the type of printed circuit board is identified by a type identification means on the printed circuit board stocker. The printed circuit board is sent to an automatic processing machine for automatic processing, and at the same time as the printed circuit board is sent from the printed circuit board stocker to the automatic processing machine, the subsequent unprocessed printed circuit board is discharged from the rack and conveyed and supplied to the printed circuit board stocker, and At the same time as the processed printed circuit board is discharged from the automatic processing machine, the type of the subsequent unprocessed printed circuit board is identified and supplied to the automatic processing machine, so that the desired printed circuit board can be delivered to the automatic printed circuit board processing machine without delay. It becomes possible to supply, automatically perform processing according to the type, and promptly discharge.

Therefore, it is possible to efficiently automate not only high-volume production of a small number of products but also production of a large number of products in small quantities.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram that clearly shows the configuration of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an automatic processing device that implements a method for supplying, processing, and discharging printed circuit boards to a plurality of drilling machines according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a related explanatory diagram of the punching machine, printed circuit board stocker, and stopping means, Figure 4 is a plan view of the printed circuit board stoning force and stopping means, Figure 5 is a front view of the stopper of the stopping means, and Figure 6 is the drilling machine. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line ■-■ in FIG. 6, FIG. 8 is a related explanatory diagram of the rack and receiving plate, FIG. 9 is a plan view thereof, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the processing table. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the automatic supply, processing, and discharge procedure of printed circuit boards according to the invention, and is a perspective view of a unit of processing of printed circuit boards. 1...Drilling machine, 2...Rack, 3...Transfer conveyor, 4...Printed circuit board stocker, NC...
・Processing control means, 5: Product type identification means, CP: Delivery detection means, MC: Conveyance control means, MR: Memory, CPU: Microcomputer. Figure Figure Figure 22... Guide plate Figure 30... Lifting shelf 40... Receiving plate AP... Sensor Figure 11 A... Processing unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Automatic supply of printed circuit boards, in which automatically supplied printed circuit boards of multiple types are processed by an automatic processing machine according to their respective processing programs, and automatically discharged upon completion of processing.
In the processing/discharging method, the printed circuit board is transported from a printed circuit board storage device such as a rack to a predetermined storage position provided at the front stage of the automatic processing machine by a transport conveyor, and the type of printed circuit board transported at the storage position is checked. reading out a processing program corresponding to the identified type of printed circuit board from the storage means and setting it in the processing control section of the automatic processing machine; sending the printed circuit board from the storage position to the automatic processing machine and positioning it; Start processing, At this time, start transporting the subsequent unprocessed printed circuit board to the storage position, and automatically discharge the printed circuit board from the automatic processing machine to the discharge mechanism upon completion of processing by the automatic processing machine. Automatic feeding, processing, and ejection method for printed circuit boards. 2. When a plurality of automatic processing machines are provided and a printed circuit board is transported from the printed circuit board storage device to the storage position provided in the front stage of each automatic processing machine, the requirements of each automatic processing machine are met. Claim 1, wherein the printed circuit boards are sorted and conveyed to the desired storage position according to the storage position.
Method described. 3. Printed circuit board automatic processing equipment that is equipped with an automatic supply/discharge mechanism that transports printed circuit boards to an automatic processing machine, processes them automatically according to a predetermined processing program, and automatically discharges the printed circuit boards after processing, is capable of handling a wide variety of printed circuit boards. a rack for storing circuit boards; a transport conveyor for transporting printed circuit boards from the rack to the automatic processing machine; a stopping means for stopping the printed circuit board transported by the transport conveyor at a pre-stage position of the automatic processing machine; and the stop. a printed circuit board stocker that receives and stores printed circuit boards from the means and sends them to the automatic processing machine at a predetermined timing; a type identification means that is included in the printed circuit board stocker and identifies the type of printed circuit boards; processing control means that has the predetermined processing program corresponding to each product type and sets and controls the processing program in the automatic processing machine that corresponds to the product identification signal from the product identification means; Printed circuit board delivery detection means for detecting delivery of the printed circuit board to the automatic processing machine; and conveyance control that controls the automatic supply and transport of subsequent unprocessed printed circuit boards in response to the delivery of the printed circuit board to the automatic processing machine. 1. An automatic printed circuit board processing device equipped with an automatic supply/discharge mechanism, characterized by comprising: means.