Electronic component mounting device and method

Abstract

To provide an electronic component mounting device for automatically mounting electronic components on a circuit board in the same manner as manually mounting electronic components on the circuit board.SOLUTION: An electronic component mounting device includes: a parts pallet on which a plurality of electronic components have been manually placed in advance; a plurality of grippers for gripping the electronic component; and an industrial robot that replaces the gripper with one having clamping claws capable of clamping leads of the electronic component to be mounted on a wiring board, of the grippers, grips the electronic component placed on the parts pallet with the gripper, moves the electronic component to a position where the electronic component is to be mounted on the wiring board, and inserts the leads of the electronic component into board holes in the wiring board. Therein: the parts pallet has machined holes drilled at a same interval and same diameters as the board holes, so as to allow the leads to be clamped by the gripping claws while maintaining the same interval as the board holes when the gripper grips the electronic component.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an electronic component mounting apparatus for automatically transporting an electronic component to a predetermined position and mounting it on a wiring board. [Background technology]

[0002] A wiring board is a printed circuit board with conductive wiring on an insulating plate material, and functions as an electronic circuit when various electronic components are attached.Electronic components include resistors, capacitors, coils, diodes, transistors, integrated circuits, switches, sensors, etc.The leads of the electronic components are inserted into holes in the wiring board, and then soldered to connect them to the wiring to form a circuit board.

[0003] Mounting of electronic components is sometimes done manually, but it is also automated. As described in Patent Document 1, an invention of a component insertion machine is disclosed that improves productivity of insertion mounting by detecting the lead positions of the insertion component as needed when inserting and mounting the insertion component onto an electronic board.

[0004] If there is no variation in the position where the leads come out from each component, as is the case with integrated circuits such as ICs and LSIs, then once one lead is inserted into a hole in the board, all of the other leads will also fit into the holes in the board. However, with resistors and capacitors, the spacing between the leads is not uniform, so it is necessary to insert all of the leads in line with the position of the holes in the board.

[0005] The technology described in Patent Document 1 adjusts the spacing between leads by forming grooves and protrusions that can fit into the clamps of a component insertion machine to grip the leads of electronic components. This is not a problem if the same component is repeatedly mounted, but it is not suitable for mounting different components.

[0006] For this reason, some systems require changing the gripping jig depending on the electronic component. As described in Patent Document 2, an invention of a component mounting system that enables automatic changeover of suction nozzles has also been disclosed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6442029 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2023-144865 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0008] In the technology described in Patent Document 2, a component feeder is prepared for each electronic component, and the pickup nozzle is changed depending on the component used in the component mounter. This reduces work time when mass-producing simple products, but in small-scale production or prototype manufacturing, it actually increases the amount of work, so it is still often done manually.

[0009] Even with the technology described in Patent Document 1, if the leads of the electronic component are significantly bent and do not fit into the grooves of the clamp, they cannot be inserted into the holes in the board, resulting in a defect and the risk of having to stop work.With manual work, electronic components can be reliably attached to the wiring board, and even special components can be flexibly handled.

[0010] However, depending on the spacing and overlapping of electronic components, getting the order of installation wrong can cause interference, or installation itself can be difficult. It would be ideal if automation could be flexibly tailored to the wiring board.

[0011] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an electronic component mounting apparatus that can automatically mount electronic components onto a wiring board in the same manner as manually mounting electronic components onto a wiring board. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] In order to solve the above problems, the electronic component mounting device of the present invention comprises a parts pallet on which a plurality of electronic components have been manually placed in advance, a plurality of grippers for gripping the electronic components, and an industrial robot that replaces the gripper with one having jaws that can clamp the leads of the electronic components to be mounted on a wiring board, grips the electronic components placed on the parts pallet with the grippers, moves them to a position where they will be mounted on the wiring board, and inserts the leads of the electronic components into board holes in the wiring board, wherein the parts pallet has machined holes drilled at the same spacing and diameter as the board holes, and when the electronic components are gripped by the gripper, the leads are clamped by the jaws while maintaining the same spacing as the board holes.

[0013] In addition, in the electronic component mounting device, the gripper is characterized in that a V-shaped groove is formed in the gripping jaws to maintain the spacing between the leads when the leads are gripped by the gripping jaws.

[0014] In addition, in the electronic component mounting device, the machined holes in the parts pallet are characterized in that a rounded portion is formed so that the edges of the entrance widen to make it easier to insert the leads when the electronic components are manually inserted.

[0015] Furthermore, the electronic component mounting method of the present invention is an electronic component mounting method in which a gripper having jaws capable of clamping the leads of an electronic component to be mounted on a wiring board is replaced, the electronic component that has been manually placed in advance on a parts pallet is gripped with the gripper, and the electronic component is moved to a position where it will be mounted on the wiring board, and the leads of the electronic component are inserted into board holes in the wiring board, wherein the parts pallet has machined holes drilled at the same spacing and diameter as the board holes, and when the electronic component is gripped with the gripper, the leads are clamped with the jaws while maintaining the same spacing as the board holes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0016] According to the present invention, electronic components are easily set manually, and while maintaining the lead spacing of the electronic components in a corrected state, the electronic components are grasped and carried to a predetermined position and automatically inserted into the board holes, so that the electronic components can be reliably mounted on the wiring board. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0017] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing an electronic component mounting device according to the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a plan view showing an electronic component mounting device according to the present invention; [Figure 3] 1 is a side view showing gripper replacement of an electronic component mounting apparatus according to the present invention; [Figure 4] 1 is a side view showing gripper replacement of an electronic component mounting apparatus according to the present invention; [Figure 5] 1A to 1C are a side view, a front view, and a bottom view showing the gripping claws of an electronic component mounting device according to the present invention. [Figure 6] 1A to 1C are a side view, a front view, and a bottom view showing the gripping claws of an electronic component mounting device according to the present invention. [Figure 7] 1A to 1C are a side view, a front view, and a bottom view showing the gripping claws of an electronic component mounting device according to the present invention. [Figure 8] 1A to 1C are a side view, a front view, and a bottom view showing the gripping claws of an electronic component mounting device according to the present invention. [Figure 9] 2A and 2B are a side view and a bottom view showing a V-shaped groove of a gripping claw of an electronic component mounting device according to the present invention. [Figure 10] 1A and 1B are a plan view, a front view, and a partially enlarged view showing a parts pallet of an electronic component mounting device according to the present invention; [Figure 11] 1 is a plan view showing a state in which electronic components are set on a parts palette of an electronic component mounting apparatus according to the present invention; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0018] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that components having the same functions will be assigned the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof may be omitted. [Example]

[0019] First, the electronic component mounting apparatus of the present invention will be described. Fig. 1 is a front view of the electronic component mounting apparatus. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the electronic component mounting apparatus. Note that the electronic component is intended to be an electronic component such as a resistor that has two protruding leads (legs) and is attached to a wiring board by bending the leads or the like, but does not include electronic components such as integrated circuits that are manufactured with the legs (pins) already shaped.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1, electronic component mounting apparatus 100 is an apparatus for mounting electronic components 600 on wiring board 130, and includes a control means, a board supply means, a mounting means, an electronic component supply means, and the like.

[0021] The control means includes a control device 110, an operation panel 120, etc. An operator's instruction input from the operation panel 120 is transmitted to the control device 110, which controls the operation of the board supply means, electronic component supply means, mounting means, etc. Based on the instruction, the control device 110 controls the operation of the board supply means, electronic component supply means, mounting means, etc. Furthermore, the results of the operation status output from the control device 110 are displayed on the operation panel 120.

[0022] The board supply means includes a board stock table 200, a board feeder 210, rails 220, a board transport motor 230, and a board position 240. First, a plurality of wiring boards 130 are stacked on the board stock table 200. Next, the board feeder 210 sends the wiring boards 130 from the board stock table 200 onto the rails 220. Then, the board transport motor 230 transports the wiring board 130 along the rails 220, and moves the wiring board 130 to a predetermined board position 240. Note that a reference point may be indicated on the wiring board 130 so that the wiring board 130 is aligned with the board position 240.

[0023] The mounting means includes a SCARA robot 300, an autochanger 310, a gripper storage unit 320, and a gripper 400. The SCARA robot 300 is a horizontally articulated robot with an arm 300a extending horizontally, and can move the tip to a target position within a movable range by rotating joints at the base and middle. Other industrial robots, such as a vertically articulated collaborative robot or a combination of Cartesian coordinate linear motion units, may also be used.

[0024] A gripper 400 is detachably attached to the underside of the tip of arm 300a of SCARA robot 300 via autochanger 310. A plurality of grippers 400 are arranged in gripper storage section 320, and the tip of arm 300a can be moved there, and grippers 400 can be replaced by autochanger 310.

[0025] 2, the electronic component supply means arranges a plurality of parts pallets 500 (500a, 500b, 500c, 500d, 500e, 500f, 500g) within the movable range of the SCARA robot 300. Which electronic components 600 are arranged in which positions (ranges) on each parts pallet 500 is stored in advance in the control device 110.

[0026] 3 and 4 are side views showing gripper replacement in an electronic component mounting apparatus. For example, assume that control device 110 issues a command to replace gripper 400 already attached to arm 300a with another gripper 400a.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 3(a), first, the arm 300a of the SCARA robot 300 is moved to the gripper storage unit 320. As shown in Fig. 3(b), a vacant space in the gripper storage unit 320 where a gripper 400 is not stored is searched for, and the current gripper 400 is lowered and stored there. Note that a storage position may be determined for each gripper 400.

[0028] As shown in Figure 4(a), autochanger 310 detaches gripper 400, rises once, and moves the tip of arm 300a to the position where gripper 400a to be newly attached is located. As shown in Figure 4(b), autochanger 310 is lowered, gripper 400a is connected, and then autochanger 310 with gripper 400 attached is raised.

[0029] 5 to 8 are side views, front views and bottom views showing the gripping jaws of the electronic component mounting device, and Fig. 9 is a side view and bottom view showing the V-shaped grooves of the gripping jaws of the electronic component mounting device.

[0030] 5(a), gripper 400 is fitted with jaws 410 and 420 that protrude downward. Front jaw 410 and rear jaw 420 are opposed so that their lower ends can come into contact with each other. The main body of electronic component 600 is placed between front jaw 410 and rear jaw 420, and leads 610 of electronic component 600 are clamped between the lower ends.

[0031] While holding the electronic component 600 with the front jaws 410 and the rear jaws 420, the gripper 400 is moved to above the wiring board 130 where the arm 300a is positioned, and the leads 610 of the electronic component 600 are inserted in line with the board holes 130a of the wiring board 130, so it is necessary to align the spacing between the two board holes 130a with the spacing between the two leads 610.

[0032] A V-shaped groove 430 may be formed at the bottom end of each of the front jaw 410 and the rear jaw 420, and the clamped lead 610 may be placed therein. The V-shaped groove 430 may be formed to match the diameter (thickness) and pitch (spacing) of the lead 610. Note that it may be formed in either the front jaw 410 or the rear jaw 420.

[0033] 5(b), even if the type of electronic component 600 is different (for example, a resistor and a capacitor), if the spacing between the inserted leads 610 is the same and the electronic component 600 is of a size that can fit between the front jaws 410 and the rear jaws 420, it can be clamped by the same jaws 410, 420. Examples of electronic components 600 include film capacitors, varistors, tantalum capacitors, (painted insulated) metal film resistors, and rectifier diodes.

[0034] 6 to 8, since the thickness and spacing of the leads 610 to be inserted vary depending on the electronic component 600, grippers 400 with different gripping jaws 410, 420 are prepared separately. Note that the grippers 400 may be designed to be able to grip leads 610 of different thicknesses, or may have gripping jaws 410, 420 that correspond to a plurality of spacings.

[0035] Furthermore, if electronic component 600 is thick, the distance between front jaw 410 and rear jaw 420 may be widened, or the arrangement of electronic component 600 or leads 610 may be tilted or notches may be provided in parts of jaws 410, 420 so that electronic component 600 does not come into contact with them. However, it is preferable that jaws 410, 420 be small in size so that they do not interfere with electronic component 600 that is already attached when mounting on wiring board 130.

[0036] 9, front jaws 410 and rear jaws 420 are opened, electronic component 600 is placed between front jaws 410 and rear jaws 420, and front jaws 410 and rear jaws 420 are closed to sandwich lead 610 between V-shaped grooves 430 of jaws 410 and jaws 420. The angle and depth of V-shaped groove 430 can be adjusted to suit lead 610.

[0037] The leads 610 may protrude from the bottom or side of the electronic component 600, but to insert them into the board holes 130a of the wiring board 130, the leads 610 must be bent downward if they are on the side, or bent into a crank shape if they are on the bottom, to fit the spacing of the board holes 130a before being clamped by the jaws 410, 420. A parts pallet 500 is used to adjust the spacing of the leads 610. Note that even if the relative positions of the electronic component 600 and the leads 610 are misaligned, the leads 610 are clamped by the jaws 410, 420, so it is sufficient as long as the spacing of the leads 610 is correct. [Example]

[0038] Fig. 10 is a plan view, a front view, and a partially enlarged view showing a parts pallet of an electronic component mounting apparatus, and Fig. 11 is a plan view showing a state in which electronic components are set on the parts pallet of an electronic component mounting apparatus.

[0039] The electronic component mounting apparatus 100 includes a parts pallet 500 on which a plurality of electronic components 600 have been manually placed in advance, a plurality of grippers 400 for gripping the electronic components 600, and a SCARA robot 300 which replaces the gripper 400 with a gripper 400 having front jaws 410 and rear jaws 420 capable of clamping the leads 610 of the electronic components 600 to be mounted on a wiring board 130, grips the electronic components 600 placed on the parts pallet 500 with the gripper 400, moves them to a position where they will be mounted on the wiring board 130, and inserts the leads 610 of the electronic components 600 into board holes 130a in the wiring board 130.

[0040] As shown in Figures 10(a) and (b), the parts pallet 500 has machined holes 510 drilled at the same spacing and diameter as the board holes 130a, and when the electronic component 600 is gripped by the gripper 400, the leads 610 are clamped between the front jaws 410 and rear jaws 420 while maintaining the same spacing as the board holes 130a.

[0041] The gripper 400 has V-shaped grooves 430 formed in the front and rear jaws 410 and 420 to maintain the spacing of the leads 610 when the leads are clamped between the front and rear jaws 410 and 420. Therefore, if the electronic component 600 is inserted into the machined hole 510 and the spacing of the leads 610 is maintained, the leads 610 will fit into the V-shaped grooves 430 simply by clamping them between the jaws 410 and 420.

[0042] Even when leads 610 must be bent by hand when inserting them into wiring board 130, parts pallet 500 makes it possible to reliably ensure spacing between leads 610 by manually bending leads 610 beforehand and inserting them into machined holes 510. Even when leads 610 are elastic, leads 610 are held between jaws 410 and 420 while inserted into machined holes 510, so spacing between leads 610 is maintained.

[0043] 10(c), machined holes 510 in parts pallet 500 have rounded portions 510a formed so that the edges of the openings are wider to make it easier to insert leads 610 when manually inserting electronic components 600. By making the openings of machined holes 510 larger, it is possible to absorb any error in the spacing of leads 610 before insertion, and after insertion, the spacing of leads 610 is corrected to an appropriate value.

[0044] When electronic components 600 are densely packed, as in the case of wiring board 130, it may be difficult to insert electronic components 600 by hand, but with parts pallet 500, it is sufficient to open holes 510 so that electronic components 600 are lined up at a predetermined interval, so that electronic components can be inserted by hand without worrying about the mounting location or order.

[0045] Furthermore, by making the depth of the processed hole 510 such that the lead 610 is visible above the surface of the parts pallet 500, and by widening the entrance of the processed hole 510, it becomes easier to clamp the lead 610 with the gripping claws 410, 420.

[0046] As shown in FIG. 11, electronic components 600 are manually inserted into parts palette 500 in advance, and electronic component mounting apparatus 100 carries electronic components 600 to a predetermined position and automatically mounts them on wiring board 130 .

[0047] For example, the types of electronic components 600 to be set on each parts pallet 500 may be determined and then machining holes 510 may be drilled, or the range of the parts pallet 500 may be divided and the types of electronic components 600 to be set may be determined. A parts pallet 500 may be prepared for each type of wiring board 130, or multiple parts pallets 500 may be prepared and the parts pallets 500 required for each wiring board 130 may be combined.

[0048] Which electronic component 600 is set in which range of which parts pallet 500 is stored in the control device 110. The position of the electronic component 600 may be stored, or the range of the electronic component 600 may be stored and scanned.

[0049] In addition, which electronic component 600 is to be mounted at which position on wiring board 130 is also stored in control device 110. When the electronic component 600 to be mounted is determined, control device 110 picks up the electronic component 600 from the parts pallet 500 on which it is set, carries it to the mounting position, and mounts it on wiring board 130. A program that repeats this series of mounting of electronic components 600 on wiring board 130 can be written and executed.

[0050] This eliminates the need for automatic processing to be halted midway due to the leads 610 of the electronic component 600 being bent or otherwise unable to be inserted into the wiring board 130. It is also possible to provide a means for checking whether the type of electronic component 600 is correct, such as with a sensor.

[0051] According to the present invention, electronic components are easily set manually, and while maintaining the lead spacing of the electronic components in a corrected state, the electronic components are grasped and carried to a predetermined position and automatically inserted into the board holes, so that the electronic components can be reliably mounted on the wiring board.

[0052] Although the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, for example, an electronic component mounting method includes replacing a gripper with a gripper having jaws capable of clamping the leads of an electronic component to be mounted on a wiring board, gripping the electronic component that has been manually placed in advance on a parts pallet with the gripper, and moving the electronic component to a position where it will be mounted on the wiring board, and inserting the leads of the electronic component into board holes in the wiring board, wherein the parts pallet has machined holes formed at the same intervals and diameters as the board holes, and when the electronic component is gripped by the gripper, the leads are clamped by the jaws while maintaining the same interval as the board holes. [Explanation of symbols]

[0053] 100: Electronic component mounting equipment 110: Control device 120: Control panel 130: Wiring board 130a: PCB hole 200: PCB stock table 210: Substrate feeder 220: Rail 230: Substrate transport motor 240: Board position 300: SCARA robot 300a: Arm 310: Autochanger 320: Gripper storage section 400: Gripper 410: Front claw 420: Rear Claw 430: V-shaped groove 500: Parts pallet 510: Machining hole 510a: Rounding section 600: Electronic components 610: Lead

Claims

1. A parts palette on which multiple electronic components have been manually placed in advance; a plurality of grippers for gripping the electronic components; an industrial robot that transfers the leads of the electronic components to the gripper having jaws that can hold the leads of the electronic components to be mounted on the wiring board, then grips the electronic components arranged on the parts palette with the gripper, moves them to a position where they will be mounted on the wiring board, and inserts the leads of the electronic components into board holes in the wiring board, the parts pallet has holes drilled at the same intervals and with the same diameter as the holes in the board, and when the electronic component is gripped by the gripper, the leads are clamped by the gripper claws while maintaining the same intervals as the holes in the board; An electronic component mounting device characterized by:

2. The gripper has a V-shaped groove formed in the jaws for maintaining the spacing of the leads when the leads are gripped by the jaws.

2. The electronic component mounting device according to claim 1.

3. The processed holes in the parts pallet are formed with rounded portions so that the edges of the openings are widened to make it easier to insert the leads when manually inserting the electronic components.

2. The electronic component mounting device according to claim 1.

4. An electronic component mounting method comprising: attaching a lead of an electronic component to be mounted on a wiring board to a gripper having a jaw capable of clamping the lead; gripping the electronic component, which has been manually placed in advance on a parts palette, with the gripper; moving the electronic component to a position where it will be mounted on the wiring board; and inserting the lead of the electronic component into a board hole in the wiring board; The parts pallet has holes drilled at the same intervals and with the same diameter as the holes in the board, and when the electronic component is gripped by the gripper, the leads are clamped by the gripper claws while maintaining the same intervals as the holes in the board. An electronic component mounting method comprising:

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