Distributed negative pressure generation in shuttle assembly modules

Abstract

The invention relates to a shuttle assembly module for automatically assembling a component carrier with components. The shuttle assembly module includes (a) a frame configured to move on and along a guide rail; (b) a negative pressure generating device which is installed on the rack; and (c) an assembly head mounted on the frame and having at least one sleeve having a first end and a second end. The first end is pneumatically coupled to the negative pressure generating device and the second end is configured such that a suction gripper for temporarily holding the element can be mounted on the second end. The invention further relates to a shuttle assembly module assembly system having at least one such shuttle assembly module and to a method for assembling a component carrier using such a shuttle assembly module assembly system.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates generally to the technical field of assembly technology. That is, components are assembled to component carriers, in particular electronic components. The present application relates in particular to a shuttle assembly module which is displaceable along a guide rail and has an assembly head for assembling a component carrier. The present application also relates to an assembly system having a guide rail and at least one such shuttle assembly module. Furthermore, the present application also relates to a method for assembling a component carrier with components using an assembly system having at least one such shuttle assembly module. An assembly system having a guide rail and at least one such shuttle assembly module is also referred to in this document as a shuttle assembly module assembly system. BACKGROUND

[0002] Assembling a component carrier with electronic components is typically carried out by means of an automatic assembly machine. An automatic assembly machine has an assembly head which (i) picks up an electronic component in a component reception area at a pick-up position of a component supply device, (ii) is transferred into an assembly area of the automatic assembly machine, in which the component carrier to be assembled is located, and (iii) deposits the picked-up component at a predetermined assembly position on the component carrier. The movement of the assembly head is typically realized by means of a gantry system or a planar positioning system which has (a) a fixed guide rail mounted on a frame of the automatic assembly machine, (b) a laterally upright carrier arm mounted on the fixed guide rail and displaceable along the fixed guide rail, and (c) an assembly element mounted on the laterally upright carrier arm and displaceable along the laterally upright carrier arm. The assembly head is mounted on the assembly element.

[0003] In the prior art, it is also known from documents DE 100 60 205 A1 and DE 11 2013 003 227 B4, for example, an assembly system which has a plurality of so-called shuttle assembly modules instead of an assembly head which is displaced between a component reception area and an assembly area by means of a gantry system, the shuttle assembly modules each having an assembly head and being displaceable on and along a closed guide rail between the component reception area and the assembly area. When the shuttle assembly module is located in the component reception area, the assembly head can receive at least one component from a component supply system by means of a plurality of component supply devices if necessary. If the shuttle assembly module is located in the assembly area, the assembly head can deposit the at least one previously received component on a component carrier provided in the assembly area.

[0004] For receiving and holding elements, suction grippers are usually used. The suction grippers suck the relevant element on the (small) end face of the tip of the suction gripper by means of a negative pressure generated by a negative pressure generating device. Here, the negative pressure is transferred to the surface of the relevant element by means of a suction tube constructed in the suction gripper. Here, typically for a plurality of suction grippers a central negative pressure generating device is used to generate the negative pressure. In assembly heads mounted on a gantry system with a plurality of suction grippers, the transfer of the negative pressure is achieved by means of a complex vacuum line system. This vacuum line system comprises in addition to the negative pressure hoses a series of more or less air-tightly constructed pneumatic channels which can also be constructed through between and / or through the transition of two parts which can move relative to one another. Furthermore, such a vacuum line system can have switchable valves so that it is not always necessary to supply vacuum to all existing suction grippers.

[0005] However, in an assembly system with the above-mentioned shuttle assembly module, which is also referred to in the document as shuttle assembly module assembly system, the implementation of the vacuum line system is significantly more difficult. This can be due to, for example, flexible pneumatic coupling devices, such as negative pressure hoses, which can become entangled or intertwined with one another when the shuttle assembly module is moved.

[0006] The task of the present application is to simplify the generation of low pressure for a shuttle assembly module with (at least) one suction gripper. SUMMARY

[0007] The task is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the application are described in the dependent claims.

[0008] According to a first aspect of the application, a shuttle assembly module for automatically assembling elements for an element carrier is described. The described shuttle assembly module has: (a) a chassis which is configured to move on (predefined) guide rails and along (predefined) guide rails; (b) a negative pressure generating device which is (spatially fixed) mounted on the chassis; (c) an assembly head which is mounted on the chassis and comprises at least one sleeve with a first end and a second end, wherein the first end is pneumatically coupled to the negative pressure generating device and the second end is configured so that a suction gripper for temporarily holding an element can be mounted on the second end.

[0009] The shuttle assembly module is based on the insight that in an assembly system having a guide rail and a plurality of such shuttle assembly modules, each shuttle assembly module can have its own negative pressure generating device, by means of which a respective at least one component is transferred from a component supply system in a component receiving area to an assembly area and then placed on a component carrier located in the assembly area. In contrast to known assembly systems, in which a central negative pressure generating system generates negative pressure and the generated negative pressure is transferred to the suction gripper by suitable pneumatic connection components (e.g. hoses, channels, etc.), the shuttle assembly module described here implements a completely different, i.e. distributed, concept. Here, the negative pressure is generated in or by the movable shuttle assembly module itself and is supplied to the suction gripper mounted on the sleeve to hold the received component. The necessity of a pneumatic connection from the movable or mobile shuttle assembly module to the fixed or central negative pressure generating system is thus advantageously eliminated. The provision of negative pressure in the shuttle assembly module and especially in a plurality of shuttle assembly modules is thus significantly simplified. In particular in the distributed concept described here, the length of the pneumatic connection line between the negative pressure generating device and the suction gripper can be kept relatively short, so that for this reason a small negative pressure leakage or negative pressure leakage rate is already advantageously ensured. The suction gripper can also be referred to as a suction nozzle in a known manner.

[0010] In an assembly system having a plurality of shuttle assembly modules, the shuttle assembly modules are pneumatically supplied with negative pressure by a central negative pressure generating system via flexible pneumatic coupling devices, in particular hoses or hose sections, respectively, which can become entangled with one another or entwined or intertwined with one another when the shuttle assembly modules are moved and especially when the shuttle assembly modules are subjected to a plurality of circumferential movements of the (closed) guide rail. This is not possible in the distributed negative pressure generation concept described here, since the respective assembly system, also referred to as shuttle assembly module assembly system in this document, does not have such flexible pneumatic coupling devices. This also makes it easy to exchange or replace the shuttle assembly modules on the guide rail.

[0011] With a shuttle assembly module assembly system having a plurality of shuttle assembly modules as described herein, a particularly high degree of parallelization can be achieved. This means that simultaneously with different shuttle assembly modules (i) different components are extracted from the component supply system, (ii) are transferred from the component supply system to the assembly area, and (iii) can be placed on at least one component carrier in the assembly area. Furthermore, shuttle assembly modules that have no components after the assembly process can simultaneously move back from the assembly area or be moved back to the component supply system. Through the high degree of parallelization, a higher assembly efficiency compared to known automatic assembly machines can be achieved in an advantageous manner by the respective shuttle assembly module assembly system. The term "assembly efficiency" in the context of the present invention is to be understood as the maximum number of components that can be assembled within a certain unit of time.

[0012] In the present document, the term "shuttle assembly module" is to be understood as any module that has a complete assembly function. This means that with the assembly head of the shuttle assembly module (i) at least one component can be received from the component supply system, (ii) by the movement of the shuttle assembly module along a predetermined guide rail, it can be transferred to the assembly area, and (iii) in the assembly area it can be placed onto a component carrier provided therein and to be assembled. Here, the component supply system can also have a plurality of component supply devices, with which respectively one type of component can be supplied to the assembly process, if necessary. The assembly head can have a plurality of sleeves, on which respectively a suction gripper can be mounted, so that according to the "pick-and-place" principle (i) a plurality of components can first be received, (ii) the received components can then be collectively transferred to the assembly area, and (iii) the plurality of transferred components can be placed one after the other on the relevant component carrier.

[0013] In the present document, the term "carriage" is to be understood as any mechanical device that can be movably mounted on a correspondingly configured guide rail. To this end, the carriage can have a (movable) connection structure that engages with a fixed coupling structure of the guide rail or is attracted to it when the shuttle assembly module is moved. Thereby, it is ensured that the shuttle assembly module is reliably guided at or by the guide rail when it is moved. The carriage can have a slide, for example, and the guide rail can have a track or a plurality of track sections or track segments. The friction between the carriage and the guide rail can be reduced in a manner known per se, for example by air flowing out of the guide rail, which flows out of a plurality of small air discharge openings. The compressed air required for this can be generated by a central overpressure-generating device.

[0014] In the present document, the term "guide rail" can be understood as any spatial entity which is (complementarily to the rack or at least a part of the rack) so constructed that the rack can only move (linearly) along the longitudinal extension of the guide rail in operation. The guide rail can in particular be a closed guide rail which has straight sections and curved sections. Alternatively, the guide rail can also have at least one further guide rail in addition to the closed guide rail, wherein the closed guide rail and the further guide rail are connected by at least one suitable switching element by means of which the shuttle assembly module can be transferred between the two guide rails. The further guide rail can for example be used for temporarily moving away a shuttle assembly module which is not required for the current assembly task from the closed guide rail and "parking" it on the further guide rail. In general, the guide rail can have any system composed of closed and / or open partial guide rails, wherein an open guide rail is a guide rail having a free end.

[0015] In the present document, the term "negative pressure generating device" can be understood as any suction device which supplies the necessary negative pressure to the suction gripper mounted on the sleeve, which is necessary for temporarily holding the element. The negative pressure generating device can be mounted directly or indirectly, but preferably spatially fixed, on the rack. Alternatively, the negative pressure generating device can be switched off, for example by means of a suitable switchable valve, during the placement and during the displacement of the empty or element-free shuttle assembly module from the assembly area to the element supply system.

[0016] In the present document, the term "assembly head" can be understood as any handling device which is capable of (i) grasping at least one element in the area of the element supply system and (ii) placing the at least one element on the associated element carrier in the assembly area. In particular, the assembly head can have a drive which is capable of raising and lowering the sleeve along the vertical z-axis. Since the assembly head is mounted directly or indirectly on the displaceable rack, it can also be referred to as a (movable) assembly head.

[0017] In the present document, the term "sleeve" can be understood as any spatial entity which has a (channel-like) inner cavity inside it for transferring the negative pressure generated by the negative pressure generating device. The first end can be referred to as a first pneumatic interface by means of which the inner cavity can be directly or indirectly pneumatically coupled to the negative pressure generating device. The second end can be referred to as a second interface by means of which the inner cavity of the sleeve can be pneumatically coupled to the suction channel of the mounted suction gripper. In addition, the second interface can also be a mechanical interface for safely (detachably) mounting the suction gripper.

[0018] In this document, the term "component" is to be understood as all mountable components which can be mounted or assembled on a component carrier. The term "component" can include packaged (electronic) components and, in particular, unpackaged components or chips. These include single-, two- or multi-pole SMT components or other highly integrated planar, round or other shaped components, such as ball grid arrays, dies, flip chips or individual parts of semiconductor chips, such as semiconductor wafers, which are further processed into finished components, in particular after wafer structuring and cutting. However, in this document, the term "component" can also include non-electrically active parts, such as mountable electrical plugs or plug connectors, cooling bodies, shielding components, housing parts, etc.

[0019] In this document, the term "component carrier" is to be understood as any mountable medium, in particular a substrate or a circuit board. The mountable medium, in particular the circuit board, can be rigid or also flexible. It can also have at least one first rigid region and at least one second flexible region. The mountable medium can also be a temporary carrier, on which an unpackaged chip is also mounted for the manufacture of a component, for example by means of a so-called "embedded wafer level packaging" (eWLP) process. Such a temporary carrier can be an adhesive film which is tensioned in a known manner on a frame structure. The adhesive film can be a heat separable film (so-called heat release film), so that the adhered chip can be separated from the (previously) adhesive film in a simple manner using thermal energy.

[0020] According to one embodiment of the application, the negative pressure generating device has a first pump for generating at least approximately continuous (or substantially continuous) suction pressure in the sleeve.

[0021] Here, the first pump should be dimensioned in such a way that it generates a sufficiently strong negative pressure in order to hold the respective component on the suction gripper. It is required here that the first pump is so strong that the always present leakage losses are compensated by a sufficient volume flow. Such leakage losses occur, for example, on the pneumatic lines and in particular on the front or distal face of the suction gripper, in which the suction openings of the suction gripper are configured. In practice, the held component does not seal this suction opening perfectly.

[0022] According to a further embodiment of the application, the first pump has a membrane pump.

[0023] A membrane pump can generate a substantially continuous air volume flow in a simple manner, so that at least approximately continuous (or substantially continuous) suction pressure, which is required in order to hold the elements, can be reliably generated. In a membrane pump, a membrane is vibrated in a known manner, whereby the gas in a cavity, which is pneumatically coupled to the sleeve, is either sucked in or expelled, depending on the current direction of vibration. The volume flow generated by the membrane vibration is "uniformly oriented" changed by means of two valves, an inlet-side valve and an outlet-side valve, so that the suction pressure described is present at the inlet of the membrane pump. The deflection of the membrane associated with the membrane vibration can be generated, for example, by means of electromagnetic forces by means of a suitable actuator.

[0024] The use of a membrane pump described herein has the advantage that commercially available pumps can be used in order to realize the shuttle assembly module. Here, as a first pump, only one membrane pump can be used, or a plurality of membrane pumps can be used. The number of membrane pumps can be matched to the respective requirements. It is also possible that, depending on the current requirement for the strength of the suction pressure, a corresponding suitable number of the total number of membrane pumps is activated.

[0025] According to a further embodiment of the application, the membrane pump has (i) a membrane element and (ii) a piezoelectric actuator for deflecting the membrane element. The membrane pump described thereby can be realized in an advantageous manner as a so-called micro membrane pump. This micro membrane pump can be operated at a high frequency, so that the volume flow generated and thus the suction pressure generated has a particularly high continuity. Such a micro membrane pump has the advantage, inter alia, that it can be realized in a compact construction and with a very small self-weight, so that the micro membrane pump only takes up a small space on the shuttle assembly module and, due to its small weight, the dynamics of the shuttle assembly module are only slightly influenced in terms of the movement profile (high accelerations and strong braking).

[0026] According to a further embodiment of the application, the negative pressure generating device (further) has a second pump for generating (transient) pneumatic pulses in the sleeve, wherein the pneumatic pulses comprise both negative pressure pulses and overpressure pulses.

[0027] The pressure pulses can contribute to the receiving and removal of the elements. In particular, the transient negative pressure pulses can contribute to reliably and quickly transferring the relevant element from an element pick-up position of the element supply device to the suction gripper. The transient overpressure pulses described can support the necessary detachment of the relevant element from the suction gripper in a manner known per se when depositing the element on the element carrier and contribute to the reliable attachment of the element to the deposit of solder paste present on the element carrier.

[0028] The combination of the second pump with the first pump described above enables, on the one hand, (i) a high dynamic and a high air throughput in the range of the assembly process when receiving and outputting components, and, on the other hand, (ii) the provision of a continuous underpressure during the transfer of components from the component receiving area of the associated automatic assembly machine to the assembly area. As described above, by means of the (approximately) continuous air flow induced by the first pump, leaks can be compensated for, so that a high underpressure can be maintained.

[0029] It should be noted that, when components are being positioned, the associated overpressure pulses (briefly) can be so strong that the pneumatic output of the underpressure generating device is a brief overpressure. However, since an underpressure is required for the most part of the time during the assembly process, the expression underpressure generating device is used in this document, although the underpressure generating device can also (briefly) generate an overpressure.

[0030] According to a further embodiment of the application, the second pump has a pump chamber and a piston which is movably supported and drivable inside the pump chamber.

[0031] The design described here for the second pump is based on the principle of shuttle piston pumps, wherein the pump chamber, for example a hollow cylinder, is not pneumatically coupled with a "flow valve" which, in common shuttle piston pumps, serves to achieve a uniform delivery direction when the pump is operated with multiple piston strokes. That is to say, as described above, the second pump is constructed such that it can generate not only brief underpressures but also brief overpressures. Here, preferably, the underpressure is associated with a movement of the piston in a first direction and the overpressure is associated with a movement of the piston in a second direction, wherein the second direction is opposite to the first direction.

[0032] According to a further embodiment of the application, the second pump also has a further pump chamber and a further piston which is movably supported and drivable inside the further pump chamber. Thereby, the volume flow of the second pump can be increased when required in a simple and advantageous manner. Furthermore, the frequency of the pneumatic pulses generated can be increased if required.

[0033] It should be noted that, depending on the specific requirements, the piston and the further piston can move in phase or with a phase difference relative to one another. In the case of in-phase movement, the volume flow can be increased. In the case of a suitable phase difference between the piston and the further piston, the frequency of the pneumatic pulses generated can be increased. Furthermore, with a suitable phase difference, a strong underpressure can also be maintained over a longer period of time and, if necessary, an overpressure can also be maintained. Furthermore, the pneumatic pulsations of the second pump of the piston pump type are smoothed while retaining all the advantages regarding the high delivery volume and the high dynamics of the piston pump.

[0034] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the shuttle assembly module also includes a pneumatic line system, via which the first end of the cannula can be pneumatically coupled to the first pump and the second pump. This has the advantage that both the suction pressure of the first pump and the pneumatic pulses generated by the second pump can be applied to the cannula and, therefore, the suction gripper in a simple and efficient manner. Depending on the specific application, the suction pressure and the pneumatic pulses can be applied in a simple manner, either superimposed on one another or with a temporal offset.

[0035] According to another embodiment of the present invention, (a) the pneumatic line system includes three line sections and a node at which the three line sections converge. In this case, (a1) the first line section connects the first pump to the node, (a2) the second line section connects the second pump to the node, and (c) the third line section connects the cannula to the node. Furthermore, the pneumatic line system includes (b) two valves, wherein (b1) the first valve is arranged in the first line section and (b2) the second valve is arranged in the second line section.

[0036] The pneumatic line system described has (at least) three line sections, (at least) one node, and (at least) two valves. This has the advantage that, by suitably actuating the valves, the pressure conditions on the sleeve, and thus also on the suction gripper mounted thereon, can be set dynamically or temporally in a simple and effective manner. Thus, a suitable pressure can be set for each stage of the assembly process, namely (i) for receiving components, (ii) for retaining received components during transfer from a component receiving area of ​​an associated automatic assembly machine to an assembly area, (iii) for placing components on an associated component carrier, and (iv) for moving a shuttle assembly module without components from the assembly area to the component receiving area.

[0037] In one embodiment, the described valves can continuously control the corresponding volumetric flows (of air). This allows the contribution of each pump to the pressure ratio on the cannula to be continuously adjusted by appropriately controlling the valves. In other embodiments, at least one of the valves is a switchable shut-off valve, allowing the corresponding volumetric flows to be either enabled or interrupted digitally to a certain extent. A pneumatic line system with (only) switchable shut-off valves can be implemented particularly simply and therefore cost-effectively. This applies not only to the valves themselves but also to their required control. The inventors have discovered that for many applications, the (digital) switchability of the valves is entirely sufficient for a reliable assembly process with the aforementioned four stages.

[0038] According to another embodiment of the present invention, the shuttle assembly module further comprises a third valve, which is pneumatically arranged between the pump chamber of the second pump and the surrounding environment of the negative pressure generating device.

[0039] The third valve can advantageously implement an additional volume flow into the pump chamber of the second pump. Such an additional volume flow can be necessary, for example, when the piston is to be brought into a position in which the volume enclosed by the pump chamber and the piston is at a maximum or at least relatively large, in order to prepare the piston for the next stroke movement, when the second valve is closed. This position is sometimes also referred to as the top dead center of the piston.

[0040] The third valve can be an adjustable valve like the first and second valves, with which the volume flow through the third valve can be set continuously or switched off discontinuously.

[0041] According to a further embodiment of the application, the negative pressure generating device has a (passive) pressure vessel with an inlet-side connection and an outlet-side connection, wherein the outlet-side connection is directly or indirectly pneumatically couplable or coupled with the sleeve.

[0042] Depending on the specific application, the pressure vessel can be loaded with a negative pressure or with an overpressure. It is also conceivable that, during the processing of a specific assembly task, which can be used to produce a plurality of (identical) assembled products, a negative pressure loading is carried out in one phase and an overpressure loading is carried out in another phase. In the context of the present application, an assembled product is to be understood as an element carrier with elements arranged thereon. A pressure vessel loaded with a negative pressure can be used to hold an element on a suction gripper in accordance with a leakage loss. Furthermore, a negative pressure from the pressure vessel can be used to reliably and quickly transfer an element from an element supply system onto a suction gripper. A pressure vessel loaded with an overpressure can be used to reliably and quickly transfer an element held by a suction gripper from the suction gripper onto an element carrier to be assembled.

[0043] It is pointed out that the negative pressure generating device has, in addition to the pressure vessel described here, the first pump already described above and / or the second pump already described above. In this case, the pressure vessel described here can also support the operation of the respective pump in accordance with the sign of its pressure loading.

[0044] According to a further embodiment of the application, the inlet-side connection is configured in such a way that the pressure vessel can be pneumatically coupled with an external pressure generator system.

[0045] External pressure generator systems can be arranged along the guide rails of the respective shuttle assembly module assembly system. If a shuttle assembly module moves past an external pressure generator system in the course of the assembly system, the shuttle assembly module can briefly stop there and be loaded with low pressure or overpressure, as the case can be. Intuitively, external pressure generator systems can be referred to as "pressure tank positions" for "pressure filling". Pressure tank positions can also be arranged at a position where the shuttle assembly module has to stop anyway during the usual assembly run. This is the case, for example, when picking up components from a component supply system and when setting down components on a component carrier.

[0046] According to a further embodiment of the application, the inlet-side connection or a further inlet-side connection of the pressure vessel is pneumatically couplable or coupled with the second pump. This has the advantage that the second pump can be used in a favorable manner even when it is not needed as such. This is the case when only the (relatively small) suction pressure of the first pump is needed during the holding of a component (over a relatively long period of time). The second pump can load the pressure vessel with negative pressure or overpressure, as the case can be.

[0047] In the case of loading with negative pressure, the negative pressure stored in the pressure vessel can (i) cause the component to be transferred from its component-accepting position (alone) onto the suction gripper or (ii) support the second pump in causing such a transfer. In the case of loading with overpressure, the overpressure stored in the pressure vessel can (i) cause the component to be transferred from the tip of the suction gripper (alone) onto the component carrier or (ii) support the second pump in causing such a transfer from the suction gripper to the component carrier. In order to cause such a component transfer alone and in order to support such a component transfer, switchable valves can be used, which are responsible for pneumatically coupling or decoupling the pressure vessel from the sleeve at the correct point in time, respectively.

[0048] According to a further embodiment of the application, the shuttle assembly module further comprises a circulating shuttle pneumatic interface which is configured to be pneumatically coupled with a further circulating shuttle pneumatic interface of a further shuttle assembly module, such that negative pressure and / or overpressure can be transferred from one shuttle assembly module to said further shuttle assembly module. This intuitively means that not only the shuttle assembly module described here, but also at least one further shuttle assembly module is supplied with the negative pressure and / or overpressure required for the assembly process. Here, the negative pressure generation device of the shuttle assembly module described here can have at least one of the above-mentioned components depending on the specific embodiment: (i) a first pump, (ii) a second pump and (iii) a pressure container. In principle, each of these components can be responsible for or support the appropriate pressure supply of a further shuttle assembly module. If the further shuttle assembly module also has at least one of the above-mentioned components: (i) a first pump, (ii) a second pump and (iii) a pressure container, these components can support each other by the different shuttle assembly modules. In addition, a failure of such a component can be compensated if necessary.

[0049] The transfer of said negative pressure and / or overpressure can be realized by (i) coupling or connecting said one circulating shuttle pneumatic interface with (ii) said further circulating shuttle pneumatic interface into a circulating shuttle pneumatic connection. This can in principle take place at every arbitrary stage of the movement of the modules on the guide rail. However, the pressure transfer is preferably carried out at a point in time at which the two relevant shuttle assembly modules are in a stationary state. This can be the case, for example, if the participating shuttle assembly modules are located in a waiting position before taking up an element from the element supply system and / or when the participating shuttle assembly modules are located in a further waiting position before placing the element in the assembly area of the relevant shuttle assembly module assembly system. It is also possible to provide specific sections along the guide rail in which such a transfer of negative pressure and / or such a transfer of overpressure must take place. Suitable (automatic) handling devices which carry out the coupling between the two circulating shuttle pneumatic interfaces or at least support such a coupling can also be pre-held on such sections.

[0050] According to a further embodiment of the application, the shuttle assembly module further has an energy store which supplies the assembly head and / or the negative pressure generation device with electrical energy and which can be charged by means of a charging infrastructure arranged on the guide rail.

[0051] The energy store has the advantage that no cables are required for a reliable electrical energy supply of the shuttle assembly module, which extend from a central electrical energy supply, for example a central network component, to the individual shuttle assembly modules of a shuttle assembly module assembly system having a plurality of shuttle assembly modules. During operation of such a shuttle assembly module assembly system, such cables cannot therefore become entangled with one another or with one another.

[0052] By means of the distributed concept described here also with respect to the electrical energy supply, it is also possible to realize shuttle assembly module assembly systems having a spatially relatively complex guide rail having a plurality of guide rail sections which intersect or branch off as required. Even susceptible sliding electrical contacts which can be used instead of such cables are not necessary in order to ensure a reliable and in particular continuous electrical energy supply. The component assembly head and / or the negative pressure generation device are therefore always ready for use, in particular when the electrical energy store is sufficiently charged. The shuttle assembly module can therefore reliably and without errors complete or process the tasks assigned to it. These tasks include in particular (i) the taking up of components in a component take-up area from a component supply system, (ii) the holding of the taken-up components during the transfer of the components from the component take-up area into an assembly area, and (iii) the placement of the components onto the associated component carriers. The reliability in the taking up and placement can mean in particular that no components are lost.

[0053] It is pointed out that the reliability of the energy supply by means of the described electrical energy store is also significantly improved relative to known inductive and / or capacitive energy supply concepts. In practice, it is difficult to realize inductive and / or capacitive energy supply concepts which provide a reliable energy supply without interruption along the entire guide rail. This applies in particular to sections of the guide rail which have a curvature.

[0054] According to a further embodiment of the application, the energy store has a rechargeable battery (or accumulator) and / or a supercapacitor.

[0055] Electrical energy stores of this type are commercially available in large numbers and are relatively inexpensive. In addition, there are various structural forms of such energy stores, and with a storage capacity (in Wh, watt hours) which is suitable for each application. This results in the fact that the shuttle assembly module can be realized inexpensively and with an electrical size design which is suitable for each application case.

[0056] According to a further embodiment of the application, the shuttle assembly module further has a charging station charging interface, which is electrically coupled to the energy store and which can be coupled to an external charging station of a charging infrastructure for charging the energy store. To this end, the external charging station can have a shuttle assembly module charging interface, which is complementary to the charging station charging interface described, such that the charging station charging interface and the shuttle assembly module charging interface coupled to it in terms of energy form a charging connection.

[0057] If the shuttle assembly module is located in the area of action of the charging station along its movement on the track, the charging station charging interface described can then enable charging of the energy store. In terms of the application, it is preferred to arrange the charging station at a specific location on the track, thereby ensuring reliable coupling for charging. Here, charging can take place during temporary stops of the shuttle assembly module, for example when the shuttle assembly module must stop anyway during a normal assembly operation. This is the case, for example, when picking up components from a component supply system and when placing components on a component carrier. Such a stop can also take place directly before a component receiving area and / or before an assembly area of the associated shuttle assembly module assembly system. Here, charging of the energy store can also take place time neutrally if at least one preceding shuttle assembly module happens to be picking up at least one component or assembling or placing at least one component, i.e. if the associated shuttle assembly module must wait.

[0058] In some embodiments of the shuttle assembly module assembly system, charging of the energy store is also possible without the shuttle assembly module stopping. This can be the case if the charging station is constructed in such a way that charging of the energy store is possible not only in a specific location, but also along a certain section of the track. In this case, the energy transferred to the energy store during the corresponding "on the fly" charging process can optionally be increased by the fact that the speed of the shuttle assembly module is at least slightly reduced in the section in question.

[0059] According to a further embodiment of the application, the charging station charging interface is configured in such a way that charging of the energy store (i) takes place wirelessly inductively and / or capacitively and / or (ii) takes place via electrical contact with a wired connection.

[0060] The physical coupling principles described here between the charging station charging interface of the shuttle assembly module and the above-described shuttle assembly module charging interface of the charging station are known per se and can be implemented by the person skilled in the art in their entirety, individually and if necessary even in combination, so that a corresponding transfer of energy can take place reliably.

[0061] According to a further embodiment of the application, the shuttle assembly module also has a circulating shuttle charging interface, which is configured to be electrically coupled with a further circulating shuttle charging interface of a further shuttle assembly module (with a further energy store), such that electrical energy can be transferred from the shuttle assembly module to the further shuttle assembly module.

[0062] This intuitively means that the shuttle assembly module described here can supply electrical energy for at least one further shuttle assembly module. To this end, the further shuttle assembly module must also have a (further) energy store. Optionally but preferably, the further shuttle assembly module has, in addition to a (further) assembly head, a (further) negative pressure generating device of the aforementioned type, which generates the negative pressure and / or overpressure required for the assembly process.

[0063] The described transfer of electrical energy can be effected by (i) coupling or connecting the circulating shuttle charging interface with (ii) a further circulating shuttle charging interface into a circulating shuttle charging connection. This can in principle take place at every arbitrary stage of the movement of the modules on the guide rail. In certain embodiments, the transfer of electrical energy between the two participating shuttle assembly modules takes place during the usual movement of the shuttle assembly modules on the guide rail. This has the advantage that the energy transfer can be effected in a time-neutral manner in terms of the assembly efficiency of the relevant shuttle assembly module assembly system. In other embodiments, the described circulating shuttle energy transfer is carried out when the relevant shuttle assembly module is in a stationary state. In these cases, the energy transfer preferably takes place at a point or position in time at which both relevant shuttle assembly modules are stationary overall. This can be the case, for example, if the participating shuttle assembly modules are located in one waiting position before the elements on the element supply system and / or when the participating shuttle assembly modules are located in a further waiting position before the elements are placed into the assembly area of the relevant shuttle assembly module assembly system.

[0064] It is also possible to provide specific sections along the guide rail, in which such an energy transfer must take place. In particular in the case of an energy transfer via charging contacts by means of a wired connection, suitable (automatic) handling devices can also be maintained on such sections, which carry out or at least support the coupling between the respective charging contacts.

[0065] It is also possible to provide a further track on which the shuttle assembly modules which are not needed at exactly this moment are parked. The shuttle assembly modules located on the further track can then be charged without time pressure by means of a charging infrastructure arranged on the further track. The further track can be connected to the track by means of suitable switchable switching elements, so that the transfer of the shuttle assembly modules between the track and the further track is advantageously achieved without manual handling intervention.

[0066] According to a further embodiment of the application, the shuttle assembly module also has a drive unit for the chassis, which is configured to move the shuttle assembly module along the track.

[0067] The drive unit has the advantage that the shuttle assembly module can be moved along the track independently of other shuttle assembly modules, provided that the drive control is suitable. The shuttle assembly module assembly system, in which at least some of the shuttle assembly modules have their own drive unit, is thus also based on a distributed concept in terms of its movement along the track. Each shuttle assembly module is thus able to move along the track at a speed which is optimal in terms of the assembly efficiency of the entire shuttle assembly module assembly system, so that each shuttle assembly module always reaches the correct position, in particular the element receptacle region and the assembly region, as early as possible in order to complete its "work" there as quickly as possible.

[0068] According to a further embodiment of the application, the drive unit is a movable component of a linear motor and a fixed component of the linear motor extends along the track. This has the advantage that the drive unit does not have to be a complete motor and can thus be realized relatively compactly.

[0069] The linear motor is to be constructed such that it also ensures reliable movement of the shuttle assembly module when the shuttle assembly module is located in the region of a curve or a bend of the (closed) track. This can be achieved, for example, by a slightly curved winding of the electrical coil of the coil component of the linear motor and / or by a suitable non-parallel arrangement of the permanent magnets of the non-electrical component of the linear motor.

[0070] According to a further embodiment of the application, the movable component of the linear motor has a permanent magnet. This has the advantage that the shuttle assembly module does not consume energy for its movement along the track. Rather, the energy required for the movement of the shuttle assembly module can be provided in a manner known per se by a plurality of actuatable coils which interact with the permanent magnet in an electromagnetic manner.

[0071] According to a further embodiment of the application, the movable component of the linear motor comprises an electromagnet. This has the advantage that an undesired electromagnetic scattering field along the track can be reduced.

[0072] According to another aspect of the application, a shuttle assembly module assembly system for assembling components for component carriers is described. The shuttle assembly module assembly system has (a) a guide rail and (b) at least one shuttle assembly module of the type described above.

[0073] The shuttle assembly module assembly system is based on the insight that the negative pressure required for holding components on suction grippers and which is generated according to the application by a mobile distributed negative pressure generating unit can be transferred to the suction grippers without flexible pneumatic couplings, such as in particular hose connections. Thus, in a shuttle assembly module assembly system having at least two shuttle assembly modules in operation, when the shuttle assembly modules are moved, and in particular when the shuttle assembly modules are moved on a plurality of circumferences of a plurality of guide rails, it is not possible for such flexible pneumatic couplings to entangle or tangle with each other purely according to speculative logic.

[0074] According to another embodiment of the application, the guide rail is a closed and encircling guide rail which extends between a component receiving area and an assembly area of the shuttle assembly module assembly system.

[0075] With a closed and encircling guide rail it is possible in an advantageous manner to move all shuttle assembly modules in the same direction and thus to achieve a continuous assembly operation. Furthermore, undesired collisions of shuttle assembly modules can be avoided.

[0076] The guide rail can be composed of individual segments, wherein at least some of the segments are curved. Preferably, the guide rail has a polygonal shape comprising straight segments and curved segments.

[0077] As described above, in the component receiving area, components are gripped on pick-up positions of component supply devices. In the assembly area, as also described above, components are placed on provided component carriers on predetermined assembly positions.

[0078] According to another embodiment of the application, the shuttle assembly module assembly system further has (a) a further guide rail which is configured such that the gantry can also be moved along the further guide rail and (b) at least one switchable switching element by which the further guide rail is connected with the guide rail.

[0079] On the further guide rail, for example, shuttle assembly modules which are not required at the moment can be installed. Here, these non-required shuttle assembly modules can be moved or in a stationary state or parked.

[0080] The at least one switchable switching element can be actuated by the control device of the shuttle assembly system and brought into a switching movement, so that the shuttle assembly can be transferred automatically between the track and the further track. This "shuttle transfer" can also be used to change the order of the shuttle assemblies moving on and along the tracks.

[0081] On the further track, the shuttle assembly can be maintained, for example, in the scope of an inspection, removed from the shuttle assembly system, or exchanged for another shuttle assembly. Furthermore, in the shuttle assembly, the "pressure filling" described above can be carried out on the further track. Furthermore, in the embodiment of the shuttle assembly with the aforementioned electrical energy store, a charging of the energy store can be carried out. Since the relevant, shuttle assembly located on the further track does not participate in the assembly operation, the charging of the energy store can generally be carried out without time pressure. The charging carried out in this way with a comparatively small charging current has the advantage that the charging of the energy store is carried out particularly economically, especially when the energy store is a battery, and thus a long service life of the electrical energy store can be achieved. The shuttle assembly charged on the further track can consume its charged energy itself in a later assembly operation or optionally output a part thereof to at least one further shuttle assembly. For this purpose, the above-mentioned circulating shuttle charging interface can be used.

[0082] The further track can be a closed or an open track. In the context of the present application, "open" intuitively means that the further track forms a "dead slot", that is to say that the shuttle assembly has to move in a direction of movement into the further track in order to be transferred from one track to the further track and in a direction of movement out of the further track in order to be transferred from the further track to the one track, the direction of movement out being opposite to the direction of movement in.

[0083] The described shuttle assembly system can also have more than one further track, which are preferably all connected to each other directly or indirectly by switching elements. The totality of the tracks can form a track system, which can have various suitable topologies depending on the respective application and the respective predetermined boundary conditions.

[0084] According to another aspect of the application, a method for automatically assembling an element carrier with elements using a shuttle assembly module assembly system as described above is described. The method has: (a) picking up an element from an element supply system located in an element receiving area of the shuttle assembly module assembly system by means of an assembly head; (b) moving the shuttle assembly module along the guide from the element receiving area of the shuttle assembly module assembly system towards an assembly area; and (c) depositing the picked-up element onto an element carrier provided in the assembly area.

[0085] The method is based on the insight that with a shuttle assembly module of the aforementioned type, which is self-sufficient in terms of the generation of negative pressure required for element handling and which is additionally optionally equipped with an energy store, assembly runs can be performed with a high degree of parallelization. This means that simultaneously with different shuttle assembly modules (i) different elements are extracted from the element supply system, (ii) transferred from the element supply system to the assembly area, and (iii) can be deposited on at least one element carrier in the assembly area. Furthermore, shuttle assembly modules that have no elements after the assembly process can simultaneously (iv) move back from the assembly area or return to the element supply system. Through this high degree of parallelization, significantly higher assembly efficiency can be achieved compared to known automatic assembly machines.

[0086] It is noted that embodiments of the application are described with reference to different inventive subject matters. In particular, some embodiments of the application are described with device claims and other embodiments of the application are described with method claims. However, a person skilled in the art will immediately understand that any combination of features of the different inventive subject matters is possible unless otherwise explicitly stated.

[0087] Further advantages and features of the present application result from the following exemplary description of presently preferred embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0088] Figure 1 A shuttle assembly module according to a first embodiment of the application is shown, which has a negative pressure generating device and an inductively chargeable battery as an electrical energy store.

[0089] Figure 2 A shuttle assembly module according to a second embodiment of the application is shown, in which the negative pressure generating device is realized by means of a pressure container which can be loaded with negative pressure.

[0090] Figure 3 A negative pressure generating device is shown, which has a first pump for generating a continuous suction pressure and a second pump for generating a pneumatic pulse.

[0091] Figure 4 A shuttle assembly module assembly system with a plurality of shuttle assembly modules is shown, which are configured to move along a guide rail and along the guide rail in a circumferential direction and here in an element receiving area to grasp elements from an element supply system, the grasped elements are transferred into an assembly area and in the assembly area the transferred elements are placed on a provided element carrier.

[0092] Legend: 100 shuttle assembly module 102 rack 104 (rail-mounted) vertical load-bearing structure 106 drive unit / mover of linear motor 110 energy store 112 circulating shuttle charging interface 120 negative pressure generating device 120a pneumatic connection on the outlet side 121 pneumatic suction line 150 assembly head 152 sleeve 152a first end 152b second end 154 suction gripper 170 external charging infrastructure 190 guide rail 195 element 200 shuttle assembly module 220 pressure vessel 220a pneumatic connection on the outlet side 220b pneumatic connection on the inlet side 222 circulating shuttle pneumatic interface 224 pressure interface on the shuttle side 275 external pressure generator system 277 pressure interface on the pressure generator side 320 negative pressure generating device 330 first pump / diaphragm pump 330a suction connection 330b air outlet 3322 pump housing 334 pump chamber 336 diaphragm element 338 piezoelectric actuator 339 valve / pneumatic flow control valve 340 second pump 340a first pump connection 340b further pump connection 342 pump housing 344 pump chamber 346 piston 360 pneumatic line system 360a node 362 first line section 363 first valve 364 second line section 365 second valve 366 third line section 368 short line section 369 third valve 480 shuttle assembly module assembly system 480a element receiving area 480b assembly area 482 element supply system 483 element supply device 484 element camera 485 suction gripper exchange device 492 further guide rail 493 switchable switching element 497 element carrier DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0093] It should be noted that in the following detailed description, features or components of different embodiments that are identical or at least functionally identical to corresponding features or components of another embodiment have the same reference signs or have reference signs in the last two digits that are identical to the reference signs of the corresponding identical or at least functionally identical features or components. In order to avoid unnecessary repetitions, features or components that have already been explained by means of the preceding description of embodiments are not explained in detail later on.

[0094] It is furthermore pointed out that the embodiments described below are only a restricted selection of possible implementation variants of the present application. It is especially possible for the features of the individual embodiments to be combined with one another in a suitable manner, so that for the person skilled in the art, using the implementation variants explicitly shown here, a plurality of different embodiments can be considered as being obviously disclosed.

[0095] Figure 1A shuttle assembly module 100 according to an embodiment of the application is shown. The shuttle assembly module 100 has a carriage 102 which is spatially physically designed in such a way that it can move on and along a guide rail 190. For this purpose, complementary guide structures are respectively configured on the carriage 102 and on the guide rail 190, which are in mechanical engagement with one another and / or are attracted to one another by means of magnetic force in the operation of the shuttle assembly module 100, if necessary supported by the weight force of the shuttle assembly module 100. The mechanical engagement or the magnetic coupling is designed in such a way that the carriage 102 can move along the guide rail 190 and that it is not allowed to move the carriage 102 away from the guide rail 190 at least in the normal operation of the shuttle assembly module 100.

[0096] The carriage 102 can be a skid, for example. The guide rail 190 can be a track system, for example, which is formed by a plurality of straight and / or curved track sections.

[0097] On the carriage 102, a vertical carrier structure 104 extends upwards, on which the assembly head 150 or at least one sleeve 152 of the assembly head 150 is movably mounted along the vertical z direction. In addition, the assembly head 150 or at least one sleeve 152 of the assembly head 150 can be moved relative to the carriage 102 at least perpendicular to the guide rail 190 (in the x and / or y direction).

[0098] According to the embodiment shown here, the shuttle assembly module 100 has a drive unit 106. Under appropriate control, the drive unit 106 is responsible for moving the shuttle assembly module 100 along the guide rail 190 at a predetermined speed. In the embodiment shown, the drive unit 106 is a mover of a linear motor. The stator of the linear motor is located on and along the guide rail 190.

[0099] The shuttle assembly module 100 shown here furthermore has an electrical energy store 110. The energy store 110 is a rechargeable battery or accumulator. In other embodiments, the electrical energy store 110 has one or more so-called supercapacitors.

[0100] As can be seen from Figure 1 , the electrical energy store 110 can be charged wirelessly by an external charging infrastructure 170. For this purpose, the external charging infrastructure 170 has suitable and not shown external charging devices. In particular, an inductive coupling between (i) a not shown transmission coil of the external charging infrastructure 170 and (ii) a not shown reception coil which is assigned to the shuttle assembly module 100 and which is electrically connected to the energy store 110 is suitable for efficient charging of the electrical energy store 110.

[0101] When the shuttle assembly module 100 is located in the area of action of the external charging infrastructure 170, the energy store 110 can always be charged. In aspects of the application, preferably, the charging stations of the external charging infrastructure 170 are arranged at specific locations of the guideway 190, so that a reliable (inductive) coupling for charging is ensured. Of course, the external charging infrastructure can also have a plurality of charging stations which are arranged (distributed) along the guideway 190. As mentioned above, the charging of the energy store 110 can take place during a temporary stop of the shuttle assembly module 100, for example when the shuttle assembly module 100 has to stop anyway during a normal assembly operation. In this case, the charging of the energy store 100 can at least approximately be carried out in a time-neutral manner.

[0102] As also mentioned above, in some embodiments, the energy store 110 can also be charged without stopping the shuttle assembly module 100. In this case, the external charging stations of the external charging infrastructure 170 must be constructed in such a way that the charging of the energy store 100 is possible not only in a specific location but also along a certain section of the guideway 190. In the case of a preferred inductive coupling, the transmitter coil must extend along this section, wherein the transmitter coil can preferably have a plurality of individual coils.

[0103] Instead of or in addition to the wireless charging of the energy store 100 by means of the external charging infrastructure 170 described above, the energy store 100 can also be charged by another shuttle assembly module not shown here, which is also located on the guideway 190. For this purpose, the shuttle assembly module participating in the respective charging process has a circulating shuttle charging interface 112, which is electrically connected to the respective energy store 100. The circulating shuttle charging interface 112 of the shuttle assembly module 100 can establish an electrical charging connection with a complementary circulating shuttle charging interface (not shown) of another shuttle assembly module when the two participating shuttle assembly modules are close to each other or at a small distance from each other along the guideway 190 (co-moving or co-stationary). In some embodiments, a charging current can flow through this charging connection. The current direction of this charging current can depend on the charging state of the two energy stores of the participating shuttle assembly modules, so that the charging current either flows from the shuttle assembly module 100 shown here to the other shuttle assembly module not shown here in one direction or from the other shuttle assembly module not shown here to the shuttle assembly module 100 shown here in the other direction. In this way, intelligent charging management can be utilized to be implemented between all shuttle assembly modules having such a circulating shuttle charging interface 112.

[0104] As can be seen from Figure 1As can be seen in FIG, the assembly head 150 has a sleeve 152. The sleeve 152 has a first end 152a and a second end 152b. The second end 152b is constructed so that a suction gripper for temporarily holding the component can be mounted on the second end 152b. Figure 1 The assembly head 150 is shown in a state in which such a suction gripper is mounted on the second end 152b. The suction gripper is provided with reference numeral 154. The element held by the suction gripper 154 is Figure 1 Reference numeral 195 is provided in the figure.

[0105] According to the invention, the negative pressure required for holding the element 195 is generated in a distributed manner in or on the shuttle assembly module 100. For this purpose, the shuttle assembly module 100 also has a negative pressure generating device 120. According to the embodiment shown here, the negative pressure generating device 120 has a pump system with at least one pump, which is Figure 1 It is schematically illustrated with the aid of fluid mechanics symbols.

[0106] According to the exemplary embodiment shown here, the vacuum generating device 120 or its pump system is operated by current and supplied with electrical power from the energy storage device 100 .

[0107] As from Figure 1 As can be seen in FIG, the negative pressure generating device 120 has a pneumatic connection 120a on the outlet side, which is connected to the first end 152a of the sleeve 152 via a pneumatic suction line 121. Therefore, according to the embodiment shown here, the negative pressure required for holding the element 195 is generated by the negative pressure generating device 120 and transferred to the upper surface of the element 195 via (i) the pneumatic suction line 121, (ii) the hollow inner cavity of the sleeve 150 and (iii) the suction gripper 154, so that the element 195 is held in front of (distal and in front of) the suction gripper 154. Figure 1 On the lower middle) end side.

[0108] It should be noted that when mounting the component 195 on the component carrier (not shown here), the component 195 must be separated from the suction gripper 154 so that the component adheres to the solder paste located on the component carrier. For this purpose, the negative pressure is usually "switched off" at the time when the component 195 is placed on the component carrier. This can be achieved by at least one ( Figure 1 This is achieved by a switchable valve (not shown).

[0109] Figure 2 FIG2 shows a shuttle assembly module 200 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1The shuttle assembly module 100 shown in FIG. 1 differs in that the negative pressure generating device is not implemented by means of a current-driven pump or current-driven pump system. In the shuttle assembly module 200 , however, the negative pressure generating device is implemented by means of a pressure vessel 220 that can be charged with negative pressure (or, if necessary, also with overpressure).

[0110] As from Figure 2 As can be seen in FIG, the pressure vessel 220 has a pneumatic connection 220a on the outlet side and a pneumatic connection 220b on the inlet side. The pneumatic connection 220a on the outlet side is the same as that previously described with reference to FIG. Figure 1 The pneumatic suction line 121 described is connected, which, as in the shuttle assembly module 100 , transfers the vacuum to the assembly head 150 and, more precisely, to the cannula 152 or to the suction line of the suction gripper 154 .

[0111] A pressure connection on the shuttle side is formed on the pneumatic connection 220b on the inlet side. Figure 2 2 and is provided with reference numeral 224. At least when the shuttle assembly module 200 is located at at least one predetermined position along the guide rail 190, the shuttle-side pressure connection 224 can be pneumatically connected to the pressure generator-side pressure connection 277 of the external pressure generator system 275, so that a pneumatic connection exists between the external pressure generator system 275 and the pressure vessel 220. Compressed air can flow into the pressure vessel 220 via this pneumatic connection. Alternatively, or in combination, air can be sucked out of the pressure vessel 220 via this pneumatic connection. Of course, the combination of "compressed air flow" and "air suction" can only be performed with a temporal stagger.

[0112] The pressure vessel 220 may also have two Figure 2 195 ). In the embodiment of the present invention, the pneumatically decoupled regions (not shown) can be subjected to negative pressure and the other region to overpressure. Via the suction line 121, controlled by a suitably switched switchable valve (not shown), depending on the current requirements, either (i) negative pressure can be applied to the sleeve 152 (to grip and hold the component 195), or (ii) a brief overpressure can be applied to the sleeve 152 and thus to the suction channel of the suction gripper 154 (to assist in transferring the component 195 to the component carrier to be assembled).

[0113] Instead of or in addition to the pneumatic loading of the pressure vessel 220 by means of the external pressure generator system 275, the pressure vessel 220 can also be pneumatically loaded by another shuttle assembly module (i) which is not shown here, that is to say that air is pumped into the pressure vessel 220, or "pneumatically unloaded", that is to say that air is sucked out of the pressure vessel 220. For this purpose, the two shuttle assembly modules involved in the respective pneumatic loading or unloading process have their own circulating shuttle pneumatic interface 222 which is (also) pneumatically connected to the pressure vessel 220.

[0114] The circulating shuttle pneumatic interface 222 of the shuttle assembly module 100 can establish a pneumatic connection with the complementary shuttle pneumatic interface (not shown) of another shuttle assembly module when the two shuttle assembly modules involved are brought together along the guide rail 190 (co-moving or co-stationarily). Through this pneumatic connection, air can flow either in one direction or in the other direction depending on the current pressure ratio in the two pressure vessels of the shuttle assembly modules involved. In this way, intelligent "pneumatic loading management" can be achieved (by suitable switchable valves) between all shuttle assembly modules which have such a circulating shuttle pneumatic interface 222.

[0115] It is pointed out that the shuttle assembly module as a negative pressure generating device can not only have the pump system schematically shown in Figure 1 , but also the pressure vessel 220 shown in Figure 2 . In this embodiment, the pressure vessel 220 can be "loaded" with a negative pressure or an overpressure by the pump system depending on the application case. Depending on the sign of its pressure loading, this pressure vessel 220 can support the picking of elements from the element supply device or the placement of elements onto the element carrier. In the case of a pressure vessel with two pneumatically separated regions, the first region with a negative pressure can support or decisively facilitate the holding and in particular the picking of elements by the element supply device. In addition, the second region of such a two-part pressure vessel can support or decisively facilitate the transfer of elements to the element carrier to be assembled by suitable air pressure pulses.

[0116] Figure 3 A negative pressure generating device 320 according to the presently preferred embodiment of the application is shown. The negative pressure generating device 320 has two pumps, namely a first pump 330 and a second pump 340, which in operation jointly act for element manipulation when assembling an element carrier.

[0117] The first pump is a membrane pump 330 which is designed such that it generates an at least approximately continuous or substantially continuous suction pressure. The second pump 340 is based on the principle of a reciprocating piston pump and is configured such that it can generate (short) pneumatic pulses, wherein the generated pulses comprise not only negative pressure pulses but also overpressure pulses. The technical details of the two pumps 330 and 340 will be described in detail below. First, the pneumatic coupling of the two pumps 330 and 340 to the sleeve or suction gripper is described, which sleeve is provided in Figure 3 the same with the reference sign 152, which suction gripper is provided in Figure 3 the same with the reference sign 154.

[0118] As can be seen from Figure 3 , in the negative pressure generating device 320, the pneumatic coupling of the two pumps 330 and 340 to the sleeve 152 is realized by means of a pneumatic line system 360 having a plurality of line sections and a plurality of valves. In particular, the pneumatic line system 360 comprises a first line section 362 which connects a suction connection 330a of the first pump 330 to a node 360a of the pneumatic line system 360. In the first line section 362, a first valve 363 is arranged which, in a closed state, prevents the flow of air through the first line section 362. Furthermore, the pneumatic line system 360 comprises a second line section 364 which connects a first pump connection 340a of the second pump 340 to the node 360a. In the second line section 364, a second valve 365 is arranged which, in a closed state, prevents the flow of air through the second line section 364. Furthermore, the pneumatic line system 360 comprises a third line section 366 which connects the node 360a to the sleeve 152 (of the first end 152a).

[0119] As can be seen from Figure 3 , the negative pressure generating device 320 furthermore has a third valve 369 which is connected to the second pump connection 340b of the second pump 340. If the third valve 369 is closed, the inflow of air into the second pump 340 and the outflow of air from the second pump 340 are prevented. According to the embodiment shown here, the third valve 369 is connected to the second pump connection 340b via a short line section 368.

[0120] The valves 363, 365 and 369 shown can all be controlled by a not shown pneumatic control device. The valves 363, 365 and 369 can be switchable valves which can be switched discretely by the pneumatic control device between an open state and a closed state. Alternatively, at least one of the valves 363, 365 and 369 can be a continuously controllable valve, so that the air flow through the associated line section 362, 364 or 368 can be set controllably by the pneumatic control device.

[0121] According to the embodiment shown here, the first pump 330, or rather the diaphragm pump 330, is a so-called piezoelectric diaphragm pump 330, which has a pump housing 332 with a pump chamber 334 inside. The upper side of the pump chamber 334 is covered by an elastic diaphragm element 336, which can be deflected not only upwards but also downwards by a piezoelectric actuator 338.

[0122] By an upward deflection, the pump chamber 334 is enlarged and a certain underpressure is generated in the pump chamber 334. By a downward deflection of the diaphragm element 336, the pump chamber 334 is reduced and an overpressure is generated in the pump chamber 334. The pressure changes that accompany the oscillations of the piezoelectric actuator 338 are rectified in a known manner by two valves 339. As shown, the two valves 339 are configured to prevent air from flowing from left to right (in Figure 3 ). Thus, the direction of the air flow permitted by the two "pneumatic rectifier valves" 339 extends from the previously mentioned suction connection 330a to the air outlet 330b. Thus, the oscillations of the diaphragm element 336, depending on the frequency of the piezoelectric actuator 338, cause a more or less constant underpressure at the suction connection 330a. The amplitude of the deflection of the diaphragm element 336 determines the strength of the underpressure. Figure 3

[0123] According to the embodiment shown here, the second pump 340, which works according to the principle of a reciprocating piston pump and is therefore also referred to as piston pump 340 in this document, has a pump housing 342 and a pump chamber 344 configured therein. A piston 346 is located inside the pump chamber 344, which can be moved up and down in a vertical direction (indicated by double arrows in Figure 3 ) by a pump drive (not shown in Figure 3 ). When the piston 346 is lifted upwards, the pump chamber 344 is enlarged and an underpressure is generated in the pump chamber 344. When the piston 346 is lowered, the pump chamber is reduced and an overpressure is generated in the pump chamber 344.

[0124] The pressure ratios that are generated in the sleeve 152 or the suction gripper 154 by the two pumps 330 and 340 and the three valves 363, 365 and 369 when the elements are manipulated are described below. As already mentioned, such a manipulation here includes (i) picking up elements 195 from an element supply, (ii) holding elements 195 during the transfer from the element supply to the assembly area, and (iii) placing elements 195 onto an element carrier to be assembled.

[0125] In the initial state, the first valve 363 and the third valve 369 are closed and the second valve 365 is open. In addition, the piston 346 is in the lower position and is ready to be lifted. In order to pick up elements 195 with the suction gripper 154 (a relatively strong vacuum should be generated), a correspondingly strong underpressure is generated by lifting the piston 346 (when the valve 365 is open).​

[0126] During the entire period in which the component 195 is transferred to the assembly position on the component carrier to be assembled, the negative pressure must be maintained. This is achieved by using the membrane pump 330 as a compensator for pressure losses due to leaks. For this purpose, the first valve 363 must be opened before the second valve 365 is closed.

[0127] By opening the third valve 369, the piston 346 can be reset to a predetermined position which is set in such a way that sufficient compressed air is also available later for pneumatically supporting the detachment of the component 195 from the suction gripper 154 by means of a compressed air pulse. After the piston 346 has been reset to its initial position, the third valve 369 is closed again.

[0128] If the assembly position is reached, the first valve 363 is closed and the second valve 365 is opened. The piston pump 340 supports the detachment of the component 195 by lowering the piston 346.

[0129] Thus, in summary, the following valve positions exist: (a) When the component 195 is gripped, the first valve 363 and the third valve 369 are closed, while the second valve 365 is opened.

[0130] (b) When the component 195 is transferred, the first valve 363 and the third valve 369 are opened and the second valve 365 is closed.

[0131] (c) When the component 195 is placed on the component carrier, the first valve 363 and the third valve 369 are closed, while the second valve 365 is opened.

[0132] Figure 4 A shuttling assembly module assembly system 480 is shown, which has a plurality of shuttling assembly modules 100, which are all configured to move on a guide rail 190 along a circumferential direction and along the guide rail 190. Here, the shuttling assembly modules 100 move from a component receiving area 480a to an assembly area 480b and back to the component receiving area 480a in order to ensure continuous operation of the shuttling assembly module assembly system 480.

[0133] According to the embodiment shown here, the shuttling assembly module assembly system 480 comprises a total of eight shuttling assembly modules 100, which are each schematically shown by an ellipse. The eight shuttling assembly modules 100 are individually distinguished by the numbers 1 to 8. Depending on the requirements, the shuttling assembly module assembly system 480 can of course also have other numbers of shuttling assembly modules 100.

[0134] An element supply system 482 is located in the element receiving area 480a, which comprises a plurality of element supply devices 483. From each element supply device 483, a specific type of element 195 can be picked up at a respectively predetermined element pick-up position.

[0135] After picking up or grasping one element 195 or, if necessary, also after picking up or grasping a plurality of elements 195 (in a multiple assembly head 150 with a plurality of sleeves or suction grippers), the associated shuttle assembly module 100 passes, on its way into the assembly area 480b, an element camera 484, with which the element 195 held by the associated suction gripper, which is not shown in Figure 4 , is optically detected from below. Here, the exact spatial position of the at least one held element 195 is determined in a manner known per se. Then, when the element carrier 497 is later assembled with the associated element 195 in the assembly area 480b, position deviations from the exactly centered receiving position can be compensated for (i) by a suitable positioning of the shuttle assembly module 100 along the guide rail 190 and / or (ii) by a suitable steering of the positioning of the assembly head or its sleeves, which is also not shown in Figure 4 , perpendicular to the guide rail 190. Furthermore, angular deviations of the received element can be compensated for by means of a controlled rotation of the associated suction gripper in a manner known per se.

[0136] After successful assembly of the element(s) 195, the associated shuttle assembly module 100 passes a suction gripper exchange device 485 on its way back to the element receiving area 480a. As soon as the suction gripper(s) is / are worn due to the hitherto performed operation, the worn suction gripper(s) can be replaced by a new or at least less worn suction gripper by means of the suction gripper exchange device 485, which is also referred to by experts as a straw changer. It is also possible to exchange the suction gripper by means of the suction gripper exchange device 485 with another suction gripper of another type, if necessary.

[0137] According to the embodiment shown here, the shuttle assembly module assembly system 480 also has a further guide rail 492. The further guide rail 492 is connected to the guide rail 190 by two switchable switch elements 493. By means of a suitable switching position, the shuttle assembly module 100 can be transferred from the guide rail 190 in an automated manner onto the further guide rail 492. In Figure 4 , the shuttle assembly module 100, which is personalized by the serial number 8, has been transferred onto the further guide rail 492. Likewise, in a suitable switching position, the shuttle assembly module 100 can be transferred back from the further guide rail 492 to the guide rail 190 in an automated manner.

[0138] As Figure 4 As can be seen, according to the embodiment shown here, the further guide rail 492 has a closed structure and is therefore the self-enclosed guide rail 190. As mentioned above, the further guide rail can also be an open guide rail that forms a kind of "dead slot." This means that after being transferred from the guide rail in the inward movement direction, the shuttle assembly module 100 must be moved in the outward movement direction opposite to the inward movement direction to the further guide rail or into the further guide rail in order to be transferred back to the guide rail.

[0139] By (temporarily) transferring the shuttle assembly module 100 to the further guide rail 492 , for example, the following can be achieved: (A) In the current operating mode, unneeded shuttle assembly modules 100 can be "parked" on the other guide rail 492. Thus, the currently unneeded shuttle assembly modules 100 no longer need to be unnecessarily moved along the closed guide rail 190 along with other active shuttle assembly modules 100. Therefore, in this operating mode, the efficiency or assembly efficiency of the shuttle assembly module assembly system 480 can be improved.

[0140] (B) The “shuttle transfer” of at least one shuttle assembly module 100 can be used to change the sequence of the shuttle assembly modules 100 moving on and along the guide rails 190 when necessary.

[0141] (C) On the other rail, the shuttle assembly module 100 can be maintained, for example, as part of a (routine) inspection or in the event of a malfunction. Furthermore, a specific shuttle assembly module 100 can be removed from the shuttle assembly module assembly system 480 or replaced with another shuttle assembly module 100 without interrupting the assembly process.

[0142] (D) In ​​the shuttle assembly module 100 with the pressure vessel 220 (see Figure 2 In the case of the shuttle assembly module 200 shown in FIG, "pressure filling" can be performed by an external pressure generator system arranged in the area of ​​the further guide rail 492, as described above. In a two-part pressure vessel with two pneumatically separated areas, the first area can be charged with negative pressure, and the second area can be charged with excess pressure. In the presence of the aforementioned circulating shuttle pneumatic interface, after the pneumatically "filled" shuttle assembly module 100 has been transferred back to the guide rail 190, a pneumatic "auxiliary filling" of another shuttle assembly module 100 can be performed, provided that the other shuttle assembly module 100 also has a suitable circulating shuttle pneumatic interface.

[0143] (E) Furthermore, in the shuttle assembly module 100 with the aforementioned electrical energy storage 110 (see Figure 1The energy store 110 can be charged by means of an external charging infrastructure, which is arranged in the area of the further guideway 492, while the shuttling assembly module 100 is located at the further guideway 492. Since the shuttling assembly module 100 located at the further guideway 492 does not participate in the assembly operation, there is typically no time pressure when charging the energy store 110 and charging can be carried out in an advantageous manner gently, that is to say with a relatively small charging current. The shuttling assembly module 100 loaded at the further guideway 492 can consume the energy charged by itself in a later assembly operation. Alternatively, the partially charged energy can be output to at least one further shuttling assembly module 100 via the circulating shuttling charging interface described above. This can be achieved either at the further guideway 492 or, preferably, at the guideway 190.

[0144] It is also possible for at least one shuttling assembly module to be equipped with a particularly large electrical energy store and for the shuttling assembly module subsequently to be used as an energy transfer module of the type. Such an energy transfer module can then be charged as a selected shuttling assembly module, preferably or only at the further guideway 492, and can then transfer a portion of the charged electrical energy to at least one "normal" shuttling assembly module at the guideway 190.

[0145] It should be noted that the term "having" does not exclude other elements and that the number "one" does not exclude a plurality. Furthermore, elements described in connection with different embodiments can be combined. It should also be noted that reference signs in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A shuttle assembly module (100) for automatically assembling components (195) for component carriers (497), the shuttle assembly module (100) having a machine frame (102) which is configured to move on or along a guide rail (190); a negative pressure generating device (120) which is mounted on the machine frame (102); and an assembly head (150) which is mounted on the machine frame (102) and has at least one sleeve (152) having a first end (152a) and a second end (152b), wherein the first end (152a) is pneumatically coupled to the negative pressure generating device (120), and the second end (152b) is configured in such a way that a suction gripper (154) for temporarily holding a component (195) can be mounted on the second end (152b).

2. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 1, wherein the negative pressure generating device (120) has a first pump (330) for generating at least approximately continuous suction pressure in the sleeve (152).

3. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 2, wherein the first pump has a diaphragm pump (330).

4. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 3, wherein the diaphragm pump (330) has a diaphragm element (336) and a piezoelectric actuator (338) for deflecting the diaphragm element (336).

5. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 1, wherein the negative pressure generating device (120) has a second pump (340) for generating pneumatic pulses in the sleeve (152), wherein the pneumatic pulses comprise negative pressure pulses and overpressure pulses.

6. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 5, wherein the second pump (340) has a pump chamber (344) and a displaceably supported and drivable piston (346) inside the pump chamber (344).

7. The shuttle assembly module according to claim 6, wherein the second pump further has a further pump chamber and a further displaceably supported and drivable piston inside the further pump chamber.

8. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 2, wherein the negative pressure generating device (120) has a second pump (340) for generating a pneumatic pulse in the sleeve (152), wherein the pneumatic pulses comprise negative pressure pulses and overpressure pulses; and further the negative pressure generating device (120) has a pneumatic line system (360) through which the first end (152a) of the sleeve (152) can be pneumatically coupled to the first pump (330) and the second pump (340).

9. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 8, (a) Of which, the pneumatic line system (360) has three line sections (362, 364, 366) and a node (360a) at which the three line sections (362, 364, 366) converge, wherein A first line section (362) connects the first pump (330) with the node (360a), A second line section (364) connects the second pump (340) with the node (360a), and A third line section (366) connects the sleeve (352) with the node (360a), and (b) wherein the pneumatic line system (360) further has two valves (363, 365), wherein the first valve (363) is arranged in the first line section (362), and the second valve (365) is arranged in the second line section (364).

10. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 9, further having a third valve (369) which is pneumatically arranged between a pump chamber (344) of the second pump (340) and the ambient of the negative pressure generating device (120).

11. The shuttle assembly module (200) according to claim 1, wherein the negative pressure generating device has a pressure vessel (220) with a connection (220b) on the inlet side and a connection (220a) on the outlet side, wherein the connection (220a) on the outlet side can be directly or indirectly pneumatically coupled with the sleeve (152).

12. The shuttle assembly module (200) according to claim 11, wherein the connection (220b) on the inlet side is configured such that the pressure vessel (220) can be pneumatically coupled with an external pressure generator system (275).

13. The shuttle assembly module (200) according to claim 5, wherein the negative pressure generating device has a pressure vessel (220) with a connection (220b) on the inlet side and a connection (220a) on the outlet side, wherein the connection (220a) on the outlet side can be directly or indirectly pneumatically coupled with the sleeve (152); and wherein one connection (220b) or the other connection on the inlet side of the pressure vessel (220) can be pneumatically coupled with the second pump (340).

14. The shuttle assembly module (200) according to claim 1, further having a circulating shuttle pneumatic interface (222) which is configured to be pneumatically coupled with a further circulating shuttle pneumatic interface of a further shuttle assembly module such that a negative pressure and / or an overpressure can be transferred from the shuttle assembly module (200) to the further shuttle assembly module.

15. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 1, further having an energy store (110) which supplies electrical energy to the assembly head (150) and / or to the negative pressure generating device (120) and which can be charged by means of a charging infrastructure (170) arranged on the guide rail (190).

16. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 15, wherein the energy store has a rechargeable battery (110) and / or a supercapacitor.

17. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 15, further having a charging station charging interface, which is electrically coupled with the energy store (110) and which is couplable with an external charging station of the charging infrastructure (170) for charging the energy store (110).

18. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 17, wherein the charging station charging interface is configured such that charging of the energy store (110) takes place wirelessly inductively and / or capacitively and / or in a wired connection by electrical contact.

19. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 15, further having a circulating shuttle charging interface (112), which is configured to be electrically coupled with a further circulating shuttle charging interface of a further shuttle assembly module such that electrical energy can be transferred from the shuttle assembly module (100) to the further shuttle assembly module.

20. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 1, further having a drive unit (106) for the rack (102), which is configured to move the shuttle assembly module (100) along the guide rail (190).

21. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 20, wherein the drive unit is a movable component (106) of a linear motor, and a stationary component of the linear motor extends along the guide rail (190).

22. The shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 21, wherein the movable component (106) of the linear motor has a permanent magnet.

23. The shuttle assembly module according to claim 21, as far as dependent on claim 15, wherein the movable component of the linear motor has an electromagnet.

24. A shuttle assembly module assembly system (480) for assembling components (195) for component carriers (497), which has a guide rail (190), and at least one shuttle assembly module (100) according to claim 1.

25. The shuttle assembly module assembly system (480) according to claim 24, wherein the guide rail is a looped guide rail (190), which extends between a component receiving area (480a) and an assembly area (480b) of the shuttle assembly module assembly system (480).

26. The shuttle assembly module assembly system (480) according to claim 24, further having a further guide rail (492), which is configured to move the rack along the further guide rail (492) as well, and at least one switchable switching element (493), by which the further guide rail (492) is connectable with the guide rail (190).

27. A method for automatically assembling components (195) for component carriers (497) in the case of use of a shuttle assembly module assembly system (480) according to claim 24, the method having the following steps - picking up components (195) by means of an assembly head (150) from a component supply system (482) located in a component receiving area (480a) of the shuttle assembly module assembly system (480); - moving the shuttle assembly module (100) along a guide rail (190) from the component receiving area (480a) of the shuttle assembly module assembly system (480) towards an assembly area (480b); and - depositing the picked-up components (195) on a component carrier (497) provided in the assembly area (480b).

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