Method, device and placement system for feeding components from a flat magazine to a placement process with vertical fine positioning of the flat magazine

Abstract

A method and a device for feeding components (192) located in a surface magazine (296) to a placement process, which is carried out by means of a placement machine (100), is described.The method comprises (a) a horizontal transfer (H1) of the sheet magazine (296) from (a1) a storage position from a magazine storage device (160) in which the sheet magazine (296) and at least one further sheet magazine (296) are arranged in a stack of sheet magazines (296) in a vertical z-direction, to (a2) a removal position by means of a movable gripping device (275, 277) along a horizontal x-direction; (b) a vertical transfer (V1) of the removed sheet magazine (296) along the z-direction from the removal position to an inspection position; (c) an optical inspection of at least one component (192) which is located in the sheet magazine (296); and (d) a feeding of the at least one inspected component (192) to the placement process in which the at least one component (192) is picked up by a placement head (130) of the placement machine (100).According to the invention, the inspection position is determined by a control device (188) based on (i) the height of a base structure of the removed surface magazine (296) and (ii) the height of the at least one inspected component (192). Furthermore, a placement system (1) is described which includes such a device (150) and a placement machine (100).

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present invention generally relates to the technical field of component placement technology and, more particularly, to a method and a device for feeding components from a flat magazine to a placement process performed by a placement machine. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a placement system comprising a placement machine with a placement head and such a device for feeding components. Background of the invention

[0002] The production of electronic assemblies, which are contained in almost every electronic device, includes, among other things, the assembly of component carriers, e.g. printed circuit boards, with components, in particular electronic components.

[0003] The component carriers are typically loaded in a placement machine, which has at least one component feeder, one placement head, and a transport system for the component carriers. During placement, the placement head picks up a component provided by the component feeder at a pick-up position and places it at a predetermined location on a component carrier. Before being loaded, the component carrier is brought into a placement area of ​​the placement machine by the transport system and is removed from the placement area after at least partial loading.

[0004] Components have traditionally been transferred to the pick-up position using a component belt. A large number of components are stored in such a belt, each stored in a recess, also known as a belt pocket. The component belt is transported step by step toward the pick-up position by means of a rotating pin wheel that engages the perforations on the side of the belt. There, the respective component is removed from the belt pocket by the placement head. Sections of the component belt, which have been emptied of components in this way, are separated from the remaining component belt using a cutting device and sent for waste disposal. Packaging components in a component belt is relatively complex.In addition, a component belt takes up a relatively large amount of space compared to the size of the components it contains, and waste disposal is not only bulky and therefore expensive, but also a burden on the environment.

[0005] To avoid the aforementioned disadvantages, components can also be fed using a flat magazine. In a filled flat magazine, several components are placed side by side on a flat support structure. The flat magazine is often referred to as a "tray" among experts. The support structure is often referred to as a "tray carrier." On its upper side, the support structure has several separate receiving areas, each of which can hold a component. The receiving areas of a flat magazine are also called "pockets."

[0006] The feeding of components using flat magazines involves removing the respective flat magazine from a vertical stack of several flat magazines and raising the removed flat magazine to a height at which the components can be picked up by a placement head of the corresponding placement machine. In known systems, the height is defined by an end stop of a lifting device.

[0007] Flat magazines are often used for large components. These include integrated circuits packaged in a larger housing, which can be not only long and wide, but also relatively thick or high, for example, 40 mm. A variety of package types are available for integrated circuits.

[0008] To ensure the traceability of assembled components, which is required for safety reasons in the automotive sector, for example, components are often printed with a barcode or QR code on their top surface. This code can not only indicate the production batch of a component, but can also individually identify the component. Traceability then requires optical scanning of the relevant code, preferably shortly before it is picked up by a placement head, and storage of the component-specific data encoded in the code in a database.

[0009] For correct code recognition, precise optical capture using a camera is required. Since the depth of field of a camera typically used for such purposes is relatively shallow, blurry images often occur in practice, making traceability problematic. This is especially true for components that are particularly tall or thick, so their printed code may be at the edge or even outside the respective depth of field compared to codes on flatter components. This impairs the optical capture of the codes and makes the traceability of the assembled components unreliable.

[0010] WO 2023 / 084686 A1 and JP 2013-98521 A each disclose a method for manufacturing electronic assemblies by assembling substrates with electronic components, which are removed from a flat magazine by a placement head. Before removing the components, the respective flat magazine is removed from a stack of flat magazines by a horizontal movement.

[0011] US 6,801,652 B1 discloses a method for equipment control on placement machines for assembling component carriers with electronic components. In this method, an image of the surface of a component to be assembled is captured by a camera in a feed device, and the image is compared with a stored pattern of the component to be assembled in an image evaluation unit connected downstream of the camera. If the comparison is positive, the component is assembled onto the component carrier. The disclosed method can be used not only with feed devices designed to feed components packaged in a component belt. The method can also be used with feed devices designed to feed components stored in flat magazines.

[0012] The invention is based on the object of improving the reliability of traceability of assembled components that have been fed into a placement process via a surface magazine. Summary of the invention

[0013] This object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent patent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are described in the dependent claims.

[0014] According to a first aspect of the invention, a method is described for feeding components located in a flat magazine to a placement process which is carried out by means of a placement machine.The described method comprises (a) horizontally transferring the area magazine from (i) a storage position in a magazine storage device, in which the area magazine and at least one further area magazine are arranged in a stack of area magazines in a vertical z-direction, to (ii) a removal position by means of a movable gripping device along a horizontal x-direction; (b) vertically transferring the removed area magazine along the z-direction from the removal position to an inspection position; (c) optically inspecting at least one component located in the area magazine; and (d) feeding the at least one inspected component to the placement process, in which the at least one component is picked up by a placement head of the placement machine.According to the invention, the inspection position is determined by a control device based on (i) the height of a base structure of the removed area magazine and (ii) the height of the at least one inspected component.

[0015] The described method is based on the realization that for reliable inspection using a camera, the inspection position should be selected so that the top side of the component in question, on or at which a code or coding may be located, is located as precisely as possible within the camera's focal area. This largely eliminates errors in the capture and subsequent image processing of the component's top side, and increases the process reliability of component carrier assembly, particularly with regard to the required traceability.

[0016] The area magazine can be any suitable spatial physical structure in or on which the components to be assembled can be deposited, preferably in individually separated receiving areas or pockets. The area magazine has at least one base structure, which can be a simple base plate on which the components rest directly. The receiving areas can be formed on the surface of the base plate by webs or other suitable separating structures. In addition to the height of the component in question, the height or thickness of the base structure is crucial for the final height of the top surface of the components to be inspected.

[0017] The term "component" in this document can be understood to mean all elements suitable for assembly that can be attached or mounted to a component carrier. The term "component" can include both electronic components packaged in a housing and mechanical components such as electrical connection contacts. Electronic components include, in particular, multi-pin SMT components or other highly integrated flat, round, or differently shaped components such as ball grid arrays. Mechanical components include, for example, plugs or connectors, heat sinks, shielding elements, housing parts, etc. V: The term "component carrier" in this document can be understood to mean any type of assembly-capable media, in particular substrates or printed circuit boards. A assembly-capable medium, in particular a printed circuit board, can be rigid or flexible.It may also have at least one first rigid region and at least one flexible region.

[0018] The control device according to the claim can be any data processing device associated with the component feed device for flat magazines in or with which the described method is carried out. Alternatively, or in combination, the control device can also be at least part of a data processing device that controls the entire placement operation of the placement machine. In the case of a placement line with multiple placement machines, the control device can also be a (higher-level) master computer that controls or coordinates the placement operation of the entire placement line.

[0019] The height of the base structure can be stored in a memory that is communicatively coupled to the control device or that may be a hardware module of the control device. The height of the at least one inspected component can be obtained from type information from a manufacturer of the respective component and also stored in the memory.

[0020] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the optical inspection comprises a simultaneous inspection of multiple components. Furthermore, the feeding to the placement process includes a sequential pickup of the multiple components from the placement head. This has the advantage, particularly with a larger number of components, that the inspection process can be carried out and completed very quickly.

[0021] The described sequential picking up of the multiple components can be carried out according to the "pick and place" principle. The placement head picks up exactly one component and then places this component in the known manner on the component carrier to be populated. This "pick and place" process is carried out sequentially for each of the multiple components. Alternatively, a placement head with multiple component holding devices can first pick up multiple components one after the other according to the "collect and place" principle, i.e. a maximum of one component with each component holding device. All of the picked components are then transported together to the placement area in the relevant placement machine, where one component after the other is placed on the component carrier to be populated.

[0022] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the optical inspection comprises detecting a marking which is formed on the surface of the at least one inspected component.

[0023] As already mentioned above, the marking, provided it is indicative of the respective component, can be used to determine which component is actually being or has been picked up by the placement head. Tracking the entire process of feeding and placing the component can be carried out particularly reliably when suitable markings are used. This is because it not only records which pocket a particular component was "filled" into during loading of the flat magazine. Rather, the described detection of the marking also determines which component is actually located in the respective pocket and is being picked up by the placement head.

[0024] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the marking comprises a three-dimensional structural feature (on the surface) of the at least one inspected component.

[0025] Three-dimensional structural features on the surface of a component are used in a conventional manner for so-called "pin 1 detection," which is required during component assembly to ensure that the component in question is placed on the component carrier in the correct orientation. The selected "pin 1" serves as a reference point or reference point for the correct alignment and contacting of the component.In this context, it should be noted that a placement head for a "pick and place" placement process or a "collect and place" placement process is generally capable of changing the orientation of the picked-up component during the transport of the component from the area magazine to the component carrier to be populated by rotating a respective component holding device, typically a suction gripper, in a suitable manner, so that the respective component is placed in the correct angular position on the component carrier.

[0026] The three-dimensional structural feature can be any contour on the surface of the component that can be used to determine the orientation or alignment of the component in question. Examples include a bevel on an edge or corner of the component or a recess such as a (round) hole in the surface of the component in question.

[0027] With regard to three-dimensional structural features that exhibit such a depression, it should be noted at this point that such depressions are generally difficult to detect optically. This is because the visual appearance, particularly the color of the depression and the color of the surrounding surface, are typically the same. Especially in such cases, particularly precise (vertical) positioning of the component in question in the focal plane of the camera used for the described optical inspection is required.

[0028] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the marking comprises a coding (on the surface) of the at least one inspected component. The coding can, in particular, be a component-specific coding.

[0029] The coding described can be, for example, a barcode or a matrix code (QR code). The coding can be applied to the surface of the component using specialized printing processes, such as screen printing or laser engraving, depending on the requirements of the component manufacturer and the material of the component's packaging. It is also possible for the coding to be applied to the component after production, for example, by labeling or gluing. This usually occurs when the component in question has already been manufactured and only needs to be subsequently provided with the coding for identification.

[0030] As already explained above, reliable recognition of component-specific coding can guarantee a high level of component tracking reliability throughout the entire production of electronic assemblies.

[0031] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the vertical transfer comprises (a) a first vertical transfer (during a first vertical positioning operation) and then (b) a second vertical transfer (during a second vertical positioning operation). A first (average and / or maximum) speed of the first vertical transfer is greater than a second (average and / or maximum) speed of the second vertical transfer.

[0032] The described two-stage vertical transfer with different average and / or maximum speeds advantageously allows for rapid vertical coarse positioning followed by slow vertical fine positioning. This allows for highly precise positioning along the z-axis and thus reliable inspection with a simple camera, as well as rapid inspection and feeding of components. This allows for the avoidance or at least shortening of unwanted interruptions during a quasi-continuous feeding of inspected components, despite reliable optical inspection.

[0033] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the method further comprises transferring inspection data to the placement machine. This allows the placement machine to be provided with information at an early stage that is necessary or at least advantageous for a reliable and precise placement process. Such information then does not need to be (re)captured by a suitable sensor system of the placement machine. This can result in a time advantage for placement and thus, in practice, increase the placement performance of the placement machine.

[0034] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the inspection data comprises at least one of the following information: (a) height of at least one inspected component, (b) length and / or width of the at least one inspected component, (c) type of at least one component inspected, (d) Number of components contained in the area magazine, (e) Information on the occupancy of the receiving areas of the area magazine with components.

[0035] The spatial dimensions of the component can, for example, be used to select a suitable trajectory for the movement of the placement head after component pickup to the placement area of ​​the placement machine. This can reliably prevent potential collisions with other objects, such as with already mounted (tall) components.

[0036] The information regarding the type of the respective component can be used for the traceability described above. For component-specific markings, the corresponding component-specific information can also be transferred.

[0037] The information regarding the number of components (still) contained in the flat magazine and / or the information regarding the occupancy of the receiving areas can be used by the placement machine to send a request for a new (full) flat magazine. This ensures the most uninterrupted placement process possible.

[0038] According to a further aspect of the invention, a device is described for feeding components located in a flat magazine to a placement process carried out by means of a placement machine. The described component feeding device comprises (a) a magazine storage device for storing a flat magazine and at least one further flat magazine in a stack of flat magazines, wherein the stored flat magazines are arranged in a vertical z-direction; (b) a gripping device movable along a horizontal x-direction for horizontally transferring the flat magazine from (i) a storage position within the magazine storage device to (ii) a removal position outside the magazine storage device; (c) a lifting device for vertically transferring the removed flat magazine along the z-direction from the removal position to an inspection position;(d) a camera for optically inspecting at least one component located in the area magazine (at least when the area magazine is in the inspection position); and (e) a control device configured to determine the inspection position based on (i) the height of a base structure of the removed area magazine and (ii) the height of the at least one inspected component. The inspection position has a height relative to the magazine storage device at which the at least one inspected component can be fed to the placement process by being picked up by a placement head of the placement machine.

[0039] The described component feeding device is also based on the insight that by taking into account the height of the base structure of the area magazine and the height of the component during vertical transfer of the area magazine, the inspection position can be precisely selected so that, regardless of the height of the component, the surface of the component can be brought precisely into the focal plane of the camera. This allows sharp images of the component surface to be captured at all times, regardless of the height of the component. This advantageously prevents errors during the capture and subsequent image processing of the component's top side. Furthermore, the process reliability of component carrier assembly can be increased, particularly with regard to required traceability.

[0040] The gripping device described can be any mechanism capable of handling the area magazine (and, of course, the additional area magazine and typically also any additional area magazines present) in such a way that it can be pulled out of the stack horizontally and at least brought into the removal position. The gripping device can, for example, be a component of a robot arm or attached to such a component. Known robot technology can thus be used to implement the gripping device.

[0041] It should be noted that the described vertical transfer can also be performed using a robot if necessary, with the gripping device preferably continuing to hold the respective area magazine even during the vertical transfer. This means that the described lifting device can also be implemented using such a robot. However, the lifting device can also be a simple vertically movable table on which the respective area magazine rests. Suitable linear motors, for example, implemented using a spindle drive, can be used to implement the movement of the described vertical transfer.

[0042] The described camera can be any optical sensor suitable for optically capturing the surface of the component and thereby generating a (digital) image, which is evaluated in a known manner by a downstream image processing unit so that structures and / or markings on the surface of the component can be detected and analyzed. The camera can also comprise optics that ensure that sharp images can be captured in a focal plane of the camera. The optics can in particular have one or more (refractive) lenses. The focal plane is preferably a spatially fixed plane with respect to the camera so that the camera can be implemented simply, inexpensively and in particular in a compact design.By taking the height of the respective component into account as described above, it can be ensured that the component surface is always exactly in the focal plane when the component's surface is optically inspected. Adjusting the camera's height is then advantageously unnecessary. The camera can therefore (continue to) be moved using a conventional surface positioning system, which does not provide a degree of freedom along the vertical z-direction.

[0043] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the camera has a field of view which allows detection of only a single component located in the area magazine.

[0044] The use of a camera with a comparatively small field of view has the advantage that high optical imaging quality can be achieved even with simple and therefore inexpensive camera optics. In other words, for a given optical quality of the camera optics, the imaging quality improves as the camera field of view decreases. This can advantageously increase the robustness of the device and method described in this document.

[0045] In some embodiments, the field of view of the camera is square. A typical dimension is less than 10 mm x 10 mm and preferably less than 7 mm x 7 mm. In prototypes of the invention, a camera with a field of view of 5.2 mm x 5.2 mm has proven successful. In this context, it should be noted that even with such a small field of view, components that are significantly larger can be optically inspected. Comparatively large components can be captured using multiple partial images, which are then combined using image processing to form a complete or at least approximately complete overall image of the component in question. In order to capture different sections of a component, the camera and / or the relevant area magazine can be moved perpendicular to the optical axis of the camera in a suitable manner.A shift of the camera can be realized, as described below, for example by means of a gantry system of the placement machine.

[0046] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the camera has a field of view that enables the detection of multiple components located in the area magazine. In the case of a preferably square field of view for the simultaneous detection of multiple components, this field of view can have a size of, for example, at least 10 mm x 10 mm, preferably at least 15 mm x 15 mm, and more preferably at least 20 mm x 20 mm.

[0047] With such a "multi-camera," the optical inspection of components can be carried out particularly quickly, because only a single camera image is required to capture multiple components. Another advantage of a camera with a large field of view is that no change in the camera's position on a chassis of the component feeder is necessary to capture different components. The camera can therefore be mounted stationary on the chassis.

[0048] In preferred embodiments, however, the camera is assigned to a placement machine to which the components are fed. For this purpose, the camera can be attached to a gantry system of the placement machine in a manner known per se and moved or positioned by this. Preferably, the camera can be attached to a gantry system for the placement head. More preferably, the camera can be fixedly attached to the placement head directly or indirectly, so that when the placement head is positioned, the camera automatically moves with the placement head. This advantageously eliminates the need to use a separate gantry system for the described chamber. Furthermore, the image capture can also take place precisely at the point at which the components are picked up by the placement head after optical inspection.

[0049] According to a further aspect of the invention, a placement system for placing components on component carriers is described. The described placement system comprises (a) a placement machine with a placement head and (b) a device, as described above, for feeding components located in a flat magazine.

[0050] The described placement system is based on the knowledge that, with the component feeder described above, the components can be optically detected with high accuracy and reliability before being transferred to the placement head, regardless of their height. This can increase process reliability during the manufacture of electronic assemblies using the placement machine, because, for example, the placement of incorrect components and / or (mechanically) damaged components can be avoided. Furthermore, error-robust optical detection of markings, such as barcodes or QR codes, applied to the top of the components can enable reliable component-specific traceability during the manufacture of electronic assemblies.

[0051] According to a further embodiment of the invention, an interface is formed between the device for feeding components located in a flat magazine and the placement machine, which interface ensures interaction between the device and the placement machine during placement operations. The described interface can be a mechanical, electrical, and / or communicative interface.

[0052] As a mechanical interface, the interface can, in particular, ensure that, during normal operation of the placement system, the component feed device is mounted in a spatially precise position on a chassis of the placement machine, so that the placement head can reliably pick up the components in question. For this purpose, the mechanical interface can have suitable locking elements and / or positioning pins on one component of (i) the device and (ii) the placement machine, which mechanically interact with complementary elements on the other component of (i) the device and (ii) the placement machine, so that spatially precise and fixed positioning between the device and the placement machine is guaranteed during placement operation.

[0053] The described electrical interface can, in particular, ensure that the component feeder is supplied with electrical power by the placement machine. This advantageously reduces the electrical cabling of the placement system's components.

[0054] The described communication interface can be used, in particular, to transfer component data and / or results of the optical inspection of the components between the component feeder and the placement machine. The communication interface can be a conventional interface that transmits data wirelessly and / or via a wired connection in a conventional manner.

[0055] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the placement head is a multiple placement head which has a plurality of component holding devices, so that a plurality of components can be held simultaneously and transferred together from the device or, more precisely, from the area magazine located in the inspection position to a placement area of ​​the placement machine.

[0056] The components are typically picked up sequentially (after inspection) one after the other until all relevant components have been picked up. After the components are transferred together to the placement area, they are then typically placed sequentially at the relevant component placement positions on the component carrier to be assembled. The described multiple placement head, which can, for example, have two, four, eight, or even more component holding devices, advantageously enables a high placement performance of the described placement system.

[0057] According to a further embodiment of the invention, the placement head is a single-unit placement head, which has precisely one component holding device for receiving precisely one component. Such a single-unit placement head is particularly advantageous when particularly large components must be handled reliably, which cannot be held or can only be held unreliably by a conventional component holding device designed as a suction gripper. The component holding device for a single-unit placement head can, for example, be a mechanical gripper with two clamping arms. With such a clamping component holding device, not only larger electronic components but also mechanical components such as plugs or connectors, heat sinks, shielding elements, and housing parts can be held and transferred from the flat magazine to the component carrier to be assembled.

[0058] It should be noted that embodiments of the invention have been described with reference to different subject matter. In particular, some embodiments of the invention are described with device claims, and other embodiments of the invention are described with method claims. However, it will immediately become clear to those skilled in the art upon reading this document that, unless explicitly stated otherwise, in addition to a combination of features belonging to one type of subject matter, any combination of features belonging to different types of subject matter is also possible.

[0059] Further advantages and features of the present invention will become apparent from the following exemplary description of currently preferred embodiments. Short description of the drawing Fig. 1 shows a placement system according to an embodiment of the invention. Fig. 2 shows a component feeding device for components located in a flat magazine. Detailed description

[0060] It should be noted that in the following detailed description, features or components of different embodiments that are identical or at least functionally equivalent to the corresponding features or components of another embodiment are provided with the same reference numerals or with three-digit reference numerals, the last two digits of which are identical to the reference numerals of corresponding identical or at least functionally equivalent features or components. To avoid unnecessary repetition, features or components already explained with reference to a previously described embodiment will not be explained in detail later.

[0061] Furthermore, it should be noted that the embodiments described below represent only a limited selection of possible variants of the invention. In particular, it is possible to combine the features of individual embodiments in a suitable manner, so that a multitude of different embodiments can be considered obvious to those skilled in the art with the variants explicitly presented here.

[0062] Fig. 1 shows a schematic representation of a placement system 1 for assembling component carriers or printed circuit boards with electrical components 192. The placement system 1 has a placement machine 100 and a component feeding device 150, with which components 192, such as electronic components, which are accommodated in a flat magazine, can be fed to the placement machine 100.

[0063] The placement machine 100 has a chassis 102 as a stationary support structure. A stationary support rail 104 is attached or formed on the chassis 102 and extends along a y-direction. A support arm 106 is attached to the stationary support rail 104 and extends along an x-direction and can be moved along the y-direction by means of a drive motor (not shown). The corresponding direction of travel is marked with a double arrow "Y". A mounting element 108 is attached to the support arm 106 and can be moved along the x-direction by means of a further drive motor (likewise not shown). The corresponding direction of travel is marked with a double arrow "X". The components support rail 104, support arm 106 and mounting element 108, together with the two drive motors (not shown), form a so-calledSurface positioning system with which a placement head 130 can be positioned within an xy plane.

[0064] The component carriers 190 are assembled in an assembly area 110. Before assembly, the component carrier 190 to be assembled is transported into the assembly area 110 by means of a transport device 112, for example a conveyor belt. After at least partial assembly with components 192, the component carrier 190 is transported away by means of the transport device 112. The corresponding transport directions are shown in Fig. 1 each marked with an arrow T.

[0065] As from Fig. 1, the placement head 130 is attached to the mounting element 108. By suitable control of the drive motors (not shown), the placement head 130 can be moved between component pick-up positions 194 and the placement area 110. The component pick-up positions correspond to Fig. 1, not shown in detail, each corresponds to a receiving area or pocket of the respective area magazine. A data processing and control device 118, which is communicatively coupled, among other things, to the placement head 130 via the dashed data line 118a and the drive motors (not shown), ensures a smooth placement process in a known manner. The placement head 130 is moved to the component pick-up positions 194, where components 192 are picked up. The placement head 130, together with the picked-up components 192, is then moved into the placement area 110, where the components 192 are placed on the provided component carrier 190. The placement head 130 is then moved "empty" back to the component feed device 150, where components 192 are again picked up from the area magazine or another area magazine.

[0066] As from Fig. 1, the placement machine 100 also has two cameras. A first stationary camera 120 is used to measure the components 192 picked up by the placement head. For this purpose, the placement head 130 is positioned above the camera 120 so that the picked components 192 come into the detection range of the camera 120. During this component measurement, for example, the exact angular position of a picked component 192 can be measured. When placing the respective component 192, a deviation in the angular position can be compensated in a suitable manner by appropriately rotating a corresponding component holding device, so that the respective component 192 is placed on the component carrier 190 in a correct angular position.

[0067] A second camera 122 serves, among other things, to precisely measure markings applied to the top side of the component carrier 190 to be assembled. This allows the exact spatial position of the component carrier 190 within the assembly area 110 to be detected and taken into account when positioning the placement head 130 to ensure that the components 192 are actually placed exactly at a specific target position on the component carrier 190. According to the exemplary embodiment shown here, the second camera 122 is attached to the placement head 130 and is moved together with the placement head 130 to measure the markings on the component carrier 190.

[0068] According to the exemplary embodiment illustrated here, the second camera 122 is further used to optically inspect components 192 that are about to be picked up by the placement head 130 by means of an image recording. The optical inspection can also include image analysis or image processing using an image processing device (not illustrated) connected downstream of the second camera 122. In particular, component-specific markings on the surface of the respective component 192 can be detected and identified. These markings can be used, for example, to trace the placement processes performed by the placement machine 100.

[0069] The component feed device 150 has a magazine storage device 160 in which a plurality of flat magazines in the form of a stack of flat magazines are arranged in a vertical z-direction. Furthermore, the component feed device 150 has a (robotic) gripping device (not shown). During normal operation of the component feed device 150, a flat magazine is removed from the stack of flat magazines using the gripping device and transferred to a lifting table of a lifting device 170 (also not shown in detail). The lifting device 170 then moves the removed flat magazine vertically upwards into an inspection position (perpendicular to the plane of the drawing of Fig. 1). Once the inspection position has been reached, the aforementioned optical inspection of at least some of the components 192 contained in the area magazine is then carried out. Furthermore, in the embodiment described here, the inspection position is selected such that components 192 can be removed from the area magazine by the placement head 130 without further movement of the area magazine.

[0070] A control device 188 of the component feeding device 150 controls the operation of the component feeding device 150. In addition to the operation of the (robotic) gripping device, this includes in particular the control of Fig. 1 not shown motors for the vertical movement of the lifting table of the lifting device 170.

[0071] According to the exemplary embodiment presented here, the component feeder 150 is movable and can, in principle, be docked to various placement machines 100. To ensure smooth interaction between the component feeder 150 and the placement machine 100 during placement operation, an interface 140 is formed between the component feeder 150 and the placement machine 100. According to the exemplary embodiment presented here, the interface 140 is a "multiple interface" which enables a mechanical, an electrical, and also a communicative coupling between the component feeder 150 and the placement machine 100. The mechanical coupling ensures spatially precise and stable relative positioning of the two components "component feeder 150" and "placement machine 100."The electrical coupling enables the component feeder 150 to be supplied with electrical energy. The communicative coupling enables real-time data exchange, so that the operation of the component feeder 150 can be synchronized with the operation of the placement machine 100.

[0072] Fig. Figure 2 shows an embodiment of the component feeding device 150. The component feeding device 150 has a movable platform 252. According to the embodiment shown here, the movable platform 252 is an automated guided vehicle (AGV). Wheels 253 enable low-friction movement of the AGV on a factory floor on which a placement line with at least one placement system 1, as shown in Fig. 1. The movable platform 252 serves to move the component feed device 150 between (i) a central material storage (not shown), in which a plurality of flat magazines 296 are kept, and (ii) a placement machine of the placement line. This allows "fresh" flat magazines 296 filled with components to be transported to the placement line in an automated manner, and flat magazines 296 at least partially emptied of components to be transported back to the material storage.

[0073] The magazine storage device 160 of the component feeder 150 has two storage areas, in each of which a stack of flat magazines 296 can be stored. Fig. 2, a first upper storage area is designated by reference numeral 261 and the second lower storage area is designated by reference numeral 262. Each of the two storage areas 261, 262 has a plurality of receiving compartments (not shown in detail) arranged one above the other with suitable receiving structures, wherein each receiving compartment can accommodate exactly one flat magazine 296. The storage and retrieval of the flat magazines 296 is carried out by horizontal displacement or transfer out of the magazine storage device 160 or into the magazine storage device 160. The corresponding horizontal transfer path during retrieval is shown in Fig. 2 with the dashed arrow H1 and the corresponding horizontal transfer path when storing in the magazine storage device 160 is shown in Fig. 2 is illustrated by the dashed arrow H2.

[0074] The horizontal movement of the respective area magazine 296 is effected via a horizontally displaceable gripping device, which has a movable support table 277 and at least one gripper attached or formed at a front end of the support table 277, which gripper can be actuated and can thereby establish a mechanical coupling with the respective area magazine 296. The movable support table 277 rests horizontally displaceably on two support elements 272, wherein in the view of Fig. 2 only one of the two support elements 272 can be seen. The horizontal displacement of the support table 277 is shown in Fig. 2 by (only a single) roller 273. Suitable drives for horizontally positioning the gripping device, which has the support table 277 and the at least one gripper 275, are shown in the schematic Fig. 2 not shown.

[0075] The elements described here, “support element 272”, “support table 277”, “gripper 275” and “roller 273”, together represent an essential or important first component of the system already described above in the description of Fig. 1. A second important component of the lifting device 170 is a lifting device shown in the schematic Fig. 2 Vertical drive (not shown) with associated vertical bearing. With this vertical drive, the first component, i.e., the entire assembly comprising support element 272, support table 277, gripper 275, and roller 273, can be moved vertically upwards or downwards.

[0076] In Fig. 2, the first component is shown twice, each of the two representations corresponding to a height position of the first component. In the lower height position, a specific area magazine can be retrieved from the magazine storage device 160 or stored into the magazine storage device 160. In the upper height position, the components accommodated in the area magazine 296 can be Fig. 2. According to the embodiment shown here, this camera is attached directly or indirectly to a placement head, also not shown, as shown in Fig. 1 (see placement head 130 and movable camera 122).

[0077] According to the invention, the upper height position is selected such that an upper side of the at least one component to be optically inspected lies exactly in a focal plane of the camera. This ensures that the camera captures the surface of the respective component in a sharp image, which can be evaluated and analyzed in a robust manner by an image evaluation unit connected downstream of the camera. For this purpose, it is necessary to select the first component (carrier element 272, support table 277, gripper 275 and roller 273) depending in particular on the height of the respective at least one component to be inspected. In other words, the vertical drive must be Fig. 1 such that when the first component is moved upwards, this movement is stopped exactly when the surface of the at least one component in question lies exactly in the focal plane of the camera. The corresponding movements in the vertical direction are shown in Fig. 2 is illustrated by the dashed arrows V1 and V2 respectively.

[0078] The method described in this document for feeding components from a flat magazine to a placement process thus begins with a predetermined flat magazine 296 being removed from the magazine storage device from the lower storage area 262 or from the upper storage area 261 by means of the gripping device (= movable support table 277 and gripper 275) along the horizontal transfer path H1. The removed flat magazine 296 is then transferred upwards by the lifting device to the upper height position described above. This occurs along the vertical transfer path V1.

[0079] Thereafter, at least one component which is still accommodated in the area magazine 296 is removed from the Fig.2 is optically inspected by a camera not shown. During this optical inspection, only one component can be detected. Preferably, however, a plurality of components are optically inspected using a single camera image. After the individual optical inspection of one component or a joint optical inspection of several components, this component or components are picked up by the placement head and further processed in a known manner by the placement machines. When the relevant area magazine 296 has been emptied or when the components held in the area magazine 296 are no longer required for further placement, the area magazine 296 is moved downwards along the vertical transfer path V2 and, when the corresponding lower height position is reached, is stored again in the magazine storage device along the horizontal transfer path H2.Thereafter, the first component can be moved to a new height so that the same process can be carried out with another area magazine, which comprises (i) horizontally retrieving an area magazine into a removal position, (ii) vertically transferring the area magazine upwards into the inspection position, (iii) optically inspecting at least one component, (iv) picking up components by the placement head, (v) vertically transferring the area magazine downwards and (vi) storing the area magazine in an empty receiving compartment of the magazine storage device.

[0080] It should be noted that the term "comprising" does not exclude other elements, and "a" does not exclude a plurality. Elements described in connection with different embodiments may also be combined. It should also be noted that reference numerals in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims. REFERENCE SYMBOL: 1 placement system 100 placement machines 102 chassis (from placement machine) 104 stationary support rail 106 movable support arm 108 movable mounting element 110 assembly area 112 Transport device 118 Data processing and control device 118a data line 120 stationary camera / component camera 122 movable camera / circuit board camera 130 placement head 140 Interface 150 component feeding device 160 Magazine storage device 170 lifting device 188 Control device 190 component carrier / printed circuit board 192 components 194 component pickup positions 252 transport vehicles / AGVs 253 wheels 261 upper storage area of ​​the magazine storage device 160 262 lower storage area of ​​the magazine storage device 160 272 Support element of the lifting device 170 273 roll 275 grippers 277 movable support table 296 area magazines H1, H2 horizontal transfer paths V1, V2 vertical transfer paths

Claims

[1] Method for feeding components (192) located in an area magazine (296) to a placement process which is carried out by means of an automatic placement machine (100), the method comprising horizontally transferring (H1) the area magazine (296) from (i) a storage position from a magazine storage device (160), in which the area magazine (296) and at least one further area magazine (296) are arranged in a stack of area magazines (296) in a vertical z-direction, to (ii) a removal position is moved by means of a movable gripping device (275, 277) along a horizontal x-direction; vertically transferring (V1) the removed area magazine (296) along the z-direction from the removal position to an inspection position; optically inspecting at least one component (192) which is located in the area magazine (296);and feeding the at least one inspected component (192) to the placement process, in which the at least one component (192) is picked up by a placement head (130) of the placement machine (100); wherein the inspection position is determined by a control device (188) based on (i) the height of a base structure of the removed area magazine (296) and (ii) the height of the at least one inspected component (192). [2] Method according to the preceding claim, wherein the optical inspection has a simultaneous inspection of several components (192) and wherein feeding to the assembly process comprising sequentially picking up the plurality of components (192) from the placement head (130). [3] The method of any preceding claim, wherein said optically inspecting comprises detecting a mark formed on the surface of said at least one inspected component (192). [4] Method according to the preceding claim, wherein the marking comprises a three-dimensional structural feature of the at least one inspected component (192). [5] Method according to one of the two preceding claims, wherein the marking comprises a coding of the at least one inspected component (192), wherein the coding is in particular a component-specific coding. [6] Method according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the vertical transfer (V1) comprises a first vertical transfer and then a second vertical transfer, wherein a first (average and / or maximum) speed of the first vertical transfer is greater than a second speed of the second vertical transfer. [7] Method according to one of the preceding claims, further comprising transferring the inspection data to the placement machine (100). [8] Method according to the preceding claim, wherein the inspection data comprises at least one of the following information: (a) height of the at least one inspected component (192), (b) length and / or width of the at least one inspected component (192), (c) type of the at least one inspected component (192), (d) Number of components (still) contained in the area magazine (192), (e) Information on the occupancy of receiving areas of the area magazine (296) with components (192). [9] Device for feeding components (192) located in a surface magazine (296) to a placement process which is carried out by means of a placement machine (100), the device comprising a magazine storage device (160) for storing one area magazine (296) and at least one further area magazine (296) in a stack of area magazines (296), the stored area magazines (296) being arranged in a vertical z-direction; a gripping device (277, 275) movable along a horizontal x-direction for horizontally transferring the area magazine (296) from (i) a storage position within the magazine storage device (160) to (ii) a removal position outside the magazine storage device (160); a lifting device (170) for vertically transferring the removed area magazine (296) along the z-direction from the removal position to an inspection position; a camera (122) for optically inspecting at least one component (192) located in the area magazine (296); and a control device (188) which is configured to determine the inspection position based on (i) the height of a base structure of the removed area magazine (296) and (ii) the height of the at least one inspected component (192); wherein the inspection position has a height relative to the magazine storage device (160) at which the at least one inspected component (192) can be fed to the placement process by being received by a placement head (130) of the placement machine (100). [10] Device according to claim 9, wherein the camera has a field of view which allows detection of only a single component located in the area magazine. [11] Device according to claim 9, wherein the camera has a field of view which enables detection of a plurality of components located in the area magazine. [12] Assembly system (1) for equipping component carriers (190) with components (192), the assembly system (1) comprising a placement machine (100) with a placement head (130) and a device (150) according to any one of the preceding device-related claims. [13] Placement system (1) according to the preceding claim, wherein an interface (140) is formed between the device (150) for feeding components (192) located in a surface magazine (296) and the placement machine (100), which interface ensures interaction of the device (150) and the placement machine (100) in a placement operation. [14] Placement system (1) according to one of the two preceding claims 12 to 13, wherein the placement head (130) is a multiple placement head which has a plurality of component holding devices, so that a plurality of components (192) can be held simultaneously and transferred together from the device (150) to a placement area (110) of the placement machine (100). [15] Placement system (1) according to one of the two preceding claims 12 to 13, wherein the placement head (130) is a single placement head which has exactly one component holding device for receiving exactly one component (192).

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