Substrate loader

Abstract

To provide a substrate loader capable of properly extruding a substrate housed in a magazine.SOLUTION: A substrate loader 1 according to the present invention comprises: an extrusion part 12 for extruding a substrate 3 stored in a magazine 5 from the magazine 5, the magazine being provided with a pair of vertically-aligned support parts for supporting the substrate 3 inside a box shape having opposing openings; a moving part 13 for moving the magazine 5 in the vertical direction; a detection part 14 having an emitting part 141 that emits light along a groove formed by the plurality of support parts from one opening side of the magazine 5 when the magazine 5 is moved in the vertical direction, a light receiving part 142 that receives the emitted light at the other opening side, and a substrate detection part 143 that detects, using the light-receiving result, a housing position of the substrate 3 placed on the support parts; and a control unit 16 that controls the extrusion part 12 and the movement part 13 so that the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5 is extruded according to the detection result by the detection part 14.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a substrate loader that pushes out a substrate from a magazine in which the substrate is stored.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a substrate loader (substrate supply device) that supplies a substrate from a magazine in which the substrate is stored to a subsequent component mounting device, substrate inspection device, etc. has been used (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In such a substrate loader, the substrate can be automatically supplied from the magazine to the subsequent device.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a conventional substrate loader, for example, assuming that substrates are placed on each stage of a pair of support portions provided side by side in the vertical direction inside the magazine, the substrate is supplied from the magazine.

[0005] However, there may be cases where substrates are not placed on each stage of the magazine. For example, when a substrate with components mounted is stored in the magazine, one substrate may be stored every two stages of the support portion or one substrate may be stored every three stages of the support portion according to the height of the mounted components. Further, when manually storing substrates in the magazine, the intervals between the plurality of substrates stored in the magazine may not be constant and may be irregular. In such a case, if the process of pushing out the substrates from the magazine is performed assuming that a plurality of substrates are stored at predetermined intervals, there is a problem that the components mounted on the substrate may be damaged by pushing not the substrate but the components mounted on the substrate by the pushing portion.

[0006] The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a substrate loader that can appropriately push out a substrate accommodated in a magazine.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To achieve the above object, a substrate loader according to an aspect of the present invention includes an extrusion unit that extrudes a substrate accommodated in a magazine provided with a pair of support portions that support both ends of a substrate in a horizontal posture in a box-shaped interior having a pair of opposing openings, in a vertical direction; a moving unit that moves the magazine in the vertical direction; an emitting unit that emits light along a groove formed by a plurality of support portions from one opening side of the magazine when the magazine is moved in the vertical direction by the moving unit; a light receiving unit that receives the light emitted from the emitting unit on the other opening side; and a detection unit that has a substrate detection unit that detects the accommodation position of the substrate placed on the support portion using the light receiving result by the light receiving unit, and a control unit that controls the extrusion unit and the moving unit so that the substrate accommodated in the magazine is extruded according to the detection result by the detection unit. With such a configuration, by extruding the substrate at the accommodation position of the substrate detected by the detection unit, the substrate accommodated in the magazine can be appropriately extruded. Therefore, for example, even when a mounting substrate on which components are mounted is accommodated in the magazine, the extrusion unit can appropriately push the position of the substrate instead of the position of the components.

[0008] Further, in the substrate loader according to an aspect of the present invention, the substrate detection unit may detect that a substrate is placed on the support portion when the light emitted from the emitting unit is not received by the light receiving unit over a length exceeding the vertical width of the support portion. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to detect the accommodation position of the substrate placed on the support portion according to the length at which the light emitted from the emitting unit is not received by the light receiving unit.

[0009] Further, in the substrate loader according to one aspect of the present invention, a storage unit that stores the number of substrates stored in the magazine, the number of substrates stored in the storage unit, and the number of substrates stored in the magazine obtained according to the detection result by the detection unit, when they are different, an output unit that outputs that they are different may be further provided. With such a configuration, it is possible to notify an operator or the like that a predetermined number of substrates have not been detected. And the operator or the like who has received the notification can take actions such as checking the storage status of the substrates in the magazine.

[0010] Further, in the substrate loader according to one aspect of the present invention, an output unit that outputs information indicating the storage position of the substrates stored in the magazine detected by the detection unit may be further provided. With such a configuration, for example, when storing a plurality of substrates in the magazine in the subsequent substrate unloader, by using the output information, it becomes possible to store the substrates at the same storage position as the magazine from which the substrates are pushed out.

[0011] Further, in the substrate loader according to one aspect of the present invention, the substrate detection unit acquires the distance from the reference position of the substrates stored in the magazine, and the control unit controls the pushing unit and the moving unit so that the substrates stored at a position corresponding to the distance acquired by the substrate detection unit from the reference position are pushed out. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to realize the pushing out of the substrate at a more accurate position.

Advantages of the Invention

[0012] According to the substrate loader according to one aspect of the present invention, for example, even if the position where the substrates are stored in the magazine is not input to the substrate loader, the substrates stored in the magazine can be appropriately pushed out.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0013]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4A

Figure 4B

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] Hereinafter, the substrate loader according to the present invention will be described using embodiments. In the following embodiments, components and steps denoted by the same reference numerals are the same or corresponding, and repeated descriptions may be omitted. The substrate loader according to the present embodiment detects a substrate stored in a magazine by a detection unit, and pushes out the substrate from the magazine according to the detection result.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the substrate loader 1 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view of the substrate loader 1, and FIG. 3 is a front view of the substrate loader 1. Also, FIG. 4A is a perspective view of the magazine 5, and FIG. 4B is a rear view of the magazine 5. Further, FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the substrate loader 1. In the present embodiment, for convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1, the direction in which the substrate 3 is pushed out from the magazine 5 in the substrate loader 1 is referred to as the x-axis direction, the vertical direction (vertical direction) is referred to as the z-axis direction, and the direction orthogonal to the x-axis direction and the z-axis direction may be referred to as the y-axis direction. It is assumed that the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction are each a horizontal direction.

[0016] The substrate loader 1 according to this embodiment supplies a plurality of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 to subsequent devices such as a component mounting device and a substrate inspection device, and includes a storage unit 11, a pushing-out unit 12, a moving unit 13, a detection unit 14, an output unit 15, and a control unit 16. Further, if necessary, it may include a lower conveyor 21, an upper conveyor 22, and an adjustment mechanism 23.

[0017] The substrate 3 may be, for example, a circuit board or a printed circuit board, or other substrates. Also, the circuit board or the printed circuit board may be, for example, a raw substrate on which components such as electronic components are not mounted, or a mounted substrate on which components are mounted. Further, the substrate 3 may be, for example, a single-sided substrate, a double-sided substrate, or a multilayer substrate.

[0018] As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the magazine 5 is provided with a pair of support portions 55 arranged vertically for supporting both ends of the substrate 3 in a horizontal posture inside a box-shaped body having a pair of opposing openings 50a and 50b. When the openings 50a and 50b are not distinguished, they may also be referred to as the opening 50. The magazine 5 may be, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a pair of opposing openings 50, which has a pair of opposing side plates 51 and 52, and an upper plate 53 and a bottom plate 54 that connect the upper and lower ends of both side plates 51 and 52, respectively. Note that the magazine 5 having a box shape with a pair of opposing openings 50 may mean that the magazine 5 includes at least such a box shape. For example, some sides of the upper plate 53 and the bottom plate 54 of the magazine 5 may protrude from the side plates 51 and 52 as shown in FIG. 4B and the like. Also, a plurality of support portions 55 extending in the horizontal direction are provided vertically on the inner surface sides of the side plates 51 and 52. Note that it is preferable that the support portion 55 supports the substrate 3 only at the ends of the opposing sides of the rectangular substrate 3. This is to enable the substrate 3 on which components are mounted to be accommodated in the magazine 5 as well. A groove 56 is formed by two support portions 55 adjacent to each other in the vertical direction. Inside the magazine 5, when both ends of the substrate 3 are placed on a pair of support portions 55 at the same height, that is, when both ends of the substrate 3 are inserted into a pair of opposing grooves 56, the substrate 3 is accommodated in the magazine 5 in a horizontal posture.

[0019] The magazine 5 may be configured to accommodate only a substrate 3 of a specific size, for example, or may be configured to change the size of the substrate 3 to be accommodated. In the latter case, for example, the distance between the opposing side plates 51 and 52 may be changed. Also, as an example, a plurality of magazines 5 connected in the vertical direction may be used as one magazine 5.

[0020] In the storage unit 11, the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 from which the substrate 3 is pushed out in the substrate loader 1 is stored. This number of substrates 3 is a set value of the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5. For example, when the number of substrates 3 accommodated in each magazine 5 from which the substrate 3 is pushed out in the substrate loader 1 is different, it is preferable that the number of substrates 3 accommodated in that magazine 5 is accumulated in the storage unit 11 each time the magazine 5 is set in the substrate loader 1. Otherwise, that is, when the number of substrates 3 accommodated in a plurality of magazines 5 is the same, when the first magazine 5 is set in the substrate loader 1, the number of substrates 3 accommodated in that magazine 5 may be accumulated in the storage unit 11 only once.

[0021] The process by which the number of substrates 3 is stored in the storage unit 11 is not limited. For example, the number of substrates 3 may be stored in the storage unit 11 via a recording medium, the number of substrates 3 transmitted via a communication line or the like may be stored in the storage unit 11, or the number of substrates 3 input via an input device may be stored in the storage unit 11. Further, information other than the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 may be stored in the storage unit 11, for example. The storage unit 11 is preferably realized by a non-volatile recording medium, but may also be realized by a volatile recording medium. The recording medium may be, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, or the like.

[0022] The pushing-out unit 12 pushes out the substrate 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 from the magazine 5. The pushing-out unit 12 may have, for example, a contact portion 12a that contacts the substrate 3 and a uniaxial actuator 12b that moves the contact portion 12a in a uniaxial direction. The contact portion 12a preferably contacts near the center of one side of the rectangular substrate 3 when pushing out the substrate 3 from the magazine 5. The uniaxial actuator 12b is not particularly limited as long as it can move the contact portion 12a in a uniaxial direction, and may be, for example, an air cylinder, a solenoid, or other uniaxial actuators.

[0023] The moving part 13 moves the magazine 5 in the vertical direction. As an example, the moving part 13 includes a frame 130, a motor 131 fixed to the frame 130, a driving pulley 132 driven by the motor 131, a driven pulley 133 disposed below the driving pulley 132, a belt 134 wound around the driving pulley 132 and the driven pulley 133, a guide 135 fixed to the frame 130 and extending in the vertical direction, a slider 136 fixed to the belt 134 and moving vertically along the guide 135 in response to the rotation of the belt 134, a base 137 fixed to the slider 136, and a magazine mounting conveyor 138 provided on the base 137. When the moving part 13 is configured in this way, the driving pulley 132 is rotated by the motor 131, causing the belt 134 to rotate. In response to the rotation of the belt 134, the slider 136 and the base 137 move in the vertical direction, causing the magazine 5 placed on the magazine mounting conveyor 138 on the base 137 to move in the vertical direction. Also, the magazine 5 can be conveyed in the x-axis direction by the magazine mounting conveyor 138.

[0024] Needless to say, the moving part 13 may have other configurations. Instead of the driving pulley 132, the driven pulley 133, and the belt 134, for example, a driving gear, a driven gear, and a chain wound around both gears may be used. Also, needless to say, the magazine 5 may be moved in the vertical direction by other mechanisms such as a rack and pinion or a ball screw.

[0025] The detection part 14 detects the substrate 3 housed in the magazine 5. When the magazine 5 is moved in the vertical direction by the moving part 13, it includes a light emitting part 141 that emits light along a groove 56 formed by a plurality of support parts 55 from one opening 50a side of the magazine 5, a light receiving part 142 that receives the light emitted from the light emitting part 141 on the other opening 50b side, and a substrate detection part 143 that detects the housing position of the substrate 3 placed on the support part 55 using the light receiving result by the light receiving part 142.

[0026] The light emitted by the emitting unit 141 may be, for example, laser light, or may be light having excellent directivity and convergence similar to laser light. It is preferable that the light emitted from the emitting unit 141 is emitted in the x-axis direction. Further, when the height of the light is the same as the height of the groove 56, it is preferable that the light is light along the groove 56. Further, the emitting unit 14 emits light at a position where, in accordance with the vertical movement of the magazine 5, a state in which the emitted light passes through the groove 56 and is received by the light receiving unit 142 and a state in which the emitted light is blocked by the support portion 55 and is not received by the light receiving unit 142 are repeated. The light receiving unit 142 is not particularly limited as long as it is a sensor capable of detecting light, and may be, for example, a photodiode or a phototransistor.

[0027] The detection of the accommodation position of the substrate 3 by the substrate detection unit 143 may be, for example, to identify information for identifying the support portion 55 or the groove 56 on which the substrate 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 is placed, or to obtain the distance from the reference position of the substrate 3 accommodated in the magazine 5. The information for identifying the support portion 55 or the groove 56 may be, for example, information indicating the order of the support portion 55 or the groove 56 from the upper end side or the lower end side in the magazine 5 (for example, it may be numbered "1", "2", "3", etc. from the upper end side or the lower end side).). The distance of the substrate 3 from the reference position may be, for example, the vertical distance from a predetermined reference position in the magazine 5 to the position of the substrate 3 to be detected for the accommodation position. The process of detecting the substrate 3 by the substrate detection unit 143 will be described later.

[0028] The output unit 15 may output that they are different, for example, when the number of substrates 3 stored in the storage unit 11 is different from the number of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 obtained according to the detection result of the detection unit 14. This output may be performed, for example, before the substrate 3 is pushed out from the magazine 5. When this output is performed, it means that a predetermined number of substrates 3 are not stored in the magazine 5, indicating that some abnormality has occurred. Therefore, in response to this output, for example, an operator or the like may manually check the substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5. When the number of substrates 3 stored in the storage unit 11 is equal to the number of substrates 3 obtained according to the detection result, the output by the output unit 15 may not be performed, or it may output that they are equal. The acquisition of the number of substrates 3 according to the detection result may be performed by, for example, the control unit 16 or the like. The control unit 16 may obtain the number of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5, for example, by counting the number of accommodation positions of the substrates 3 detected by the substrate detection unit 143.

[0029] In addition, the output unit 15 may output information indicating the accommodation position of the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5 detected by the detection unit 14, for example. The information indicating the accommodation position of the substrate 3 may be output to, for example, a device such as a subsequent substrate unloader. In this case, for example, in a device such as a substrate unloader, the substrate 3 can be accommodated in the same stage as the magazine 5 from which the substrate loader 1 has pushed out the substrate 3. Also, the output unit 15 may output information indicating the accommodation position of the substrate 3 to, for example, a management server or the like. In this case, for example, in a management server or the like, by associating the information indicating the accommodation positions of a plurality of substrates 3 with an identifier for identifying the magazine 5 in which the plurality of substrates 3 are accommodated, the accommodation positions of the plurality of substrates 3 in each magazine 5 can be managed. Therefore, for example, when accommodating the plurality of substrates 3 in the magazine 5 with a substrate unloader, by accommodating the plurality of substrates 3 according to the information indicating the accommodation positions, it is not necessary to detect the accommodation positions of the substrates 3 in the magazine 5 in a device subsequent to the substrate loader 1.

[0030] Here, this output may be, for example, a display on a display device (such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display), a transmission via a communication line to a predetermined device, printing by a printer, audio output by a speaker, light output such as lighting of a warning lamp, storage in a recording medium, or delivery to other components. As an example, the output indicating that the number of stored substrates 3 is different from the number of substrates 3 acquired according to the detection result may be lighting of a warning lamp or the like. Also, as an example, the output of information indicating the storage position of the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5 may be transmission to a subsequent device. Note that the output unit 15 may or may not include a device for performing the output (such as a display device or a communication device). Also, the output unit 15 may be realized by hardware or by software such as a driver for driving those devices.

[0031] The control unit 16 controls the pushing-out unit 12 and the moving unit 13 so that the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5 is pushed out according to the detection result by the detection unit 14. That is, the control unit 16 may control the pushing-out unit 12 and the moving unit 13 so that the substrate 3 stored in the detected storage position is pushed out. Since the storage position of the substrate 3 in the magazine 5 can be known from the detection result by the detection unit 14, the control unit 16, for example, adjusts the vertical position of the magazine 5 by controlling the moving unit 13 so that the substrate 3 to be pushed out is at the position of the pushing-out unit 12, and after that adjustment, controls the pushing-out unit 12 so that the substrate 3 is pushed out. By repeating such processing, all the substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 can be taken out from the magazine 5.

[0032] When the substrate detection unit 143 identifies information for identifying the support portion 55 and the groove 56 on which the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5 is placed, the control unit 16 uses information that associates the information for identifying the support portion 55 and the groove 56, which is registered in advance, with the vertical height of the support portion 55 or the like to identify the height of the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5, and may control the pushing unit 12 and the moving unit 13 so that the substrate 3 existing at that height is pushed out.

[0033] When the distance from the reference position of the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5 is acquired by the substrate detection unit 143, the control unit 16 may control the pushing unit 12 and the moving unit 13 so that the substrate 3 stored at a position corresponding to the distance from the reference position acquired by the substrate detection unit 143 is pushed out. In this case, for example, even if the heights of the support portion 55 and the groove 56 in the magazine 5 are not registered in advance, the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5 can be pushed out.

[0034] Further, when the detection unit 14 detects whether the substrate 3 is placed on each support portion 55 of the magazine 5, the control unit 16 may control the moving unit 13 to move the magazine 5 upward or downward.

[0035] The lower conveyor 21 is a conveyor that moves the magazine 5 in which a plurality of substrates 3 are stored in the positive direction of the x-axis, that is, toward the magazine placement conveyor 138.

[0036] The upper conveyor 22 is a conveyor that receives the empty magazine 5 from which all the substrates 3 have been pushed out from the magazine placement conveyor 138 and moves it in the negative direction of the x-axis.

[0037] The adjustment mechanism 23 is a mechanism for adjusting the position of the pushing unit 12 in the y-axis direction. By performing this adjustment, the contact portion 12a of the pushing unit 12 can be made to contact near the center of the side of the substrate 3 in the y-axis direction.

[0038] Also, although not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the substrate loader 1 may further include one or more fixing portions 24 and a positioning member 25 as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. The fixing portion 24 fixes the magazine 5 placed on the magazine placement conveyor 138 by pressing it in the positive direction of the y-axis toward the positioning member 25. By fixing the magazine 5 in this way, the positioning of the magazine 5 can be performed, and when the substrate 3 is pushed out from the magazine 5, the magazine 5 can be prevented from moving. The fixing portion 24 is not particularly limited, and for example, it may be a uniaxial actuator such as an air cylinder. As an example, the fixing portion 24 may be fixed to the base portion 137 of the moving portion 13 or the like. Further, the positioning member 25 is a member for positioning the magazine 5, and for example, it may be a plate-like member arranged so that the surface direction is perpendicular to the y-axis direction. The positioning member 25 may be fixed to the base portion 137 or the like, for example. In this way, when the magazine 5 is fixed by the fixing portion 24 and positioned in the y-axis direction, when the magazine 5 is moved in the vertical direction, the position of the light emitted from the emission portion 141 in the y-axis direction can be made to be the position of the support portion 55 or the groove 56 of the magazine 5. As a result, it becomes possible to appropriately detect whether the substrate 3 is placed on the support portion 55.

[0039] The control unit 16 may control, for example, the lower conveyor 21, the upper conveyor 22, the adjustment mechanism 23, and the fixing portion 24. For example, the conveyance of the magazine 5 by the lower conveyor 21 and the upper conveyor 22 may be controlled by the control unit 16.

[0040] Next, the detection of the accommodation position of the substrate 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a front view of the magazine 5 in which a plurality of substrates 3 are accommodated, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the light reception result at the light reception unit 142. As shown in FIG. 6, assume that the magazine 5 in which a plurality of substrates 3 are accommodated is moved upward by the moving unit 13 so that the vertical position of the emitting unit 141 is below the lowermost support unit 55 of the magazine 5. Then, when the magazine 5 is moved downward at a constant speed by the moving unit 13, the result of the light emitted from the emitting unit 141 being received by the light reception unit 142 is shown in FIG. 7.

[0041] In FIG. 7, ON indicates that the light emitted from the emitting unit 141 has been received, and OFF indicates that the light has not been received. Also, assume that time elapses from left to right. At the locations where the light reception in FIG. 7 is OFF, the period during which the light reception is OFF (the length in the horizontal direction in FIG. 7) will be different depending on whether the substrate 3 is placed on the support unit 55 or not. For example, when the substrate 3 is not placed on the support unit 55, the period during which the light reception is OFF is L1, and when the substrate 3 is placed on the support unit 55, the period during which the light reception is OFF is L1 + L2. Therefore, the substrate detection unit 143 can detect the presence or absence of the substrate 3 according to the difference between the two.

[0042] For example, in the memory unit 11 or a memory unit (not shown), the value of L1 may be stored. Then, when the period during which the light reception is OFF is L1, the substrate detection unit 143 may determine that the substrate 3 is not placed on the support unit 55, and when the period during which the light reception is OFF exceeds L1, it may determine that the substrate 3 is placed on the support unit 55. That is, when the light emitted from the emission unit 141 is not received by the light reception unit 142 over a length exceeding the vertical width of the support unit 55 (i.e., a period exceeding the period L1), the substrate detection unit 143 may detect that the substrate 3 is placed on the support unit 55 and acquire the accommodation position of the substrate 3. Note that when the light emitted from the emission unit 141 is not received by the light reception unit 142 over a length corresponding to the vertical width of the support unit 55 (i.e., the period L1), the substrate detection unit 143 may determine that the substrate 3 is not placed on the support unit 55. In FIG. 7, for example, it may be determined that the substrates 3 are respectively placed on the third, fifth, seventh, and ninth support units 55 from the bottom.

[0043] As the accommodation position of the substrate 3 in the magazine 5, the substrate detection unit 143 may acquire information for identifying, for example, the support unit 55 on which the substrate 3 is placed. In the example of FIG. 7, for example, "third", "fifth", etc. indicating the order from the bottom in the magazine 5 may be acquired as information for identifying the support unit 55 on which the substrate 3 is placed.

[0044] Further, the substrate detection unit 143 may obtain information indicating the distance from a reference position to the substrate 3, for example, as the accommodation position of the substrate 3 in the magazine 5. In the example of FIG. 7, for example, with the lower end side of the lowermost support portion 55 in the magazine 5 (that is, the vertical position corresponding to the left downward edge during the period when the leftmost light reception in FIG. 7 is OFF) as the reference position, the distance between the reference position and the substrate 3 may be obtained as the accommodation position of the substrate 3. The distance between the reference position and the substrate 3 may be, for example, the distance from the reference position to the middle position of the vertical thickness of the substrate 3. That distance may be calculated, for example, by multiplying the time interval from the time point corresponding to the reference position to the time point corresponding to the position of the substrate 3 by the moving speed of the magazine 5 in the vertical direction when the magazine 5 is moved in the vertical direction at a constant speed.

[0045] For example, when the substrate 3 is detected by the detection unit 14 near the center in the y-axis direction of the substrate 3, it may not be possible to appropriately detect the accommodation position of the substrate 3 due to the influence of the components mounted on the substrate 3. In particular, when components are mounted on both sides of the substrate 3, it becomes impossible to appropriately detect the accommodation position of the substrate 3. On the other hand, when the substrate 3 is detected by the detection unit 14 at the position of the support portion 55 or the groove 56 in the y-axis direction of the substrate 3, it becomes possible to detect the accommodation position of the substrate 3 without being affected by the components mounted on the substrate 3.

[0046] Here, the case where the substrate 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 is detected when the magazine 5 is moved from top to bottom has been described, but this is not necessary. For example, it goes without saying that the substrate 3 may be detected when the magazine 5 is moved from bottom to top. Also, here, only the case where the magazine 5 is moved in the vertical direction to detect the substrate 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 has been described, but this is not necessary. For example, when the magazine 5 is moved upward or downward, the detection of the substrate 3 by the detection unit 14 and the extrusion of the substrate 3 by the extrusion unit 12 may be performed simultaneously. In this case, when the substrate 3 detected by the detection unit 14 reaches the position of the extrusion unit 12 in the vertical direction, the movement of the magazine 5 by the moving unit 13 is stopped and the substrate 3 is extruded from the magazine 5, and then the movement of the magazine 5 may be performed again. Incidentally, for example, when the emitting unit 141 and the light receiving unit 142 are arranged as shown in FIG. 1, the detection of the substrate 3 by the detection unit 14 and the extrusion of the substrate 3 by the extrusion unit 12 may be performed simultaneously when the magazine 5 is moved from bottom to top.

[0047] Next, the operation of the substrate loader 1 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 8. The flowchart of FIG. 8 is for explaining the detection of a plurality of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 and the process of extruding the detected substrates 3. (Step S101) The control unit 16 determines whether to supply the substrate 3 from the magazine 5 to the subsequent device. If it is determined to supply the substrate 3 from the magazine 5 to the subsequent device, the process proceeds to step S102. Otherwise, the process of step S101 is repeated until it is determined to supply the substrate 3.

[0048] (Step S102) The control unit 16 controls the moving unit 13 to move the magazine 5 in the vertical direction. For example, the magazine 5 may be moved at a constant speed. During the movement, the detection unit 14 detects the accommodation positions of the plurality of substrates 3 in the magazine 5.

[0049] (Step S103) The control unit 16 determines whether the number of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 in the storage unit 11 is equal to the number of substrates 3 acquired according to the detection result in step S102. If both are equal, it proceeds to step S104; otherwise, it proceeds to step S107.

[0050] (Step S104) The control unit 16 moves the magazine 5 in the vertical direction by the moving unit 13 so that the accommodation position of the substrate 3 detected in step S102 becomes the position of the extrusion unit 12. For example, when proceeding from step S103 to step S104, the control unit 16 may control the moving unit 13 so that the position of the extrusion unit 12 becomes the accommodation position of the uppermost or lowermost substrate 3 in the magazine 5. Also, for example, when returning from step S106 to step S104, the control unit 16 may control the moving unit 13 so that the position of the extrusion unit 12 becomes the accommodation position of the substrate 3 stored below or above the substrate 3 extruded last time.

[0051] (Step S105) The extrusion unit 12 supplies the substrate 3 stored in the magazine 5 to the subsequent device by extruding the substrate 3 from the magazine 5.

[0052] (Step S106) The control unit 16 determines whether all the substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 have been extruded. If all the substrates 3 have been extruded, it returns to step S101; otherwise, it returns to step S104. The control unit 16 may determine that all the substrates 3 have been extruded, for example, when the number of substrates 3 extruded from the magazine 5 is equal to or greater than the number of substrates 3 acquired according to the detection result.

[0053] (Step S107) The output unit 15 outputs that the number of substrates 3 stored in the storage unit 11 is different from the number of substrates 3 acquired according to the detection result by the detection unit 14. Then, it returns to step S101.

[0054] Note that the order of the processes in the flowchart of FIG. 8 is merely an example, and the order of each step may be changed as long as the same result can be obtained. Also, in the flowchart of FIG. 8, the process ends due to a power-off or an interrupt of the end of the process.

[0055] Next, the operation of the substrate loader 1 according to the present embodiment will be described using a specific example. First, an operator places the magazine 5 containing a plurality of substrates 3 on the lower conveyor 21 as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1. Then, when an instruction to supply the substrate 3 from the magazine 5 to the subsequent device is input to the substrate loader 1, the instruction is received by the control unit 16. Upon receiving the instruction, the control unit 16 determines to supply the substrate 3 from the magazine 5 to the subsequent device (step S101), and drives the lower conveyor 21 and the magazine placement conveyor 138 to move the magazine 5 onto the magazine placement conveyor 138. Further, the control unit 16 operates the fixing unit 24 so as to press the magazine 5 toward the positioning member 25. In response to the control, the side plate 52 side of the magazine 5 is pressed against the positioning member 25 by the fixing unit 24, and the positioning of the magazine 5 in the y-axis direction is performed, and the magazine 5 is fixed on the magazine placement conveyor 138.

[0056] Also, the control unit 16 passes an instruction to move the magazine 5 upward to the moving unit 13. Upon receiving the instruction, the moving unit 13 drives the motor 131 to move the support portion 55 at the lower end of the magazine 5 to a position above the emission unit 141. After that, the control unit 16 passes an instruction to move the magazine 5 downward to the moving unit 13 and an instruction to detect the substrate 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 to the detection unit 14. In response to the instruction, the moving unit 13 moves the magazine 5 downward. Also, when the magazine 5 moves, the substrate detection unit 143 uses the light reception result by the light reception unit 142 of the light emitted from the emission unit 141 to acquire the accommodation position of the substrate 3 accommodated in the magazine 5, and passes the acquired accommodation position of the substrate 3 to the control unit 16 (step S102).

[0057] Thereafter, the control unit 16 reads out the number of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 and stored in the storage unit 11, and counts the number of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 using the storage position of the substrate 3 received from the substrate detection unit 143. Then, the control unit 16 determines whether the two match (step S103).

[0058] Here, it is assumed that the two match. Then, the control unit 16 controls the moving unit 13 so that the position of the pushing-out unit 12 becomes the position of the uppermost substrate 3 in the magazine 5 (step S104). After the completion of the movement, when the substrate request signal output from the subsequent device becomes ON, the control unit 16 gives an instruction to push out the substrate 3 to the pushing-out unit 12. The substrate request signal may be a signal that becomes ON when the subsequent device requests the supply of the substrate 3 and becomes OFF after the subsequent device receives the substrate 3. Upon receiving the instruction from the control unit 16, the uniaxial actuator 12b of the pushing-out unit 12 moves the contact portion 12a in the positive direction of the x-axis. In response to the movement of the contact portion 12a, the substrate 3 is pushed out from the magazine 5. When the substrate request signal output from the subsequent device becomes OFF, the control unit 16 gives an instruction to the pushing-out unit 12 to return the contact portion 12a. Upon receiving the instruction, the uniaxial actuator 12b of the pushing-out unit 12 moves the contact portion 12a in the negative direction of the x-axis. In this way, the process of pushing out one substrate 3 is completed (step S105).

[0059] In addition, if the substrate request signal does not become OFF even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the substrate 3 was pushed out by the pushing-out unit 12, it is considered a timeout, and the output unit 15 may output that an abnormality has occurred in the conveyance of the substrate 3. In this case, for example, an abnormality such as the dropping of the substrate 3 may have occurred between the substrate loader 1 and the subsequent device.

[0060] When the process of pushing out one substrate 3 is completed, the control unit 16 determines whether all the substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 have been pushed out (step S106). At this point, assume that the number of substrates 3 pushed out from the magazine 5 by the pushing unit 12 is less than the number of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 obtained according to the detection result by the detection unit 14. Then, the control unit 16 controls the moving unit 13 so that the position of the pushing unit 12 becomes the position of the next substrate 3 in the magazine 5. And that substrate 3 is pushed out from the magazine 5 by the pushing unit 12 (steps S104, S105). By repeating such a process, all the substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 will be supplied to the subsequent device.

[0061] Next, the control unit 16 controls the moving unit 13 to move the empty magazine 5 not containing the substrate 3 upward so that the magazine mounting conveyor 138 and the upper conveyor 22 are at the same height. After that movement, the control unit 16 releases the fixing of the magazine 5 by the fixing unit 24 and drives the magazine mounting conveyor 138 and the upper conveyor 22 to move the magazine 5 onto the upper conveyor 22. The empty magazine 5 on the upper conveyor 22 can be removed by the operator. Also, the control unit 16 controls the moving unit 13 to move the magazine mounting conveyor 138 downward so that the magazine mounting conveyor 138 and the upper conveyor 22 are at the same height. In this way, a series of processes for supplying the plurality of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 from the magazine 5 to the subsequent device is completed.

[0062] In addition, when the number of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 stored in the storage unit 11 does not match the number of substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 according to the detection result of the substrate 3, an output indicating that the two do not match is performed (step S107). When this output is performed, for example, the process of supplying the substrates 3 stored in the magazine 5 to the subsequent device is interrupted, and the operator may manually check the storage status of the substrates 3 in the magazine 5.

[0063] As described above, according to the substrate loader 1 according to the present embodiment, by detecting the accommodation position of the substrate 3 in the magazine 5 and pushing out the substrate 3 from the magazine 5 according to the detection result, the substrate 3 can be appropriately pushed out. For example, even when a plurality of substrates 3 are accommodated in the magazine 5 at irregular intervals, when pushing out each substrate 3 from the magazine 5 without inputting the accommodation position of the substrate 3 in the magazine 5 to the substrate loader 1, the position of the substrate 3 can be appropriately pushed. Therefore, for example, even when a mounting substrate with components mounted thereon is accommodated in the magazine 5, when pushing out the substrate 3, it is possible to push at the position of the substrate 3 instead of the position of the components mounted on the substrate 3.

[0064] Further, when the detection unit 14 acquires the distance from the reference position in the magazine 5 to the accommodated substrate 3 as the accommodation position of the substrate 3 in the magazine 5, the substrate 3 can be pushed out at a position corresponding to that distance. Therefore, for example, even if the positions of the support portion 55 and the groove 56 in the magazine 5 are not registered in advance, the substrate 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 can be pushed out. Also, for example, two or more magazines 5 connected in the vertical direction may be used in the same manner as one magazine 5. In this case, the position of the groove 56 may change slightly according to the connection status of the two or more magazines 5. Even in such a situation, when the detection unit 14 has acquired the distance from the reference position of each substrate 3 accommodated in the magazine 5, the substrate 3 can be appropriately pushed out according to that distance.

[0065] Also, when the number of substrates 3 stored in the storage unit 11 is different from the number of substrates 3 detected by the detection unit 14 and accommodated in the magazine 5, by outputting that the two are different, it is possible to notify an operator or the like that the substrates 3 of a predetermined number have not been detected.

[0066] Also, when information indicating the accommodation positions of the plurality of substrates 3 in the magazine 5 detected by the detection unit 14 is output, for example, in a subsequent device, the plurality of substrates 3 can be accommodated in the magazine 5 in the same manner as the magazine 5 in which the substrate 3 has become the detection target.

[0067] In addition, in the present embodiment, the case where the substrate loader 1 includes the output unit 15 has been mainly described, but this is not necessary. If information indicating that the number of substrates 3 stored in the storage unit 11 is different from the number of substrates 3 acquired according to the detection result of the detection unit 14 is not output, and information indicating the accommodation position of the substrate 3 detected by the detection unit 14 is not output, the substrate loader 1 may not include the output unit 15. Further, if information indicating that the number of substrates 3 stored in the storage unit 11 is different from the number of substrates 3 acquired according to the detection result of the detection unit 14 is not output, the number of substrates 3 accommodated in the magazine 5 may not be stored in the storage unit 11, and if other information does not need to be stored in the storage unit 11, the substrate loader 1 may not include the storage unit 11.

[0068] Also, in the above embodiment, each process or each function may be realized by being centrally processed by a single device or a single system, or may be realized by being distributedly processed by a plurality of devices or a plurality of systems.

[0069] Also, in the above embodiment, each component may be configured by dedicated hardware, or for components that can be realized by software, they may be realized by executing a program. For example, each component can be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. At the time of its execution, the program execution unit may execute the program while accessing the storage unit and the recording medium.

[0070] Moreover, the above embodiments are examples for specifically implementing the present invention and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. The technical scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims rather than the description of the embodiments, and it is intended that modifications within the literal scope of the claims and the scope of equivalent meanings are included.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0071] 1 Substrate loader 3 Substrate 5 Magazine 11 Storage unit 12 Extrusion unit 13 Moving unit 14 Detection unit 15 Output unit 16 Control unit 55 Support unit 56 Groove 141 Emission unit 142 Light receiving unit 143 Substrate detection unit

Claims

1. An extruding unit that extrudes a substrate housed in a magazine in which a pair of support units for supporting both ends of a substrate in a horizontal posture are provided one above the other inside a box-shaped body having a pair of opposing openings; a moving unit that moves the magazine in the vertical direction; a light-emitting unit that emits light along a groove formed by a plurality of the support units from one opening side of the magazine when the moving unit moves the magazine in the vertical direction, a light-receiving unit that receives the light emitted from the light-emitting unit on the other opening side, and a substrate detection unit that detects the housing position of the substrate placed on the support unit using the light-receiving result of the light-receiving unit; a control unit that controls the extruding unit and the moving unit so that the substrate housed in the magazine is extruded according to the detection result of the detection unit. A substrate loader comprising:

2. The substrate detection unit according to claim 1, wherein the substrate detection unit detects that a substrate is placed on the support unit when the light emitted from the light-emitting unit is not received by the light-receiving unit over a length exceeding the vertical width of the support unit.

3. a storage unit that stores the number of substrates housed in the magazine; an output unit that outputs that there is a difference when there is a difference between the number of substrates stored in the storage unit and the number of substrates housed in the magazine obtained according to the detection result of the detection unit. The substrate loader according to claim 1, further comprising:

4. The substrate loader according to claim 1, further comprising an output unit that outputs information indicating the housing position of the substrate housed in the magazine detected by the detection unit.

5. The substrate detection unit obtains the distance from the reference position of the substrate housed in the magazine, The control unit controls the extruding unit and the moving unit so that the substrate housed at a position corresponding to the distance from the reference position obtained by the substrate detection unit is extruded. The substrate loader according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

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