Component placement apparatus and component placement method

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a component placement apparatus and a component placement method for placing a component at a predetermined location by a highly versatile method applicable to various components at low cost.SOLUTION: There is provided a component arrangement method for arranging a component at a predetermined place. A method of arranging a component, comprising: holding a component; irradiating both at least a part of the held component and at least a part of a predetermined place where the component is to be arranged with light from directly above to create a shadow of an outer shape of the component on a front face of the predetermined place (s1 and s3); and moving and arranging the component at the predetermined place based on the shadow (s2 and s4).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a component placement device and a component placement method. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are component placement devices and component placement methods for placing components at predetermined locations. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-261298 [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-212235 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The invention described in Patent Document 1 can quickly detect the posture of an electronic component held by the suction nozzle of a mounting head using horizontal light, but has the problem of being unable to grasp the positional relationship between the electronic component and the circuit board. The invention shown in Patent Document 2 uses a vertical spot light to identify the mounting position of an electronic component from an image captured by an obliquely positioned imaging means, but has the problem of being unable to grasp the positional relationship between the electronic component and the circuit board.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a component placement device and a component placement method that place components in predetermined locations using a low-cost, highly versatile method that can be applied to a variety of components. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The above purpose is A component placement method for placing components in predetermined locations, comprising: holding the part; moving the part; irradiating at least a portion of the predetermined locations with light from directly above to create a shadow of the outline of the component at the predetermined locations; a component placement method, comprising a step of placing the component at the predetermined location based on the shadow; This is achieved by:

[0007] In addition, the above objectives are: The above component arrangement method, wherein the light is parallel light. This is achieved by:

[0008] In addition, the above objectives are: A component placement method for placing components in predetermined locations, comprising: holding the part; moving the part; irradiating the predetermined location with a spot light; a component placement method including a step of placing the component based on the spot light irradiated at the predetermined location; This is achieved by: [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a component placement device and a component placement method that place components at predetermined locations using a low-cost, highly versatile method that can be applied to a variety of components. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram illustrating an electronic component mounting machine 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 1 is a diagram illustrating an electronic component mounting machine 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an electronic component mounting machine 20 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4]FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating a mounting method of electronic components used in electronic component mounting machines 1, 10, and 20 according to the first to third embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a mounting method of electronic components used in electronic component mounting machines 1, 10, and 20 according to first to third embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 6] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a mounting method of electronic components used in electronic component mounting machines 1, 10, and 20 according to first to third embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 7] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an electronic component mounting machine 30 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for mounting electronic components used in an electronic component mounting machine 30 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 9] 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a mounting method of electronic components used in an electronic component mounting machine 30 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 10] 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a mounting method of electronic components used in an electronic component mounting machine 30 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a mounting method of electronic components used in electronic component mounting machines 1, 10, and 20 according to first to third embodiments of the present invention. [Figure 12] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an electronic component mounting machine 40 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an electronic component mounting machine 40 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating an electronic component mounting machine 40 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] Electronic component mounting machines 1, 10, 20, 30, and 40 and electronic component mounting methods according to embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figures 1 to 14. Note that in all the following drawings, the dimensions and proportions of each component may be shown differently as appropriate to facilitate understanding.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an electronic component mounting machine 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The electronic component mounting machine 1 includes a stage 2 on which a circuit board b is mounted, a moving unit 3 that moves an electronic component a in the X, Y, and Z directions, an electronic component a, a holding unit 5 that holds the electronic component a, a light 6 positioned directly above the circuit board b, and a camera 7 and a monitor 8 that are linked to the moving unit 3. The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 has a highly versatile configuration because the circuit board is fixed and electronic components are mounted. If the electronic components are moved manually, the camera 7 and the monitor 8 may not be necessary. Furthermore, the stage 2 may rotate in the θ direction.

[0013] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an electronic component mounting machine 10 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. The electronic component mounting machine 10 includes a stage 2 on which a circuit board b is mounted, a moving unit 12 that moves the circuit board in the X, Y, and Z directions, a moving unit 13 that moves an electronic component a, an electronic component a, a holding unit 5 that holds the electronic component a, a light 6 positioned directly above the circuit board b, a camera 7 that takes images from diagonally above, a monitor 8, and a shielding unit 9 that blocks light from room lighting 100. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the electronic components are mounted by moving the circuit board, so the moving unit 13 only needs to move the electronic component to a predetermined position, and the camera 7 can be fixed. Even in this embodiment, the camera 7 and monitor 8 may not be necessary if the circuit board is moved manually.

[0014] The holder 5 used in the electronic component mounting machines 1 and 10 uses a suction nozzle to suck and hold electronic components. The holder 5 employs a suction nozzle that extends diagonally downward to avoid blocking the light from the light source 6. The illumination surface of the light source 6 is configured to be parallel to the circuit board b so that the light emitted from the light source 6 strikes the circuit board b perpendicularly. In this embodiment, parallel light is preferred for the light emitted from the light source 6, but light other than parallel light may also be used. Visible light in a short wavelength range with minimal light deflection is preferred to create accurate shadows, and a monochromatic green or blue LED is preferred as the light source. The light source 6 may also be provided with light sources of multiple wavelength ranges (e.g., LEDs in the red wavelength range, LEDs in the green wavelength range, and LEDs in the blue wavelength range) and these multiple light sources may be used arbitrarily. Using light sources of multiple wavelength ranges allows the light source 6 to be distinguished from room light when no shielding unit 9 is provided, and also allows the light source 6 to be distinguished from the light of other devices when multiple units are used simultaneously in close proximity. In the present invention, the positioning of the lighting 6 directly above at least a part of the electronic component a and at least a part of the circuit board b means that a part of the illumination surface onto which light is irradiated from the lighting 6, a part of the electronic component a, and a part of the circuit board b are positioned vertically. The present invention is applicable to both an apparatus for mounting electronic components on a fixed circuit board as shown in Fig. 1 and an apparatus for mounting electronic components by moving both the circuit board and the electronic components as shown in Fig. 2.

[0015] 3 is a schematic diagram of an electronic component mounting machine 20 according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Electronic component mounting machine 20 is configured so that a holder 5 that holds an electronic component a and a light 6 move together.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating the method of mounting electronic components used in the electronic component mounting machines 1 and 10 according to the first and second embodiments of the present invention.

[0017] In the illumination step of step S1, the illumination 6 is used to irradiate both the electronic component a and the circuit board b with light from directly above, so that the shadow of the outline of the electronic component a is projected onto the surface of the circuit board b.

[0018] In the moving / rotating step S2, the electronic component a and the circuit board b are moved and rotated.

[0019] Next, in the shadow confirmation step of step S3, the shadow of the outline of electronic component a projected onto circuit board b is confirmed. If it is determined that the shadow of electronic component a is directly above the mounting location (if Yes), the next step S4 is executed, and if it is determined that the shadow of the outline of electronic component a is not directly above the mounting location (if No), step S2 is executed. In the shadow confirmation step of step S3, the judgment may be made by a person, by image processing based on an image captured by camera 7, or mechanically by the amount of light detected by an optical sensor (not shown).

[0020] The placement step of step S4 is a step of placing electronic component a on circuit board b. Specifically, electronic component a or circuit board b is moved in the height direction to bond electronic component a and circuit board b, and the negative pressure of the suction nozzle is released to place electronic component a on circuit board b.

[0021] 5 and 6 are conceptual diagrams showing an example of a case where the result of the shadow confirmation step in step S3 is No and an example of a case where the result of the shadow confirmation step in step S3 is Yes. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which the shadow k of electronic component a is shifted to the right from the mounting position on circuit board b. In the state shown in FIG. 5, the shadow k is not in the predetermined position, so the result of the shadow confirmation step in step S3 is No. On the other hand, in the state shown in FIG. 6, the shadow k is in the predetermined position, so the result of the shadow confirmation step in step S3 is Yes. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a mark mj or a reference mark kj may be attached to circuit board b, and the result of the shadow confirmation step in step S3 may be determined as Yes based on whether the mark mj is within the shadow k or whether the shadow k is not covering the reference mark. In the shadow confirmation step in step S3, the mark mj or the reference mark kj may be determined by image processing based on an image captured by camera 7. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing other examples of the reference mark kj used in this embodiment. Fig. 11A shows an example in which the shadow k falls on two of the four rectangular marks of the cross reference mark kj, resulting in a "Yes" result in the shadow confirmation step of step S3. Fig. 11B shows an example in which the shadow k falls on a portion of the circular reference mark kj that is 1 / 4 of its area, resulting in a "Yes" result in the shadow confirmation step of step S3. Fig. 11C shows an example in which the shadow k falls on one square portion of the reference mark kj that is made up of four squares, resulting in a "Yes" result in the shadow confirmation step of step S3.

[0022] As described above, the electronic component mounting apparatuses 1, 10, and 20 and the electronic component mounting methods according to the embodiments of the present invention have the following advantages. (a) By using lighting placed directly above electronic components, the shadows of the electronic components can be confirmed just before they are placed on the circuit board, and the electronic components can be mounted on the circuit board. This makes it possible to directly grasp the positional relationship between the electronic components and the circuit board, and to accurately mount the electronic components on the circuit board. (i) Since the positional relationship between electronic components and the circuit board can be grasped directly, cameras and monitors are not required when placing electronic components manually.

[0023] Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of an electronic component mounting machine 30 according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. The electronic component mounting machine 30 includes a stage 2 on which a circuit board b is mounted, a moving unit 3 that moves an electronic component a in the X, Y, and Z directions, an electronic component a, a holding unit 5 that holds the electronic component a, a light 26 positioned directly above the circuit board b, and a camera 7 and a monitor 8 that are linked to the moving unit 3. The embodiment shown in Fig. 7 has a highly versatile configuration because the circuit board is fixed and electronic components are mounted. If the electronic components are moved manually, the camera 7 and monitor 8 may not be necessary.

[0024] The illumination 26 is an illumination for irradiating the surface of the circuit board b with multiple (three in this example) spot lights sp. Here, the spot lights are circular lights with a diameter of approximately 1 to 5 mm in this embodiment, but any light having a consistent contour shape will suffice. The illumination 6 is an illumination having laser diodes 26a, 26b, and 26c. The light-emitting surfaces of the laser diodes 26a to 26c are configured to be parallel to the circuit board b. The illumination 26 is also configured so that each of the laser diodes 26a, 26b, and 26c is movable in the X and Y directions. The laser diodes 26a, 26b, and 26c are moved to apply the spot lights to three corners of the area on the surface of the circuit board b where the electronic component a will be placed. The number of spot lights may be one, two, four, or five or more. Furthermore, the laser diodes 26a to 26c may be red, green, and blue laser diodes. In this case, instead of using the image from the camera 7, for example, the spot light projected onto the substrate may be read using three photodiodes with color filters (a photodiode that responds only to red, a photodiode that responds only to green, and a photodiode that responds only to blue), or the spot light projected onto the substrate may be read using an image sensor. The illumination 26 may be an LED or other collimated light.

[0025] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a method for mounting electronic components used in electronic component mounting machine 30 according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] In the illumination step of step S11, the illumination 26 is used to irradiate the circuit board b with light from directly above, and spotlight is applied to three corners of the area on the surface of the circuit board b where the electronic component a is to be placed.

[0027] In the moving / rotating step S2, the electronic component a is moved and rotated.

[0028] Next, in the light confirmation step of step S13, the reflected light of the spot light irradiated onto the circuit board b is confirmed. If there is no reflected light from all the spot lights, it is determined that the electronic component a is directly above the mounting location (if Yes), and the next step S4 is executed. If there is a spot light, it is determined that the electronic component a is not directly above the mounting location (if No), and the next step S2 is executed. In the light confirmation step of step S13, the determination may be made by a person, by image processing based on an image captured by the camera 7, or mechanically based on the amount of light detected by an optical sensor (not shown). Note that in the light confirmation step of step S13, it may be determined based on the intensity of the reflected light of the spot light whether the electronic component a is directly above the mounting location. If the spot light is large compared to the electronic component a, the spot light may not be completely hidden by the electronic component a. In such a case, it is determined whether the electronic component a is directly above the mounting location by capturing the change in the intensity of the reflected light of the spot light.

[0029] The placement step of step S4 is a step of placing electronic component a on circuit board b. Specifically, electronic component a is moved in the height direction to bond electronic component a and circuit board b, and the negative pressure of the suction nozzle is released to place electronic component a on circuit board b.

[0030] 9 and 10 are image diagrams showing an example of a case where the result of the light confirmation step in step S13 is No and an example of a case where the result of the light confirmation step in step S13 is Yes. In Fig. 9, because there are three spot lights, it is determined that electronic component a is not directly above the mounting location, and the result of the light confirmation step in step S13 is No. On the other hand, in the state shown in Fig. 10, because there are zero spot lights, it is determined that electronic component a is directly above the mounting location, and the result of the light confirmation step in step S13 is Yes.

[0031] 12 is a schematic diagram of an electronic component mounting machine 40 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. Electronic component mounting machine 40 has a configuration in which a holder 5 that holds an electronic component a and a light 26 move together.

[0032] 13 is an enlarged view of an electronic component mounting machine 40 according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the electronic component mounting machine 40 moves each of the laser diodes 26a, 26b, and 26c of the illumination device 26 in the X and Y directions, and the spot lights sp1, sp2, and sp3 illuminate three of the four corners of the electronic component a and also illuminate both of the surface (three locations) of the circuit board b.

[0033] Fig. 14 is an image diagram showing an example of the case where the answer to the light confirmation step in step S13 in Fig. 8 is Yes when electronic component mounting machine 40 according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention is used. When three spot lights sp1 to sp3 are illuminating reference marks kj (three of the four reference marks kj) at the position where electronic component a is to be placed, it is determined that electronic component a is directly above the mounting location.

[0034] (a) By using lighting placed directly above the electronic components, a spot of light is projected onto the circuit board, making it possible to directly grasp the relative positions of the electronic components and the circuit board, and to accurately mount the electronic components on the circuit board. (i) Since the positional relationship between electronic components and the circuit board can be grasped directly, cameras and monitors are not required when placing electronic components manually. (c) The positional relationship between electronic components and the circuit board can be determined by detecting or not detecting light projected onto the circuit board, eliminating the need for advanced image processing.

[0035] The above-described embodiment shows an electronic component mounting device that mounts electronic components on a printed circuit board, but the device can also be used when placing electronic components on an object other than a printed circuit board or in a different location (for example, a tray). The object on which electronic components are placed is not limited to a circuit board, but may also be a flat plate. A flat plate is any plate that can hold the bottom surface of a component when placed (fits to a certain extent), and may be warped or uneven in other respects.

[0036] The above-described embodiment is merely one embodiment of the present invention. The present invention is applicable to a variety of applications, from placing small components such as electronic parts in home appliances and automobiles, to placing building components using a crane. Specifically, by configuring the holding unit 5 and the moving unit 3 as a robot arm, home appliance components and automobile components can be placed in a predetermined location. Furthermore, when placing building components using a crane, by configuring the holding unit 5 and the moving unit 3 as a crane structure, the building components can be placed in a predetermined location.

[0037] The above-described embodiment is a preferred example of the present invention, and various technically preferable limitations are applied thereto, but the scope of the present invention is not unduly limited by the above description. Furthermore, not all of the configurations described in the above-described embodiment are essential components of the present invention. Furthermore, the configurations described in the above-described embodiment may be added to or combined with each other. [Industrial Applicability]

[0038] The present invention can be widely used in component placement devices and placement methods for placing components at predetermined locations. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 1, 10, 20, 30, 40 Electronic component placement machine 2 Stage 3, 12, 13 Moving parts 5 Holding part 6, 26 Lighting 7. Camera 8 monitors 9 Shielding part 100 Lighting 26a, 26b, 26c Laser diode

Claims

[Claim 1] A component placement method for placing components in predetermined locations, comprising: holding the part; moving the part; irradiating the predetermined location with a spot light; A component placement method comprising the step of placing the component based on reflected light of spot light irradiated onto the predetermined location.

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