Circuit board processing machine

Abstract

To provide a technology that enables the displacement of a guide member in a substrate working machine to be ascertained by a simple configuration.SOLUTION: A substrate working machine performs a predetermined process on a substrate. The substrate working machine consists of a housing, a guide member mounted in the housing and extending along the horizontal direction, a structure mounted on the guide member and driven along the guide member by the guide member, a reference member mounted in the housing at a predetermined distance from the guide member and extending parallel to the guide member, a measuring unit that measures the distance between the guide member and the reference member, and an output unit that outputs the distance measured by the measuring unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a board processing machine. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a mounting device for mounting electronic components on a substrate. This mounting device includes a head having an adsorption portion for adsorbing electronic components, a movable base to which the head is attached, and a guide rail for moving the movable base along a horizontal direction. In Patent Document 1, before mounting electronic components, the movable base is moved along the guide rail, and the head is moved to a plurality of measurement positions along the guide rail. Then, at each measurement position, the head is raised and lowered to obtain the upper and lower positions of the head. Thereafter, when performing a mounting operation, the positional deviation between the head and the substrate caused by the undulation of the guide rail is corrected based on the upper and lower positions measured at each measurement position. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-218488 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the technology of Patent Document 1, a head is placed at an upper position and a lower position at multiple measurement positions, the position of the head is measured, and each measured position is compared with a reference position of the head during mounting operation (a position when no misalignment occurs), thereby detecting misalignment. In other words, in the technology of Patent Document 1, a lot of man-hours are required to detect misalignment caused by undulations of the guide rail (hereinafter referred to as the guide member), and the process becomes complicated. This specification provides a technology that can grasp the displacement of the guide member in a board working machine with a simpler configuration. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The substrate processing machine disclosed in this specification performs a predetermined process on a substrate. The substrate processing machine includes a housing, a guide member attached to the housing and extending along a horizontal direction, a structure attached to the guide member and driven along the guide member by the guide member, a reference member attached to the housing at a predetermined distance from the guide member and extending parallel to the guide member, a measuring unit that measures the distance between the guide member and the reference member, and an output unit that outputs the distance measured by the measuring unit.

[0006] The above-mentioned board mounting machine includes a guide member to which a structure is attached. The structure may interfere with other members due to some event, for example, when a user (operator) is changing the setup or performing a predetermined process. As a result, the guide member supporting the structure may tilt or deform. In the above-mentioned board mounting machine, a reference member is provided that extends parallel to the guide member at a predetermined distance from the guide member. That is, in a normal state, the distance between the guide member and the reference member is approximately equal at any position in the extension direction of each member. Therefore, by measuring the distance between the guide member and the reference member, the user can grasp the displacement, such as the tilt or deformation, that has occurred in the guide member based on the distance. Note that, since the structure is not attached to the reference member, even if the structure interferes with other members, the reference member will not tilt or deform. Therefore, by measuring the distance between the guide member and the reference member, the displacement that has occurred in the guide member can be grasped. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a component mounter according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing components around the moving base attached to the guide rail. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2 . [Figure 4]FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which the guide rail is normal. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a state in which an abnormality occurs in the guide rail. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] The main features of the embodiment described below are listed below. Note that the technical elements described below are independent technical elements that exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing.

[0009] In one embodiment of the present technology, the device may further include an alarm unit that alerts a user that an abnormality has occurred in the guide member if the distance measured by the measurement unit is outside a predetermined range based on the specified interval.

[0010] According to the above-described configuration, the occurrence of an abnormality in the guide member is automatically notified, and therefore the user can know of the abnormality without having to check the displacement of the guide member himself, thereby improving convenience.

[0011] In an embodiment of the present technology, the measurement unit may measure the distance before the substrate processing machine executes the predetermined process on the substrate.

[0012] According to the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to determine whether or not an abnormality has occurred before the board processing machine executes a predetermined process, and therefore it is possible to prevent the predetermined process from being executed in a state where an abnormality has occurred in the guide member.

[0013] In an embodiment of the present technology, the measurement unit may be a laser displacement meter attached to the structure. An optical member that faces the laser displacement meter and the reference member and bends an optical path of light from the laser displacement meter may be attached to the guide member. Light from the laser displacement meter may be irradiated to the reference member via the optical member.

[0014] In the above configuration, the distance between the guide member and the reference member can be measured by the laser displacement meter attached to the structure.

[0015] In one embodiment of the present technology, the board working machine may be a component mounter that mounts an electronic component on the board. The structure may hold a head that is capable of suctioning the electronic component.

[0016] The head of a mounter must mount electronic components accurately on a board, and therefore requires precise operation, so detecting an abnormality in the guide member of the mounter is particularly useful.

[0017] (Example) Hereinafter, a component mounter 10 according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The component mounter 10 is an example of a board work machine, and is a device that mounts electronic components 4 on a board 2. The component mounter 10 is also called a surface mounter or chip mounter. The component mounter 10 is installed alongside other board work machines, such as a solder printer, other component mounters, and a board inspection machine, to form a series of mounting lines.

[0018] As shown in FIG. 1, the component mounter 10 includes a housing 11, a plurality of component feeders 12, a feeder holding section 14, a head 16, a moving device 18 for moving the head 16, a board conveyor 26, an operation panel 28, and a control device 30.

[0019] Each component feeder 12 accommodates a plurality of electronic components 4. The component feeders 12 are detachably attached to the feeder holder 14 and supply the electronic components 4 to the head 16. The specific configuration of the component feeders 12 is not particularly limited. Each component feeder 12 may be, for example, a tape feeder that accommodates a plurality of electronic components 4 in the form of a rolled tape, a tray feeder that accommodates a plurality of electronic components 4 on a tray, or a bulk feeder that accommodates a plurality of electronic components 4 randomly in a container.

[0020] Feeder holding unit 14 has a plurality of slots, and component feeders 12 can be removably installed in each of the plurality of slots. Feeder holding unit 14 may be fixed to component mounter 10, or may be detachable from component mounter 10.

[0021] The board conveyor 26 is a device that carries in, positions, and carries out the board 2. As an example, the board conveyor 26 in this embodiment has a pair of belt conveyors and a support device (not shown) that is attached to the belt conveyors and supports the board 2 from below. The operation panel 28 is a display device that provides various information about the component mounter 10 to the user (operator), and is also an input device that accepts instructions and information from the user. The control device 30 is composed of a computer equipped with a CPU and memory. The control device 30 controls the operation of each part of the component mounter 10 according to a program stored in the memory.

[0022] The head 16 is equipped with a nozzle 6 that picks up the electronic component 4. The nozzle 6 is detachable from the head 16. The nozzle 6 is attached to the head 16 so as to be movable in the vertical direction (Z direction in the drawing). The nozzle 6 is configured to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction by an actuator (not shown) housed in the head 16 and to be able to pick up the electronic component 4.

[0023] The moving device 18 is provided within the housing 11 and moves the head 16 between the component feeder 12 and the board 2. The moving device 18 in this embodiment is a robot that moves a moving base 46 in the Y direction. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the moving device 18 is provided with a pair of guide rails 42. Each guide rail 42 is disposed parallel to the Y direction along the moving device 18.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 3, the moving base 46 is attached to the guide rail 42 via a slide unit 48. The slide unit 48 is driven by a motor (not shown) and configured to be movable in the Y direction along the guide rail 42. When the moving base 46 moves in the Y direction along the guide rail 42, the head 16 attached to the moving base 46 also moves in the Y direction. The moving device 18 is configured to be movable in the X direction as well by a drive mechanism (not shown). Therefore, the head 16 can be moved in any direction along the XY plane by the movement in the X direction by the moving device 18 and the movement in the Y direction of the moving base 46 attached to the moving device 18. This allows the head 16 to move between above the component feeder 12 and above the board 2 shown in FIG. 1.

[0025] To mount the electronic components 4 on the board 2 by the head 16, first, the moving device 18 and a drive mechanism (not shown) move the head 16 to a suction position where the electronic components 4 accommodated in the component feeder 12 are suctioned. Next, the nozzle 6 is moved downward until the suction surface of the nozzle 6 abuts the electronic components 4. Next, the electronic components 4 are suctioned onto the nozzle 6, and the nozzle 6 is moved upward. Next, the moving device 18 and a drive mechanism (not shown) move the head 16 to a mounting position where the electronic components 4 are mounted on the board 2, and position the head 16. Next, the nozzle 6 is lowered toward the board 2, thereby mounting the electronic components 4 on the board 2.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the moving base 46 is further provided with a pair of reference blocks 44. Each reference block 44 extends in the Y direction along the moving device 18. Each reference block 44 is provided on the surface of the moving device 18 on the side on which the guide rail 42 is attached. One reference block 44 is attached above the upper guide rail 42 of the pair of guide rails 42, and the other reference block 44 is attached below the lower guide rail 42 of the pair of guide rails 42. Each reference block 44 is arranged parallel to the corresponding guide rail 42. Therefore, the two guide rails 42 and the two reference blocks 44 are arranged parallel to each other on the same surface of the moving device 18. Therefore, even if the moving device 18 moves in the X direction, the guide rails 42 and the reference block 44 can be maintained parallel to each other. Therefore, the measurement of the distance between the guide rails 42 and the reference block 44, which will be described later, can also be performed while moving the moving device 18 in the X direction.

[0027] As shown in FIG. 3, the slide unit 48 is provided with a prism 52. The prism 52 is attached above the guide rail 42. The prism 52 is disposed so as to change the optical path L1 of the light from the laser displacement meter 50 upward. That is, the prism 52 has an opposing surface (a surface that is vertical in FIG. 3) that faces the laser displacement meter 50, an opposing surface (a surface that is horizontal in FIG. 3) that faces the lower surface of the reference block 44, and an inclined surface that connects these two opposing surfaces. The inclined surface of the prism 52 changes the optical path L1 of the light from the laser displacement meter 50 from the horizontal direction (i.e., the X direction) to a direction toward the lower surface of the reference block 44 (i.e., the Z direction).

[0028] The laser displacement meter 50 is attached to the moving base 46 on the opposite side to the moving device 18. The laser displacement meter 50 irradiates light onto the object to be measured and receives the light reflected from the object to be measured to measure the distance from the laser displacement meter 50 to the object to be measured. The laser displacement meter 50 irradiates light toward the prism 52 through a through hole (not shown) formed in the moving base 46. As described above, the optical path L1 of the light is changed by the prism 52 and irradiated onto the lower surface of the reference block 44. The light is then reflected by the lower surface of the reference block 44, returns to the laser displacement meter 50 via the prism 52, and is received by the laser displacement meter 50. As a result, the distance (optical path length) from the laser displacement meter 50 to the lower surface of the reference block 44 is measured. The measured optical path length is input to the control device 30. The control device 30 stores in a memory the relationship between the optical path length measured by the laser displacement meter 50 and the distance between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44. Therefore, the control device 30 can calculate the distance between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 from the measured optical path length based on this relationship. The calculated distance is displayed on the operation panel 28. The control device 30 stores in memory the distance d1 between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 when the guide rail 42 is in a normal state (i.e., when the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 are parallel to each other). In the above explanation, the configuration around the upper laser displacement meter 50 shown in FIG. 2 was explained with reference to FIG. 3, but the configuration around the lower laser displacement meter 50 shown in FIG. 2 is the same as that in FIG. 3 except that it is upside down.

[0029] In the mounter 10, electronic components 4 are mounted on the board 2 based on a production plan including one or more jobs. In the mounter 10 of this embodiment, before executing a job (i.e., before starting the mounting process based on the production plan), the laser displacement meter 50 measures the distance between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the guide rail 42 is normal. As described above, the reference block 44 is disposed parallel to the corresponding guide rail 42. Therefore, in the state shown in FIG. 4, the distance between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 is approximately equal at any position in the Y direction (i.e., the distance d1 stored in the memory).

[0030] However, for example, during a setup change by a user or during a process of mounting the electronic component 4 on the board 2, the moving base 46 may interfere with other members. In addition, the mounting state of the guide rail 42 to the mounting surface of the moving device 18 may change over time. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5, the guide rail 42 supporting the moving base 46 may tilt or deform with respect to the mounting surface of the moving device 18. On the other hand, the reference block 44 is not in contact with the moving base 46, and even if the moving base 46 interferes with other members, the reference block 44 is not displaced with respect to the mounting surface of the moving device 18. In addition, since no force is applied to the reference block 44 from the moving base 46, the mounting state of the reference block 44 with respect to the mounting surface of the moving device 18 hardly changes over time. In this embodiment, the control device 30 compares the calculated actual distance d2 (see FIG. 5) between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 with the distance d1 stored in the memory. When the absolute value of the difference between the distance d1 and the calculated distance d2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the control device 30 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the guide rail 42. Then, the control device 30 displays information indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the guide rail 42 on the operation panel 28. This allows the user to know that an abnormality has occurred in the guide rail 42. The above-mentioned predetermined value is not particularly limited, and is, for example, 3 mm.

[0031] As described above, in this embodiment, the displacement of the guide rail 42 can be grasped by a simple configuration of measuring the relative position of the guide rail 42 with respect to the reference block 44. This makes it possible to prevent the moving base 46 from moving along the guide rail 42 in a state in which the parallelism of the guide rail 42 has decreased, and to prevent an overload from being applied to the motor that drives the slide unit 48. Furthermore, even if an abnormality occurs in the guide rail 42, the user can easily identify the true cause of the abnormality.

[0032] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the distance between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 is calculated before starting the process of mounting the electronic component 4 on the board 2 (i.e., immediately after the component mounter 10 starts operating). This makes it possible to prevent the electronic component 4 from being mounted on the board 2 when an abnormality has occurred in the guide rail 42.

[0033] The guide rail 42, the moving base 46, the reference block 44, the laser displacement meter 50, and the prism 52 are examples of a "guide member," a "structure," a "reference member," a "measurement unit," and an "optical member," respectively. The operation panel 28 is an example of an "output unit" and an "alert unit." The mounting process based on the production plan is an example of a "predetermined process."

[0034] In the above-described embodiment, the user is notified of the abnormality by displaying information indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the guide rail 42 on the operation panel 28, but this is not limited to the above. For example, the user may be notified of the abnormality by a voice message indicating that an abnormality has occurred or by turning on an indicator light indicating that an abnormality has occurred.

[0035] Furthermore, the control device 30 does not have to display information indicating that an abnormality has occurred in the guide rail 42. In other words, the control device 30 may display only the actually calculated distance between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 on the operation panel 28. Even with this configuration, the user can determine whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the guide rail 42 based on the displayed distance by recording the distance between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 when they are normal.

[0036] In the above embodiment, the distance between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 is measured before the start of the mounting process based on the production plan, but the timing of measuring the distance is not particularly limited. For example, the distance may be measured periodically at a predetermined interval, or may be measured at any time during the mounting process. Moreover, the distance may be measured at any timing by the user's input operation on the operation panel 28.

[0037] In the above embodiment, the direction of the optical path L1 of the light from the laser displacement meter 50 is changed using the prism 52, but the direction of the optical path may be changed using, for example, a mirror. The manner in which the distance between the guide rail 42 and the reference block 44 is measured is not limited to the manner in which laser light is used. For example, the distance between the two may be measured using radio waves or ultrasonic waves.

[0038] In the above-described embodiment, the board operation machine is a component mounter. However, the technology disclosed in the embodiment may be applied to other board operation machines, such as a solder printer or a board inspection machine.

[0039] The technical elements described in this specification or drawings have technical utility either alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. In addition, the technologies illustrated in this specification or drawings achieve multiple objectives simultaneously, and achieving one of these objectives is itself technically useful. [Explanation of symbols]

[0040] 2: Substrate 4: Electronic components 6: Nozzle 10: Component mounting machine 11: Housing 12: Parts feeder 14: Feeder holder 16: Head 18:Mobile device 26: Circuit board conveyor 28: Operation panel 30: Control device 42: Guide rail 44: Reference block 46: Mobile Base 48: Slide unit 50: Laser displacement meter 52: Prism

Claims

1. A substrate processing machine that performs a predetermined process on a substrate, Housing and A guide member mounted within the housing and extending along a horizontal direction; a structure attached to the guide member and driven along the guide member by the guide member; a reference member attached to the housing on the same surface as the guide member at a predetermined distance from the guide member and extending parallel to the guide member; A measuring unit that measures a distance between the guide member and the reference member; an output unit that outputs the distance measured by the measurement unit; Equipped with the measuring unit is a laser displacement meter attached to the structure, an optical member is attached to the guide member, the optical member facing the laser displacement meter and the reference member, and bending an optical path of light from the laser displacement meter; A substrate processing machine, wherein light from the laser displacement meter is irradiated onto the reference member via the optical member.

2. The board working machine of claim 1, further comprising an alarm unit that notifies a user that an abnormality has occurred in the guide member if the distance measured by the measurement unit is outside a predetermined range based on the specified interval.

3. The board working machine according to claim 1 , wherein the measurement unit measures the distance before the board working machine performs the predetermined process on the board.

4. the board working machine is a component mounting machine that mounts electronic components on the board, the structure holds a head capable of suctioning the electronic component; The substrate processing machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3.

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