Component placement device and component placement method

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a component placement device and a component placement method that place components at predetermined locations in a highly versatile manner that is low cost and can be applied to a variety of components. [Solution] A component placement method for placing a component at a predetermined location, comprising steps s1 and s3 of irradiating light from directly above both at least a portion of the held component and at least a portion of the predetermined location where the component will be placed with light to create a shadow of the outline of the component on the surface of the predetermined location, and steps s2 and s4 of moving the component and placing it at the predetermined location based on the shadow.

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] JP2014-212235A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The invention shown 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 that it cannot 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 that it cannot grasp the positional relationship between the electronic component and the circuit board.

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

[0006] The above objectives are: A component placement method for placing a component at a predetermined location, comprising the steps of: Holding the part; moving the part; irradiating at least a portion of the predetermined locations with light from directly above to cast 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 a component at a predetermined location, comprising the steps of: holding the part; moving the part; irradiating the predetermined location with a spot light; a step of arranging the component based on the spot light irradiated at the predetermined location; This is achieved by: Effect 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 highly versatile method that is low cost and can be applied to a variety of components. [Brief description of the drawings]

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

[0011] Hereinafter, electronic component mounting machines 1, 10, 20, 30, 40 and methods for mounting electronic components according to embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 14. In addition, in all the following drawings, the dimensions and ratios of each component may be appropriately changed in order 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 XYZ directions, an electronic component a, a holding unit 5 that holds the electronic component a, a light 6 located 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. When the electronic components are moved manually, the camera 7 and the monitor 8 may not be necessary. The stage 2 may also 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 XYZ directions, a moving unit 13 that moves the electronic component a, an electronic component a, a holding unit 5 that holds the electronic component a, a light 6 located directly above the circuit board b, a camera 7 that takes pictures from an obliquely upward direction, a monitor 8, and a shielding unit 9 that blocks the light of the room lighting 100. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the electronic components are mounted by moving the circuit board, so that the movement of the electronic components by the moving unit 13 can be performed at a predetermined position, and the camera 7 can be fixed. Also, in this embodiment, when the movement of the circuit board is performed manually, the camera 7 and the monitor 8 may not be necessary.

[0014] The holder 5 used in the electronic component mounting machines 1 and 10 holds electronic components by suction with a suction nozzle. The holder 5 employs a suction nozzle extending obliquely downward so as not to block the light of the light 6. The light emitted from the light 6 is configured to be parallel to the circuit board b so that the light emitted from the light 6 hits the circuit board b perpendicularly. In this embodiment, parallel light is preferable for the light emitted from the light 6, but light other than parallel light may be used. In addition, visible light in a short wavelength range with little light wraparound is preferable to create accurate shadows, and a monochromatic LED of green or blue is preferable as the light source. In addition, it is also preferable that the light 6 includes light sources of multiple types of wavelength ranges (for example, LEDs in a red wavelength range, LEDs in a green wavelength range, and LEDs in a blue wavelength range) and that the multiple light sources are used arbitrarily. By using light sources of multiple types of wavelength ranges, it is possible to distinguish the light 6 from room light when the shielding unit 9 is not provided, and to distinguish the light 6 from the light 6 of other devices when multiple units are used simultaneously in close proximity. In the present invention, the lighting 6 is located 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 located vertically above each other. The present invention is applicable to both an apparatus for mounting electronic components by fixing a 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 such that a holder 5 for holding electronic component a and a light 6 move together.

[0016] FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating a mounting method of 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 a light 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 image diagrams showing an example of a case where the shadow confirmation step of step S3 is No and an example of a case where the shadow confirmation step of step S3 is Yes. FIG. 5 is an image diagram showing a state where the shadow k of the electronic component a is shifted to the right from the mounting position of the circuit board b. In the state shown in FIG. 5, the shadow k is not in a predetermined position, so the shadow confirmation step of step S3 is No. On the other hand, in the state shown in FIG. 6, the shadow k is in a predetermined position, so the shadow confirmation step of step S3 is Yes. Also, as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, a mark mj or a reference mark kj may be attached on the circuit board b, and it may be determined that the mark mj is within the shadow k or the shadow k is not covering the reference mark, so that the shadow confirmation step of step S3 is Yes. In the shadow confirmation step of step S3, the mark mj or the reference mark kj may be determined by image processing based on an image taken by the 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, and the result in the shadow confirmation step of step S3 is Yes. Fig. 11B shows an example in which the shadow k falls on a portion of 1 / 4 the area of ​​the circular reference mark kj, and the result in the shadow confirmation step of step S3 is Yes. Fig. 11C shows an example in which the shadow k falls on one square portion of the reference mark kj composed of four squares, and the result in the shadow confirmation step of step S3 is Yes.

[0022] As described above, the electronic component mounting machines 1, 10, 20 and the electronic component mounting methods according to the embodiments of the invention have the following advantages. (a) By using lighting placed directly above electronic components, the shadow of the electronic component on the circuit board can be confirmed just before placement, and the electronic component can be mounted on the circuit board. This makes it possible to directly grasp the positional relationship between the electronic component and the circuit board, and to accurately mount the electronic component on the circuit board. (i) Since the positional relationship between electronic components and the circuit board can be directly grasped, cameras or monitors are not required when arranging 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 which moves an electronic component a in the XYZ directions, an electronic component a, a holding unit 5 which holds the electronic component a, a light 26 located directly above the circuit board b, and a camera 7 and a monitor 8 which are linked to the moving unit 3. The embodiment shown in Fig. 7 has a highly versatile configuration since the circuit board is fixed and electronic components are mounted. When the electronic components are moved manually, the camera 7 and the monitor 8 may not be necessary.

[0024] The illumination 26 is an illumination for irradiating a plurality of (three in this example) spot lights sp on the surface of the circuit board b. Here, the spot lights are circular lights with a diameter of about 1 to 5 mm in this embodiment, but any light having a certain contour shape may be used. 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 XY directions. The laser diodes 26a, 26b, and 26c are moved to apply the spot lights to three corners of the location where the electronic component a is to be placed on the surface of the circuit board b. The number of spot lights may be one, two, four, or five or more. Also, the laser diodes 26a to 26c may be red, green, and blue laser diodes. In this case, even if the image of the camera 7 is not used, for example, the spot light projected on the board may be read by a photodiode with three 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 on the board may be read by an image sensor. The illumination 26 may be an LED or other parallel light.

[0025] FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating a mounting method of 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 portion 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 on the circuit board b is confirmed. If there is no reflected light of 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 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 taken by the camera 7, or by mechanically determining the amount of light detected by an optical sensor (not shown). In addition, in the light confirmation step of step S13, it may be determined whether the electronic component a is directly above the mounting location based on the intensity of the reflected light of the spot light. 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 light confirmation step of step S13 is No and an example of a case where the light confirmation step of step S13 is Yes. In Fig. 9, since there are three spot lights, it is determined that electronic component a is not directly above the mounting location, and the light confirmation step of step S13 is No. On the other hand, in the state shown in Fig. 10, since there is no spot light, it is determined that electronic component a is directly above the mounting location, and the light confirmation step of 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. The electronic component mounting machine 40 has a configuration in which a holder 5 for holding 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 the electronic component mounting machine 40 of this embodiment, the laser diodes 26a, 26b, and 26c of the illumination 26 are each moved in the XY direction, 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 places) of the circuit board b.

[0033] Fig. 14 is an image diagram showing an example of the case where the light confirmation step of 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 to project spot light onto the circuit board, the relative positions of the electronic components and the circuit board can be directly grasped, allowing the electronic components to be accurately mounted on the circuit board. (i) Since the positional relationship between electronic components and the circuit board can be directly grasped, cameras or monitors are not required when arranging electronic components manually. (c) The positional relationship between electronic components and the circuit board can be determined by detecting whether or not light is projected onto the circuit board, eliminating the need for advanced image processing.

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

[0036] The above-described embodiment is merely one embodiment of the present invention. The present invention is applicable to cases where parts, from small parts such as electronic parts, are arranged in home appliances or automobiles, or where parts constituting a building are arranged by a crane. Specifically, by configuring the holding unit 5 and the moving unit 3 as a robot arm, it is possible to arrange parts of home appliances or parts of automobiles in a predetermined location. In addition, when parts constituting a building are arranged by a crane, it is possible to arrange the parts constituting the building in a predetermined location by configuring the holding unit 5 and the moving unit 3 as a crane structure.

[0037] The above-described embodiment is a preferred example of the present invention, and various technically preferable limitations are attached to it, but the scope of the present invention is not unduly limited by the above description. Furthermore, all of the configurations described in the above-described embodiment are not 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 section 5 Holding part 6, 26 Lighting 7. Camera 8 Monitors 9 Shielding part 100 Lighting 26a, 26b, 26c Laser diode

Claims

1. A component placement method for placing a component at a predetermined location, comprising the steps of: Holding the part; moving the part; Light is irradiated from directly above onto at least a portion of the component and at least a portion of the predetermined location. illuminating the part to create a shadow of the outline of the part at the predetermined location; A method for arranging a part, comprising the step of arranging the part at the predetermined location based on the shadow. How to place it.

2. The component placement method according to claim 1 , wherein the light is parallel light.

Images