Automatic soldering method and automatic soldering system

Abstract

To easily optimize fully automated soldering, by achieving the elimination of the harmful effects of applying excessive stress to a soldered part, higher connection strength and connection reliability, higher appearance quality by uniformizing the drawing direction of wires, and the like.SOLUTION: An automatic soldering system includes: an angle data setting part Fs performing processing to set, as angle data Dq, optimum bending angles Qa... to connected part Ja... at tip parts of wires (Wa...) passing through a wire lead-in part Xi of a workpiece A; a bending processing mechanism part Fm performing processing to bend the tip parts of the wires (Wa...) only by the bending angles Qa... based on the angle data Dq; and a correction processing function part Fc performing correction processing to position core wire parts Ca... at the tip parts of the wires (Wa...) subjected to bending processing in a predetermined posture with respect to the connected parts Ja... when the connected parts Ja... are soldered.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an automatic soldering method and an automatic soldering system suitable for use when automatically soldering a core wire portion having a coating portion of a wire to a connection portion of a workpiece. [Background technology]

[0002] Generally, when connecting wires such as lead wires or wire harnesses to connecting portions of workpieces such as electronic components, the connection is often made by soldering. For this reason, various automatic soldering devices that perform soldering automatically have been proposed.

[0003] Known examples of this type of automatic soldering device include a wire harness manufacturing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 and an automatic insulated wire attaching device disclosed in Patent Document 2. The wire harness manufacturing device disclosed in Patent Document 1 aims to provide a wire harness manufacturing device capable of manufacturing one or more types of wire harnesses with a single device, and specifically includes a wire feeding device that feeds an electric wire, a wire cutting device that cuts the fed electric wire to any length, a stripping device that strips the insulation from both ends of the electric wire, a first terminal crimping device that crimps terminals onto the stripped electric wire ends, an end processing device that performs end processing on the stripped electric wire ends, and a dispensing device for two or more types of end-processed electric wires, and is configured to be able to manufacture two or more types of end-processed wire harnesses.

[0004] Furthermore, the automatic insulated wire attachment device disclosed in the same document 2 is capable of automatically processing wire materials such as insulated wires from raw wires, wiring them to switch terminals, terminal terminals, etc., and connecting and fixing them. Specifically, a rotary table is placed on a main table, and around the rotary table are arranged a parts alignment device, a parts supply device, a part terminal correction device, multiple insulated wire processing and supply devices, bending and straightening, insulated wire holding reels, soldering devices, and finished product removal devices. A plurality of part fixing jigs are placed on the rotary table, and parts are transferred sequentially by intermittently operating the rotary table with a motor or the like. Each of the above devices performs a respective operation on the parts, so that a series of operations can be automatically performed for multiple types of insulated wires for the parts, including cutting to a fixed length, stripping the insulation to a fixed length, feeding to the part, bending the wire, and connecting the part and the wire by soldering. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. WO2012 / 120631 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 177587 / 1987 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] However, conventional automatic soldering devices, including the above-mentioned device, have the following problems.

[0007] That is, when soldering, for example, a core portion of a lead wire with a coating to a connection portion of a workpiece, the lead wire's lead-in portion is often restricted relative to the position of the connection portion depending on the type of workpiece, particularly the structure and shape of the workpiece. In such cases, the position of the lead wire (core portion) is detected by image processing or the like of image data obtained from a camera, and soldering is performed by controlling the positioning of the lead wire relative to the connection portion. However, depending on the position and shape of the connection portion, there is a risk that a sufficient connection area between the core portion and the connection portion cannot be ensured, or that an offset or variation in the relative position between the core portion and the connection portion occurs. Furthermore, if the lead wire's lead-in portion is restricted, undue stress may be applied to the soldered portion when the lead wire is routed to its original position on the lead-in portion side, or unnecessary bulging may occur in the lead wire, which may impair the appearance quality.

[0008] As such, conventional automatic soldering devices had room for further improvement in terms of improving the connection strength, connection quality, and appearance quality when soldering the coated portion of a lead wire to the connected portion of the workpiece, as well as optimizing the full automation of soldering.

[0009] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic soldering method and an automatic soldering system that solve the problems present in the background art. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the automatic soldering method of the present invention is characterized in that, when a core portion Ca... of a wire (Wa...) covered by a covering portion Ta... is automatically soldered to a connection portion Ja... of a work A by control processing by a system controller Cs equipped with computer functions, the system controller Cs first sets an optimum bending angle Qa... of the tip portion of the wire (Wa...) relative to the connection portion Ja... as angle data Dq (S1), and before soldering, the tip portion of the wire (Wa...) is bent (S9) by a bending processing mechanism Fm by the bending angle Qa... based on the angle data Dq, and during soldering, the system controller Cs performs a correction process (S14b) to position the core portion Ca... of the bent tip portion of the wire (Wa...) in a predetermined posture relative to the connection portion Ja..., and then solders the core portion Ca... to the connection portion Ja...

[0011] Furthermore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the automatic soldering system 1 according to the present invention is characterized in that, when configuring a system for automatically soldering a core wire portion Ca... covered by a covering portion Ta... of a wire (Wa...) to a connection portion Ja... of a work A, it is equipped with an angle data setting unit Fs that sets an optimal bending angle Qa... of the tip portion of the wire (Wa...) that has passed through the wire lead-in portion Xi of the work A relative to the connection portion Ja... as angle data Dq, a bending processing mechanism unit Fm that bends the tip portion of the wire (Wa...) by the bending angle Qa... based on the angle data Dq, and a correction processing function unit Fc that performs correction processing to position the core wire portion Ca... at the tip portion of the bent wire (Wa...) in a predetermined posture relative to the connection portion Ja... when soldering to the connection portion Ja....

[0012] On the other hand, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the tip portion of the wire (Wa...) can be a core portion Ca... exposed from the tip of the coating portion Ta..., or the wire (Wa...) itself including the coating portion Ta.... Furthermore, when implementing the automatic soldering method, the core portion Ca... can be pre-soldered (S3) before soldering. On the other hand, when configuring the automatic soldering system 1, the bending processing mechanism Fm can bend multiple lead wires Wa... or wire harnesses with different bending angles Qa.... Furthermore, the correction processing function unit Fc can use a robot mechanism R that grips the wire and rotates it at least circumferentially about the axis of the wire to perform a correction process to position the core portion Ca... in a predetermined position relative to the connection portion Ja.... [Effects of the Invention]

[0013] The automatic soldering method and automatic soldering system 1 according to the present invention have the following significant effects.

[0014] (1) Prior to soldering, the tip of the wire (Wa...) is bent by a bending mechanism Fm at a bending angle Qa... based on angle data Dq. During soldering, the core portion Ca... at the tip of the bent wire (Wa...) is adjusted to a predetermined position relative to the connection portion Ja... before soldering the core portion Ca... to the connection portion Ja.... This effectively reduces the problem of the structure and shape of the workpiece A restricting the wire lead-in portion Xi relative to the connection portion Ja..., which prevents sufficient connection area between the core portion Ca... and the connection portion Ja..., and the problem of offset and variation in the relative positions between the core portion Ca... and the connection portion Ja.... This eliminates the adverse effects of excessive stress on the soldered portion, further improving connection strength and quality, and uniforming the lead-in direction of the wire to improve appearance quality, thereby easily optimizing fully automated soldering.

[0015] (2) The automatic soldering system 1 includes an angle data setting unit Fs that sets, as angle data Dq, the optimal bending angle Qa... of the tip portion of the wire (Wa...) that has passed through the wire inlet portion Xi of the work A relative to the connection portion Ja...; a bending processing mechanism unit Fm that bends the tip portion of the wire (Wa...) by the bending angle Qa... based on the angle data Dq; and a correction processing function unit Fc that performs correction processing to position the core wire portion Ca... at the tip portion of the bent wire (Wa...) in a predetermined posture relative to the connection portion Ja... when soldering to the connection portion Ja..., so that the above-mentioned automatic soldering method can be easily and reliably implemented.

[0016] (3) In a preferred embodiment, by applying the core wire portion Ca... exposed from the tip of the coating portion Ta... or the wire (Wa...) itself including the coating portion Ta... as the tip portion of the wire (Wa...), the bending patterns can be made more diverse, making it applicable to various shapes of the connected portion Ja..., thereby providing excellent versatility and enabling more matched soldering between the connected portion Ja... and the wire (Wa...).

[0017] (4) In a preferred embodiment, when carrying out the automatic soldering method, if the core wire portion Ca... is pre-soldered before soldering, even if the core wire portion Ca... is a wire material composed of twisted wire, it can be bent in the same way as a solid wire, so that the automatic soldering method can be carried out reliably.

[0018] (5) In a preferred embodiment, when configuring the bending processing mechanism unit Fm, if it is configured to be able to bend a plurality of lead wires Wa... or wire harnesses with different bending angles Qa..., a single bending processing mechanism unit Fm can be used to bend a plurality of lead wires Wa... or wire harnesses simultaneously, thereby improving the efficiency of the bending processing process and contributing to the miniaturization and cost reduction of the automatic soldering system 1.

[0019] (6) In a preferred embodiment, when constructing the correction processing function unit Fc, a robot mechanism R is used that grasps the wire (Wa...) and rotates and displaces it circumferentially at least about the axis of the wire, thereby performing a correction processing to position the core wire portion Ca... in a predetermined posture relative to the connection portion Ja.... This eliminates the need to provide a separate correction processing process, thereby improving production efficiency and contributing to further miniaturization and cost reduction of the automatic soldering system 1, as it is sufficient to provide the robot mechanism R with a hand portion of a rotating drive shaft that grasps the wire. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing a layout of a workpiece and a wire rod suitable for use in an automatic soldering method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] Other suitable layouts of workpieces and wires using the same automatic soldering method. [Figure 3] 1 is a perspective view of a bending processing mechanism including an enlarged view of a part of the automatic soldering system according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a front view of the bending mechanism used in the automatic soldering system; [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is an enlarged front cross-sectional view showing a part of the bending mechanism; [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a side view of the bending mechanism; [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is an enlarged side cross-sectional view showing a part of the bending mechanism; [Figure 8] A schematic diagram of the automatic soldering system. [Figure 9] Block diagram of the automatic soldering system, [Figure 10] A flowchart for sequentially explaining the processing of the automatic soldering system. [Figure 11] 10 is a side view of the lead wire being gripped by the hand of the robot mechanism of the automatic soldering system; [Figure 12] 10 is a plan view of the automatic soldering system after the lead wire has been gripped and repaired by the hand of the robot mechanism; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0021] Next, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[0022] First, to facilitate understanding of the automatic soldering system 1 according to this embodiment, the overall system configuration and the configuration of the workpiece A to be soldered will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0023] The automatic soldering system 1 shown in the embodiment illustrates a printed circuit board module M having a frame Mf on the outer periphery of a printed circuit board main body Mp as an example of the workpiece A, as shown in Fig. 1. This printed circuit board module M is provided with a wire inlet portion Xi having inlets Mfi for inletting four lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd near the corners of the frame Mf, and four connected portions (connection terminals) Ja, Jb, Jc, and Jd shown in Fig. 1 are provided at regular intervals on the top surface of the printed circuit board main body Mp near the inlets Mfi.

[0024] Furthermore, when the printed circuit board module M is incorporated into a specific device, the size and position of the inlet Mfi are restricted by the structure of the device, and the position and size of the inlet Mfi are restricted as shown in Figure 1. As a result, the width of the entire area where the four connection parts Ja, Jb, Jc, and Jd are provided is wider than the width of the inlet Mfi.

[0025] Due to this configuration, even if the linear lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd are positioned and controlled by a robot mechanism or the like and soldered to the respective connection parts Ja, Jb, Jc, and Jd, in the illustrated example, there is a possibility that the lead wires Wa and Wd on both sides may be soldered near the edges of the corresponding connection parts Ja and Jd. Note that the lead wires Wa... are lead wires having core wire portions Ca... covered with covering portions Ta....

[0026] 1, if the core wire portions Ca and Cd of the lead wires Wa and Wd on both sides are bent toward the corresponding connection portions Ja and Jd, respectively, it becomes possible to solder the core wire portions Ca and Cd to the optimum positions of the connection portions Ja and Jd. In this example, the bend angle of core wire Ca is set to Qa, the bend angle of core wire C2 is set to 0 (no bend), the bend angle of core wire C3 is set to Q3, and the bend angle of core wire Cd is set to Q4. These bend angles Qa, 0, Q3, and Q4 are set as angle data Dq.

[0027] While FIG. 1 illustrates an example of bending the core wire portions Ca... in which the width of the wire lead-in portion Xi is restricted, FIG. 2 illustrates an example in which the wire lead-in portion Xi is restricted by other conditions. FIG. 2(a) illustrates an example in which the angle of the wire lead-in portion Xi is restricted. By bending the core wire portions Ca..., the bending angle Qa (Qc)... of the core wire portions Ca (Cc)... relative to the connection portions Ja (Jc)... can be optimized. FIG. 2(b) illustrates an example in which the direction of the wire lead-in portion Xi is restricted. By bending the core wire portions Cn..., the bending angle Qn... of the core wire portions Cn... relative to the connection portions Jn... can be optimized. Furthermore, FIG. 2(b) illustrates an example in which a step portion Mps exists in the printed circuit board body Mp, and the lead wire Wn itself, including the coating portion Tn, is bent at position Tnc. In this case, after the bending mechanism Fm described below has bent the core portion Ca, the next bending mechanism Fm bends the position Tnc of the coating Tn. In this way, by using the core portion Ca exposed from the tip of the coating Ta... or the lead wire Wa... itself including the coating Ta... as the tip portion of the lead wire Wa..., the bending patterns can be made more diverse, making it applicable to various shapes of the connected portion Ja..., providing excellent versatility and enabling better-matched soldering between the connected portion Ja... and the lead wire Wa....

[0028] Next, the overall configuration of the mechanical system of the automatic soldering system 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0029] 8, the automatic soldering system 1 has a work soldering line 11 installed in the center, and this work soldering line 11 passes through four soldering processing units 11a, 11b, 11c, and 11d in sequence from the upstream side. That is, the work soldering line 11 has a function of sequentially transporting pallets 14 on which works A are set, and a function of sequentially transporting each work A set on each pallet 14 while stopping it at each soldering processing unit 11a, 11b, etc. for a certain period of time.

[0030] Four soldering units 12, 12, 12, 12 corresponding to the soldering processing sections 11a, 11b, etc. are arranged in sequence on the left side of the work soldering line 11 in the conveying direction Em. Each soldering unit 12 is a soldering robot mechanism having a soldering head equipped with a soldering iron section and a solder supply section, and the soldering head can move in the X, Y, and Z directions. It also has a positioning camera 32 (FIG. 9) that photographs the area around the tip of the soldering iron section. Various known soldering robot mechanisms can be used for this type of soldering robot mechanism.

[0031] On the other hand, four robot mechanisms R, R, RR are sequentially arranged on the right side of the workpiece soldering line 11 in the conveying direction Em, corresponding to each soldering processing section 11a, 11b... As shown in Figures 10 and 11, one robot mechanism R is a six-axis industrial robot, and at its tip, it has a hand unit Rh attached to a rotation output unit 41 of the sixth axis. This rotation output unit 41 has a rotation axis Rc whose rotation can be controlled. The hand unit Rh has a chuck unit 42. The chuck unit 42 has the function of gripping the lead wire Wa (Wb...). As shown in Figures 10 and 11, when the lead wire Wa is gripped, the central axis Lc of the lead wire Wa is configured to be coaxial with the rotation axis Rc. Note that, although the illustrated robot mechanism R is configured so that the rotation axis Rc and the central axis Lc of the lead wire Wa are coaxial, they may be on different axes. In this case, similar operations can be performed by software by controlling the angles and positions of other axes and arms.

[0032] In this case, the robot mechanism R also functions as a repair processing function unit Fc that performs a repair process to position the bent core wire portions Ca... in a predetermined orientation relative to the connection portions Ja... when soldering them to the connection portions Ja...—that is, in the illustrated example, to position them approximately parallel. This allows the robot mechanism R... to grip the lead wires Wa... and rotate them circumferentially about the axis of the lead wires Wa..., thereby performing a repair process to position the core wire portions Ca... in a predetermined orientation relative to the connection portions Ja.... Therefore, the use of such a robot mechanism R eliminates the need for a separate repair process, thereby improving production efficiency and contributing to further miniaturization and cost reduction of the automatic soldering system 1, since it is sufficient to provide the robot mechanism R with a hand unit on a rotary drive shaft that grips the lead wires Wa....

[0033] Furthermore, to the right of the robot mechanisms R in the transport direction Em, a lead wire transport line 15 is provided that transports lead wires Wa... clamped by clampers 6 in synchronization with the above-mentioned workpieces A... (pallets 14...). The clampers 6 have the function of clamping four lead wires Wa... of different colors that are used for one workpiece A. The illustrated clamper 6 has four U-shaped slits formed on the top surface of the block body that can hold the lead wires Wa.... Also, as shown in FIG. 1, a lead wire stocker 16 that stocks a large number of lead wires Wa..., Wb..., Wc..., Wd... is provided near the lead wire transport line 15.

[0034] Meanwhile, a bending process zone Zs is provided downstream of the lead wire stocker 16, i.e., between the lead wire stocker 16 and the first clamper 6, and a bending mechanism Fm, which constitutes a key part of the present invention, is disposed in this bending process zone Zs. This bending mechanism Fm can bend the core wire portions Ca... protruding from the tips of the coating portions Ta... by a bending angle Qa... based on the angle data Dq.

[0035] 3 to 7 show the specific configuration of the bending mechanism Fm. As shown in FIG. 3, the bending mechanism Fm is broadly divided into a lead wire holding portion Fmh that holds the four lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd, and a lead wire bending portion Fmc that bends the core wires Ca, Cb, Cc, and Cd of the lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd. The lead wire holding portion Fmh includes a lead wire support base 21 having a set plate 21s with a horizontal, flat lead wire set surface formed on its upper surface. As shown in FIG. 4, the lead wire set surface of the set plate 21s has four lead wire holding slits 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d with a V-shaped cross section and arranged at regular intervals. The set plate 21s with this lead wire set surface can be replaced to accommodate different outer diameters of the lead wires Wa... In addition, a pressure block 23c that is raised and lowered by a first lifting drive unit 23d is provided above the set plate 21s, and by lowering this pressure block 23c to position 23cs shown by the imaginary line in Figure 3, the lead wires Wa... set in each lead wire holding slit 22a... can be held and fixed.

[0036] In this way, when configuring the bending processing mechanism Fm, if it is configured to be able to bend multiple lead wires Wa... with different bending angles Qa..., a single bending processing mechanism Fm can be used to bend multiple lead wires Wa... simultaneously, which not only improves the efficiency of the bending processing process but also contributes to the miniaturization and cost reduction of the automatic soldering system 1.

[0037] On the other hand, the lead wire bending section Fmc includes an actuator support plate 24p that is raised and lowered by a second lifting drive section 24d and supported so as to be slidable in the vertical direction, and four bending units 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d are disposed on this actuator support plate 24p so as to correspond to (align with) the positions of the lead wire holding slits 22a, 22b, 22c, and 22d. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, each bending unit 25d includes an angle setting actuator 250 and a bending section 251 supported at the upper end of a lifting rod 250r that protrudes upward from the angle setting actuator 250, and a bending device 252 is fixed to the upper end position of the bending section 251. As shown in the enlarged extracted view of Fig. 3, the bending device 252 has a U-shaped recess 253 formed in the upper end of a plate member having a predetermined thickness. By raising the bending device 252 as shown in Fig. 7, the core wire portion Cd is accommodated in the recess 253 and the core wire portion Cd can be pushed up to bend it. To this end, both sides of the upper end of the inner wall of the recess 253 are chamfered to form curved surfaces 253p and 253q so that the core wire portion Cd can be guided into the recess 253. As shown in Fig. 7, the cross-sectional shape of the bottom of the recess 253 is also chamfered to form a mountain-shaped curved surface 253d extending from the front to the back. While one bending unit 25d has been described, the other bending units 25a, 25b, and 25c can also be basically configured in the same way as the above-described bending unit 25d, except for partial shape modifications for changing the position.

[0038] 8, a work carry-in section 17 is provided upstream of the work soldering line 11, and a work introduction section 17s is provided for keeping the work A transported by the work carry-in section 17 on standby. Furthermore, a lead wire transfer robot (not shown) is provided near the work introduction section 17s, and this lead wire transfer robot can sequentially transfer the lead wires Wa, Wb... stored in the lead wire stocker 16 to the bending processing mechanism Fm, and can also transfer the lead wires Wa, Wb... bent by the bending processing mechanism Fm to the clamper 6. Meanwhile, a work removal section 18 is provided downstream of the work soldering line 11 for removing the work A from the work soldering line 11 after soldering. Rp denotes a work removal robot that removes the work A after soldering.

[0039] Next, the overall system configuration including the control system and drive system of the automatic soldering system 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0040] In FIG. 9, Cs denotes a system controller. The system controller Cs includes a system controller main body 31, which is equipped with a display 31d having a touch panel 31t. A positioning camera 32 is connected to the system controller main body 31 via an interface 33. The system controller main body 31 is also connected to a robot mechanism R in the soldering processing section 11a, including a hand unit Rh and various actuators 34 for driving each robot axis, via an interface 35. The other soldering processing sections 11b, 11c, and 11d are also connected in the same manner as the soldering processing section 11a. Furthermore, each soldering unit 12 is connected via an interface 36. The workpiece removal robot Rp and lead wire transfer robot (not shown), and the drive mechanisms (not shown) for the workpiece soldering line 11, lead wire transport line 15, workpiece carry-in section 17, and workpiece carry-out section 18 are also connected to the system controller main body 31 via the necessary interfaces.

[0041] On the other hand, the first lifting / lowering drive unit 23d, the second lifting / lowering drive unit 24d, and each angle setting actuator 250... provided in the four bending units 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d of the bending processing mechanism unit Fm are connected to the system controller main body 31 via a driver 37.

[0042] The system controller Cs also has a built-in computer function including a CPU and internal memory 36, and the internal memory 36m has a program area 36mp that stores a comprehensive control program (software) for executing various arithmetic processing and various control processing (sequence control), as well as a data area 36md into which various data (databases) can be written.

[0043] The program area 36mp includes an angle data setting unit Fs that sets, as angle data Dq, the optimum bending angles Qa... of the core wire portions Ca... relative to the wire lead-in portions Xi of the covering portions Ta... relative to the connection portions Ja..., and in particular, a bending process program Fc for sequence control of the bending process mechanism unit Fm. Also, a soldering sequence program Fp for operating the entire automatic soldering system 1 according to the present invention is stored, thereby executing each functional unit.

[0044] Next, the operation of the automatic soldering system 1 according to this embodiment, that is, the automatic soldering method, will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 10 with reference to the various figures.

[0045] In this embodiment, the work A is the printed circuit board module M shown in Figure 1, which is an example of the printed circuit board module M before soldering, and the case where four lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd are soldered to this printed circuit board module M using an automatic soldering system 1 is described.

[0046] First, the angle data setting unit Fs sets the optimal bending angles Qa... of the core wire portions Ca... relative to the wire lead-in portions Xi of the covering portions Ta... relative to the connected portions Ja... as angle data Dq (step S1). As shown in Fig. 1, various dimensions including the dimensions of each part of the printed circuit board module M are known, so the optimal bending angles Qa... of each core wire portion Ca... can be set as angle data Dq based on this known information.

[0047] 1, when four lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd are aligned in the lead inlet Mfi (wire lead inlet Xi), if it is determined that the following is optimal from the standpoint of ensuring the connection area and connection quality between each connected portion Ja... and each core wire portion Ca..., the magnitudes of these bending angles Qa, 0, Qc, and Qd can be input. The input bending angles Qa, 0, Qc, and Qd are registered as angle data Dq in the data area 36md of the internal memory 36 of the system controller Cs and transferred to the bending processing mechanism Fm (step S2).

[0048] Meanwhile, lead wire processing is performed on each lead wire Wa.... In this case, the raw wire is cut to the required length, and a portion of the coating Ta... at the tip end is stripped to expose a predetermined length of core wire Ca.... At this time, if the core wire Ca... is a solid wire, it can be used as is. However, if the core wire Ca... is a stranded wire, the core wire Ca... is pre-soldered (step S3). By performing pre-soldering, even lead wires (wire rods) Wa... composed of stranded core wires can be bent in the same way as solid wires, thereby ensuring reliable automatic soldering. Note that this pre-soldering can be performed on multiple lead wires Wa... simultaneously. The resulting lead wires Wa..., Wb..., Wc..., Wd... are then stocked in a lead wire stocker 16 located near the lead wire conveying line 15.

[0049] 8, the work A (printed circuit board module M) carried in by the work carry-in unit 17 is set on the pallet 14 in the work introduction unit 17s, which serves as the standby position (step S4). A lead wire transfer robot (not shown) transfers a first lead wire Wa of a different color from the lead wire stocker 16 to the first lead wire holding slit 22a of the lead wire support table 21 in the bending processing mechanism unit Fm (step S5). This transfer process is similarly performed for the remaining three (generally N) lead wires Wb, Wc, and Wd (step S6). The completed transfer state is shown in FIGS. 3 to 6.

[0050] When the transfer is complete, the first lifting / lowering drive unit 23d is controlled to lower the presser block 23c to the position 23cs shown by the imaginary line in Fig. 3, thereby holding and fixing the lead wires Wa... set in the lead wire holding slits 22a... (Step S7). Next, the second lifting / lowering drive unit 24d is controlled to raise the actuator support plate 24p and further the four bending units 25a, 25b, 25c, 25d (Step S8).

[0051] At this time, the angle setting actuators 250... in each of the bending units 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d set the position of each bending portion 251... based on the angle data Dq transferred in advance. That is, since the bending angle Qb by bending unit 25b shown in FIG. 4 is 0, if the height of this bending device 252 is at the reference position of Hss, the height Ha of the bending device 252 in bending unit 25a is controlled and set by controlling the angle setting actuator 250 of bending unit 25a so that bending angle Qa by bending unit 25a is obtained. Similarly, the heights of the bending devices 252... in bending units 25c and 25d are set so that bending angles Qc and Qd are obtained by bending units 25c and 25d.

[0052] As the four bending units 25a, 25b, 25c, and 25d are raised, the core wire portions Ca, Cb, Cc, and Cd enter the recesses 253 of the bending devices 252 and abut against the bottoms 253d of the recesses 253. The core wire portions Ca, Cc, and Cd are then pushed up and bent (step S9), as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. Once the actuator support plate 24p has been raised to a preset height, i.e., a preset upper limit position, the second lifting / lowering drive unit 24d is stopped and lowered (step S10). Once the bending process is complete, the first lifting / lowering drive unit 23d is controlled to raise the presser block 23c (step S11). The four bent lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd are then transferred to the first clamper 6 on the lead wire transport line 15 by a robot mechanism (not shown) (step S12). In this case, the clamper 6 may be used instead of the set plate 21s in the bending processing mechanism Fm, and the clamper 6 after the bending processing may be moved directly to the lead wire transport line 15.

[0053] Next, the first lead wire Wa is gripped by the hand Rh of the robot mechanism R in the soldering processing section 11a. This state is shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 11 shows a side view, with the middle position of the lead wire Wa being gripped and fixed by the chuck 42 (step S13). The lead wire Wa gripped by the robot mechanism R is immediately transferred to a corresponding position on the work A, i.e., a position facing and above the connection portion Aj (step S14a). During this transfer, the robot mechanism R, which also serves as the correction processing function section Fc, corrects the bent core wire portion Ca so that it assumes a predetermined posture (approximately parallel in the illustrated example) relative to the connection portion Ja when soldering to the connection portion Ja (step S14b). Specifically, in the illustrated example, the core wire portion Ca bent by the bending processing mechanism Fm is tilted upward by a bending angle Qa as shown in FIG. 11, so a correction process is performed in which the rotation output unit 41 of the robot mechanism R is rotated counterclockwise by 90° as viewed from behind. As a result, as shown in FIG. 12, when viewed from above, the core wire portion Ca is bent to the left by the angle Qa and is positioned approximately parallel (in a predetermined posture) to the connection portion Ja. In other words, it is set to the same position and angle as the lead wire Wa in FIG. 1. This correction process is performed within the time it takes for the lead wire Wa to be transferred from the clamper 6 to the soldering processing unit 11a.

[0054] When constructing the correction processing function unit Fc, if a robot mechanism R is provided that grasps the wire and rotates it circumferentially around the axis of the wire, thereby correcting the core wire portion Ca to a predetermined posture relative to the connection portion Ja, it becomes unnecessary to provide a separate correction processing process, thereby improving production efficiency and contributing to further miniaturization and cost reduction of the automatic soldering system 1, as it is sufficient to provide the robot mechanism R with a hand unit of a rotating drive shaft that grasps the wire.

[0055] Furthermore, once the core portion Ca of the lead wire Wa has been moved above the corresponding connection portion Ja, the positioning camera 32 performs positioning control so that the core portion Ca is positioned at a preset optimum position (fixed position) (steps S15 and S16). In this case, image data (detection data) from the positioning camera 32 is provided to the system controller main body 31, and the positioning control function unit in the system controller Cs drives and controls the actuator group 34 of the robot mechanism R, enabling positioning processing to be performed by feedback control of the position of the lead wire Wa. As a result, once the tip position of the lead wire Wa has reached the fixed position (target position) relative to the connection portion Ja, the soldering unit 12 is operated and controlled to perform soldering processing (step S17).

[0056] As a result, the soldering process of the first lead wire Wa to the workpiece A is completed, and the lead wire conveying line 15 is driven and controlled to transfer the clamper 6 from which the lead wire Wa has been removed to the soldering processing section 11b, which is the next process, and the workpiece soldering line 11 is driven and controlled to transfer the workpiece A with the soldered lead wire Wa to the soldering processing section 11b, which is the next process (step S18). In the soldering processing section 11b, basically, the same processes as those in the soldering processing section 11a described above are performed (steps S12-S17). In the illustrated example, the lead wire Wb was not bent, so the correction process in step S14b is not performed.

[0057] Furthermore, the same process as that of the soldering processing unit 11a described above is performed in the soldering processing unit 11c, and the same process as that of the soldering processing unit 11b described above is performed in the soldering processing unit 11d. As a result, when the soldering processing by the soldering processing unit 11d is completed, the soldering processing of all four (generally N) lead wires Wa, Wb, Wc, and Wd is completed (step S18).

[0058] As described above, the basic technique of the automatic soldering method according to this embodiment involves setting in advance, as angle data Dq, the optimum bending angle Qa... of the core wire portion Ca... relative to the wire lead-in portion Xi of the covering portion Ta... relative to the connection portion Ja...; and, prior to soldering, the core wire portion Ca... protruding from the tip of the covering portion Ta... is bent by the bending mechanism Fm by the bending angle Qa... based on the angle data Dq. During soldering, the bent core wire portion Ca... is corrected to be positioned in a predetermined posture relative to the connection portion Ja..., and then the core wire portion Ca... is soldered to the connection portion Ja.... This effectively reduces the problem that the structure and shape of the work A restrict the wire lead-in portion of the wire relative to the connection portion Ja..., making it impossible to ensure a sufficient connection area between the core wire portion Ca... and the connection portion Ja..., and the problem that offsets and variations in the relative positions between the core wire portion Ca... and the connection portion Ja... are likely to occur. As a result, the adverse effects of applying undue stress to the soldered portion can be eliminated, the connection strength and connection quality can be further improved, and the direction of wire insertion can be made uniform, further improving the appearance quality, making it easy to optimize the full automation of soldering.

[0059] Furthermore, the automatic soldering system 1 according to this embodiment includes an angle data setting unit Fs that sets the optimum bending angle Qa... of the core wire portion Ca... relative to the wire lead-in portion Xi of the covering portion Ta... relative to the connection portion Ja... as angle data Dq, a bending processing mechanism unit Fm that bends the core wire portion Ca... protruding from the tip of the covering portion Ta... by the bending angle Qa... based on the angle data Dq, and a correction processing function unit Fc that performs correction processing to position the bent core wire portion Ca... in a predetermined posture relative to the connection portion Ja... when soldering to the connection portion Ja..., and therefore the automatic soldering method described above can be easily and reliably implemented.

[0060] The above describes in detail preferred embodiments including modified examples, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and the detailed configuration, shape, material, quantity, numerical values, etc. can be changed, added, or deleted as desired within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

[0061] For example, while lead wires Wa... are used as examples of wire materials, the term "wire material" includes various electrical wire materials, such as wire harnesses, cables, and electric wires, and may also be applied to wire materials in mechanical systems and other fields as needed. Furthermore, the robot mechanism R... may be replaced with a mechanical element having a similar function and does not necessarily refer to a general robot. Similarly, soldering does not necessarily refer to general soldering, as long as it has the function of welding (connecting) the wire material (core wire portion Ca...) to the connection portion Aj.... Furthermore, while the embodiment illustrates a case in which the wire is bent once, the number of bends may be two or any number of times. In addition, the bending directions of each bend may be the same or different. Furthermore, the bending position may be not only on the core wire portion Ca... but also on the lead wire Wa... itself, including the coating portion Ta..., as shown in FIG. 2(b). Meanwhile, as mentioned above, the preliminary soldering process (S3) is unnecessary for solid wires and is not necessarily a required component. Furthermore, as an example, a robot mechanism R is used as the correction processing functional unit Fc that performs correction processing to position the bent core wire portion Ca... in a predetermined posture relative to the connected portion Ja... when soldering it to the connected portion Ja.... The robot mechanism R grasps the wire and rotates it circumferentially about its axis to correct the core wire portion Ca... so that it assumes a predetermined posture relative to the connected portion Ja.... However, if the bending direction by the bending processing functional unit Fm coincides with the surface direction of the connected portion Ja..., a separate correction processing functional unit Fc is not necessarily required, and in this case, the bending processing functional unit Fm also serves as the correction processing functional unit Fc. [Industrial Applicability]

[0062] The automatic soldering method and automatic soldering system according to the present invention can be used when automatically soldering various wires such as lead wires and wire harnesses to connection portions of various workpieces in the manufacturing process of electronic components, electronic equipment, etc. [Explanation of symbols]

[0063] 1: Automatic soldering system, Wa...: wire, Ta...: coating part, Ca...: core part, A: work, Ja...: connected part, Xi: wire lead-in part, R: robot mechanism, Qa...: bending angle, Dq: angle data, Fs: angle data setting part, Fm: bending processing mechanism part, Fc: correction processing function part, (S1): setting processing, (S3): pre-soldering processing, (S9): bending processing, (S14b): correction processing, (S17): soldering processing

Claims

1. An automatic soldering method for automatically soldering a core wire portion having a coating portion of a wire to a connection portion of a workpiece by control processing of a system controller having computer functions, characterized in that the system controller previously sets an optimum bending angle of a tip portion of the wire relative to the connection portion as angle data, and before the soldering, a bending processing mechanism bends the tip portion of the wire by the bending angle based on the angle data, and during the soldering, the system controller corrects the core wire portion at the tip portion of the bent wire by positioning it in a predetermined posture relative to the connection portion, and then solders the core wire to the connection portion.

2. 2. The automatic soldering method according to claim 1, wherein the tip portion of the wire is the core exposed from the tip of the covering, or the wire itself including the covering.

3. 2. The automatic soldering method according to claim 1, wherein the core wire portion is pre-soldered before the soldering.

4. 4. An automatic soldering method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that, during the soldering, the wire is rotated and displaced circumferentially about its axis, thereby performing a correction process to position the tip portion in the predetermined posture relative to the connected portion.

5. An automatic soldering system that automatically solders a core wire portion having a coating portion of a wire to a connection portion of a workpiece, comprising: an angle data setting unit that sets an optimal bending angle of the tip portion of the wire that has passed through a wire lead-in portion of the workpiece relative to the connection portion as angle data; a bending processing mechanism that bends the tip portion of the wire by the bending angle based on the angle data; and a correction processing function unit that performs correction processing to position the core wire portion at the tip portion of the bent wire in a predetermined posture relative to the connection portion when soldering to the connection portion.

6. 6. The automatic soldering system according to claim 5, wherein the tip portion of the wire is the core exposed from the tip of the covering, or the wire itself including the covering.

7. 7. The automatic soldering system according to claim 5, wherein the bending mechanism performs bending processing on a plurality of lead wires or wire harnesses having different bending angles.

8. 6. The automatic soldering system according to claim 5, wherein the repair processing function unit includes a robot mechanism that grips the wire and rotates and displaces the wire at least in a circumferential direction about an axis of the wire.

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