Mounting device for flexible components

Abstract

The invention relates to a mounting device (1; 101; 201) for flexible components, comprising a component holder (2; 111; 211) having a working chamber (21) which is partially delimited by an elastically deformable wall section (22) and can be applied with fluid pressure, wherein a mouth opening (37) of a vacuum channel (17) is arranged on an outer surface (38) of the working chamber (21) adjacent to the elastically deformable wall section (22), and wherein the elastically deformable wall section (22) has an adjustable curvature depending on a fluid pressure level in the working chamber (21). According to the invention, a sensor (48; 108; 208) is associated with the component holder (2; 111; 211) and is designed to provide a sensor signal which is dependent on a curvature of an inner surface (51) of the elastically deformable wall section (22) facing the working chamber (21).

Description

[0001] Assembly device for flexible components

[0002] The invention relates to an assembly device for flexible components, with a component holder that defines a working space that can be pressurized with fluid and is partially bounded by an elastically deformable wall section, wherein an opening of a vacuum channel is arranged on an outer surface of the working space adjacent to the elastically deformable wall section, and wherein the elastically deformable wall section has an adjustable curvature depending on a fluid pressure level in the working space.

[0003] US Patent 2022 / 0102185 describes a semiconductor manufacturing device designed to bond a substrate to a semiconductor chip, comprising a bond head configured to allow the semiconductor chip to be stacked onto a substrate, the bond head including a mounting pad having a vacuum channel on its bottom surface, and the bond head further comprising a cavity configured to allow the shape of the bottom surface of the mounting pad to be set by providing air pressure in the cavity.

[0004] The objective of the invention is to provide an assembly device that enables improved chip assembly. This objective is achieved for an assembly device of the type mentioned above by providing a component holder that has a working chamber pressurised by fluid and partially bounded by an elastically deformable wall section. A vacuum channel opening is arranged on an outer surface of the working chamber adjacent to the elastically deformable wall section. The elastically deformable wall section has an adjustable curvature depending on the fluid pressure level in the working chamber. A sensor is associated with the component holder, configured to provide a sensor signal that depends on the curvature of an inner surface of the elastically deformable wall section facing the working chamber.

[0005] The component holder is the part of the assembly device that uses vacuum to pick up the component to be mounted and, during the assembly process, places it onto another component. For this purpose, the component holder has a working chamber that is partially bounded by an elastically deformable wall section. Preferably, the working chamber is designed as a cavity within the component holder and, apart from the elastically deformable wall section, is bounded by walls that do not undergo any significant elastic or plastic deformation during normal use of the assembly device.

[0006] The intended use of the assembly device involves temporarily pressurizing the workspace with a working fluid, particularly compressed air, to effect a change in curvature of the elastically deformable wall section during the assembly process. For example, the workspace is pressurized to a maximum pressure of 6 bar. This pressurization of the workspace causes the elastically deformable wall section to bulge, transforming the outer surface of the elastically deformable wall section, which faces the component being assembled, from a preferably flat configuration to a convex configuration.This curvature change in the elastically deformable wall area also transforms the component, which is similarly elastically deformable and which, due to negative pressure, rests at least largely against the outer surface of the elastically deformable wall area, into a curved configuration. Accordingly, when the component, which may be a semiconductor chip, is mounted onto another component, which may also be a semiconductor chip, there is initially point contact between the two components.

[0007] During the next stage of the assembly process, pressure is reduced in the working space, resulting in a change in curvature for the elastically deformable wall area and a corresponding change in curvature for the flexible component, leading to a reduction in curvature. This allows the component to be placed onto the other component without the formation of unwanted air pockets. This is particularly important when the components to be assembled have opposing electrical contact surfaces that must be reliably connected.This type of assembly aims to place the extremely smooth underside of the component to be mounted, preferably without a contact and / or adhesive layer, directly onto an extremely smooth surface of the other component, whereby strong adhesive forces arise between the two components due to the almost full-surface contact, since, with correct assembly of the components, no air can enter between the components that would allow them to separate from each other.

[0008] The elastically deformable wall area is dimensioned in such a way that, during intended use of the assembly device, it is deformed exclusively elastically, so that after a pressure equalization between the working space and the environment of the assembly device, the outer surface of the elastically deformable wall area returns to its original shape and, in particular, is at least largely flat.

[0009] The sensor, which is associated with the component holder, serves to provide a sensor signal that depends on the curvature of the elastically deformable wall area. This sensor signal represents the actual curvature of the elastically deformable wall area, with the curvature being detected on an inner surface of the elastically deformable wall area facing the working space. In contrast to an indirect detection of the curvature of the elastically deformable wall area, such as by measuring the working pressure in the working space and subsequently converting the measured pressure, the invention provides for direct detection of the curvature.This avoids a number of measurement errors that can occur when indirectly measuring curvature, for example when the temperature of the elastically deformable wall area is unknown, which is, however, of considerable importance for the deformation properties of the wall area.

[0010] Depending on the chosen sensor principle, the sensor can be composed of several components. These components do not necessarily have to be fully integrated into the workspace or directly attached to the component holder. Instead, the sensor can be fully integrated into the workspace, or the individual sensor components can be arranged in a distributed manner, both within the workspace and away from the component holder. In any case, the sensor is designed to provide an electrical sensor signal from which the curvature of the elastically deformable wall area can be determined. This electrical sensor signal can be an analog or a digital signal, which is then supplied to an evaluation unit to perform the curvature measurement.Typical transmission methods for the sensor signal are: analog current signal 4 mA to 20 mA; HART; I0-Link; SPI or other digital bus protocols.

[0011] Preferably, the electrical sensor signal of the sensor is used to enable the most precise possible detection of the curvature of the elastically deformable wall area, in order to control the fluid pressure in the working space, with which a precisely defined assembly process can be carried out for the component to be mounted onto another component.

[0012] Advantageous further developments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0013] It is advantageous if the sensor, from the group consisting of resistive strain gauges, capacitive strain gauges, and optical strain gauges, is designed for contact-based detection of the curvature of the inner surface. Such a sensor is applied directly to the inner surface and fixed there in a manner, preferably by bonding, such that a change in the curvature of the inner surface leads to a mechanical distortion of the strain gauge. Due to this mechanical distortion, at least one other physical property of the strain gauge also changes, for example, an electrical resistance, an electrical capacitance, or an optical refraction. This changed physical property of the strain gauge can be converted by an evaluation unit coupled to the sensor into a curvature value that represents the curvature of the inner surface.This curvature value can, for example, be provided as an actual value to a pressure regulator, which regulates the fluid pressure in the working space and whose task is to adapt the actual value to a predetermined setpoint or a predetermined setpoint curve.

[0014] It is advantageous if the sensor, from the group consisting of inductive sensors, capacitive sensors, magnetostrictive sensors, optical sensors, magnetic field sensors, and dynamic pressure sensors, is designed for contactless detection of the curvature of the inner surface. In a contactless method, it is advantageous that the sensor's influence on the deformation properties of the elastically deformable wall section is negligible, particularly zero, or at least very small.

[0015] In an inductive sensor, the elastic deformation of the elastically deformable wall section changes the inductance of an electrical coil, which is preferably supplied with an alternating current, whereby the change in inductance is used as a measure of the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section.

[0016] A capacitive sensor utilizes the fact that a change in the distance between two opposing capacitor plates also causes a change in the electrical voltage between the capacitor plates or in the capacitance of the capacitor formed by the two capacitor plates, whereby this change in voltage or capacitance can be used as a measure of the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section.

[0017] In a magnetostrictive sensor, an electrical pulse is coupled into a thin-walled metal tube. The metal tube is made of a magnetostrictive material, and either the metal tube or a permanent magnet is mechanically coupled to the elastically deformable wall section. A change in the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section results in relative motion between the metal tube and the permanent magnet. This relative motion also alters the signal path for the electrical pulse, which is at least partially reflected in the metal tube at the point in its immediate vicinity where the permanent magnet is located.Accordingly, the signal propagation time for the electrical impulse can be used to infer the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section, and this signal propagation time can be used as a measure of the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section.

[0018] For example, an optical measuring device can be designed to use the inner surface of the elastically deformable wall section as a reflective surface for an optical beam emitted by an optical transmitter, in particular a laser diode. A light-sensitive sensor can be used to evaluate the reflected optical beam, enabling, for example, laser triangulation to determine the distance to the elastically deformable wall section and thus allow conclusions to be drawn about the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section.In a magnetic field sensor, a permanent magnet is fixed to the inner surface of the elastically deformable wall section, and opposite this permanent magnet a magnetic field-sensitive sensor, for example a Hall sensor, is arranged, which is able to determine a distance between the permanent magnet and the magnetic field sensor depending on a magnetic flux strength and / or one or more magnetic field directions, and thereby provide a measure of the curvature of the inner surface.

[0019] In a dynamic pressure sensor, a defined airflow exiting a nozzle is directed onto a surface that is mechanically connected to the elastically deformable wall section. Depending on the curvature of this section and the resulting distance between the nozzle opening and the surface upon which the airflow strikes, a variable pressure is established within the nozzle. This pressure is measured by a pressure sensor associated with the nozzle and serves as a measure of the curvature of the inner surface of the elastically deformable wall section.

[0020] Preferably, a sensor counterpart coupled to the inner surface of the elastically deformable wall section from the group consisting of ferromagnetic plunger, capacitor plate, permanent magnet, optical reflector surface, pneumatic impact surface is arranged adjacent to or opposite the sensor.

[0021] In a further development of the invention, it is provided that the sensor and the sensor counterpart are arranged in a spatial area of ​​the workspace that is opposite the elastically deformable wall section, and that the sensor counterpart is arranged on a second end area of ​​a connecting rod, which with a first end area rests on the inner surface of the elastically deformable wall section and which is linearly movable in a rod guide in the workspace.

[0022] The connecting rod's function is to transmit the movement of the elastically deformable wall section through the workspace to the sensor, thereby enabling spatial separation between the elastically deformable wall section and the sensor. This spatial separation allows the use of different sensor technologies to determine the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section, technologies that cannot be integrated, or can only be integrated with difficulty, in the immediate vicinity of the elastically deformable wall section due to geometric constraints. This is particularly relevant when the elastically deformable wall section is designed as a replaceable part and its replacement is required depending on the geometry of the component being mounted.As an example, a mechanical interface is designed on the component holder, which enables a quick replacement of the elastically deformable wall section and is optimized together with the connecting rod in such a way that a curvature measurement can be carried out after a replacement of the elastically deformable wall section without complex calibration measures.

[0023] The connecting rod is linearly movable within a rod guide in the working space, with an axis of movement for the connecting rod oriented transversely to the largest extent of the elastically deformable wall section. In particular, the axis of movement forms a surface normal for the elastically deformable wall section, which is planar in its neutral position. Preferably, the connecting rod and the rod guide form a sliding bearing with minimal play and low friction, thus ensuring the most precise possible transmission of motion between the elastically deformable wall section and the connecting rod.

[0024] In a further embodiment of the invention, it is provided that the connecting rod passes through a sealing ring arranged in the working chamber, which is designed for a fluidic separation of the working chamber into a first working chamber section and a second working chamber section, wherein opposite to the second end region of the connecting rod, which is designed as a pneumatic impact surface, an opening of a dynamic pressure channel is arranged, wherein the second working chamber section is fluidly connected to an outlet channel, wherein a pressure sensor is arranged in the dynamic pressure channel and wherein a flow regulator is connected upstream of the dynamic pressure channel.

[0025] Preferably, the sealing ring is designed as part of the rod guide and received in a radial groove of the component holder. Particularly preferably, the sealing ring is designed as a shaft seal or lip seal and is made of a rubber-elastic material to ensure an advantageous sealing effect against an outer surface of the connecting rod. The sealing ring ensures fluidic separation between the first working chamber section, which can be pressurized with fluid pressure to influence the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section, and the second working chamber section, in which the sensor is located, which operates at a lower working pressure compared to the fluid pressure in the first working chamber section.Preferably, the connecting rod provides a perpendicular, and in particular circular, impact surface oriented to the axis of movement, upon which the airflow exiting the outlet of the ram air channel, located opposite the impact surface, strikes. Depending on the distance between the outlet and the impact surface, which is influenced by the curvature of the inner surface of the elastically deformable wall section, a variable ram air pressure occurs at the outlet, which can be determined by a pressure sensor arranged in the ram air channel. Here, the pressure in the ram air channel is a measure of the curvature of the inner surface of the elastically deformable wall section.

[0026] It is advantageous to arrange a magnetostrictive sensor or a magnetic field sensor, in particular a Hall sensor, opposite the second end of the connecting rod which is equipped with a permanent magnet. Preferably, the magnetostrictive sensor and the magnetic field sensor are integrated circuits that require only an electrical supply voltage to perform the desired distance measurement relative to the permanent magnet. All signal conditioning and processing is preferably carried out within the respective integrated circuit, so that, for example, a sensor signal proportional to the distance between the integrated circuit and the permanent magnet can be output at an output interface of the integrated circuit.

[0027] In an advantageous further development of the invention, a first capacitor plate is arranged opposite the second end region of the connecting rod, which is equipped with an electrically conductive second capacitor plate. The two capacitor plates can, for example, be designed as sheet metal plates or as metallized plastic plates and enable a compact design of the assembly device in one spatial direction along the axis of movement of the connecting rod. An electrical evaluation of this sensor can be performed either by detecting a change in the voltage of an electrical voltage applied to the capacitor plates before bending, or by providing an alternating electric field to the capacitor plates, in which case a resonant frequency of a resonant circuit serves as a measure of the distance.The evaluation of the voltage change or the oscillation frequency f takes place in an evaluation unit electrically connected to the capacitor plates, which is part of the sensor.

[0028] Preferably, the second end of the connecting rod, made of a magnetizable material, is immersed in the coil space of an electrical coil, or the second end of the connecting rod carries an iron plate, and a planar coil is arranged opposite the iron plate on the upper part. Accordingly, a change in curvature of the elastically deformable wall section also changes the position of the second end of the connecting rod and thus the inductance of the electrical coil. This applies both when the connecting rod's second end is immersed in the coil space of an electrical coil, particularly one with a circular cylinder, and when an iron plate is opposite a planar coil. The change in inductance can therefore be used as a measure of the change in curvature of the elastically deformable wall section.It is advantageous if the sensor is electrically connected to an evaluation device in order to determine a curvature value for the inner surface of the elastically deformable wall section from an electrical sensor signal.

[0029] Advantageous implementation methods of the invention are shown in the drawing. This shows:

[0030] Figure 1 shows a strictly schematic sectional view of a first embodiment of an assembly device with a dynamic pressure sensor.

[0031] Figure 2 shows a strictly schematic sectional view of a second embodiment of an assembly device with a planar coil arrangement, and

[0032] Figure 3 shows a strictly schematic representation of a third embodiment of an assembly device with a magnetic field sensor arrangement.

[0033] A mounting device 1, schematically depicted in Figure 1, serves to mount a semiconductor chip (not shown) onto a substrate (also not shown), which may also be a semiconductor chip. For correct mounting of the semiconductor chip, it is necessary that the semiconductor chip is initially applied to the substrate in a curved configuration. During the subsequent mounting process, the curvature is reduced, thereby facilitating a controlled, central displacement of air from the inside out between the underside of the semiconductor chip and the top side of the substrate, thus preventing air inclusions between the semiconductor chip and the substrate. For this purpose, the mounting device 1 comprises a component holder 2, a working air supply 3, a vacuum supply 4, a measuring air supply 5, and a control unit 6.The control unit 6 comprises an electronic circuit (not shown) with a microcontroller or microprocessor in which a computer program runs, programmed to control all processes necessary for the direct operation of the assembly device 1. The control unit 6 can be connected via an interface (not shown) to a higher-level machine control system of an assembly machine, wherein this assembly machine has, for example, a robot arm (not shown) or other handling device for spatial movement of the assembly device 1 in order to pick up the semiconductor chip (not shown) from a storage location and mount it onto the substrate (not shown).It may be provided that the higher-level machine control is designed to provide control commands to the control unit 6 and that the control unit 6 translates these control commands into actions of the components of the assembly device 1 described in more detail below.

[0034] As can be seen from Figure 1, the component holder 2 has a working air connection 7, a vacuum connection 8 and a measuring air connection 9, each of these connections 7 to 9 being equipped with a hose coupling 10, 11, 12 shown only in a stylized manner, to which one of the fluid hoses 13, 14, 15 shown only schematically is connected.

[0035] Starting from the working air connection 7, a working air channel 16 extends through the component holder 2 to a working chamber 21, which, for illustrative purposes, is designed as a circular cylindrical bore and has an elastically deformable wall section 22 shaped like a membrane. As can be seen from the schematic representation in Figure 1, the working chamber 21, with the exception of the elastically deformable wall section 22, is bounded by dimensionally stable wall sections 23, 24. For illustrative purposes, the circularly shaped wall section 23, together with the elastically deformable wall section 22, is designed as part of a replaceable insert 25. This insert part 25 is received in a recess 26 of a lower part 27 of the component holder 2 and is held on the lower part 27 by a locking plate 28, which is fixed to a bottom surface 29 of the lower part 27 in a manner not shown in detail.

[0036] On an end face 30 of the recess 26, an opening 31 for the working air channel 16 and a circumferential vacuum channel 32, designed as an annular groove, are provided. Coaxial to the vacuum channel 32, an outer sealing groove 33 with an outer sealing ring 34 and an inner sealing groove 35 with an inner sealing ring 36 are formed on the end face 30, which are provided for sealing the vacuum channel 32 against the working chamber 21 and the environment. As can be seen in Figure 1, the opening 31 is arranged in the working chamber 21, so that ventilation and exhaust of the working chamber 21 can be carried out via the working air channel 16. For this ventilation and venting of the work chamber 21, the working air duct 16 is connected via the hose coupling 10 and the associated fluid hose 13 to a control valve 41, which is, purely by way of example, an electrofluidically piloted 3 / 3-way valve.The control valve 41 is connected to a compressed air source 42 and to a compressed air outlet 43, symbolically designed as a silencer, and can, depending on a switching position, either vent the working chamber 21 (as shown in Figure 1), completely block the working chamber 21, or ventilate the working chamber 21. The control valve 41 is actuated via an electrical control line 44, which is connected to the control unit 6.

[0037] Starting from the vacuum channel 32, vacuum bores 37 extend to an end face 38 of the insert 25 and open into the surrounding environment. The end face 38 can be, for example, annular or rectangular, in particular square, and borders the purely exemplary circular elastically deformable wall section 22. When the vacuum bores 37 are pressurized with vacuum, a component (not shown), in particular a semiconductor chip, can be drawn onto the end face 38. The vacuum pressure on the vacuum bores 37 is selected such that even if the elastically deformable wall section 22 bulges, as shown in dashed lines in Figure 1, the component remains adhered to the end face 38 and the component has a similar or identical curvature to the elastically deformable wall section.For this vacuum application to the vacuum bores 37, the vacuum channel 32 is in fluid communication with the hose coupling 11 via a vacuum bore 17.

[0038] The fluid hose 14 is connected to the hose coupling 11 and is in turn connected to a switching valve 45, which, for illustrative purposes, is designed as an electrofluidically piloted 3 / 2-way valve and is connected to a vacuum source 46. The switching valve 45 is connected to the control unit 6 via a control line 47 and allows either the application of a vacuum or the venting of the vacuum bores 37. A first end region 56 of a connecting rod 52 rests against an inner surface 51 of the elastically deformable wall section 22. The connecting rod 52 extends along an axis of movement 53, which is oriented transversely to the inner surface 51, for illustrative purposes with a circular cross-section, to a second end region 57, which faces away from the inner surface 51.For example, it is provided that the connecting rod 52 is spherically tapered at the first end region 56 in the direction of the inner surface 51 and has a rounded tip 58.

[0039] At the second end region 57, a flat surface 59 oriented transversely to the axis of movement 53 is formed, which serves as a pneumatic impact surface. The connecting rod 52 passes through a guide bore 39 formed in the lower part 27, the inner surface of which serves as a rod guide 54. Furthermore, the connecting rod 52 passes through a sealing ring 55, which is received in a stepped bore 66 of an upper part 65 of the component holder 2, which is mounted on the lower part 27 and is oriented coaxially to the axis of movement 53. The sealing ring 55 has the function of pneumatically separating the working chamber 21 into a first working chamber section 67 and a second working chamber section 68, so that pressurizing the first working chamber section 67 does not lead to a change in the pressure conditions in the second working chamber section 68.

[0040] The second working chamber section 68 includes, in addition to the stepped bore 66, a measuring air channel 18 extending from the hose coupling 12, which is fluidly connected to the stepped bore 66 and is also referred to as the dynamic pressure channel, as well as an outlet channel 19, which is likewise fluidly connected to the stepped bore 66. The stepped bore 66 has a first bore section 69, which is preferably circular cylindrical and faces the lower part 27, and which is designed to receive the sealing ring 55. A second bore section 70 adjoins the first bore section 69 along the axis of movement 53. This second bore section 70 serves as a flow chamber for the dynamic pressure sensor 48, which is described in more detail below, and is, purely by way of example, circular cylindrical with a smaller diameter than the first bore section 69.A third bore section 71 adjoins the second bore section 70 along the axis of movement, which is fluidically connected to the measuring air channel 18 and is designed purely as an example in a circular cylindrical shape with a smaller diameter than the second bore section 70.

[0041] The inner diameter of the third bore section 71 is selected to be smaller than the diameter of the planar surface 59, so that compressed air supplied at the measuring air connection 9 can be guided through the third bore section 71 with a jet cross-section that ensures that the compressed air volume flow impinges at least almost completely on the planar surface 59. An outlet opening of the third bore section 71, where it transitions into the second bore section 70, is also referred to as the orifice 72.

[0042] Depending on the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section 22, the connecting rod 52 can move from the closed position, as shown in Figure 1, to an open position (not shown), in which an annular gap is created between the third bore section 71, which serves as a nozzle, and the connecting rod 52. This gap allows the compressed air supplied at the measuring air connection 9 to flow into the outlet channel 19. To obtain information about the relative position of the connecting rod 52 with respect to the third bore section 71, and thus about the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section 22, a controlled supply of compressed air is provided at the measuring air connection 9. This compressed air is supplied by a flow regulator 82 and a compressed air source 83 connected to the flow regulator 82.For example, a pressure regulator (not shown) can be used instead of the flow regulator 82.

[0043] Furthermore, a pressure sensor 84 is associated with the measuring air connection 9, which allows pressure measurement in the measuring air channel 18. The flow regulator 82 is electrically connected to the control unit 6 via a control line 85 and receives a flow setpoint from the control unit 6. The pressure sensor 84 is connected to the control unit 6 via a sensor line 86 and thereby provides a sensor signal to the control unit 6, representing the pressure at the measuring air connection 9. The task of the flow regulator 82 is to always provide a flow through the measuring air channel 18 that corresponds to the flow setpoint, irrespective of the flow resistance, which depends on the position of the connecting rod 52 relative to the third bore section 71.When the flow resistance increases as the flat surface 59 approaches the third bore section 71, a pressure increase occurs in the measuring air channel 18, while a pressure drop occurs in the measuring air channel when the flat surface 59 moves away from the third bore section 71. The pressure in the measuring air channel 18, as determined by the pressure sensor 84, is thus a measure of the distance between the connecting rod 52 and the third bore section 71 and of the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section 22. Accordingly, in the assembly device 1, the control unit 6, the connecting rod 52, the third bore section 71, and the flow regulator 82 form a dynamic pressure sensor 48.

[0044] In the following description of the second embodiment of an assembly device 101, as shown in Figure 2, the same reference numerals are used for functionally identical components as for the assembly device 1 according to Figure 1, and a further description of these components is omitted. The assembly device 101 differs from the assembly device 1 in that, instead of the dynamic pressure sensor 48, an inductive sensor 108 is provided for determining the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section 22. For this purpose, an iron plate 105 is arranged at the end of the second end region 107 of the connecting rod 102, which is oriented with its greatest extent transverse to the axis of movement 103.Opposite the iron plate 105, a printed circuit board with a planar coil 104 is arranged on an upper part 112 of the component holder 111. The circuit board is aligned parallel to the iron plate 105 and has essentially the same maximum extent transverse to the axis of movement 103 as the iron plate 105. The planar coil 104 is connected via associated measuring lines 109 and 110 to the control unit 6, which is designed to provide electrical signals to the planar coil 104, in particular an alternating electric field, in order to determine the distance between the planar coil 104 and the iron plate 105.

[0045] In the following description of the third embodiment of an assembly device 201, as shown in Figure 3, the same reference numerals are used for functionally identical components as for the assembly device 1 according to Figure 1, and a further description of these components is omitted. The assembly device 201 differs from the assembly device 1 in that a magnetic field sensor 208 is used to determine the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section 22 instead of the dynamic pressure sensor 48. A permanent magnet 204 is attached to the second end region 207 of the connecting rod 202. Furthermore, a magnetic field sensor 205, which may be designed as a Hall sensor, is arranged opposite the second end region 207.The magnetic field sensor 205 is electrically connected to the control unit 6 via a measuring line 209. In the control unit, the sensor signal, which depends on the distance between the permanent magnet 204 and the magnetic field sensor 205, is converted into a value representing the curvature of the elastically deformable wall section 22. To ensure reliable contact of the connecting rod 202 with the inner surface 51, a compression spring 210 extends between the second end region 207 of the connecting rod 202 and the upper part 212 of the component holder 211.

Claims

Claims 1. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) for flexible components, with a component holder (2; 111; 211) which has a working space (21) that can be pressurized with fluid pressure and is partially bounded by an elastically deformable wall section (22), wherein on an outer surface (38) of the working space (21) adjacent to the elastically deformable wall section (22) an outlet opening (37) of a vacuum channel (17) is arranged and wherein the elastically deformable wall section (22) has an adjustable curvature depending on a fluid pressure level in the working space (21), characterized in that a sensor (48; 108; 208) is assigned to the component holder (2; 111; 211) which is designed to provide a sensor signal which depends on a curvature of an inner surface (51) of the elastically deformable wall section (22) facing the working space (21).

2. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (48; 108; 208) is from the group consisting of: resistive strain gauges, capacitive strain gauges, optical strain gauges, for contact-based detection of the curvature of the inner surface.

3. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) according to claim 1, characterized in that the sensor (48; 108; 208) is from the group: inductive measuring sensor, capacitive measuring sensor, magnetostrictive sensor, optical sensor, magnetic field sensor, dynamic pressure sensor, designed for contactless detection of the curvature of the inner surface.

4. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) according to claim 3, characterized in that a sensor counterpart coupled to the inner surface (51) of the elastically deformable wall section (22) from the group consisting of: ferromagnetic plunger, capacitor plate (105), permanent magnet (204), optical reflector surface, pneumatic impact surface (59) is arranged adjacent to or opposite the sensor (4; 108; 208).

5. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) according to claim 4, characterized in that the sensor (48; 108; 208) and the sensor counterpart are arranged in a spatial area of ​​the working space (21) which is opposite the elastically deformable wall section (22) and that the sensor counterpart is arranged on a second end region (57) of a connecting rod (52; 102; 202) which bears at a first end region (56; 106; 206) on the inner surface (51) of the elastically deformable wall section (22) and which is linearly movable in a rod guide (54) in the working space (21).

6. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) according to claim 5, characterized in that the connecting rod (52; 102; 202) passes through a sealing ring (55) arranged in the working chamber (21), which is designed for a fluidic separation of the working chamber (21) into a first working chamber section (67) and into a second working chamber section (68), wherein opposite the second end region (57) of the connecting rod (52) designed as a pneumatic impact surface (59) an opening (72) of a dynamic pressure channel (18) is arranged, wherein the second working chamber section (68) is fluidically communicating is connected to an outlet channel (19), wherein a pressure sensor (84) is assigned to the dynamic pressure channel (18) and wherein a flow regulator (82) is connected upstream of the dynamic pressure channel (18).

7. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) according to claim 5, characterized in that a magnetostrictive measuring sensor or a magnetic field measuring sensor (205), in particular a Hall sensor, is arranged opposite the second end region (207) of the connecting rod (202) which is provided with a permanent magnet (204).

8. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) according to claim 5, characterized in that a first capacitor plate is arranged opposite the second end region of the connecting rod which is provided with an electrically conductive second capacitor plate.

9. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) according to claim 5, characterized in that the second end region of the connecting rod made of a magnetizable material is immersed in a coil chamber of an electrical coil or that the second end region (107) of the connecting rod (103) carries an iron plate (105) and a planar coil (104) is arranged opposite the iron plate (105) on the upper part (112).

10. Assembly device (1; 101; 201) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that the sensor (48; 108; 208) is electrically connected to an evaluation device (6) in order to determine a curvature value for the inner surface (51) of the elastically deformable wall section (22) from an electrical sensor signal.

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