Shuttle Conveyor Advance-Shift Control for Circuit Substrate Delivery
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional shuttle conveyor systems in circuit-substrate working machines face inefficiencies in delivering and receiving circuit substrates due to unnecessary delays and misalignment, leading to increased processing times and reduced operating rates, as they rely on the SMEMA standard for signal-based delivery and receipt operations which may not always align with the physical positioning of conveyor lanes.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating an advance-shift control unit and receipt control unit in the shuttle conveyor system, which allows for pre-notification of deliverable and receivable states, enabling the movable conveyor lane to shift and receive substrates before the upstream device becomes deliverable or receivable, thereby optimizing the timing and reducing the time required for delivery and receipt operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If the shuttle conveyor waits for the upstream device to become deliverable before shifting the movable conveyor lane, then the delivery operation is simple and reliable, but the time required for substrate delivery increases
Solution Approach 1:
The advance-shift control unit shifts the movable conveyor lane to the receiveable position in advance based on deliverable-state advance notification information received from the upstream device, before the upstream device actually becomes deliverable. This preliminary positioning action eliminates waiting time during substrate delivery while maintaining control reliability through advance notification signaling.
2Productivity
If the shuttle conveyor shifts the movable conveyor lane to receive substrate early, then the receipt operation efficiency improves, but the risk of misalignment and operational errors increases
Solution Approach 1:
The receipt control unit uses receivable-state advance notification information from the downstream device as feedback to determine when to shift the movable conveyor lane. This feedback mechanism ensures the lane is positioned correctly in advance while maintaining reliability through confirmation signaling from the downstream device, preventing misalignment errors.
3Productivity
If the shuttle conveyor operates based on real-time deliverable and receivable signals, then the operational reliability is high, but the processing time and operating rate are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
Both the advance-shift control unit and receipt control unit perform preliminary positioning actions based on advance notification signals before actual substrate delivery and receipt operations. This allows the shuttle conveyor to eliminate waiting time during substrate transfer while maintaining operational reliability through confirmed signaling, thereby increasing the operating rate without sacrificing precision.
Data Source
AI summary
Utility of a circuit-substrate working machine including a substrate conveyor device and a shuttle conveyor designed to shift a circuit substrate in a direction intersecting a conveying direction is improved. Based on transmission of a deliverable-state advance notification signal for one of conveyor lanes of an upstream printer, a movable conveyor lane of an intermediate shuttle conveyor is moved to a position continuous to the one conveyor lane. The circuit substrate is delivered to the movable conveyor lane in a state in which the movable conveyor lane is located at a circuit-substrate receiving position, a receivable-state advance notification signal is produced for a receiving lane for receiving the circuit substrate supplied from one of conveyor lanes of a downstream printer which has transmitted a deliverable-state advance notification signal, and a receivable-state signal and a deliverable-state signal are obtained. The circuit substrate is then delivered to the receiving lane.