Adjustable Soldering Transport Rails for Precise Parallel Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Adjusting the parallelism of transport rails in long, width-adjustable transport tracks for soldering systems is complicated, especially when accommodating components of varying sizes and widths.
Innovation Solution
A transport system with coupling elements that include guide and fastening parts, allowing for adjustable and lockable components to align transport rails easily, using rotary rods and gears for uniform displacement along the length, and axially adjustable fastening elements to ensure precise alignment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If transport rails are made long to accommodate large PCBs or workpiece carriers, then the support span increases and central support becomes necessary, but adjusting the parallelism of the transport rails becomes increasingly difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The transport rail is divided into multiple adjustable sections with coupling elements at intervals. Each coupling element allows independent adjustment of the rail section's position and parallelism, breaking down the complex task of adjusting a long rail into manageable segments that can be aligned sequentially.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling elements incorporate adjustable and lockable components that enable the transport rails to transition from a fixed state during operation to an adjustable state during setup. This dynamic capability allows parallelism adjustment at multiple positions along the rail length, making long rail alignment feasible.
2Adaptability or versatility
If transport tracks are designed to be width-adjustable to accommodate components of varying sizes and widths, then versatility increases, but the complexity of adjusting and maintaining parallelism of transport rails increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling element is segmented into a guide part attached to the crossbar and a fastening part attached to the transport rail, connected by an adjustable connection. This segmentation allows the fastening part to move relative to the guide part for width adjustment while maintaining parallelism through the guide elements' constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling element acts as an intermediary mechanism between the crossbar (fixed structure) and the transport rail (movable structure). It mediates the width adjustment function while simultaneously serving as the adjustment mechanism for parallelism, combining two functions into one component that reduces overall system complexity.
3Measurement precision
If multiple coupling elements are provided along the transport rail for parallelism adjustment, then alignment precision improves, but the number of components and adjustment operations increases
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling element merges multiple functions into a single compact component: it provides both the width adjustment mechanism (through the adjustable connection between guide and fastening parts) and the parallelism adjustment mechanism (through the guide elements and fastening elements). This consolidation reduces the number of separate components needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling element is designed as a universal component that can be repeatedly used at multiple positions along the transport rail. Each coupling element performs the same dual functions (width adjustment and parallelism adjustment), allowing standardized components to be distributed along the rail rather than requiring different mechanisms at each position.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a transport system (34) for transporting items to be soldered through a soldering system (10), comprising at least one transport track (38, 40) extending in a transport direction (18), wherein the transport track (38, 40) comprises at least two transport rails (42, 44, 46, 48), characterised in that a plurality of coupling elements (72, 120) are provided on at least one transport rail (42, 44, 46), in that the coupling elements (72, 120) comprise guide elements (58, 60, 61) which interact with transverse rods (46) that extend in a transverse direction (54) which runs transversely to the transport direction (18), and in that the coupling elements (72, 120) each comprise a guide part (100), which has the relevant guide element (58, 60, 61), and a fastening part (102) which is fastened to the relevant transport rail (42, 44, 46), such that the fastening part (102) can be moved relative to the guide part (100) so that the distance between the transport rail (42, 44, 46) and the relevant guide part (100) in the transverse direction (54) changes.