Apparatus for mounting electronic parts and a method thereof

• US 5,579,572 A
• Filed: 01/20/1995
• Issued: 12/03/1996
• Est. Priority Date: 01/25/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Higashi, Masayuki, Kashiwagi, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): VO, PETER DUNG BA
• Application Number:
  US08/375,781
• Time in Patent Office: 683 Days
• Field of Search: 29/739, 29/740, 29/741, 29/743, 29/834, 29/836, 29/DIG. 44, 156/567, 414/737, 414/738, 414/752
• US Class Current: 29/836
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/041 having multiple pick-up tools
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 29/044 Vacuum
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49137 Different components
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53178 Chip component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53183 Multilead component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53191 Means to apply vacuum directly to position or hold work part

Abstract

A mounting apparatus mounts electronic parts on a substrate. The mounting apparatus includes an electronic part feeder having a moving table which moves along a moving path. The moving table moves a part cassette accommodating electronic parts to a pick up station. A transferring and mounting unit having a transferring and mounting head is also provided to move between the pick up station and the mounting station to retrieve the electronic part from a part pick up port of the part cassette at the pick up station. The transferring and mounting head has a nozzle for picking up an electronic part. The transferring and mounting head rotates the nozzle along a circular path. The moving path and the circular path intersect at two points at the pick up station. The pick up port of the part cassette is positioned at one of the intersecting points.

Claims

1. Apparatus for picking up components held in a plurality of part cassettes in which said part cassettes are moved along a moving path through a pick up station, said apparatus comprising:

head means having an axis of rotation,

nozzle means mounted on the head means wherein the nozzle means moves along a circular path having a center at the axis of rotation,

means for moving the head means into and out of the pick up station wherein said moving path and said circular path intersect at a first and at a second intersecting point when said head means is moved to said pick up station,

means for positioning one of said part cassettes at a selected position which is selected from said first intersecting point or said second intersecting point,

means for rotating said head on said axis to position said nozzle at said selected position, and

means for actuating the nozzle means to pick up a component held in one of the part cassettes at said selected position.

2. A method for mounting components on substrates using

a) a transferring and mounting head having a pick up nozzle for picking up a component, said transferring and mounting head moving into and out of a pick up station, said transferring and mounting head having a rotating axis for moving said pick up nozzle along a circular path having a center at said rotating axis;

and

b) a moving table for moving a plurality of part cassettes along a moving path;

said circular path of said pick up nozzle and said moving path intersect at two points at a pick up station,

wherein said component is retrieved from one of said part cassettes positioned at one of said two intersecting points and the retrieved component is mounted on a substrate positioned at a mounting station, said method comprising the steps of;

(a) rotating said nozzle to a position, said position corresponding to one of said two points when said transferring and mounting head is positioned at said pick up station,

(b) moving said transferring and mounting head to said pick up station,

(c) positioning one of said part cassettes to said position corresponding to one of said two points where said nozzle is positioned, by moving said moving table,

(d) retrieving said component from said part cassette using said nozzle,

(e) moving said transferring and mounting head to said mounting station, and

(f) mounting said component on said substrate at said mounting station.

3. The method for mounting the plurality of components of claim 2, wherein step (a) is performed by selecting one of said two intersecting points where said nozzle is to be rotated according to stored data identifying said one of the intersecting points where said desired electronic part is to be retrieved.

4. The method for mounting components of claim 2, wherein a plurality of transferring and mounting heads are coupled to a rotary body in a circle, said rotary body having a rotary axis and said circle having a center at said rotary axis, said plurality of transferring and mounting heads are moved from said pick up station to said mounting station by rotating said rotary body around said rotary axis.

5. The method for mounting electronic parts of claim 2, wherein step (a) is completed before step (b).