Circuit-substrate-related-operation performing system

• US 6,378,198 B1
• Filed: 11/26/1999
• Issued: 04/30/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Fuji Machine Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Fuji Machine Manufacturing Company Limited
• Inventors: Ikegami, Hirokazu, Suhara, Shinsuke, Asai, Koichi
• Primary Examiner(s): Valenza, Joseph E.
• Application Number:
  US09/449,978
• Time in Patent Office: 886 Days
• Field of Search: 198/369.1, 198/346.1, 198/346.2, 198/570, 198/447, 198/817, 298/25
• US Class Current: 29/825
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/0061 Tools for holding the circuit boards during processing; handling transport of printed circuit boards
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/0409 Sucking devices
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/041 having multiple pick-up tools
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/0411 having multiple mounting heads
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49117 Conductor or circuit manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53178 Chip component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53261 Means to align and advance work part

Abstract

A system for performing an operation for a circuit substrate, including a plurality of main conveyors each of which conveys, positions, and supports a circuit substrate, the plurality of main conveyors being arranged in a direction perpendicular to a circuit-substrate conveying direction in which the each main conveyor conveys the circuit substrate, an operation performing device which performs at least one operation for the circuit substrate positioned and supported by the each main conveyor, at least one of (a) a carry-in conveyor which conveys the circuit substrate to the each main conveyor and loads the circuit substrate thereon, and (b) a carry-out conveyor which loads the circuit substrate off the each main conveyor and conveys the circuit substrate away therefrom, and a conveyor shifting device which selectively shifts the at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor to one of a plurality of shift positions at each of which the one conveyor is aligned with a corresponding one of the main conveyors.

Claims

1. A system for performing an operation for a circuit substrate, comprising:

a plurality of main conveyors each of which conveys, positions, and supports a circuit substrate, the plurality of main conveyors extending parallel to each other in a reference plane parallel to the respective circuit substrates positioned and supported thereby, said each main conveyor extending in a circuit-substrate conveying direction in which said each main conveyor conveys the circuit substrate;

an operation performing device which performs at least one operation for the circuit substrate positioned and supported by said each main conveyor;

at least one of (a) a carry-in conveyor which conveys the circuit substrate to said each main conveyor and loads the circuit substrate thereon, and (b) a carry-out conveyor which loads the circuit substrate off said each main conveyor and conveys the circuit substrate away therefrom;

a conveyor shifting device which selectively shifts said at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor to one of a plurality of shift positions at each of which said one conveyor is aligned with a corresponding one of the main conveyors;

said at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor comprising a pair of side frames including at least one movable side frame which is movable toward, and away from, the other side frame; and

a width changing device which changes a circuit-substrate conveying width defined by the pair of side frames of said at least one conveyor, by moving the movable side frame thereof relative to the other side frame thereof,

the width changing device comprising;

a drive shaft which is provided corresponding to said at least one conveyor and which extends over the plurality of shift positions thereof,

a driven rotatable member which is held by said at least one conveyor such that the driven rotatable member is rotatable about an axis line thereof, and is not movable in an axial direction thereof, relative to said at least one conveyor and which is engaged with the drive shaft such that the driven rotatable member is not rotatable about the axis line thereof, and is movable in the axial direction thereof, relative to the drive shaft, and

a motion converting device which converts the rotation of the driven rotatable member into the movement of the movable side frame of said at least one conveyor.

2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the width changing device further comprises a width-changing-rotation producing device which produces a width-changing rotation;

and a rotation transmitting device which transmits the rotation of the width-changing-rotation producing device to the drive shaft.

3. A system for performing an operation for a circuit substrate, comprising:

two main conveyors each of which conveys, positions, and supports a circuit substrate, the two main conveyors extending parallel to each other in a reference plane parallel to the respective circuit substrates positioned and supported thereby, said each main conveyor extending in a circuit-substrate conveying direction in which said each main conveyor conveys the circuit substrate;

an operation performing device which performs at least one operation for the circuit substrate positioned and supported by said each main conveyor;

at least one of (a) a carry-in conveyor which conveys the circuit substrate to said each main conveyor and loads the circuit substrate thereon, and (b) a carry-out conveyor which loads the circuit substrate off said each main conveyor and conveys the circuit substrate away therefrom;

each of said two main conveyors and said at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor comprising (a) two conveyor belts which extend parallel to each other in said circuit-substrate conveying direction and are spaced from each other in a perpendicular direction perpendicular to the circuit-substrate conveying direction, and which support two opposite end portions of the circuit substrate, respectively, that are distant from each other in said perpendicular direction, and (b) a drive device which moves the two conveyor belts at a same speed to convey the circuit substrate in said circuit-substrate conveying direction, said two conveyor belts including a fixed belt and a movable belt which is movable toward, and away from, the fixed belt;

a belt-distance changing device which moves the movable belt of said each of said two main conveyors and said at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor, relative to the fixed belt thereof, and thereby changes a distance between the fixed and movable belts in said perpendicular direction; and

a conveyor shifting device which selectively shifts said at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor to one of two predetermined shift positions at each of which said at least one conveyor is aligned with a corresponding one of the two main conveyors,

the conveyor shifting device comprising;

a conveyor support member which supports said at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor, and

a fluid-pressure-operated cylinder device which moves the conveyor support member along a straight line parallel to said perpendicular direction and thereby shifts said at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor to said each of the two predetermined shift positions, such that the fixed belt of said at least one conveyor is aligned with the fixed belt of said corresponding one of the two main conveyors, irrespective of what positions the respective movable belts of said at least one conveyor and said corresponding one main conveyor may take relative to the corresponding fixed belts.

4. A system according to claim 3, wherein the fluid-pressure-operated cylinder device comprises a rodless cylinder device which extends over the two shift positions.

6. A system according to claim 3, wherein said operation performing device comprises at least one circuit-component supplying device which supplies at least one circuit component;

and at least one circuit-component mounting device which receives said at least one circuit component from said at least one circuit-component supplying device, conveys the circuit component, and mounts the circuit component on the circuit substrate positioned and supported by said each main conveyor.

7. A system according to claim 6, wherein said at least one circuit-component mounting device comprises a mounting head which includes a plurality of component holders which are revolvable around a common axis line, and a component-holder positioning device which sequentially positions the component holders at at least one operative position predetermined on a locus of the revolution of the component holders;

and a mounting-head moving device which moves the mounting head to a desired position in a mounting-head moving plane which faces said at least one circuit-component supplying device and the two main conveyors.

8. A system according to claim 7, wherein the component-holder positioning device comprises a plurality of rotary members which are rotatable about the common axis line of the component holders, independent of each other;

and a rotary-motion applying device which applies a rotary motion to each of the rotary members such that said each rotary member is rotated while having a predetermined time difference from the preceding rotary member and that while said each rotary member is rotated by 360 degrees about the common axis line, said each rotary member is stopped at least one time, the rotary members having, at a common distance from the common axis line, respective holding portions each of which holds a corresponding one of the component holders such that said one component holder is movable in an axial direction thereof.

9. A system according to claim 7, wherein the component-holder positioning device comprises a rotatable body which is rotatable about the common axis line of the component holders and which has, at a common distance from the common axis line, a plurality of holding portions each of which holds a corresponding one of the component holders such that said one component holder is movable in an axial direction thereof.

10. A system according to claim 7, wherein the common axis line of revolution of the component holders is perpendicular to the mounting-head moving plane, and wherein an axis line of each of the component holders extends parallel to the common axis line.

11. A system according to claim 7, wherein respective axis lines of the component holders are defined by a plurality of generators of a circular cone whose center line is defined by the common axis line of revolution of the component holders, and wherein the common axis line is inclined with respect to a perpendicular of the mounting-head moving plane, by an angle at which one of the generators is perpendicular to the mounting-head moving plane.

5. A system for performing an operation for a circuit substrate, comprising:

a plurality of main conveyors each of which conveys, positions, and supports a circuit substrate, the plurality of main conveyors extending parallel to each other in a reference plane parallel to the respective circuit substrates positioned and supported thereby, said each main conveyor extending in a circuit-substrate conveying direction in which said each main conveyor conveys the circuit substrate;

an operation performing device which performs at least one operation for the circuit substrate positioned and supported by said each main conveyor;

at least one of (a) a carry-out conveyor which conveys the circuit substrate to said each main conveyor and loads the circuit substrate thereon, and (b) a carry-out conveyor which loads the circuit substrate off said each main conveyor and conveys the circuit substrate away therefrom; and

a conveyor shifting device which selectively shifts said at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor to one of a plurality of shift positions at each of which said one conveyor is aligned with a corresponding one of the main conveyors,

the conveyor shifting device comprising a wide-range conveyor shifting device which moves said at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor within a range wider than a range whose opposite ends correspond to two end shift positions of said plurality of shift positions, respectively, which correspond to two end main conveyors of said plurality of main conveyors, respectively.