Component mounting apparatus and substrate conveyance method in component mounting apparatus

• US 8,782,875 B2
• Filed: 11/29/2010
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 12/01/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawase, Takeyuki, Kitagawa, Yoshiyuki, Yagi, Shuzo
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Peter DungBa
• Assistant Examiner(s): PARVEZ, AZM A
• Application Number:
  US13/511,774
• Publication Number:
  US 20120272511A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,331 Days
• Field of Search: 295/921, 295/641, 297/12, 298/32, 297/39, 297/40, 297/41, 297/42, 297/43, 198/358, 198/340, 198/341.01, 198/341.05
• US Class Current: 29/592.1
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/0061 Tools for holding the circuit boards during processing; handling transport of printed circuit boards
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/0452 Mounting machines or lines comprising a plurality of tools for guiding different components to the same mounting place H05K13/0406, H05K13/041 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 13/08 Monitoring manufacture of assemblages
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 Electrical device making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4913 Assembling to base an electrical component, e.g., capacitor, etc.
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/5137 including assembling or disassembling station
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53052 including position sensor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53174 Means to fasten electrical component to wiring board, base, or substrate
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53178 Chip component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53183 Multilead component
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53187 Multiple station assembly apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/53191 Means to apply vacuum directly to position or hold work part

Abstract

An object of the invention is to provide a component mounting apparatus which includes a plurality of substrate conveying lanes and which efficiently controls the order of carrying in of substrates, thereby capable of improving productivity, and also is to provide a substrate conveyance method in the component mounting apparatus. In a configuration which includes: component supplying units (20A, 20B) positioned lateral to conveyor lines including conveyors (10A, 10B, 10C, 10D) arranged in parallel; and a substrate distributing unit (M3B) configured to distribute substrates (13) delivered from an upstream apparatus, in the case where a substrate request signal (R) is output for a plurality of conveyors, a new substrate (13) is carried in from the substrate distributing unit (M3B) into conveyors (10A, 10D) which are closest to the component supplying units (20A, 20B) among the conveyors (10A, 10B, 10C, 10D). Therefore, substrates can be preferentially carried into conveyors which are more advantageous in component mounting efficiency.

Claims

1. A component mounting apparatus comprising:

a conveyor line comprising a plurality of substrate conveying conveyors which are arranged in parallel and each of which is configured to convey a substrate and comprises a substrate holding unit configured to position and hold the substrate;

a component supplying unit positioned lateral to the conveyor line, and configured to supply a component to be mounted to the substrate;

a substrate distributing unit configured to distribute substrates delivered from an upstream apparatus to the plurality of substrate conveying conveyors;

a substrate conveyance controlling unit configured to control the substrate distributing unit and the substrate conveying conveyors, thereby performing a substrate conveying operation of carrying in one of the substrates delivered into the substrate holding unit of any one of the substrate conveying conveyors;

a component mounting mechanism configured to pick up a component from the component supplying unit by a mounting head, and configured to mount the component to the substrate positioned and held by the substrate holding unit; and

a signal outputting unit configured to determine, based on a result of a detection of existence or non-existence of a substrate in the substrate conveying conveyor, whether the substrate conveying conveyor is in a state where the substrate conveying conveyor can receive a new substrate or not, the signal outputting unit being configured to output, based on a result of the determination, a substrate request signal for requesting carrying in of the new substrate into the substrate conveying conveyor,

wherein in a case where the substrate request signal is output for the plurality of substrate conveying conveyors, the substrate conveyance controlling unit causes the new substrate to be carried in from the substrate distributing unit into one of the substrate conveying conveyors which is closest to the component supplying unit.

2. A substrate conveyance method in a component mounting apparatus, the component mounting apparatus comprising:

a conveyor line comprising a plurality of substrate conveying conveyors which are arranged in parallel and each of which is configured to convey a substrate and comprises a substrate holding unit configured to position and hold the substrate;

a component supplying unit positioned lateral to the conveyor line, and configured to supply a component to be mounted to the substrate;

a substrate distributing unit configured to distribute substrates delivered from an upstream apparatus to the plurality of substrate conveying conveyors;

a substrate conveyance controlling unit configured to control the substrate distributing unit and the substrate conveying conveyors, thereby performing a substrate conveying operation of carrying in one of the substrates delivered into the substrate holding unit of any one of the substrate conveying conveyors;

a component mounting mechanism configured to pick up a component from the component supplying unit by a mounting head, and configured to mount the component to the substrate positioned and held by the substrate holding unit; and

a signal outputting unit configured to determine, based on a result of a detection of existence or non-existence of a substrate in the substrate conveying conveyor, whether the substrate conveying conveyor is in a state where the substrate conveying conveyor can receive a new substrate or not, the signal outputting unit being configured to output, based on a result of the determination, a substrate request signal for requesting carrying in of the new substrate into the substrate conveying conveyor,

said method for carrying in the substrate into the substrate holding unit, comprising;

carrying in the new substrate from the substrate distributing unit into one of the substrate conveying conveyors which is closest to the component supplying unit, in a case where the substrate request signal is output for the plurality of substrate conveying conveyors.