JP2834562B2 - Storage rack positioning method and positioning device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positioning method and a positioning device for a storage rack that temporarily stores a board or the like when mounting an electronic component or the like on the board.

"Prior art" In general, a mounting board that forms an electronic circuit mounts various electronic components such as an IC on a printed board, and then connects the leads of the mounted electronic components to the wiring of the printed board by soldering or the like. By being manufactured.

When mounting electronic components on a printed circuit board, a storage rack (a magazine rack) is generally used to send the printed circuit board from each stage of the manufacturing process to each stage by a flow operation. In other words, since the required time in each stage is shifted, in order to perform the assembly work efficiently,
A storage rack for temporarily storing a plurality of printed circuit boards being manufactured is required.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of such a storage rack. The storage rack 10 is a box-shaped container in which a plurality of hooks 12 are formed in a multi-stage manner in the height direction. The hook portions 12 are provided at equal intervals in the height direction and in parallel with each other in a horizontal plane. The front and rear surfaces of the storage rack are open. With such a configuration, the second
As shown in the figure, the printed circuit board 16 is horizontally slid from the front surface or the rear surface of the storage rack to each of the storage stages provided by the hooks 12 and stored. Then, the printed circuit board 16 is pulled out from the front surface or the rear surface in each manufacturing process.

As shown in FIG. 2, the storage rack 10 is supported by a rack elevating device 14 so as to be able to move up and down. The drive means 18 of the rack lifting device 14 is sequence-controlled by a controller 20 such as a programmable computer.
The rack elevating device 14 is controlled by the controller 20 to move the storage rack 10 up and down every time the printed circuit board 16 is inserted into the storage rack 10. A plurality of printed circuit boards 16 can be stored in the storage rack 10 while repeating the lifting and lowering. Conversely, the rack elevating device 14 is also controlled by the controller 20 when taking out the printed circuit board 16 from the storage rack. By the way, when the printed circuit board 16 is stored in the storage rack 10, the thickness of the printed circuit board 16 stored in the storage rack 10 in the height direction is different because the thickness of the printed circuit board 16 is different depending on each process of the printed circuit board. Depends on the process. That is, it differs in which storage stage of the storage rack 10 the printed circuit board 16 should be stored. Usually, in this case,
In order to effectively use the storage space and increase the efficiency at the time of storage, the printed circuit boards 16 are stored in equally spaced storage stages.

As described above, the storage stage in which the printed circuit board 16 is to be stored is an important factor of the sequence control in elevating the rack elevating device 14. Conventionally, these storage stages have been set by inputting a program to the controller 20.

This program first sets the upper and lower tiers for storing the printed circuit board 10 among the storage tiers of the storage rack 10, and prints the printed circuit board at every other storage tier.
It is to set or store 16.

“Problem to be Solved by the Invention” However, the method using the above program has the following problems to be solved.

First, in order to set the upper and lower stored stages, it is necessary to accurately measure their height levels.

Further, once a program is created, it takes time to correct the program, which hinders use of a storage rack of a different type or change of the storage stage.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object the setting of the upper limit and the lower limit of the level at which a printed circuit board is to be stored does not depend on a program, and the above-described setting is performed at a site where a storage rack is used. Settings can be made easily,
An object of the present invention is to provide a storage rack positioning method and a positioning device.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, a storage rack positioning method of the present invention comprises: transporting a printed circuit board to a storage rack in which a plurality of printed boards can be stored in a plurality of storage stages; A method of positioning a plurality of printed circuit boards in the storage rack and a space to be stored in the storage rack in advance, wherein the rack is mounted with the storage rack. By operating the elevating device to raise and lower the storage rack, of the storage stages of the storage rack, one of the upper and lower levels of the range in which the printed circuit board is to be stored matches the transport level. At the same time, the input switch is operated to input the position of the storage rack at that time to the control means of the rack elevating device, While raising and lowering the rack, when the other level of the upper and lower levels of the range to be stored matches the transport level, the input switch is operated to input the position of the storage rack at that time to the control means. By setting the range of raising and lowering the storage rack by the rack raising and lowering device, and thereafter, when positioning the storage rack with respect to the transport level, the control means controls the set range of lifting and lowering and the determined interval. The rack elevating device is operated based on the above.

Further, the storage rack positioning apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus for positioning a storage rack capable of storing a plurality of printed boards in a plurality of storage stages with respect to a board transfer apparatus for transferring printed boards. A rack elevating device for mounting and elevating a rack, and controlling the elevating operation of the rack elevating device,
The control means in which the storage interval of the printed circuit board in the storage rack is input according to the process, and the position to be the upper limit and the position to be the lower limit when the storage rack is moved up and down by the rack elevating device. And an input switch for inputting the position of the storage rack at that time to the control means by operating the control means, wherein the control means sets the position of the storage rack input by the input switch as an upper limit and a lower limit. And the rack elevating device is controlled to raise and lower the storage rack based on the set storage interval.

[Operation] In the process of raising and lowering the storage rack, the position of the storage rack is input to the control means of the rack lifting device. At this time, the setting of the above-mentioned upper and lower limit stages for storing the printed circuit board is performed on the control means.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

The lifting rack 10 to which the present invention is applied is the same as that shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a positioning device according to the embodiment. The positioning device for the storage rack in FIG.
This is a device that positions the lifting rack 10 with respect to a board transfer device 36 that transfers the printed board 16. This positioning device includes a rack elevating device 14, a control means (controller) 30, and an input means (input button) 46, as described below.

The rack lifting device 14 includes a base 22, a plurality of guide rods 24, and a ball screw type lifting shaft 26. The storage rack 10 is arranged on the base portion 22.
The guide rod 24 and the elevating shaft 26 are erected on the base 22 so that their longitudinal directions are arranged vertically. The storage rack 10 is mounted to be able to move up and down on the base portion 22 by rotating the elevating shaft 26 around the axis. The guide rod 24 guides the storage rack 10 and stably supports the storage rack 10 during ascent and descent.

The drive means (motor) 28 of the rack elevating device 14 for driving the elevating shaft 26 is sequence-controlled by a controller (control means) 30 such as a programmable computer.
Between the drive means 28 and the elevating shaft 26, a gear box (not shown) for transmitting power between them is provided. The rack elevating device 14 is controlled by the controller 30 to move the storage rack 10 up and down every time the printed circuit board 16 is inserted into the storage rack 10. A plurality of printed circuit boards 16 can be stored in the storage rack 10 while repeating the lifting and lowering. Conversely, the rack elevating device 14 is also controlled by the controller 30 when taking out the printed circuit board 16 from the storage rack. The position of the storage rack 10 in the height direction can be controlled by the controller via the driving means 28 even during the elevating operation.
Feedback to 30. In this case, as the position of the storage rack 10 in the height direction, the rotation speed of the driving means 28 is controlled by the controller.
30 to be grasped.

The storage rack 10 can be moved in the horizontal direction along the paper surface of FIG. 3 by storage rack transfer devices 32 or 34 provided vertically, and the other rack elevating device (not shown) and the rack elevating device (not shown) It is transported between 14. In other words, it is possible to transfer a large number of printed boards 16 together with the storage rack 10 during each step of the printed board. In the following description, the rack transport device 32 is used as a rack loading device to the illustrated rack lifting device 14, and the rack transport device 34 is used as a rack transport device from the lifting device.

The printed circuit board 16 is a belt conveyor-like substrate transfer device.
By 36, it is conveyed in the horizontal direction along the paper surface of FIG. In the substrate transfer device 36, an air cylinder type pusher 38 is installed near the rack elevating device 14. Pusher 38
The printed board 16 transported by the board transport device 36 and approaching the vicinity of the storage rack 10 is stored in the storage rack.
It is pushed into 10 predetermined storage stages. The driving means 48 of the substrate transfer device 36 is also controllably connected to the controller 30.

In FIG. 3, a dashed line with reference numeral 40 indicates a transfer level at which the printed board 16 of the board transfer device 36 is transferred. Reference numerals 42 and 44 denote the upper limit and the lower limit of the storage stages of the storage rack 10 in which the printed circuit boards are to be stored, respectively.

The controller 30 further includes input means (input buttons) 46
It is connected to the. This input button 46 is
Is provided for inputting a signal based on the position of the storage rack to the controller 30 of the rack elevating device 14 in the process of being moved up and down by the rack elevating device 14.

Next, a method of positioning the storage rack 14 in the above configuration will be described below.

First, the controller 30 is turned on to be in an operating state (step 1), and then the driving means 28 of the lifting device 14 is turned on to be in an operating state. (Step 2) Then, at a position where the storage rack 10 is located above the substrate transfer device 36, the driving means 28
Is driven to rotate the elevating shaft 26 to lower the storage rack 10 (step 3). Then, when the level of the lowermost storage stage 44 for storing the printed circuit board 16 of the storage rack 10 matches the transfer level 40 of the substrate transfer device 36 (Step 4), the lowering of the storage rack is stopped (Step 5). .
At this time, the input button 46 is pressed to input a signal based on the position of the storage rack 10 into the program of the controller 30 (step 6).

Next, the drive unit 28 is driven to rotate the elevating shaft 26 to lower the storage rack 10 (Step 7). Then, when the level of the uppermost storage stage 42 for storing the printed circuit board 16 of the storage rack 10 matches the transfer level 40 of the substrate transfer device 36 (Step 8), the lowering of the storage rack is stopped (Step 9). . At this time, press the input button 46,
A signal based on the position of the storage rack 10 is input into the program of the controller 30 (step 10).

 All of the above operations are performed manually.

Note that, among the storage stages of the storage rack, the upper and lower stages 42 and 44 for storing the printed circuit board 16 do not necessarily mean the uppermost stage and the lowermost stage of the storage stage. Can be specified arbitrarily.

Next, a program stored in the controller 30 will be described with reference to FIG.

In this program, the number of stages (at equal intervals) of the printed circuit boards 16 to be stored in the storage rack 10 according to the process is input. Further, the storage interval of the printed circuit board in the storage rack 10 and the rotation of the driving unit 28 correspond,
The gear ratio of a gear box provided between the ball screw type elevating shaft 26 of the elevating device 14 and the driving means (motor) 28 is also adjusted in advance.

In the program, first, the driving unit 28 is driven to
Turn 26 to lower the storage rack 10 (Step 1
Four). The level of the lower limit step 44 is the transport level 40
Is detected from the input data (step 15), the lowering of the storage rack 10 is stopped (step 1).
6) The drive means 48 is operated to drive the substrate transfer device 36 (step 17). Thereby, first, the printed circuit board 16 is sent to the lowermost step 44 of the storage rack 10.

Next, the drive unit 28 is driven to rotate the elevating shaft 26 to lower the storage rack 10 (step 18). If the storage rack 10 has been lowered by the above-mentioned predetermined interval (step 20), the lowering of the storage rack 10 is stopped (step 16). In this state, the printed circuit board 16 is sent to the next storage stage (step 17).

Further, the storage rack 10 is lowered (Step 18), and Steps 16 to 20 are repeated until the level of the uppermost storage stage 42 passes the transport level 40 (Step 19).
In this way, the storage rack 10 is lowered every time the printed circuit board 16 is inserted into the storage rack 10. A plurality of printed circuit boards 16 can be stored in the storage rack 10 while repeating this lowering.

If the level of the upper storage stage 42 has passed the transport level 40 (Step 19), the storage rack 10 is further lowered (Step 21), and the storage rack 10 is lowered to the level of the rack unloading device 34 (Step 22). Then, the lowering of the storage rack 10 is stopped (step 23). So far, during the arrival,
A predetermined number of printed circuit boards 16 are stored in the storage rack 10.

The storage rack 10 in which the printed circuit boards 16 are stored is transported to the printed circuit board process by the rack unloading device 34 (steps 24 to 26). That is, the rack unloading device 34 is driven (Step 24) to unload the storage rack 10, and when the unloading of the storage rack 10 is confirmed (Step 25), the rack unloading device 34 is stopped.

Then, the drive unit 28 is driven again to reversely rotate the elevating shaft 26 and raise it (steps 27 to 29). That is, the elevating shaft
26 is reversed (step 27), and when it is raised to the rising end of the lifting device (step 28), the lifting of the lifting shaft is stopped (step 29).

Then, by repeating the above-described steps 14 to 29, the printed circuit board can be stored in another storage rack 10.

In this case, between steps 29 and 14, the rack transport device
According to 32, the storage rack 10 must be mounted on the lifting device 14. (Steps 11 to 13) That is, the rack loading device 32 is driven to transport the storage rack 10 toward the lifting device 14 (Step 11). If the storage rack 10 is mounted on the lifting device 14 (Step 12), The rack loading device 32 is stopped.

As described above, the driving of the rack loading device 32 and the unloading device 34 may be controlled by the program of the controller 30 as a matter of course. (Steps 11 to 13 and Steps 24 to 26) As is clear from the above description, according to the embodiment,
Once, there is no need to measure the height level of the upper and lower stored stages, and no need to modify the sequence program that controls the lifting device,
The set values of the upper and lower stages can be introduced into the created program.

Therefore, the labor and time conventionally required for correcting the program are not required.

Also, there is no hindrance when changing the storage stage.

Thus, the setting of the upper and lower steps for storing the printed circuit board can be easily performed at the site where the storage rack is used without depending on the program.

"Effects of the Invention" As is clear from the above description, the present invention has the following excellent effects.

That is, for example, when using a different type of storage rack, or when it is desired to change the storage stage, while raising and lowering the storage rack, the position to be the upper limit of the storage range,
At each of the lower limit positions, press the input switch,
The position of the storage rack at that time is input to the control means. Then, the storage range of the storage rack is set, and the control means controls the rack elevating device to move the storage rack up and down between the upper limit position and the lower limit position.

For this reason, there is no need to measure the height levels of the upper and lower stored stages in advance, and it is not necessary to modify the sequence program for controlling the lifting / lowering device. And the settings of the lower stage can be introduced.

Therefore, the labor and time conventionally required for correcting the program are not required.

Also, there is no hindrance when changing the storage stage.

Thus, the setting of the upper and lower steps for storing the printed circuit board can be easily performed at the site where the storage rack is used without depending on the program.

The interval at which the printed circuit boards are stored in the storage rack is input to the control means according to the process. This eliminates the need to prepare dedicated storage racks even when the height of the components of the printed circuit board to be stored is high, and thus flexibly supports the storage of various types of printed circuit boards with a minimum storage rack. be able to.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a storage rack to which the method of the present invention is to be applied. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a conventional storage rack elevating device. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a storage rack positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for positioning a storage rack according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing an example of a program used when the printed circuit board is stored in the storage rack using the storage rack positioning method according to the embodiment. 10 ... storage rack, 16 ... printed circuit board, 36 ... board transfer device, 14 ... rack elevating device, 42 ... upper limit stage, 44 ...
... Lower limit stage, 40... Transport level, 30... Control means (controller), 46... Input means (input button).

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method of positioning a storage rack, in which a plurality of printed boards can be stored in a plurality of storage stages, with respect to a transfer level of a board transfer device for transferring the printed boards, comprising: The interval to be stored in the storage rack and the range to be stored are determined in advance, and the rack elevating device equipped with the storage rack is operated to raise and lower the storage rack. When one of the upper and lower levels of the range in which the printed circuit board should be stored matches the transport level, the input switch is operated to control the position of the storage rack at that time by the rack elevating device. While inputting to the means, while raising and lowering the storage rack by the rack lifting device,
By operating an input switch and inputting the position of the storage rack at that time to the control means when the other level of the upper limit and the lower limit of the range to be stored coincides with the transport level. When the storage rack is moved up and down by the apparatus, and the storage rack is positioned with respect to the transport level, the control means controls the rack based on the set up and down range and the set interval. A method for positioning a storage rack, comprising operating an elevating device. 2. A device for positioning a storage rack capable of storing a plurality of printed boards in a plurality of storage stages with respect to a board transfer device for transferring the printed boards, wherein the storage rack is mounted and moved up and down. A rack elevating device, a control means for controlling the elevating operation of the rack elevating device, and a storage interval of the printed circuit board in the storage rack being input according to a process; and elevating the storage rack by the rack elevating device. An input switch for inputting the position of the storage rack at that time to the control means by operating at each of the position to be the upper limit and the position to be the lower limit. The storage rack is set based on a range in which the position of the storage rack input by the input switch is set as an upper limit and a lower limit, and the set storage interval. A storage rack positioning device, wherein the rack lifting device is controlled to raise and lower the rack.