JP6426669B2 - Mounting system comprising an automatic mounting machine, an operating system and an operating system removably mounted on the automatic mounting machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates generally to the technical field of mounting components of an electronic device on a component carrier using a mounting device, also referred to as an automatic mounting machine. The invention relates in particular to a mounting system having flexibility with respect to various mounting requirements and to an automatic mounting machine and an operating system which are components of the mounting system.

  The mounting of the components of the electronics on the component carrier is usually performed using an automatic loading machine. In an automatic loading machine operating according to the so-called "pick and place principle", the components of the electronics are supplied to the loading process using a component feeding device. The component to be supplied is received by the mounting head, transported by the mounting head to the mounting area, and transferred to the mounting area at a predetermined place in the mounting area and transferred to the mounting area using the transport system. After being mounted on the component carrier and mounted on the component carrier, the component carrier is again brought out of the mounting area.

  The requirements for self-loading machines are largely related to what kind of electronic equipment configuration group should be manufactured. Most importantly, high loads are important, especially when purely producing mass production of electronics for consumer electronics and / or communications technology, such as computers, mobile phones, or other communications terminal equipment. It is only to realize the ability. This means that in a production line equipped with at least one automatic loading machine within a given time interval, the number of components typically mounted on a large number of component carriers is as large as possible.

  When manufacturing electronics configuration groups for other types of electronic devices that are typically manufactured in relatively small numbers, it is usually automatic to be able to produce different types of electronics configuration groups, each with different mounting content. The point of view of the flexibility of the machine is important.

  However, for many applications, high loading capacity and high flexibility of the automatic loading machine become important. This is clear from the following observations. That is, an electronics configuration group configured on a component carrier typically has a component spectrum that in practice more than 80% of the attached components are small passive electronic components. And the number of different component types is relatively small. The distribution of the remaining (less than 20%) components can often be very large, depending on the different electronics configuration groups to be manufactured respectively. Therefore, so-called high-performance mounting heads (typically a plurality of components for temporarily receiving one electronic component each), in order to carry out electronics manufacturing in a manufacturing line comprising at least one automatic mounting machine In addition to the mounting head comprising the holding device, other acting devices may also be required, which have to be moved inside the automatic loading machine using a suitable portal system. Such an application device is used, for example, to apply a single gripper, a double gripper (so-called twin segment), a viscous paste (for example a so-called underfill material) for large construction blocks (e.g. covers, bushings, coolers etc) Or an optical sensor (eg, for optically inspecting an individual load).

  To express clearly, modern automatic mounting machines (a) process small and simple components (typically more than 80%) as quickly as possible, and (b) the remaining (typically) Should be able to operate with less than 20% of other components or building blocks with process safety and possibly provide further desired functions (eg quantitative withdrawal, optical measurement) I will. Therefore, the optimum configuration of the automatic mounting machine or the entire mounting line with respect to the above requirements is of great significance, since many different configuration groups can be manufactured in an efficient manner in electronic device manufacture.

  At present, the flexibility of the mounting line is realized by the following points. That is, the loading line is composed of a relatively small automatic loading machine or loading module, and the automatic loading machine or loading module has up to two portal systems, and each of the portal systems is typically one. Mounting heads are attached. Such a portal system comprises (a) component receiving positions of component feeding devices and (b) individual component placement on component carriers to be loaded in a two-dimensional area of each loading head Ensure that it can be moved or positioned between positions. Furthermore, it is also known that optionally a second mounting head can be attached to one portal system, said second mounting head being identical to the same carriage with the first mounting head for cost reasons. The carriage can be moved along the longitudinal carrier of the portal system using a suitable drive. However, this leads to undesirable access restrictions for the operator, which in particular makes maintenance of the individual mounting heads difficult. Furthermore, one mounting head can be mounted on each of two different sides of such a longitudinal carrier, and a drive is arranged on each of the two mounting heads, whereby the two mounting heads are mutually connected. It is known that it can be moved independently along a longitudinal carrier. Such a solution, however, has obvious disadvantages with regard to the dynamics of the corresponding automatic loader. That is, if only one mounting head is needed, the mounting head or the mass of the mounting head must nevertheless be carried by the corresponding portal system. Furthermore, such solutions are inflexible and disadvantageous from an economic point of view. Even though only one mounting head is required, the mounting head must nevertheless be purchased and the investment costs for the relevant automatic mounting machine are correspondingly high.

  The invention improves the mounting of the components of the electronic device on the component carrier, whereby flexibility can be realized with regard to different mounting content and / or desired additional functions while having a high mounting capacity. To be an issue.

  The above problem is solved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous embodiments of the invention are described in the dependent claims.

  According to a first aspect of the invention, an automatic loading machine is described for automatically loading components of an electronic device on a component carrier. The automatic loading machine to be described comprises: (a) a chassis; (b1) a first guide element fixedly attached to the chassis and extending along a first direction; (b2) the first A first carriage movably supported along the guide elements of (b), and (b3) a second guide element attached to the first carriage and extending along a second direction; (B4) a second carriage movably supported along a second guide element, and (b) a first portal system. The automated loading machine described further comprises (c) a loading head mounted on the second carriage, and (d) a mechanical interface, the mechanical interface comprising: the first carriage and the mechanical interface. And / or a vertically extending carrier of the second portal system attached to the second guide element and extending along the second direction is removable from the first carriage and / or the second guide element The second portal system comprises a movable attachment element along the longitudinal carrier, to which the action device is attached.

  The above-mentioned automatic loading machine is based on the following recognition. That is, the configuration of the automatic loading machine can be adapted to individual loading requirements or operating requirements in a simple and efficient manner, the second portal system to the first portal system, The longitudinal carrier and the second guide element are mechanically coupled such that they are detachably coupled to one another in a fixed manner. This means that upon operation of the autoloader, the (longitudinal) second guide element always moves along the first direction with the longitudinal carrier of the second portal system. For the sake of clarity, the second guide element "shoulder" the longitudinal carrier.

  The second portal system has a much simpler configuration than the first portal system, and the number of components is also reduced. The second portal system can in particular not have a fixed component with respect to the chassis.

  The typically more complex first portal system compared to the second portal system may therefore also be referred to as a basic portal system, whereas the second portal system may be referred to as an additional portal system. The additional portal system represents an optional system for the above-mentioned automatic loading machine, and the basic portal system, depending on the type or mounting content of the electronic device configuration group to be manufactured typically. Can be coupled to In order to be mounted with particular flexibility on component carriers with different mounting content, a plurality of different additional portal systems can be provided for the above-mentioned automatic mounting machine, each being an electronic device configuration to be manufactured Depending on the group, a suitable additional portal system is used. In addition, additional portal systems can be used for various on-board machines of one or more on-board lines, depending on the actual requirements. This is a particularly inexpensive way to increase the manufacturing flexibility of different electronics configuration groups.

  The acting device attached to the additional portal system may be any device that may be useful for the efficient manufacture of the electronics configuration group. The working device is, for example, a further mounting head, or a single gripper, or a multi-gripper, for example for a relatively large building block such as a cover, a bush, a plug, a cooling body, a fan etc. Good. The working device can also be a dispenser module for applying viscous pastes (for example so-called underfill materials) or optical sensors which can be used for example for optical inspection of individual loads, or You may have.

  The first direction and the second direction form an angle. This means that the two directions do not extend parallel to one another. The first direction and the second direction preferably define a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system, which is oriented horizontally, ie perpendicular to the direction of gravity. In the present document, the first direction is also referred to as the y direction, and the second direction is referred to as the x direction.

  The mounting head disposed in the first portal system receives the components from the component supply device, conveys the received components to the mounting area, and mounts the conveyed components in a known manner. It is configured to be mounted at a predetermined mounting position of the component carrier that has been carried into the

  The mounting head and / or the action device may also have an element movably mounted along a third direction with respect to the chassis, movably supported along the third direction. The elements can be moved using a suitable drive. Such an element may be, for example, a component holding device, which is in particular formed as a so-called suction gripper, and for mounting and also for receiving components, the housing of the mounting head Can be lowered. In particular, the third direction, which develops perpendicular or parallel to the direction of gravity, is also referred to as the z-direction in this document.

  It is pointed out that the longitudinal carriers of the second portal system can be attached (removable) directly or indirectly to the second guide element. Such releasable attachment may be performed using any individual fixation element that may be used reversibly. The fixing element may be, for example, a screw, a bolt (possibly with an engagement element), or any other suitable fixing or clamping element.

  Preferably, the first portal system further comprises two drives. At this time, the first drive unit is disposed on the first carriage, and can move the first carriage along the first guide element along the first direction. Correspondingly, a second drive is arranged on the second carriage, whereby the second carriage can be moved along the second guide element in a second direction. The two drives may be any type of motor, which optionally cooperates with a corresponding mechanical linkage, such as a belt or spindle, to translate the corresponding carriage in the desired direction in translation. Secure. Preferably, at least one of the two drives is a linear motor, with which a particularly high position accuracy can be achieved.

  According to one embodiment of the invention, the automatic mounting machine also comprises an electrical interface, which is formed on the first carriage and / or the second guide element, It is configured to supply electrical energy to the second portal system and / or the working device.

  The electrical interface may be realized using suitable electrical plug connections. Transfer or transfer of electrical energy to the electrical components of the second portal system and / or the working device is realized using at least two electrical rails and individually arranged slide contacts. obtain. However, the transfer of the electrical energy to the electrical component is preferably done via a so-called cable drag chain, which (the elongated carrier) of the second portal system is the first portal Extending from the electrical interface to the appropriate electrical component while docked to the second guide element of the system. The electrical component may be, for example, an electrical drive for the mounting element and / or an electrical drive or an electrical control element or actuator of the working device.

  The above electrical interface provides that the second portal system and / or the working device attached to the second portal system is supplied electrical energy through the first portal system in a simple manner It has the advantage that the whole comprising the second portal system and the working device attached to the longitudinal carrier, which is also referred to in the following as operating system or robot system, is compact It can be coupled to the second guide element as a unit.

  According to a further embodiment of the invention, the autoloader also comprises a data interface, which controls the data processing unit, the second portal system, and / or the action device. It is configured to transmit data to and from the unit.

  The data processing unit described above may in particular be arranged on an automatic loading machine and may be responsible for controlling the operation of the automatic loading machine in a suitable manner. However, the data processing unit may additionally be involved in other machines of the mounting line, and in particular other automatic mounting machines. In this case, the data processing unit is not a local control device but an upper control device with respect to the above-mentioned automatic loading machine. The control unit is arranged in the operating system described above and may in particular be mounted on a longitudinal carrier.

  The data interface may be a wireless or wired interface. In the case of a wired interface which requires a data cable between the data interface and the control unit, the data cable can preferably be implemented via the cable drag chain described above.

  The data interface may be implemented using suitable pluggable connections, as well as the electrical interface described above. Thereby, both the data coupling and the electrical coupling for transmitting energy can be established automatically by the operator's single handgrip when docking the operating system.

  It is pointed out that the preferred coupling for electrical coupling and / or data transmission requires that the automatic mounting machine be structurally (slightly) adapted to the known automatic mounting machine. That is, the leads to the first portal system must be laid in such a way that sufficient electrical energy and / or data line capacity is also available to the operating system. This can be done by sizing the electrical leads and / or data lines and providing or preparing the corresponding additional (parallel) leads.

  According to a further embodiment of the invention the automatic mounting machine also comprises a pneumatic interface, which is formed on the first carriage and / or the second guide element, and the working device It is configured to provide a working pressure different from the ambient pressure.

  The working pressure may be negative with respect to the ambient pressure, which is made available to the component holding device formed as a suction gripper. The negative pressure can be switched on or off by means of a valve in a known manner in synchronization with the reception or delivery of the components. The working pressure may be positive as compared to ambient pressure and may be used to generate a negative pressure in a manner known as well using hydromechanical devices, said negative pressure being applied to the suction gripper of the working device. It will be available to Such a hydromechanical device may, for example, be a venturi nozzle.

  The pneumatic interface may be realized in a common pneumatic electrical plug connection together with the electrical interface and / or the data interface described above. This makes it possible, in an advantageous and simple manner, to have comprehensive access to all working means (electrical energy, control data and / or compressed air or vacuum) that the operating system requires, said working means being It is made available through the corresponding interface formed on the first carriage and / or the second guide element of the first portal system.

  The operating system may already be calibrated prior to docking to the first carriage and / or the second guide element, and thereby be prepared for use in the automatic loading machine. The operating system can be coupled to the first portal system according to the "plug-and-play" principle in a simple and reliable manner, in particular when implementing a plurality of interfaces using a common plug-in connection. This reduces unwanted non-productive times during which loading by the above-mentioned automatic loading machine can not take place, thereby improving loading efficiency.

  According to a further embodiment of the invention, the automatic loading machine is further a) fixedly attached to the chassis and further extending parallel to the first guide element along the first direction. It has a first guide element and (b) an additional first carriage which is movably mounted along the further first guide element. The first carriage is attached to the second guide element in a first end area of the second guide element. A further first carriage is attached to the second guide element in the second end area of the second guide element. Furthermore, the first end region and the second end region are arranged on opposite sides of the second guide element.

  Expressed clearly, the second guide element which is preferably extended perpendicularly to the first direction and is movable along the first direction is the first guide element or the further first It is movably mounted on two opposite sides of one guide element. This contributes to the particularly stable support and the correct mobility of the second guide element.

  The second portal system may have at least one unique carriage, which may be moved along the first guide element and / or along the second guide element. According to the present recognition, the second portal system represents a preferred configuration without such a unique carriage. That is, in the preferred configuration, these carriages take time and effort in the first guide element and / or the further first guide element or in contact with the first guide element and / or the further first guide element. There is no need to incorporate The longitudinal carrier of the second portal system can also be simply coupled to the second guide element without such "fitting", and / or between the first carriage and the further first carriage. It can be fixed by

  According to a further aspect of the invention, an operating system is described, the operating system comprising: (a1) an elongated carrier extending along a second direction; and (a2) movable along the elongated carrier. (A) a second portal system, (b) an actuating device mounted on the mounting element, and (c) a (directly or indirectly) longitudinal carrier And a mechanical coupling device attached to the The mechanical coupling device is formed such that the longitudinal carrier is removably attachable to the movable second guide element of the first portal system of the automatic loading machine.

  The above operating system is based on the following recognition. That is, by simply docking the vertically-long carrier to the mobile component of the (first) portal system of the automatic mounting machine, the configuration of the automatic mounting machine relates to the processing of the special components or Based on the realization that the desired additional functionality of the machine can be altered or expanded in a simple manner. The configuration of the autoloader can thereby be adapted quickly and effectively to the individual mounting or operating requirements.

  In the docked state, the longitudinal carrier and the second guide element are releasably but fixedly connected to each other. This means that the second guide element (longitudinal) always moves along the first direction with the vertical carrier of the second portal system when the automatic loading machine is activated. For the sake of clarity, the second guide element "shoulder" the longitudinal carrier.

  The first portal system, which is fixedly arranged in the corresponding automatic loading machine, is preferably a so-called flat layout system and has the following components. (A) a first guide element fixedly attached to the chassis of the automatic mounting machine and extending along the first direction; (b) movable along the first guide element (C) a second guide element attached to the first carriage and extending along the second direction; (d) a second carriage mounted on the first carriage; And a second carriage movably supported along the guide element of The mounting head is attached to the second carriage, and the mounting head is typically a so-called multi-loading head, and using the multi-loading head (i) a number of electronic components are each one component It can be received using a holding device, and (ii) a large number of received electronic components can be transferred together into the mounting area of the automatic mounting machine, and (iii) the components transferred into the mounting area are continuous Each can be mounted at a predetermined mounting position on the component carrier. Such multi-mounted heads contribute to high mounting performance in a known manner.

  The above-described mechanical coupling device of the second portal system serves to releasably, but mechanically and fixedly attach the longitudinal carrier to the second guide element. The attachment is then carried out by attaching the longitudinal carrier directly or indirectly to the second guide element, ie indirectly via at least one further component. Indirect mounting can in particular be achieved by the longitudinal carrier being mounted directly on the first carriage described above.

  As already mentioned, the first portal system which is typically more complex compared to the second portal system can be descriptively referred to as a basic portal system, whereas the second portal system is an additional portal system It can be called. The additional portal system of the operating system described above represents an optional system for an automatic loading machine and can be coupled to the basic portal system according to the actual requirements. A plurality of different operating systems may be provided for one or more automatic loading machines, and a suitable operating system may be used depending on the electronics configuration group to be manufactured.

  Furthermore, it is also possible to use one operating system according to the actual requirements of different automatic mounting machines. This is a particularly inexpensive way to increase the manufacturing flexibility of different electronics configuration groups.

  According to a further embodiment of the invention, the actuating device is at least one selected from the group consisting of a further mounting head, a single gripper, a multi-gripper, in particular a double gripper, a dispenser module, and an optical sensor, in particular a camera. .

  Thus, the operating system described above can be configured for a number of different applications. Thereby, the flexibility of the automatic loading machine is that, by docking the suitably configured operating system as described above, it is possible to efficiently carry out a great variety of tasks related to loading on component carriers. Can be significantly enhanced.

  The further mounting head may be the same type of mounting head as the mounting head disposed in the first portal system. However, typically the additional mounting head will be another type of mounting head. As already mentioned, single grippers or multi-grippers can be used, thereby mounting relatively large building blocks on the individual component carriers. By means of the dispenser module, a paste having a viscosity, for example a so-called underfill material, can be applied to suitable points of the component carrier and / or the already mounted electronic component group. By means of optical sensors, for example, so-called automatic optical inspection (AOI) can be performed. The mounting of the individual or several components or components can then be checked on the machine.

  The operating system described above is already before the operating system is attached to the automatic mounting machine by docking directly or indirectly to the second guide element, ie outside the automatic mounting machine where the operating system is to be used It can be prepared to use the manipulation system. This makes it possible to quickly start the modified automatic mounting machine after mechanical mounting of the operating system on the second guide element, whereby the non-productive time during which the mounting is interrupted, It can be minimized in an advantageous manner.

  According to a further embodiment of the invention, the operating system also comprises an electrical coupling device, which is attached to the longitudinal carrier and wherein the first portal system of the automatic loading machine The second portal system and / or the working device may be supplied with electrical energy.

  The electrical coupling device is configured to provide an automatic connection between the electrical coupling device and the electrical interface when attaching the manipulation system to the second guide element of the first portal system with respect to the electrical interface. And may be provided. The operating system can thereby be mounted on a self-loading machine to function in a particularly efficient manner.

  The energy transfer between the electrical coupling device and the corresponding component of the operating system, for example the drive for the purpose of locating the working device along the longitudinal carrier or the attachment device, is a cable drag chain Can be realized using Of course, the electrical energy can also be transmitted via other methods, for example via a suitable slide rail in combination with slide contacts.

  According to a further embodiment of the invention, the manipulation system also comprises a data coupling device, which data coupling device can be coupled to the data interface of the first portal system of the autoloader, whereby the data The operation of the second portal system and / or the action device can be controlled based on the data transmitted via the interface and data coupling device.

  The data coupling device may be part of a wireless or wired data connection. The wireless connection may be an infrared data connection, a WLAN data connection, a Bluetooth data connection, an NFC data connection, or any other suitably standardized data connection.

  In the case of wireless data connection, the data binding device may be the endpoint of the wireless data connection. In this case, the data coupling device is preferably provided in the immediate vicinity of the control unit or controller for the operating system described above.

  In the case of data connection by means of cable connection, data can be transmitted to the control unit or controller by means of a data line, which is via a cable drag chain, in particular via a cable drag chain for transmitting the electrical energy described above. May be guided. In the case of data connection by means of a cable connection, the data coupling device is preferably mounted on a longitudinal carrier and can be realized in a common plug connection, optionally together with the electrical coupling device. This pluggable connection may be realized automatically or a corresponding electrical connection may be made when the operating system is docked to the second guide element of the first portal system.

  According to a further embodiment of the invention, the operating system also comprises a control unit for controlling the operation of the application device.

  The control unit, often also referred to as the controller, may be any data processing unit, in particular a data processing unit capable of controlling the electrical components of the operating system. Examples of such electrical components have already been described above and will not be described again here. The control unit may thus preferably control not only the actuation of the actuating device but also at least one electrical drive for the mounting element.

  The control unit preferably ensures comprehensive control of the operation of the operating system. That means that only a small amount of control data needs to be transmitted via the data coupling device described above in order to operate the operating system, and in particular the working device correctly and reliably. In that case, the control data may only be transferred (unchanged or processed) from the data interface connected to the data coupling device. The control data may, for example, be the position of the electronic component to be mounted, which electronic component is to be mounted on the corresponding component carrier using the action device formed as a further mounting head Be done. Furthermore, a command for performing an optical inspection of at least part of the at least partially mounted component carrier may be transmitted as such control data to the working device having the optical sensor.

  The control unit described above can be realized as a completely autonomous system, in which the operating system is completely autonomous and only needs some small control data for correct and reliable operation. It has an advantage.

  The following points are pointed out in relation to this. That is, the operating system may alternatively be realized without such a control unit or with only a control unit providing very limited functionality. In the latter case, it means that the operation of the operating system has to be generally or completely controlled by the control unit of the underlying portal system or by an external control unit. The same applies, for example, to electrical signals or output signals for the electrical drive supplied externally to the operating system. Such a solution can be clearly referred to as a master-slave solution, the basic portal system is a master portal system and the additional portal system is a slave portal system. The advantage of the solution is that the operating system represents a very simple or smart system from a technical point of view. This makes the mounting concept economical, in which a plurality of different slave portal systems are provided, each equipped with a suitable working device, in order to produce different electronic device configuration groups.

  According to a further embodiment of the invention, the operating system also comprises a data storage device, which is coupled to the control unit.

  For example, special geometrical data of the operating system can be stored in the data storage device described above. An identification number indicating the corresponding working device or the entire operating system may also be stored in the data storage device and read out from the central data processing device of the corresponding automatic loading machine, if necessary.

  In an embodiment which is presently considered to be particularly advantageous, calibration data are stored in the data storage device, said calibration data being used prior to attaching the operating system to the corresponding automatic loading machine or the first operating system. It was determined using a suitable calibration procedure prior to docking to the second guide element of the portal system. The data storage device can thus contribute to the realization of the operating system as the self-sustaining system, in particular the working device with high accuracy and high reliability for the tasks assigned to it. Can be accomplished.

  According to a further embodiment of the invention, the operating system also comprises a pneumatic coupling device, which is attached (directly or indirectly) to the longitudinal carrier and is automatic. It is possible to couple with the pneumatic interface of the first portal system of the loading machine so that the working pressure of the working device different from the ambient pressure can be prepared.

  The pneumatic connection of the first portal system and the acting device, realized with the aid of a pneumatic coupling device, makes sense, in particular when the acting device is a further mounting head, said further mounting head comprising an electronics arrangement The element can be temporarily received in a known manner, using negative pressure, in at least one component holding device configured as a suction pipette.

  In the above, as already described in connection with the various interfaces formed in the first portal system, the pneumatic coupling device also together with the above-mentioned electrical coupling device and / or data coupling device with common air pressure and It may be realized using a plug connection for electricity. The operating system described above can thereby be coupled to the second guiding element of the first portal system in a particularly effective and rapid manner, in accordance with the “plug and play” principle, so that it is at least functionally relevant. Can be incorporated into an automatic mounting machine.

  According to a further embodiment of the present invention, the operating system also comprises a wagon element, which is fixedly attached to the longitudinal carrier, and the first guide of the first portal system It is configured to be movably attached to the element.

  In order to express this clearly, not only is the vertically elongated carrier releasably fixed (directly or indirectly) to the second guide element of the first portal system, but the vertically elongated carrier Indirectly) via the wagon element of the same meaning that it can be attached to the first guide element. The mechanical connection between the wagon element and the first guide element is then formed such that the wagon element can be slid or moved along the longitudinal direction of the first guide element. The wagon element is also reversibly, i.e. removably attachable to the first guide element, whereby according to the basic idea of the invention described in this document, only when the operating system is needed, It may be mechanically coupled to one portal system, in particular to the second guide element.

  With the wagon element described above, the cost of coupling the operating system to the first portal system may be slightly increased, as the wagon element must first be fitted or fitted to the first guide element. Embodiments provide at least the following advantages. That is, the force derived from the large mass, in particular the inertial mass, of the docked operating system does not have to be received by the first carriage of the first portal system and possibly the further first carriage, or at least It need not be received only by the first carriage and possibly the further first carriage. This reduces the load resistance acting on the first carriage and possibly the further carriage, thereby reducing the costs incurred by the first carriage and / or the further carriage from a mechanical point of view. Or it may be made less stable. This means that the operating system described above can be docked to the first portal system, which is dimensioned in a simple and conventional manner. In order to dock the operating system, the necessary interfaces (mechanical interface and optionally electrical) to the first portal system and in particular to the second guide element and / or the second carriage of the first portal system It is only necessary to provide an interface, a data interface and / or a pneumatic interface).

  According to a further embodiment of the invention, a mounting system is described for automatically mounting components of an electronic device on a component carrier. The mounting system described comprises (a) an automatic mounting machine of the type described above and (b) an operating system of the type described above. The longitudinal carrier of the operating system is detachably fixed, directly or indirectly, to the second guide element of the first portal system of the automatic mounting machine.

  The loading system described is based on the following recognition. That is, the flexibility of an auto-loading machine for the production of different electronics configuration groups with different loading content is simple and easy, as the above-mentioned operating system can optionally be docked to the first portal system of the auto-loading machine Based on the recognition that it can be enhanced in an efficient way. Optionally and particularly, this docking is an electronics configuration group, wherein producing the electronics configuration group is in addition to the mounting head movable with the first portal system, the operating device of the manipulation system Is meant to be performed only when it is to manufacture an electronics configuration group that requires further processing steps that can be processed by

  The mechanical coupling of the operating system and the first portal system of the automatic loading machine is such that the vertically-long carrier of the second portal system of the operating system can be removed directly or indirectly, in such a way that the automatic loading machine It is carried out by being attached to or fixed to the second guide element of the first portal system of the present invention. To express clearly, the vertical carrier is "shoulder" on the second guide element.

  It is pointed out that the embodiments of the present invention are described in the context of different inventive subjects. However, as long as the person skilled in the art reads the present application, any combination of features belonging to different invention subjects is possible in addition to the combination of features belonging to one invention subject, unless explicitly stated otherwise. It will be clear.

  Further advantages and features of the present invention are described in the following, illustrative description of the presently preferred embodiments. The individual figures of the drawings of this document are merely schematic and should not be regarded as being drawn to scale.

In the figure showing that the automatic loading machine equipped with the operating system is integrated with the loading system having functionality added to the automatic loading machine and provided for use by the operating device of the operating system. is there. In the figure showing that the automatic loading machine equipped with the operating system is integrated with the loading system having functionality added to the automatic loading machine and provided for use by the operating device of the operating system. is there. In the figure showing that the automatic loading machine equipped with the operating system is integrated with the loading system having functionality added to the automatic loading machine and provided for use by the operating device of the operating system. is there. Figure 2 shows an integrated mounting system from an automatic mounting machine and an operating system, the operating system having two unique wagons, each of which is movable on the guiding element of the basic portal system of the automatic mounting machine It is being guided.

  In the following detailed description, features or components of different embodiments that are identical or at least functionally identical to corresponding features or components of other embodiments are identical. It is to be pointed out that the reference numbers of are attached, or the reference numbers of identical or at least functionally identical elements or components which differ only in the first digit are attached. The features or components that have already been described on the basis of the previously described embodiments in order to avoid unnecessary repetition will no longer be described in detail later.

  It is also pointed out that the embodiments described below merely represent a limited choice with regard to possible implementation variants of the invention. In particular, it is possible to combine the features of the individual embodiments in a suitable manner with one another in such a way that, depending on the variant of implementation explicitly indicated in the present description to the person skilled in the art, a number of different implementations. It is considered that the form of is clearly disclosed.

Furthermore, as illustrated in the figures, for example, “forward” and “backward”, “upper” and “upper” to illustrate the relationship one element has to another element or elements. It should be pointed out that space related concepts such as "below", "left" and "right" are used. Accordingly, concepts related to space may apply to orientations different from those displayed in the drawings. However, of course, all such concepts related to space are related to the orientation displayed in the drawings for ease of explanation and are not necessarily limiting. Because each displayed device, component, etc., may have an orientation that may differ from the orientation displayed in the drawings when they are used.
Before describing exemplary embodiments of the present invention in connection with the drawings, some discussion will be given below in connection with exemplary embodiments of the present invention.

  FIG. 1a shows an automatic loading machine 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention, which corresponds to a conventional automatic loading machine in key and in particular structural features. Accordingly, the basic functions of the autoloader 100 and the various components not shown will not be described in detail below.

  The automatic loading machine 100 comprises a chassis 102, which is schematically represented in dotted lines in FIG. 1a. The chassis 102 provides a frame structure to which the individual components of the autoloader 100 are directly or indirectly attached.

  Attached to chassis 102 is a first portal system 110, also referred to below as a primary portal system or a foundation portal system. The foundation portal system 110 includes two guide elements in a known manner, the two guide elements representing a portal backbone. According to the embodiment displayed in the figure, the portal backbone is formed from a first guiding element 112a and a further first guiding element 112b. The two first guide elements 112a and 112b each have an elongated carrier rail, which extends along the first direction. The first direction in FIG. 1a is referred to as the y-direction.

  Portal system 110 also has two carriages, a first carriage 114a and a further first carriage 114b. The first carriage 114a is movably mounted on the guide element 112a, so that the first carriage can be moved or arranged in the y-direction using a drive not shown. Correspondingly, the carriage 114b is movably mounted on the guide element 112b. Drives, which are also not shown, ensure that the two carriages 114a and 114b are moved along the y direction in the same or in a synchronized manner. The bearing elements 115 ensure that the two carriages 114a and 114b are moved along the precisely defined trajectory and along the y direction.

  Between the two carriages 114a and 114b extends a second guide element 122 formed as a movable cross member, which extends longitudinally along the second direction have. The second direction is also referred to as the x-direction in FIG. 1a and below. A second carriage 124 is mounted or guided on the cross member 122, which can be moved or arranged along the x-direction using a drive which is likewise not shown. The second carriage 124 represents a mechanical platform on which the mounting head 126 is fixed. According to the embodiment shown in the figure, the mounting head 126 is a so-called multi-loading head having a plurality of component holding devices 128 formed as suction grippers, said component holding devices being Each is used in a known manner to temporarily receive an electronic component.

  In order to load the component carrier 190, the loading head 126 is first moved into a component pickup area, which is not initially displayed, by suitably controlling the first portal system 110 in a known manner. The electronics components in the pick-up area are prepared by means of suitable component feeding devices which are not displayed. In the component pick-up area, the component is picked up by the mounting head 126 and transferred again to the mounting area by suitable control of the first portal system 110, in which the electronics component 192 is mounted on the component carrier 190 Be done. The data processing unit 104 ensures coordinated control of the drive for the two first carriages 114 a, 114 b, the second carriage 124 and the mounting head 126.

  In the following, the features of the automatic loading machine 100 that are characteristic of the embodiment of the present invention will be described.

  Each of the two first carriages 114a, 114b is attached or formed with a mechanical interface 130, to which the operating system 150 represented in FIG. 1b is removably attached. Or can be docked. According to the embodiment displayed in the figure, the automatic loading machine 100 also comprises an electrical interface 132, a data interface 134 and a pneumatic interface 136. As can be seen in FIG. 1a, these interfaces are all formed on the movable crosspiece 122. Alternatively, these interfaces may be at least partially formed on the carriages 114a and / or 114b.

  FIG. 1 b shows an operating system 150, which is configured to be removably attachable to a portion of the first portal system 110 movable along the y-direction. The operation system 150 includes a second portal system 160 and an acting device 166. Because the second portal system 160 can optionally be coupled to the first portal system 110, the second portal system is also referred to below as an additional portal system 160.

  According to the embodiment shown in the figure, the additional portal system 160 comprises a longitudinal carrier 162, which is in each case mechanically connected to both end areas of the longitudinal carrier. It has 170. The mechanical coupling device 170 is structurally respectively adapted to one of the two mechanical interfaces 130, whereby the carrier 162 can be clamped between the two carriages 114a, 114b. Alternatively, or in combination, suitable mechanical coupling structures may be provided on the longitudinal side of each of the movable cross member 122 or the longitudinal carrier 162.

  The elongated carrier 162 is provided with a mounting element 164 formed as a movable mounting plate in the state of being movably supported along the x-direction. The actuating device 166 is attached to the attachment element 164. With the aid of a drive not shown, the mounting element 164 and thereby also the actuating device 166 can be moved or arranged along the x direction in a targeted manner. The actuating device 166 has further mounting heads, single grippers, multi-grippers, in particular double grippers, dispenser modules, and / or optical sensors, as already described above, depending on the desired additional functions. Good. According to the embodiment represented in the figure, the actuating device 166 is a so-called twin segment having two grippers 168, each using, for example, a relatively large electronic component Or a member such as a mechanical component, for example a cover or a cooling body, may be received, processed or mounted.

  In order to supply the necessary electrical energy to the actuating device 166 and the non-displayed drive for the movable attachment element 164, the operating system 150 comprises an electrical coupling device 172, which The electrical coupling device is formed and provided such that the electrical coupling device is coupled to the electrical interface 132 when the operation system 150 is docked. Electrical energy may thus be transmitted from the first portal system 110 to the second portal system 160 and the effectors 166 attached to the second portal system.

  According to the embodiment represented in the figure, the operating system 150 also comprises a data coupling device 174 and a pneumatic coupling device 176. Similar to the electrical coupling device 172, the coupling devices 174 and 176 are also coupled to the corresponding interface of the first portal system 110, ie to the data interface 134 or to the pneumatic interface 136, with the operating system 150 docked. It is combined.

  Control data may be transmitted from the data processing unit 104 of the automatic loading machine 100 to the control unit 154 of the operating system 150 via a combination of data interface 134 and data coupling device 174. According to the embodiment displayed in the figure, the control unit 154 is generally autonomously responsible for the correct operation of the operating system 150. As a result, only a small amount of control data has to be transmitted via the data interface 134 or the data coupling device 174.

  Compressed air or vacuum may be transmitted through the combination of pneumatic interface 136 and pneumatic coupling device 176, which is transferred to acting device 166. The transfer takes place, according to the embodiment represented in the figure, by means of a cable drag chain (not shown) in a known manner, the cable drag chain additionally comprising electrical conductors and, optionally, Data lines may also be guided, the electrical leads and data lines being arranged in the electrical coupling device 172 or the data coupling device 174.

  The operating system 150 may be calibrated outside of the autoloader 100 before starting up, ie, before the operating system is docked to the first portal system 110. Thereby, immediately after docking of the operation system 150, the automatic loading machine 100 expanded by the operation system 150 can continue operation. The corresponding calibration data may be stored in data storage 156 coupled with control unit 154. The control unit 154 may thus access the calibration data in a simple and efficient manner to control the operation of the operating system 150.

  FIG. 1 c shows a mounting system 180 synthesized from the automatic mounting machine 100 and the operation system 150. The spatial configuration of the electrical interface 132 and the electrical coupling device 172, the spatial configuration of the data interface 134 and the data coupling device 174, and the spatial configuration of the pneumatic interface 136 and the pneumatic coupling device 176 are elongated carriers. When releasably docking 162 to the second guide element 122, the corresponding interface 132, 134, 136 and coupling device 177, 174, 176 pair is selected to be automatically integrated.

  FIG. 2 shows a mounting system 280 synthesized from the automatic mounting machine 200 and the operation system 250. The mounting system 280 displayed in this figure differs from the mounting system 180 in the following points. That is, according to the first difference, the mechanical coupling between the operation system 250 and the automatic loading machine 100 can be performed by (a) a second guide element or a movable cross member 122, and (b) an elongated carrier. It takes place directly between the two components 162. For this purpose, the mechanical interface 130 and the mechanical coupling device 170 are formed facing each other and facing each other on the longitudinal sides of the corresponding component guide element 122 or carrier 162. The one electrical interface 132, the data interface 134, and the pneumatic interface 136, and the other electrical coupling device 172, the data coupling device 174, and the pneumatic coupling device 176, are mechanical interfaces 130 or mechanical coupling. It is formed to extend through the device 170 so that each can ensure a secure connection with the complementary component.

  The second difference between the loading system 280 and the loading system 180 is that the additional portal system 260 of the operating system 250 has two unique wagons, namely the first wagon 261a and the further first wagon 261b. The wagons are movably guided to the guide elements 112a or 112b of the foundation portal system 210 of the automatic loading machine 200, respectively. These wagons 261a, 261b do not require that the longitudinal carrier 162 (and the working device 266 attached to the longitudinal carrier) be carried by at least only the two wagons 114a and 114b of the basic portal system 210. The load resistance acting on the two wagons 114a and 114b is correspondingly reduced. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the bearing element 265 ensures that the two carriages 261a and 261b are moved along the precisely defined trajectory and along the y direction.

  A third difference between the mounting system 280 and the mounting system 180 is that the actuating device 266 has a camera 268 with which, for example, automatic optical inspection (AOI) of the individual selected mountings is made. It can be done. Quality control of the completed electronics configuration group can be implemented already in the above-described on-board system 280. A separate machine for the AOI is thereby rendered unnecessary in an advantageous manner.

  It should be pointed out that the above three differences are completely independent of each other from the technical point of view. Thus, a mounting system having only one or two of these differences with respect to mounting system 180 may also be configured.

  To express clearly, the embodiments of the invention described in this document can be summarized as follows.

  The first portal system or foundation portal system, in a standard implementation, comprises (at least) one y portal backbone and a carrier (first guide element) which traverses the y direction and is movable along the y direction. , X carriage (first carriage). Optionally, a second portal system or additional portal system comprises a second carrier (second guide element), a unique x carriage (attachment element), a cable drag chain and the necessary electronics ( And “back side” can be incorporated into the basic portal system. At this time, preferably, the second carrier (second guide element) is mechanically and directly or indirectly detachably attached to the first carrier (first guide element).

  The supply of energy and data for the additional portal system and to the action devices attached to the additional portal system takes place via the basic portal system. For this purpose, the basic portal system comprises a mechanical interface, an electrical interface, a data interface and optionally a pneumatic interface. The attachment of the additional portal system and the action device attached to the additional portal system can be performed outside of the automatic loading machine, taking advantage of the modularity of the portal system. In the automounter, the calibration of the additional portal system and the working device (both of which form the operating system) can be performed by the calibration unit with respect to the basic configuration (basic portal system, mounting head, camera for circuit board).

  The basic portal system is designed on the drive side so that the mass of the additional portal system is taken into account together in the y-direction. The underlying portal system can be operated alone and with the additional portal system according to the actual requirements. The “configuration with additional portal system, or the configuration without additional portal system” can be automatically read or recognized by the onboard device. The drive data set, the machine data of the additional portal system and the possible access restrictions and configuration space data can then be provided in a simple and efficient manner to the machine.

  Instead of a (additional) mounting head, the working device may have a gripper, a dispenser, an optical sensor or a mounting head with an additional z-axis for moving the entire mounting head. The electrical interface of the foundation portal system is implemented such that a predetermined number of sensors and actuators are provided for the additional portal system.

From the above considerations, in particular the following advantages are obtained.
Based on the modularity of the basic portal system and the additional portal system, special solutions for customer-specific applications other than product deployment can be provided more quickly as special configurations.
• The flexibility of the mounting line can be realized with a reduced number of automatic mounting machines for the various electronics configuration groups to be manufactured. The customer (operating company of the loading line) can purchase the automatic loading machine described in the present application and self-configure the additional portal system with the preferred working device. The customer can then optionally make a selection from a number of different operating system types.
-Specialized configurations for individual applications can be realized only for additional portal systems and do not increase the manufacturing cost and complexity of an auto-loading machine with a basic portal system.
The “comprehensive interface” between the basic portal system and the additional portal system gives the possibility of practicing a great variety of technical solutions (actuators, sensors).

  It should be noted that the term "having" in this document does not exclude other elements, and "one" does not exclude many. Elements described in connection with different embodiments may also be combined. It should also be noted that reference numerals in the claims should not be construed as limiting the scope of the claims.

100 automatic loading machine 102 chassis 104 data processing unit 110 first portal system / basic portal system 112a first guide element / portal backbone 112b further first guide element / portal backbone 114a first carriage 114b further first Carriage 115 Bearing element 122 Second guide element / movable cross member 124 Second carriage 126 Mounting head 128 Component holding device 130 Mechanical interface 132 Electrical interface 134 Data interface 136 Pneumatic interface 150 Operation system 154 Control Unit 156 Data Storage 160 Second Portal System / Additional Portal System 162 Longitudinal Carrier 164 Attached Elements / Moveable Mounting plate 166 Working device / double gripper 168 Gripper 170 Mechanical coupling device 172 Electrical coupling device 174 Data coupling device 176 Pneumatic coupling device 180 Mounting system 190 Component carrier / circuit board 192 Electronics component y First direction x Second direction 200 Automatic loading machine 210 First portal system (basic portal system 230 mechanical interface 250 operation system 260 second portal system / additional portal system 261a first wagon 261b further first wagon 265 bearing elements 266 Action device 268 Camera 270 Mechanical coupling device 280 mounting system

Claims (15)

An automatic mounting machine for automatically mounting a component (192) of an electronic device on a component carrier (190), the automatic mounting machine (100, 200) comprising
Chassis (102),
A first guide element (112a) fixedly attached to said chassis (102) and extending along a first direction (y),
A first carriage (114a) movably mounted along said first guide element (112a);
Along a second guide element (122) attached to the first carriage (114a) and extending along a second direction (x), and along the second guide element (122) A second carriage (124), which is movably mounted
A first portal system (110, 210) comprising
A mounting head (126) attached to the second carriage (124);
Mechanical interface (130, 230),
And have
The mechanical interface is attached to the first carriage (114a) and / or the second guide element (122) and extends along the second direction (x) A longitudinal carrier (162) of the portal system (160, 260) is formed to be removably attachable to the first carriage (114a) and / or the second guide element (122). The second portal system (160, 260) comprises a movable attachment element (164) along the longitudinal carrier (162), at which attachment device (166, 266) Is attached,
It further comprises an electrical interface (132), said electrical interface being formed in said second guide element (122), said second portal system (160) and / or said acting device (166). , 266), which is configured to supply electrical energy.   It further comprises a data interface (134), said data interface comprising a data processing unit (104) and said second portal system (160, 260) and / or said action device (166, 266). The automatic mounting machine according to claim 1, which is configured to transmit data between the control unit (154) and the control unit (154).   It further comprises a pneumatic interface (136), which is formed on the first carriage (114a) and / or the second guide element (122) and the action device (166, 166) 3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2 configured to provide a working pressure different to ambient pressure for 266). A further first guiding element fixedly attached to the chassis (102) and extending along the first direction (y) parallel to the first guiding element (112a) (112b),
And a further first carriage (114b) movably mounted along said further first guide element (112b),
The first carriage (114a) is attached to the second guide element (122) in a first end area of the second guide element (122),
The further first carriage (114b) is attached to the second guide element (122) in the second end area of the second guide element (122),
The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the first end region and the second end region are arranged on opposite sides of the second guide element (122). Automatic loading machine.   The second portal system (160, 260) is a selective system for the automatic loading machine (100, 200), and the second portal system (160, 260) is the first carriage (114a). And / or the first form attached to the second guide element (122), or the second portal system (160, 260) is the first carriage (114a) and / or the second guide The machine according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the machine (100, 200) can operate in a second configuration not attached to an element (122). A longitudinal carrier (162) extending along the second direction (x), and a mounting element (164) movably supported along the longitudinal carrier (162),
A second portal system (160, 260) comprising
An actuation device (166, 266) attached to the attachment element (164);
The movable second guide of the first portal system (110, 210) of the automatic mounting machine (100, 200) being attached to the vertical carrier (162) and the vertical carrier (162) A mechanical coupling device (170, 270) which is configured to be removably attachable to the element (122);
Have
Furthermore, it has an electrical coupling device (172), and the electrical coupling device is attached to the longitudinal carrier (162), and the first portal system of the automatic mounting machine (100, 200) (110, 210) can be coupled with the electrical interface (132) such that electrical energy can be supplied to the second portal system (160, 260) and / or the working device (166, 266);
The first portal system is fixedly attached to the chassis (102) and comprises a first guide element (112a) extending along a first direction (y), the first guide element A first carriage (114a) movably supported along (112a), attached to said first carriage (114a) and extending along a second direction (x) An operating system comprising a second guide element (122) and a second carriage (124) movably mounted along said second guide element (122).   The operating system according to claim 6, wherein the operating device is at least one selected from the group consisting of a further mounting head (166), a single gripper, a multi-gripper, a dispenser module, and an optical sensor (266).   The operation system according to claim 7, wherein the multi-gripper is a double clipper. Wherein the optical sensor is a camera, the operation system according to claim 7.   It further comprises a data coupling device (174), which can be coupled to the data interface (134) of the first portal system (110, 210) of the automatic loading machine (100, 200) The second portal system (160, 260) and / or the working device (166, 266) based on data transmitted through the data interface (134) and the data combining device (174). The operation system according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the operation of (a) is controllable.   11. The operating system according to claim 10, further comprising a control unit (154) for controlling the operation of the actuating device (166, 266).   The operating system according to claim 11, further comprising a data storage (156), said data storage being coupled to the control unit (154).   Furthermore, it has a pneumatic coupling device (176), which is attached to the longitudinal carrier (162), and the first portal system of the automatic mounting machine (100, 200) 13. A device according to any one of claims 6 to 12, which can be coupled with the pneumatic interface (136) of (110, 210), so that a working pressure for the working device different from the ambient pressure can be provided. Operation system.   It further comprises a wagon element (261a), which is fixedly attached to the longitudinal carrier (162) and which comprises a first guide element (112a) of the first portal system (210). The operating system according to any one of claims 6 to 13, which is configured to be movably attached to the. A mounting system for automatically mounting a component (192) of an electronic device on a component carrier (190), the mounting system (180, 280) comprising
The automatic mounting machine (100, 200) according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
An operation system (150, 250) according to any one of claims 6 to 14, and
The vertically elongated carrier (162) of the operation system (150, 250) is connected to the second guide element (122) of the first portal system (110, 210) of the automatic loading machine (100, 200). A mounting system that is removably fixed, either directly or indirectly.

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