JP7650979B2 - File management device for surface mount machines, surface mount machines - Google Patents

Description

The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a file management device for a surface mount machine, and a surface mount machine.

Surface mount machines take a large number of images during the process of mounting components on a board. These images are used for post-mortem analysis when a defective board occurs during production. Patent Document 1 discloses a technology that compresses the amount of image data by taking the second and subsequent frames of multiple images of components mounted on a board and converting them into differential images from the first frame.

JP 2008-085559 A

The number of images and the amount of data is on the rise due to faster operation of surface mounters and an increase in the number of cameras. This increase in the number of images and the amount of data has led to issues such as the complexity of file operations for image files (saving, copying, deleting image files) and the time it takes to transfer data to storage media.

The objective of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of file operations and to realize a file management device for surface mount machines that can transfer large amounts of files at high speed.

A file management device for a surface mounting machine includes a data processing unit that combines multiple image files captured by the surface mounting machine to generate a combined file, and a memory unit that stores the combined file.

The present disclosure provides a file management device for surface mount machines that can improve the efficiency of file operations and transfer large volumes of files at high speed.

Surface mounting system configuration diagram Plan view of surface mounter Head unit side view Perspective view of component supply tape Surface mounter block diagram Flowchart showing the component mounting process Flowchart showing the process of generating a combined file Schematic diagram showing the structure of a combined file Verification results of data transfer time

<Outline of this embodiment>
(1) A file management device for a surface mounter includes a data processing unit that combines a plurality of image files captured by the surface mounter to generate a combined file, and a storage unit that stores the combined file.

The number of files can be reduced by combining multiple image files to generate a combined file. Reducing the number of files can improve the efficiency of file operations (saving, copying, deleting image files, etc.). It can also reduce the time required to transfer files.

(2) The data processing unit may combine multiple related image files to generate the combined file.

With this configuration, the combined file contains multiple related image files, so there is no need to search for related image files among the many image files captured by the surface mounter. This makes it possible to analyze image files more efficiently.

(3) The multiple related image files may be image files of the same component captured during the mounting process on the board.

With this configuration, you can check the implementation process of a single component from multiple image files contained in the combined file.

(4) The combined file may include header information. The header information may include at least one of information related to the part, information related to the imaging conditions, and information related to the image processing.

With this configuration, in addition to the image file, it is possible to perform complex analysis by using the information contained in the header information.

(5) A surface mounter according to one embodiment of the present technology includes a mounting head that adsorbs components and mounts them on a board, a component supplying device that supplies the components to the mounting head, an imaging unit that images the components, the mounting head, and the board, and any of the file management devices described above that combines multiple image files captured by the imaging unit to generate a combined file.

(6) The file management device provided in the surface mount machine may transfer the combined file stored in the memory unit to an external storage device connected to the surface mount machine.

By transferring the combined files stored in the memory unit to an external storage device, the free space in the memory unit can be increased, making it possible to secure space to store newly generated combined files. In addition, by shortening the transfer time, it becomes possible to transfer large volumes of files efficiently. This reduces the waiting time for file transfers, suppresses delays in mounting work, and is effective in improving the takt time of surface mounters.

The invention disclosed in this specification can be realized in various forms, such as an apparatus, a method, a computer program for realizing the functions of these apparatus or methods, and a recording medium on which the computer program is recorded.

<Embodiment>
1 is a system configuration diagram of a surface mounting system S including a surface mounting machine 11. The surface mounting system S is composed of a production line 1 that produces circuit boards PU, a data server (an example of an "external storage device") 20, an operation terminal 22, and a production management device 23. The circuit board PU is a board in which electronic components (an example of a "component") EC are mounted on a printed circuit board (an example of a "board") P.

The production line 1 includes a printing machine 10, a surface mounter 11, a surface mounter 12, and an inspection device 13. These work devices 10 to 13 are connected in series via a transport conveyor 32 (see Figure 2). The transport conveyor transports the printed circuit board P to be worked on along the line.

The printer 10 is a work device that performs a printing process on the printed circuit board P. The printing process is a process of printing solder paste on the printed circuit board P. The surface mounter 11 and the surface mounter 12 are work devices that perform a mounting process of electronic components EC on the printed circuit board P after the printing process. The inspection device 13 is a work device that inspects the printed circuit board P after the components are mounted.

If no abnormality is detected by the inspection device 13, the printed circuit board P is reflow-processed by a reflow device installed outside the line. If an abnormality is detected by the inspection device 13, the production line 1 is stopped and the cause of the abnormality is analyzed.

The printing machine 10, surface mounter 11, surface mounter 12, and inspection device 13 are connected to a production management device 23 via a LAN 15. The production management device 23 is a device that manages the production line 1, and stores information on the production plan, etc. The production plan information includes the type of printed circuit board P and the type of electronic components EC to be used in production, etc. In addition, a data server 20 and an operation terminal 22 are connected to the LAN 15.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the surface mounter 11. In the following explanation, directional relationships will be explained using XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes. The X-axis and Y-axis are mutually orthogonal on a horizontal plane, and the Z-axis is an axis that extends in the vertical direction and is orthogonal to both the X-axis and the Y-axis.

The surface mounter 11 includes a base 31, a transport conveyor 32, a head unit 33, a drive unit 34, a feeder 35, and a control device 50. The transport conveyor 32 transports the printed circuit board P to be worked on in the X-axis direction on the base 31.

The drive unit 34 is a device that moves the head unit 33 horizontally (in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction) on the base 31. Examples of the drive unit 34 include a two-axis or three-axis ball screw mechanism driven by a motor.

The feeder 35 is a device that supplies the electronic components EC held by the component supply tape 70 to the mounting head 36. As shown in FIG. 4, the component supply tape 70 is configured by bonding together a carrier tape 71 having a recess 72 and a top tape 75 that covers the opening of the recess 72, and the electronic components EC are stored in the recess 72. The feeder 35 peels the top tape 75 from the component supply tape 70 with the opening of the recess 72 facing upward, exposing the electronic components EC at the suction position. The mounting head 36 suctions and holds the exposed electronic components EC from above. The feeder 35 is an example of a "component supply device."

As shown in Figure 3, the head unit 33 has multiple mounting heads 36. The mounting heads 36 are supported in a state in which they can be raised and lowered relative to the head unit 33. The mounting heads 36 have a suction nozzle 37 at their tip, and can apply negative pressure to suction and hold the electronic component EC, and can release the hold of the electronic component EC by switching the negative pressure to a weak positive pressure.

The head unit 33 can be moved to any position on the base 31 by the drive unit 34. The mounting head 36 can be raised and lowered at any position. The head unit 33 mounts electronic components EC supplied from the feeder 35 onto the printed circuit board P at the work position WP in the center of the base 31.

When the mounting process is completed, the surface mounter 11 transports the completed printed circuit board P to the downstream surface mounter 12.

2 and 3, the surface mounter 11 has a first camera 41, a second camera 42, and a third camera 43. Each of the cameras 41 to 43 is an example of an "imaging unit" and transmits an image file of the captured image (hereinafter simply referred to as "image") to a file management device 55 described below.

The first camera 41 is attached to the support member 38 that supports the head unit 33. The first camera 41 is a side-view camera that captures an image of the electronic component EC held by the suction nozzle 37 from the side.

The second camera 42 is fixed on the base 31 near the feeder 35 with its imaging surface facing upward. The second camera 42 is a bottom-view camera that images the electronic component EC held by the suction nozzle 37 from below before the electronic component EC is mounted on the printed circuit board P.

From the images captured by the first camera 41 and the second camera 42, it is possible to know the suction state of the electronic component EC relative to the suction nozzle 37. Because the first camera 41 is a side-view camera, it is possible to detect the inclination of the electronic component EC suction-held by the suction nozzle 37 with respect to the horizontal plane and the success or failure of suction based on the image from the first camera 41. In addition, from the image from the second camera 42, it is possible to detect the amount of deviation (horizontal position deviation and rotation angle deviation) of the suction position of the electronic component EC relative to the suction nozzle 37.

If the inclination of the electronic component EC is within the allowable range, the position and angle of the electronic component EC relative to the printed circuit board P can be corrected based on the recognition results of the image captured by the second camera 42, thereby improving the mounting accuracy of the electronic component EC.

In addition, if the inclination of the electronic component EC is outside the acceptable range, it is determined that a suction error has occurred and the component is removed from the line, and the suction nozzle 37 again picks up the next electronic component EC and performs the mounting work.

The third camera 43 is a camera attached to the head unit 33. Specifically, as shown in Fig. 2, the third camera 43 is attached to the side of the head unit 33 at a central position of the arrangement of the mounting heads 36 aligned in the X-axis direction. This allows the third camera 43 to move horizontally (in the X-axis and Y-axis directions) on the base 31 together with the head unit 33.

Prior to mounting the electronic component EC on the printed circuit board P, the third camera 43 captures an image of a position recognition mark affixed to the printed circuit board P. The position recognition mark is a mark for recognizing the position of the printed circuit board P. The image capturing result of this position recognition mark is transmitted from the third camera 43 to the control device 50.

In addition, the third camera 43 captures an image of the electronic component EC and its surrounding area at the suction position before the mounting head 36 suctions the electronic component EC stored in the recess 72 of the carrier tape 71 (see Figure 4).

Furthermore, the third camera 43 captures an image of the electronic component EC and its surrounding area on the printed circuit board P after the mounting head 36 mounts the electronic component EC at a predetermined position on the printed circuit board P.

The pressure sensor 44 is disposed between the vacuum pump (not shown) and the mounting head 36, and detects the pressure inside the suction nozzle 37. The detection result of the pressure sensor 44 is transmitted to the data processing unit 56 described later. One pressure sensor 44 is provided for each mounting head 36 of the head unit 33.

Based on the imaging results of the position recognition mark, the control device 50 recognizes the exact position and orientation of the printed circuit board P positioned on the transport conveyor 32. In addition, based on the recognition results of the position and orientation of the printed circuit board P, the control device 50 corrects the coordinate position (XY coordinate position) at the time of mounting.

The surface mounter 11 monitors the mounting process using a first camera 41, a second camera 42, and a third camera 43. The same is true for the surface mounter 12.

2. Control Device Next, a control system of the surface mounter 11 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a block diagram of the surface mounter 11. The control device 50 is a controller that performs overall control of the surface mounter 11.

The control device 50 has a main control unit 51, an image processing unit 52, a camera control unit 53, a sensor control unit 54, a file management device 55, a main memory device 58, and an input/output unit 59.

The main control unit 51 controls the entire surface mounter 11. The main control unit 51 controls the drive unit 34, the head unit 33, and the feeder 35 to supply the electronic components EC and mount them on the printed circuit board P.

The camera control unit 53 controls the first camera 41 to the third camera 43. Specifically, it instructs the cameras 41 to 43 on the camera settings, including the camera to be used for capturing images (one of the cameras 41 to 43), the illuminance of the lighting (not shown) of each camera, the capture timing, the camera angle, etc. The camera control unit 53 also transmits the camera settings at the time of capturing images to the main control unit 51. It also transmits the captured images to the file management device 55.

The sensor control unit 54 controls the pressure sensor 44. The sensor control unit 54 acquires the pressure value of the suction nozzle 37 at the moment of image capture from the pressure sensor 44 in accordance with the timing of image capture by the cameras 41 to 43. For example, when the suction nozzle 37 is suctioning an electronic component EC, the pressure sensor 44 detects negative pressure, and when nothing is being suctioned, it detects atmospheric pressure. The sensor control unit 54 transmits the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 44 to the main control unit 51.

The main memory 58 is a so-called main memory, and is made up of non-volatile memory such as ROM and RAM. The main memory 58 stores data of the production program, settings of the surface mounter 11 according to the production program, a library that records the types and shapes of electronic components EC, and the like. The main memory 58 transmits setting information of the surface mounter 11 to the main control unit 51.

The image processing unit 52 performs image correction processing on the images captured by the cameras 41 to 43 to clarify the contours of the electronic components EC shown in the images and recognize the shape and posture of the electronic components EC, as well as to recognize position recognition marks on the printed circuit board P.

The input/output unit 59 is connected to the LAN 15. Data is exchanged between the surface mounter 11 and the data server 20 via the input/output unit 59.

The file management device 55 has a data processing unit 56 and an auxiliary storage device (an example of a "storage unit") 57. The auxiliary storage device 57 consists of non-volatile memory such as ROM or RAM. Multiple images captured by the cameras 41 to 43 and image-specific information (described later) specific to each image are collected in the auxiliary storage device 57.

The data processing unit 56 combines these aggregated images and information to generate a combined file PF (described below) and stores it in the auxiliary storage device 57.

The image-specific information includes, in text format, information about the electronic component EC to be mounted, information about the imaging conditions, and information about image processing. Specific examples of each are shown below.

Information relating to electronic components EC includes, for example, the product name of the electronic component EC, the mounting number in the production program, the block number, the mounting coordinates, component shape data (library index), etc.

The information relating to the imaging conditions is mainly the setting information of the surface mounter 11 at the time of imaging, and includes, for example, information on the mounting head 36 (type of suction nozzle 37, movement speed of the mounting head 36, etc.), nozzle pressure detected by the pressure sensor 44, the imaging status of the image (before suction, after suction, before mounting, after mounting, etc.), the date and time the image was captured, the camera setting conditions (camera illuminance, camera resolution, camera angle, etc.), the file name of the image, etc.

The information related to image processing is the result of image processing by the image processing unit 52, such as the recognition result coordinates, the shape, posture, and angle of the recognized electronic component EC, etc. If an error occurs during image recognition, the error number is also included.

By acquiring image-specific information along with the captured image and linking the two, when a mounting defect is discovered after components are mounted and a previously captured image is analyzed, the detailed situation at the time the image was captured can be known. In addition, by specifying the conditions at the time of image capture (for example, the type of component to be mounted or the date and time of capture), it is possible to selectively view only images that match the conditions.

The image-specific information is continuously acquired by the main control unit 51 while the production program is being executed, and is updated whenever the suction nozzle 37 is replaced or the pressure value fluctuates. The main control unit 51 transmits the image-specific information to the file management device 55 in accordance with the timing of capturing images by the cameras 41 to 43. In other words, each time an image is captured by the cameras 41 to 43, the file management device 55 acquires the image and the image-specific information at the time the image was captured.

3. Description of Mounting Process Next, the mounting process for mounting the electronic components EC on the printed circuit board P will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

In addition, the surface mounter 11 has multiple mounting heads 36 that mount electronic components EC in parallel, but for simplicity, the following explanation will describe the operation of one mounting head 36.

First, the production management device 23 issues an instruction to start production to the main control unit 51 via the LAN 15. Upon receiving the instruction to start production, the main control unit 51 reads the production program from the main memory device 58 (S10).

Next, the main control unit 51 moves the head unit 33 to above the suction position of the feeder 35 based on the production program (S20). The suction position is the position where the electronic component EC is shown in FIG. 2.

Then, the third camera 43 captures an image of the suction position and its surroundings. As a result, the camera control unit 53 acquires image A (S20). As shown in FIG. 8, image A is an image of the electronic component EC stored in the recess 72 of the carrier tape 71. The camera control unit 53 transmits image A to the file management device 55. At the same time as capturing image A, the main control unit 51 also transmits image-specific information A1 at the time image A was captured to the file management device 55 (S20). Image A is used to confirm whether or not an electronic component EC is present in the recess 72.

Next, the main control unit 51 causes the mounting head 36 to pick up the electronic component EC (S30) and moves the mounting head 36 in front of (within the field of view of) the first camera 41. The first camera 41 captures an image of the suction nozzle and the electronic component EC from the side and transmits image B to the file management device 55 (S40). As shown in FIG. 8, image B is a side view of the electronic component EC picked up by the suction nozzle 37. The main control unit 51 also transmits image-specific information B1 at the time image B was picked up to the file management device 55 (S40). Image B is used to confirm the posture of the electronic component EC picked up by the suction nozzle 37.

Next, the main control unit 51 moves the head unit 33 above the second camera 42. The second camera 42 captures an image of the electronic component EC from below and transmits image C to the file management device 55 (S50). As shown in FIG. 8, image C is a bottom view of the electronic component EC adsorbed by the suction nozzle 37. The main control unit 51 also transmits image-specific information C1 at the time image C was captured to the file management device 55 (S50). Image C is used to correct the position and rotation angle when mounting the electronic component EC at a predetermined position on the printed circuit board P.

Next, the main control unit 51 moves the head unit 33 above the mounting position of the printed circuit board P based on the production program. The mounting position is the position on the printed circuit board P where the electronic component EC is mounted. The first camera 41 captures an image of the suction nozzle 37 and the electronic component EC from the side at the mounting position, and transmits the image D to the file management device 55 (S60). The main control unit 51 also transmits image-specific information D1 at the time of capturing the image D to the file management device 55 (S60). The image D (see FIG. 8) is used to confirm the posture of the electronic component EC immediately before mounting.

Next, the main control unit 51 lowers the mounting head 36 to mount the electronic component EC on the printed circuit board P (S70). After the electronic component EC is mounted, the mounting head 36 rises to its original height. The third camera 43 captures an image of the mounting position on the printed circuit board P from above and transmits the image E to the file management device 55 (S80). The main control unit 51 also transmits image-specific information E1 at the time image E was captured to the file management device 55 (S80). Image E (see FIG. 8) is used to check the mounting state of the electronic component EC on the printed circuit board P.

Next, the first camera 41 captures an image of the suction nozzle 37 from the side after the electronic component EC has been mounted on the printed circuit board P, and transmits the image F to the file management device 55 (S90). The main control unit 51 also transmits image-specific information F1 at the time of capturing the image F to the file management device 55 (S90). The image F (see FIG. 8) is used to check whether any of the electronic components EC held by the suction nozzle 37 remain on the suction nozzle 37.

Next, the file management device 55 generates a combined file PF based on the images A to F acquired so far and the image-specific information A1 to F1 (S100). The generated combined file PF is stored in the auxiliary storage device 57. The generation of the combined file PF will be described in detail later.

Next, the main control unit 51 refers to the production program to determine whether there are other electronic components EC to be mounted. If there are other electronic components EC to be mounted (S110: YES), the process proceeds to S20 and the mounting process continues. If there are no other electronic components EC to be mounted (S110: NO), the mounting process ends.

4. Generation of the combined file PF The generation of the combined file PF in the file management device 55 will be described with reference to Figures 7 and 8. Figure 7 details the process of S100 in the flowchart of Figure 6, and shows the procedure when the file management device 55 generates the combined file PF. Figure 8 is a schematic diagram showing the relationship between a plurality of images A to F and a plurality of pieces of image-specific information A1 to F1 and the combined file PF.

As described above, the file management device 55 acquires images A to F and image-specific information A1 to F1 (S210).

Next, as shown in Figure 8, the file management device 55 performs a process in the data processing unit 56 to combine the image files of images A to F to generate one binary file BF (S220). A binary file is a file made up of binary data. Also, binary data is data handled by a computer other than text data, and is represented by any bit string. For example, an image file is a binary file made up of binary data.

In the process of combining the image files of images A to F, the binary data of each file is simply combined. The size of the generated binary file BF will be approximately equal to the combined size of each of the images A to F. Binary file BF contains the binary data of the original image files A to F, but does not contain the image-specific information A1 to F1.

Next, the data processing unit 56 combines the image-specific information A1 to F1 to generate header information H (S230), as shown in Figure 8. The image-specific information A1 to F1 and the header information H are text data. When generating the header information H, the text of the image-specific information A1 to F1 may simply be concatenated, or may be reconstructed by item.

Furthermore, the data processing unit 56 may add new information when generating the header information H. For example, the following information may be added to the header information H:
- The number of image files included in the combined file PF - The creation date and time of the combined file PF

Next, the data processing unit 56 adds header information H to the binary file BF to generate a combined file PF (S240). As a result, the image information of images A to F (binary file BF) and the image-specific information A1 to F1 (header information H) of each image are integrated into a single combined file PF.

Next, the data processing unit 56 stores the combined file PF in the auxiliary storage device 57 (S250).

Through the above processing, a single combined file PF is generated based on multiple images A to F and multiple image-specific information A1 to F1.

5. Verification of the time required for data transfer In order to verify the relationship between the number of files and the file size to be transferred and the time required for transfer, in the surface mount system S, a large number of files were transferred from the auxiliary storage device 57 of the surface mounter 11 to the data server 20, and the time required for transfer was measured. The results are shown in FIG.

In this measurement, a comparison was made between (a) the transfer of 412 image files with an average data size of approximately 39.5 KB and (b) the transfer of 103 combined files with an average data size of approximately 166 KB. The combined file was a binary file (approximately 158 KB) made by combining four image files with an average size of 39.5 KB, with header information (approximately 8 KB) added.

As a result of the verification, the total transfer time was 3.37 [seconds] for (A) and 1.09 [seconds] for (B). The transfer rate was 4830 [KB/sec] for (A) and 15715 [KB/sec] for (B).

Comparing the results of (A) and (B), the total data size of (B) is larger due to the added header information, but the transfer rate of (B) is about three times that of (A), and the total transfer time is about one-third. From this result, we can see that the transfer rate is higher when the number of files is smaller, and when the total file size is about the same, the fewer the number of files, the shorter the transfer time.

6. Description of Effects In the mounting process, images captured by the surface mounter 11 are temporarily stored in the storage medium (auxiliary storage device 57) of the surface mounter 11. If a large amount of data is stored in the auxiliary storage device 57 and the free space becomes insufficient, it becomes impossible to capture and store new image files. In order to continue capturing images, it is necessary to transfer the files in the auxiliary storage device 57 to a large-capacity external storage device (data server 20) and ensure free space in the auxiliary storage device 57.

If the data transfer speed between the auxiliary storage device 57 and the data server 20 is slow, it may take a long time to reserve free space, which may result in delays in the operation of the surface mounter 11.

In the configuration of this embodiment, the file management device 55 generates one combined file PF from images A to F captured by the surface mounter 11, thereby reducing the number of files. In this embodiment, six image files are combined, thereby reducing the number of files to 1/6.

By reducing the number of files, it becomes possible to transfer a large number of files from the auxiliary storage device 57 to the data server 20 at high speed, thereby shortening the time required for data transfer. If data can be transferred in a short time, delays in the operation of the surface mounter 11 can be reduced, thereby improving the work efficiency of the surface mounter 11.

In addition, by reducing the number of files, file operations (saving, copying, deleting image files, etc.) can be made more efficient. This makes it easier to analyze defective boards.

In general, images captured by the surface mounter 11 are often used to analyze the cause of defective boards and to improve traceability. When using image files for these purposes, it is conceivable to analyze a specific electronic component EC by referring to multiple images captured during the entire process from when it is fed to the feeder 35 until it is mounted on the printed circuit board P.

In the configuration of this embodiment, the data processing unit 56 combines multiple related image files, i.e., six image files A to F relating to the same electronic component EC captured during the mounting process on the printed circuit board P, to generate a combined file PF.

In this way, when referencing a series of images taken during the process of mounting a specific electronic component EC among many electronic components EC after mounting, all the necessary image files can be referenced by expanding one combined file PF corresponding to that electronic component EC. This improves traceability of the specific electronic component EC and allows easy access to the desired image for efficient defect analysis.

In the above-described embodiment, the combined file PF has header information H. The header information H contains image-specific information A1 to F1 corresponding to the image files A to F included in the combined file PF, respectively. The image-specific information A1 to F1 is text data that describes information about the part, information about the imaging conditions, and information about image processing.

The combined file PF contains the image-specific information A1 to F1 as header information H. Therefore, without having to expand the binary file BF contained in the combined file PF and check the image files A to F directly, you can know the contents of the image files A to F by first reading the header information H.

The header information H also contains various information at the time the image was captured. Combining this information with the image makes it possible to perform analysis that makes use of the information in a comprehensive manner.

<Other embodiments>
The technology disclosed in this specification is not limited to the embodiments described above and in the drawings, and for example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope disclosed in this specification.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, "image files relating to the same electronic component EC" are given as an example of "multiple related image files." The "multiple related image files" may be other than this, such as "multiple image files captured in a specific time period" or "multiple image files captured of the same printed circuit board," and are not limited to the contents of the embodiment.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, the data processing unit 56 generated one combined file PF by combining six images (images A to F) captured of one electronic component EC. Two or more combined files PF may be generated from multiple images captured of one electronic component EC. For example, when images A to F are captured, two combined files PF may be generated from images A to C and images D to F. Also, one combined file PF may be generated from images captured of two or more electronic components EC.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, header information H was included in the combined file PF, but the header information H may be omitted.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the header information H included all of the information related to the part, the information related to the imaging conditions, and the information related to the image processing. The header information H only needs to include at least one of these three pieces of information. For example, the header information H may include only information related to the part, or may include both information related to the imaging conditions and information related to the image processing.

(5) In the above-described embodiment, the file management device 55 generates the binary file BF by simply combining the binaries of the image files A to F. When generating the binary file BF, the image files may be compressed.

11, 12: Surface mounter 20: Data server (an example of an “external storage device”)
35: Feeder (an example of a "parts supply device")
36: Mounting head 37: Suction nozzle 41: First camera (an example of an “imaging unit”)
42: Second camera (an example of an “imaging unit”)
43: Third camera (an example of an “imaging unit”)
55: File management device 56: Data processing unit 57: Auxiliary storage device (an example of a “storage unit”)
EC: Electronic parts (an example of "parts")
BF: Binary file H: Header information P: Printed circuit board (an example of a "circuit board")
PF: Combined file

Claims (3)

A file management device for a surface mount machine, comprising:
a data processing unit that combines a plurality of image files captured by the surface mounter to generate a combined file;
a storage unit that stores the combined file,
The data processing unit combines a plurality of the image files that are related to each other to generate the combined file,
A file management device, wherein the multiple related image files are a series of image files of the same component taken during the mounting process on the board, the image files being taken between the time the component is supplied to a surface mount machine and the time it is mounted on the board. A file management device for a surface mount machine, comprising:
a data processing unit that combines a plurality of image files captured by the surface mounter to generate a combined file;
a storage unit that stores the combined file,
The data processing unit combines a plurality of the image files that are related to each other to generate the combined file,
The related image files are image files of the same component taken during the mounting process on the board, and include image files of the component taken from the side and from below immediately after it is picked up by the suction nozzle of the surface mounter, as well as
A file management device that includes at least one of an image file of a component supplied to a surface mounting machine and before it is picked up by a suction nozzle, an image file of a component picked up by the suction nozzle and just before it is mounted on a board, and an image file of the suction nozzle after the component is mounted . A file management device for a surface mount machine, comprising:
a data processing unit that combines a plurality of image files captured by the surface mounter to generate a combined file;
a storage unit that stores the combined file,
A file management device , wherein the combined file includes header information consisting of text data combining image-specific information unique to each of the multiple image files, and a binary file combining the binary data of the multiple image files.

Images