JPH0147363B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field This invention relates to an automatic soldering device used for soldering printed boards to which electrical components are attached, and in particular to a carrier-less conveyor system that can convey printed boards without using a carrier. It is related to.

Prior Art A conventionally used system of this type is shown in FIG. 1 is the manual insertion line, 5
1 is a printed board. 2 is a conveyor, 21,
22 is an endless conveyor chain 2
6 and 27 in the longitudinal direction. 2
Reference numerals 8 and 29 are transfer claws attached to the chains 26 and 27 at a predetermined interval, and the printed board 52 is supported and transported by the transfer claws.
23 and 24 are width adjustment screws for changing and setting the spacing between the chains 26 and 27.

The printed board 51 attached to the manual insertion line 1 is
By being moved in the direction of the conveyor 2, it is loaded between preset transfer claws 28 and 29 and transported to the other end. As a result, the printed board 52 automatically completes the soldering process by passing over the solder bath located in the middle. Suppose that printed boards 51 of different sizes are next mounted on the manual insertion line 1. In that case, the transfer claw 2 of the conveyor 2
The distance between the screws 8 and 29 is changed by turning the screws 23 and 24 by hand, and is adjusted to the width of the printed board 51 to be fed.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the conventional carrierless conveyor as described above, when a printed board of a different size than the one flowing on the conveyor arrives,
The width of the conveyor cannot be changed until the work in progress is completed. Further, when it is desired to temporarily insert a small amount of printed boards of different sizes, adjusting the width of the conveyor is extremely troublesome. Furthermore, when products of various sizes are produced in small quantities, the width must be manually adjusted each time, which is time consuming and inefficient.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a conveyor system for solving the conventional problems as described above.
To this end, the present invention utilizes a carrier-less conveyor system that transports printed boards with assembled components onto a soldering bath and automatically performs soldering. a conveyor unit; a first width detector that is installed at the printed board supply port of the conveyor unit row and detects the width of the printed board;
A plurality of second width detectors are installed at predetermined positions on each conveyor unit to detect the set printed board support width, and a plurality of second width detectors are installed at predetermined positions corresponding to each conveyor unit to detect the passage of printed boards. a control circuit that generates a control signal in response to the outputs of the first and second width detectors and the output of the position detector; The structure includes a drive mechanism that variably adjusts the support width of the support width.

Effects According to the present invention, the conveyor width can be automatically adjusted in response to the input printed board size.
The width adjustment work for this purpose is flexible, and even if various types of printed boards of different sizes are set, it can be immediately and automatically adjusted, making it extremely practical.

EXAMPLE The present invention will be explained with reference to FIG. 1 with reference to an example. In this figure, conveyor unit group 2-1,
2-2,..., 2-n are n conveyors arranged in series so that printed boards 52, 53 can be transferred and transported, and the total length of the arrangement is approximately the same as conveyor 2 in Fig. 2. It is thought that it was formed. And conveyor unit 2-1,
Solder baths (not shown) are placed at predetermined locations along the path 2-2, . . . , 2-n. Therefore 2
1-1, 21-2,..., 21-n, 21-1, 2
2-2,..., 22-n are gears, and 23-
1, 23-2, . . . , 23-n are screws for width adjustment. Also, 26-1, 26-2, ..., 2
6-n, 27-1, 27-2,..., 27-n are conveyor chains, 28-1, 28-2,..., 2
8-n, 29-1, 29-2, . . . , 29-n are transfer claws for holding and transporting the printed boards 52, 53.

10 is a manual insertion line whose width can be changed depending on the size of the printed board 51. At this time, the width detector 60 detects the width of the printed board 51 and provides it to the control circuit 100. Also, position detectors 70 are installed at the entrance and exit positions of each conveyor unit 2-1, 2-2, ..., 2-n to detect the passage of a printed board.
-1, 70-2, . . . , 70-(n+1) are provided. 80-1, 80-2,..., 80-n are servo mechanisms driven by the output of the control circuit,
Each screw 23-1, 23-2,..., 23-n
It is used to adjust the rotation. Furthermore 90-1,9
0-2, . . . , 90-n are width detectors for detecting the printed board support width of the conveyor unit.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, when the printed board 51 is set on the manual insertion line 10, the width detector 60 detects its width and provides the detected output to the control circuit 100. The presence of another printed board 52 on the first stage conveyor unit 2-1 is identified by the outputs of the position detectors 70-1 and 70-2, and each output is also sent to the control circuit 100. Given. When the printed board 52 is transferred from the first stage to the second stage, this is identified by the output of the position detector 70-2. Also, the first
The printed board support width information for each row is obtained by the width detector 90-1.
is input to the control circuit 100 by. In the control circuit 100, each detection output is processed by a signal processing circuit 101 including a microcomputer, and a predetermined control signal is extracted from a control output circuit. If there is no printed board in the first stage of the conveyor unit, the servo mechanism 80-1 is activated by the control signal, and the screw 23-1 is driven by the motor to adjust the width of the printed board 51 to be fed next. The printed board support width is set.
Similarly, each conveyor unit 2-2, 2-3,
. . , 2-n, the support width of the printed boards is variably adjusted according to the size of the printed boards that are successively transferred, thereby forming a smooth flow of the soldering process.

Effects of the Invention As can be understood from the description of the embodiments above, the present invention configures a conveyor line as a row consisting of a plurality of short conveyor units, and checks the new and old states of the support width of printed boards on each conveyor unit. It detects and automatically makes variable adjustments according to the size of newly transferred printed boards, thereby creating a fast transfer line. Therefore, according to the present invention, printed boards of different sizes can be sequentially fed at random, making it possible to form an extremely efficient production process. Moreover, this level of process can be effective in the soldering process of printed boards of different sizes, which occurs in high-mix, low-volume production.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a carrierless conveyor system for a solder bath according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional carrierless conveyor system. 51-53...Printed board, 2-1-2-n...
... conveyor unit, 60 ... first width detector,
90-1 to 90-n...second width detector, 70-
1 to 70-n... position detector, 100... control circuit, 80-1 to 80-n... servo mechanism, 23-
1-23-n... Screw.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 In a carrier-less conveyor system that transports printed boards with assembled components onto a soldering bath and automatically solders them, a plurality of conveyor units are arranged in series so that the printed boards can be transferred and transported. A first width detector is provided at the printed board supply port of the conveyor unit row to detect the width of the printed board, and a plurality of width detectors are installed at predetermined positions of each conveyor unit to detect the set printed board support width. a plurality of position detectors installed at predetermined positions corresponding to each of the conveyor units to detect passage of the printed board; and outputs of the first and second width detectors; The present invention is characterized by comprising a control circuit that generates a control signal in response to the output of the position detector, and a drive mechanism that variably adjusts the support width of the printed board of each of the conveyor units in response to the control signal. A carrier-less conveyor system for soldering baths.