JPH0253953B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a printed circuit board storage rack used for holding a large number of printed circuit boards at regular intervals during storage and transportation of the printed circuit boards. , A method and apparatus for adjusting a board storage section in a printed circuit board storage rack, which can automatically adjust the size of the printed circuit board storage section in the printed circuit board storage rack according to the size of the printed circuit board to be stored and held. It is related to.

[Conventional technology]

Printed circuit boards, which are one of the electronic components, are stored and transported using dedicated racks for printed circuit boards.

As shown in Fig. 3, this dedicated printed circuit board rack can be mounted according to the size of the printed circuit board to be stored or transported. It is configured to be able to slide freely relative to the plate material (fixed plate).

That is, the rack 100 for storing printed circuit boards has a pair of rectangular side plates 101 and 10.
2 are arranged at required intervals, and their four corners are connected with metal rods 103, 104, 105, 106 to form a frame member, and on one side of this frame member, a number of A plate member provided with parallel protrusions 107 in multiple stages is attached to form a fixing plate 108, and a fixing plate 10 is attached to the other side opposite to the fixing plate 108.
8, a large number of parallel protrusions 109 are provided in multiple stages on the inside, and a plate member having a pair of threaded rods arranged in parallel and protruding from the upper and lower end faces of the plate member is disposed, and the screws of this plate member are Grooves 111, 112 and 113, 114 in which rods are provided in parallel on one side of the upper and lower side plates 101 and 102, respectively.
The fixing bolts 115 and 116 (the lower fixing bolt is not shown) are screwed into the ends of the holes, respectively, and by tightening or loosening these fixing bolts, A movable plate 110 is movably attached to the movable plate 110, and printed circuit boards are held at regular intervals between opposing protrusions of the movable plate 110 and the fixed plate 108 without coming into contact with each other.

Therefore, this movable plate 110 is similar to the fixed plate 1.
08, and the distance therebetween can be freely adjusted by operating a fixing bolt. In addition, codes 119 and 120
are rack handles formed by long grooves in the side plates 101 and 102, respectively.

The rack 100 having such a configuration has protrusions 107, 1 facing the printed circuit board from one opening surface.
Easy 100 by inserting along 09
The printed circuit boards 100 are stacked and held in multiple stages without contacting each other within the rack 100, and a bar is placed through the other opening surface to prevent the printed circuit boards from coming off the rack 100. can be transported and stored safely without any damage.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Due to the recent remarkable development of electronic devices, the demand for printed wiring boards as electronic components is increasing more and more, and along with this, printed circuit boards of various sizes are also required. The advantage is that the size of the storage section can be freely changed according to the size of the printed circuit board.

However, in such conventional racks, when changing the size of the storage section by changing the size of the printed circuit board, the movement of the movable plate 110 is limited to one end by the fixing bolts fixing the movable plate 110 to the side plates 101 and 102. Loosen the movable plate 11 by hand, and then adjust the movable plate 11 to match the desired size of the printed circuit board.
0, and after determining the position of the movable plate 110, the bolts are manually tightened again.

As a result, the work is extremely cumbersome, requires a lot of time and labor, and has poor work efficiency, making it a bottleneck for efforts to save labor.

[Means for solving problems]

This invention was developed as a result of intensive research in view of the current situation.
To provide a method and device for adjusting a board storage part in a printed circuit board storage rack, which can automatically change the size of the storage part of the rack according to the size of the printed circuit board.

The first aspect of the present invention is that protrusions are carved in multiple stages on the upper and lower surfaces of the fixed plate and the movable plate facing the fixed plate, and a large number of printed circuit boards are held at regular intervals between the protrusions. In the printed circuit board storage rack having a structure of This is a method for adjusting a circuit board storage section in a printed circuit board storage rack.

(A) Moving the rack with the fixed plate side facing the direction of movement, stopping movement of the rack by contacting the fixed plate with a clamp stopper provided in the middle of the moving direction, and fixing the rack. The step of checking the position of the plate with a fixing gauge and clamping the rack at that position using the fixing gauge and the clamp stopper.

(B) Bring a pressing stopper into contact with the inside of the movable plate of the clamped rack, bring the tip of the driver close to the fixing bolt of the movable plate in this state, then position a fixed stopper on the outside of the movable plate, and press the stopper against the said pressing stopper. The process of clamping the movable plate by.

(C) Loosen the fixing bolt of the movable plate screwed to the rack by the driver, then move the movable plate together with the driver in the clamped state to the maximum permissible width of the movable plate in the rack, and then pull it back to remove the movable plate. The process of stopping the machine at a predetermined position set by a moving gauge.

(D) A step of tightening the fixing bolt of the movable plate with the driver, and then approaching the driver and releasing the clamp between the fixed plate and the movable plate.

Next, in the second invention, protrusions are carved in multiple stages up and down on the facing surfaces of the fixed plate and the movable plate facing thereto, and a large number of printed circuit boards are held at regular intervals between the protrusions. In order to adjust the distance between the fixed plate and the movable plate in a printed circuit board storage rack having the structure, the conveyor mechanism moves the fixed plate of the rack in advance of the movable plate.

) A clamp stopper for stopping the rack by contacting the outer surface of the fixing plate of the rack on the conveyor, a clamp stopper protruding inside the fixing plate to probe and confirm the position of the fixing plate after the rack has stopped by the clamp stopper; A fixing plate clamping mechanism comprising a fixing gauge that clamps the fixing plate in cooperation with the clamp stopper.

) A pressing stopper that protrudes inside the movable plate at the stop position of the rack and probes the position of the movable plate and contacts it; and a fixing that protrudes outside the movable plate and clamps the movable plate in cooperation with the pressing stopper. A movable plate clamp movement mechanism that temporarily clamps a movable plate with each stopper and then moves the movable plate toward and away from a fixed plate.

) A driver mechanism that moves along with the movement of the movable plate clamp moving mechanism and is configured to loosen and tighten the fixing bolt of the movable plate in a clamped state at a predetermined time using an equipped driver.

) Exploring the position of the movable plate that is clamped and moved by the movable plate clamp movement mechanism,
A moving gauge mechanism that stays in the set position.

1. An adjustment device for a board storage section in a printed board storage rack, characterized by comprising:

[Effect]

The method of the present invention is specifically carried out using the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, and the operating sequence of this apparatus will be explained in detail below.

First, the rack 100 is placed on the belt conveyor 2 of the conveyor mechanism so that its fixed plate 108 is located on the advancing direction side.

At this time, in order to keep the direction of the rack 100 on the belt conveyor 2 constant as described above,
The direction of the rack 100 is detected by a sensor, and if necessary, the rack 100 is rotated so that the fixed plate 108 is always in a fixed direction at any time, and in particular, the fixed plate 108 is placed ahead of the movable plate 110 with respect to the traveling direction of the conveyor belt 2. In order to maintain the belt conveyor 2 in the same direction, it is desirable to arrange a conveyor (not shown) with a rotation mechanism with a built-in sensor just in front of the belt conveyor 2.

The belt conveyor 2 is equipped with a conveyor (not shown) equipped with a rotation mechanism with a built-in sensor for taking over the rack 100 in a fixed orientation after it has been adjusted to a predetermined size using the adjustment method described below.
It is preferable to place it after the direction of travel.

The rack 100 placed on the belt conveyor 2 with the fixed plate 108 facing the direction of movement moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 as the belt conveyor 2 moves by the operation of the drive motor 3. .

On the traveling direction of this belt conveyor 2, there is a first
As shown in the figure, a pair of left and right crank stoppers 4a
and a pair of left and right fixing gauges 5a are located above, and a fixing clamp mechanism consisting of a pair of left and right crank stops 4b and a pair of left and right fixing gauges 5b is located at a lower position facing the crank stopper 4a. It is arranged.

Therefore, when the rack 110 placed on the belt conveyor 2 comes into contact with the crank stoppers 4a and 4b disposed at the front in the traveling direction due to the movement of the belt conveyor 2, At the same time as the drive motor 3 interlocked with the crank stoppers 4a, 4b stops, the belt conveyor 2 stops moving, and the rack 100 stops at that position.

When the rack 100 stops moving, as shown in FIG. (None of the members appear on the drawing.) is the fixed plate 108.
At the same time, each of the fixing gauges 5b, 5b comes into contact with the inner surface of the fixing plate 108, and at the same time as this contact, the clamp stoppers 4a, 4b move the fixing plate 108 toward the outer surface. The fixing plate 108 is clamped by pressing the fixing plate 108.

When the process of fixing the fixed plate 108 of the rack 100 by the fixed clamp mechanism is completed in this way, the pressing stoppers 7a and 7b constituting the movable plate clamp moving mechanism protrude inside the movable plate 110, and the movable plate When the position of 110 is searched and comes into contact with the movable plate 110, the pressing stopper 7 is moved at that position.
a and 7b are temporarily fixed. (See FIG. 2a) At the same time, the upper and lower air cylinders 9a, 9b and the upper and lower driver members 10a, 10b, which constitute the movable driver mechanism, move to the temporarily fixed position of the movable plate 110. (See FIG. 2a) At approximately the same time as the operation of this movable driver mechanism is completed, the fixed stoppers 8a and 8b constituting the movable plate clamp mechanism protrude from the outside of the movable plate 110 and come into contact with the outer surface of the movable plate 110. The movable plate 110 is firmly clamped in cooperation with the pressing stoppers 7a and 7b. (See Figure 2a) Movable plate 110 by the movable plate clamp mechanism
When the clamping is completed, the driver members 10a and 10b of the movable driver mechanism are secured to the rack 100.
Movable plates 11 in the upper and lower side plates 101, 102 of
0 (not shown in Figures 1 and 2, 115 and 11 of the rack in Figure 3)
6), and loosen these fixing bolts 115 and 116, respectively. (Figure 2a
(See) At this point, a sensor is activated to determine the width of the newly set printed circuit board.

A fixing bolt 11 fixing the movable plate 110 to the side plates 101 and 102 by the moving driver mechanism
5, 116 is completed and the movable plate 110 becomes free with respect to the rack 100, the pressing stoppers 7a, 7b and fixed stoppers 8a, 8b of the movable plate clamping mechanism clamp the movable plate 110.ゝ, together with the movable driver mechanism, move to the right as shown by the arrow in FIG. 2a;
As shown in FIG. 2b, the movable plate 110 is moved to the maximum allowable movement width of the movable plate 110.

On the other hand, when the movement of the movable plate 110 to the maximum movement width is completed by the operation of the movable plate clamp mechanism, the movable gauge mechanism interlocks with the sensor for determining the width of the newly set printed circuit board. is operated, and the movable gauges 14a and 14b are operated and protruded to a predetermined position within the rack 100 to a position of the rack width preset by the feed screws 15a and 15b constituting the movable gauge mechanism.

Therefore, when the movable plate 110 that has been moved to the maximum movement width by the movable plate clamp mechanism completes its movement to the maximum movement position, it immediately reverses itself and starts moving in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2b. ,
When the movable plate 110 comes into contact with the movable gauges 14a, 14b, the movable plate clamp mechanism stops operating. (See FIG. 2c) At this time, as the movable plate clamp mechanism reverses, the movable driver mechanism simultaneously moves in reverse and stops at the stop position of the movable plate 110, and the driver member 10a of the movable driver mechanism, 10
b acts as a sensor to accurately detect the position of the setscrews, and at the same time the upper driver member 10a descends above the setscrews, and the lower driver member 10b rises below the setscrews to drive these setscrews. Tighten to a certain tightening torque.

By the operation of this driver mechanism, the side plate 10
1, 102, the driver members 10a, 10b are separated from the rack, and the fixed plate 108 and the movable plate 11
The clamps by the fixed plate clamp mechanism and the movable plate clamp mechanism that fixed 0 are released, and at the same time, the belt conveyor 2 is started again.
Rack 100 with adjusted spacing (see Figure 2d)
advances to the left and is taken over, completing the interval adjustment.

In addition, in the adjustment device according to the present invention, the detection and confirmation of the positions of each of the stoppers, each of the gauges, and the driver are all performed by photoelectric sensors (not shown) attached to each of them. By incorporating these into the mechanisms of each of the above-mentioned parts and interlocking them, the apparatus itself is automated.

Here, pressing stoppers 7a, 7b and fixed stoppers 8a, 8b constituting the movable plate clamp mechanism
With the movable plate 110 still clamped,
A method in which the movable plate 110 of the rack 100 moves to the right along with the movable driver mechanism to the right as shown in FIG. The reasons for adopting this method are as follows.

That is, since printed circuit boards of different sizes are used, when adjusting the movable plate 110 according to the size of the printed circuit board to be used, the movable plate 110 of the rack 100 is fixed at a narrower interval than the originally set position. The distance at which the movable plate 110 approaches or moves away from the fixed plate 108 varies widely, such as when adjusting by moving the movable plate 110 closer to the plate 108, or when adjusting by increasing the distance and moving away from the plate 108. It is.

Therefore, in the method and device for adjusting the circuit board storage section in the rack for storing printed circuit boards according to the present invention, this interval adjustment is basically performed between the fixing plate 10
8 and the movable plate 110, moving gauges 14a and 14b interlocked with sensors are projected to adjust the distance.

Assuming the two cases of approach and separation in the adjustment of the movable plate 110, as a reference operation, the movable plate 110 must be moved once to the movable plate 1.
10, and then move the moving gauges 14a, 14b to the set positions.
4b can be reliably positioned between the fixed plate 108 and the movable plate 110, it can immediately respond to any of the cases of contact and separation, and the adjustment operation is simplified. Moreover, the complexity of the device is eliminated and reliable adjustment can be obtained.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the adjustment device for a board storage section in a printed circuit board storage rack according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an example of an adjustment device for a board storage section in a printed circuit board storage rack of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view for explaining the structure and operation of the adjustment device.

The movable plate adjustment device 1 for a rack includes a conveyor mechanism for placing the rack 100 shown in FIG.
a fixed plate clamp mechanism for clamping the fixed plate 108 of the rack 100 to fix the rack 100 in a predetermined position; and a fixed plate clamping mechanism for clamping the movable plate 110 of the rack 100 and reciprocating the movable plate 110 by a predetermined distance. A movable plate clamp mechanism, a movable driver mechanism equipped with a driver for loosening the stop bolt of the movable plate 110 fixed to the rack 100 to make it into a movable state, and tightening the stop bolt to make it from a movable state to a fixed state; The movable plate 110 is formed by a movable gauge mechanism for retaining and fixing the movable plate 110 at a set position.

The conveyor mechanism is such that a belt conveyor 2 is driven by a drive motor 3, and a rack 100 placed on the belt conveyor 2 is moved to a position where a fixed plate clamp mechanism is provided (in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1). be.

At this time, the rack 100 has protrusions 107 formed opposite to each other on the fixed plate 108 and the movable plate 110,
109 is horizontal, and fixing plate 108
is placed on the belt conveyor 2 with the movable plate 110 behind.

The fixed plate clamp mechanism includes a pair of left and right clamp stoppers 4a that are arranged at the left end of the adjustment device and are moved up and down by one air cylinder 6a at the top and perform predetermined operations, and one air cylinder at the bottom. 6
It is composed of a pair of left and right clamp stoppers 4b that move up and down by the arrows b and perform predetermined operations, and fixing gauges 5a and 5b arranged near each of these clamp stoppers 4a and 4b (on the right side in FIG. 1). has been done.

The clamp stopper 4a is lowered from the upper side of the rack 100, and the clamp stopper 4b is similarly raised from the lower side and comes into contact with the upper and lower ends of the rack 100 to stop the movement of the rack 100. 5b to fix the fixing plate 108 at a reference position.

Furthermore, the fixing gauges 5a and 5b protrude from the upper and lower positions of both sides of the transported rack 100 to the inner surface of the fixing plate 108 by an air cylinder.
The clamp plate 108 is then retracted into the original predetermined position, and the position of the fixing plate 108 is detected by protrusion, and the fixing plate 108 is clamped at this position in cooperation with the clamp stoppers 4a and 4b. This is for fixing the rack 100.

The inspection of the fixing plate 108 is performed by a photoelectric sensor (not shown), and the fixing gauges 5a and 5b are configured to interlock with this photoelectric sensor.

The movable plate clamp moving mechanism has a mechanism similar to that of the fixing gauges 5a and 5b.
A pair of left and right pressing stoppers 7a, which are configured to protrude inward and be retracted into the original position, are provided above, and a pair of left and right pressing stops 7b are provided below, and in the same way, the movable plate 110 is It is constructed by disposing a pair of left and right fixed stoppers 8a upward and a pair of left and right fixed stoppers 8b downward, respectively, which are configured to protrude outward and be retracted into the original position. Both are movable back and forth (left and right in the drawing).

The operation of these pressing stoppers 7a, 7b and fixed stoppers 8a, 8b with respect to the movable plate 110 is such that the pressing stoppers 7a, 7b first protrude inside the movable plate 110 and come into contact with the movable plate 110, and then the fixed stoppers move in the same manner. The movable plate 110 is clamped by both of the movable plate 110,
In this clamped state, the movable plate 110 is moved once to the maximum allowable width in the right direction in the figure, and then reversed and stopped at the set positions of the moving gauges 14a and 14b, which will be described later.

The detection function of each stopper with respect to the movable plate 110 during these operations is also performed by the same photoelectric sensor (not shown) as described above, and its function is achieved by interlocking this with each stopper. It is something.

The movable driver mechanism has the function of loosening and tightening bolts 115 and 116 of the movable plate 110 screwed to the upper and lower side plates 101 and 102 of the rack 100, and has a pair of left and right parts that are moved up and down by the air cylinder 9a. It is composed of an upper driver member 10a, and a pair of left and right lower driver members 10b which are similarly moved up and down by an air cylinder 9b, and are moved in accordance with the movement of the movable plate clamp moving mechanism.

The operation of the movable plate clamp moving mechanism and the moving driver mechanism is performed by a drive motor 11 and a belt 1.
6a, 16b, 16c to the respective locations, and the detection of the locking bolts at the tips of the driver members 10a, 10b is also performed using photoelectric sensors and incorporating them into the movable driver mechanism.

The moving gauge mechanism is disposed on both sides of the rack at the top of the adjustment device in the direction of movement, and the moving gauge 14a is connected to a pair of feed screws 15a to which rotation is transmitted via the stepping motor 13 and the timing belt 12, and the adjustment device is also connected to the moving gauge 14a. The stepping motor 1 is disposed on both sides of the rack in the lower part of the device in the direction of movement.
A pair of feed screws 15b to which rotation is transmitted by 3.
A movable gauge 14b is provided at the feed screw 1.
5a and 15b, it is movable to the left and right in FIG.

Adjustment device 1 equipped with the following mechanism
The adjustment method and operation of the movable plate 110 are as described in the previous section.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The method for adjusting the board storage section of the printed circuit board storage rack of the present invention is to place the rack to be adjusted on a conveyor, clamp the fixed plate of the rack at a predetermined position, and clamp the movable plate opposite to the fixed plate. At the same time, after loosening the fixing bolt of the movable plate with a screwdriver, move the movable plate once to the maximum permissible width of movable plate movement, then pull it back, and move this to the predetermined interval of the movable plate set based on the fixed plate. Then, the bolts are tightened with a screwdriver, and the racks, whose spacing has been adjusted in this way, are carried out on a conveyor.

Therefore, when changing the size of the storage section depending on the size of the printed circuit board in a rack formed to accommodate printed circuit boards of different sizes, the method of the present invention can automatically and efficiently perform the adjustment work. This is something that can be carried out.

On the other hand, the device for adjusting the board storage section of the rack for storing printed circuit boards of the present invention includes a conveyor mechanism for placing and moving the rack to be adjusted, a fixing plate clamp mechanism for clamping and fixing the fixing plate of the rack, and a rack for adjusting the rack. A movable plate clamp movement mechanism that clamps a movable plate and makes a predetermined reciprocating movement; and a movable plate clamp movement mechanism that clamps a movable plate and moves it back and forth in a predetermined manner; and a movable plate that is easily fixed to a movable plate by loosening a stop bolt to make it movable, and then tightening the stop bolt to change it from a movable state to a fixed state. The device is composed of a movable driver mechanism equipped with a driver, and a movable gauge mechanism for holding and fixing a moving movable plate at a set position.

Therefore, there is no need to manually measure and change the distance between the fixed plate and the movable plate for each rack, which greatly saves adjustment work time. Combined with reliability, this can greatly improve work efficiency.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing an example of an adjustment device for a board storage section in a printed circuit board storage rack of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the structure and process of the device for adjusting the movable plate in the rack. In the plan view, a shows the clamped state of the fixed plate and the movable plate, b shows the state when the movable plate is moving, c shows the state when the movable plate stops moving, and d) shows the state of the rack with the interval adjusted. show. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a rack applied to the apparatus of the present invention. 1... Adjustment device, 2... Belt conveyor, 4
a, 4b... Stopper, 5a, 5b... Fixing gauge, 7a, 7b... Pressing stopper, 8a, 8b
...Fixed stopper, 9a, 9b...Air cylinder, 10a, 10b...Driver member, 14a,
14b...Moving gauge, 15a, 15b...Feed screw, 100...Rack, 101, 102...Side plate, 107, 109...Protrusion, 108...Fixed plate, 110...Movable plate, 115, 116... ...stopping bolt.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A structure in which protrusions are carved in multiple stages above and below on the facing surfaces of a stationary plate and a movable plate facing the fixed plate, and a large number of printed circuit boards are held at regular intervals between the protrusions. In a printed circuit board storage rack having
The board storage section in the printed circuit board storage rack is characterized in that the interval adjustment of the board storage section composed of the fixed plate and the movable plate is performed sequentially according to the following steps (A) to (D). Adjustment method. (A) Moving the rack with the fixed plate side facing the direction of movement, stopping movement of the rack by contacting the fixed plate with a clamp stopper provided in the middle of the moving direction, and fixing the rack. The step of checking the position of the plate with a fixing gauge and clamping the rack at that position using the fixing gauge and the clamp stopper. (B) Bring a pressing stopper into contact with the inside of the movable plate of the clamped rack, bring the tip of the driver close to the fixing bolt of the movable plate in this state, then position a fixed stopper on the outside of the movable plate, and press the stopper against the said pressing stopper. The process of clamping the movable plate by. (C) Loosen the fixing bolt of the movable plate screwed to the rack by the driver, then move the movable plate together with the driver in the clamped state to the maximum permissible width of the movable plate in the rack, and then pull it back to remove the movable plate. The process of stopping the machine at a predetermined position set by a moving gauge. (D) A step of tightening the fixing bolt of the movable plate with the driver, and then approaching the driver and releasing the clamp between the fixed plate and the movable plate. 2. A printed circuit board storage device having a structure in which protrusions are carved in multiple stages above and below on the facing surfaces of a fixed plate and a movable plate facing it, and a large number of printed circuit boards are held at regular intervals between the protrusions. In Rack,
In order to adjust the distance between the fixed plate and the movable plate,
An adjustment device for a circuit board storage section in a printed circuit board storage rack, characterized by comprising the following mechanisms. ) A conveyor mechanism that moves the fixed plate of the rack ahead of the movable plate. ) A clamp stopper for stopping the rack by contacting the outer surface of the fixing plate of the rack on the conveyor, a clamp stopper protruding inside the fixing plate to probe and confirm the position of the fixing plate after the rack has stopped by the clamp stopper; A fixing plate clamping mechanism comprising a fixing gauge that clamps the fixing plate in cooperation with the clamp stopper. ) A pressing stopper that protrudes inside the movable plate at the stop position of the rack and probes the position of the movable plate and contacts it; and a fixing that protrudes outside the movable plate and clamps the movable plate in cooperation with the pressing stopper. A movable plate clamp movement mechanism that temporarily clamps a movable plate with each stopper and then moves the movable plate toward and away from a fixed plate. ) A driver mechanism that moves along with the movement of the movable plate clamp moving mechanism and is configured to loosen and tighten the fixing bolt of the movable plate in a clamped state at a predetermined time using an equipped driver. ) Exploring the position of the movable plate that is clamped and moved by the movable plate clamp movement mechanism,
A moving gauge mechanism that stays in the set position.