JPH0767953B2 - Chain type container for transporting precision parts - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a variety of electronic devices such as IC chips and various odd-shaped parts (for example, connectors, switches, transmitters) or relatively small precision parts for assembling precision machines (hereinafter collectively referred to as "these"). "IC chip") and a chain type container for transporting precision parts suitable for individually retaining and transporting a large number of them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, most of the main circuit components have tended to be made into chips in order to improve the operational reliability and assembly efficiency of electronic equipment. Therefore, in order to supply IC chips to various intermediate processing lines, final assembly lines, and the like, a relatively large-sized transport container in which recesses for accommodating chips are arranged in a plurality of rows and columns is used. In such a large container, chips are individually transferred to the processing or assembly line by a robot hand or the like arranged in the vicinity of one side edge of the transfer line, but the other side edge of the transfer line is used. The robot hand has to reciprocate over a long distance when taking out the IC chip in a portion close to the container from the container. This increases the waiting time on the processing line side, which is not only a negative factor for efficiency improvement, but also the gripping position must be changed every time, so if there is a failure to grab, chip damage or processing line confusion may occur. There is. In order to avoid such an adverse effect, the position control of the robot hand must be performed with high precision, and the control cost also increases.

Therefore, in a part of the industry, the robot hand intermittently moves in the length direction the strip-shaped bodies respectively containing the IC chips into the plurality of individual recesses arranged in a row so that the robot hand can process the transfer line and the side. A method has been proposed in which a short fixed span between a line and the like is reciprocated. Generally, a synthetic resin is injection-molded to have a wall thickness sufficient to protect an IC chip. As shown in FIG. 5, the strip has a round hole (e) through which an ejecting tool is inserted. The recesses (f) are formed in one row, and the small holes (g) for the sprocket wheel are arranged along the side edges. Although this strip is used in a reeled state, it has become clear that the reeling method causes certain problems. That is, when being unwound by a sprocket mechanism or the like, the strip is stretched to "substantially flat", but some "winding" (C) as shown by the phantom line in FIG.
That is, it is unavoidable that there will be a residual, and the original "strictly horizontal" posture (D) as shown by the solid line cannot be restored. This causes a malfunction when the robot hand individually and accurately picks up an IC chip from the curled strip. As a countermeasure,
It is possible to make the band as thin as possible so that it does not curl, but in that case the band becomes fragile,
It cannot be expected to provide complete protection for the contained precision parts as it breaks during use or handling. Of course, damage during use makes it impossible to carry out an accurate pick-up work by the robot hand. Further, in the art, a transport container as described above (here, “tray”)
The problem with () is that it requires a large space for storing, accumulating and handling the trays, manpower is required to replace the trays, and it is not always easy to supply the trays in any desired connected state. In some cases, baking is necessary depending on the type of IC chip, and the tray for that purpose must be considerably expensive, and so on.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the present invention has been made in order to eliminate the above-mentioned various drawbacks in the conventional container for transporting precision parts of vertical and horizontal multiple rows type or vertical single row strip type type.
A chain type container for transporting precision parts, in which a single container of the same shape having a concave portion suitable for individually housing a C chip or the like is connected to form an infinite strip-shaped body such as a chain that is widely used in the machine industry. For the purpose of provision. More specifically, the single container having the recess for holding the IC chip in a non-swingable manner is connected to each other through the arms extending outward from the two opposite sides thereof so that they can be bent and extended mutually. It is an object of the present invention to provide a chain type container for transporting precision parts, which has a structure in which the reel winding operation itself is easier than in the past and there is no possibility that a winding curl will appear when pulled out from the reel. Further, the present invention can solve the above-mentioned various problems related to the "tray" all at once, and in particular, to provide a carrying container which can be baked in a state where an IC chip or the like is housed and can be reused for reuse of the tray thereafter. It is an object of the invention.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] To achieve this purpose,
A chain type container for conveying precision parts according to the present invention is a synthetic resin container having a concave portion for accommodating an object to be conveyed, and has a band-shaped body, and at least the band-shaped body is provided. Engagement portions that engage with and disengage from the transport mechanism are provided along one side edge at regular intervals over the entire length of the belt-shaped body, and two sides A and B of the container unit that intersect each other in the lengthwise direction of the belt-shaped body face each other. In (1), adjacent container units are connected so that their refraction angles can be changed, and at least two recesses that are sandwiched between the two sides A and B and that form a row along the side are formed in each container unit. Characterize.

When both the recess and the outer peripheral portion surrounding the recess are rectangular (square or rectangular),
One side A of two opposing sides A and B of a single container
It is desirable that the one side B of the other adjacent container alone keeps a close contact with each other regardless of whether they are bent or stretched. However, the number and arrangement of the recesses formed in each container alone, the depth of each recess, the shape and size of the recess in plan view, etc. are all ICs in the precision equipment assembly line.
It should be determined in accordance with the conditions or requirements regarding chip supply and the shape and size of the object to be conveyed, that is, the IC chip or the like. As an example, each container alone has about 15
Two recesses having a square of 3 mm and a depth of 3 mm are juxtaposed in the width direction of the strip.

The shape of the recess in plan view is not limited to a rectangular shape, but may be an oval shape or a complicated polygonal shape. In that case, too, for example, two arms are connected to each other on two parallel straight lines which are orthogonal to the two opposite sides of the container body provided with the recess in order to allow bending and stretching between the adjacent container bodies. A small projection is formed near the tip of the arm extending from one side, and a hole that fits the small projection is formed near the tip of the arm extending from the other side.

The small holes that engage with the feed projections of the transport mechanism, for example, the circular small holes, form only one row along one side edge of the band-shaped body, or one side along both side edges.
Two rows in total may be formed. In one example of the arrangement of the small holes, circular small holes are bored at regular intervals in the intermediate portion distant from the facing sides A and B, and the small holes are provided at the locations where the facing sides intersect the side edges. A cutout having a shape obtained by dividing the hole into two is provided. As a result, when both sides A and B are in close contact with each other, both notches become a notch having a width equal to the diameter of one small hole, and the pitch of the small holes is deviated at the joint between the adjacent containers forming the strip. There is no such thing. However, opposite sides A and B
There is no notch at the "starting" part, and the opposite side A
Alternatively, by setting the distance between B and the closest small hole to be 1/2 of the distance between two adjacent small holes, the pitch irregularity at the joint between the single containers can be eliminated. The frame-feeding small hole does not necessarily have to be a hole, and may be a notched portion that is recessed from the side edge portion, or may be formed as a protrusion that protrudes downward, upward, or outward from the side edge portion. It suffices if the engaging portion is adapted to engage with the feed projection of the transport mechanism.

At the center of the bottom of the recess, I
It is desirable to provide a vertical hole for passing an eject tool that projects the C-tip from the recess. If the vertical hole has a larger diameter than the small hole for feeding, the tip can be extruded with a sufficiently thick tool, and the hitting against the tip is softer than that with a thin tool, which is convenient.

Further, when there are "ear" -shaped outer protrusions on the outer periphery of the chip, a pair of "finger" -shaped protrusions for sandwiching and holding each of these protrusions should be provided upright from the bottom surface. Is desirable. If the bottom plate portion between the finger-like projections is punched out, this portion can be used similarly to the vertical hole for eject.

[0011]

Since the chain type container of the present invention has the above-mentioned structure, it is possible to manufacture a large number of containers of the same shape, for example, by injection molding, and then to make one container. An operation of connecting both sides by, for example, elastically fitting a small protrusion at the tip of the former arm into a hole of the latter arm while abutting the side A of the single side and the side B of another side. May be repeated for the required number of single containers.

The specific operation when using the container according to the present invention is no different from that of the conventional band-shaped container. However, since the chain-type link connection structure between the individual containers facilitates bending and extension between adjacent individual parts, not only the reel winding operation and the reel withdrawing operation are easy, but also the conventional winding operation. There is no risk of gusting. With the IC chip housed,
And, if necessary, the chain length can be adjusted to an arbitrary chain length, and the chain type container can be fed into the baking apparatus for the chips.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The chain type container for conveying precision parts according to the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is an injection molded product of polystyrene resin. This chain type container is an IC as an example of an object to be transported.
A large number of recesses (11) for individually accommodating chips (small integrated circuits formed on the substrate) are provided in a row to form a band-like body, and are formed on the frame feed protrusions (not shown) of the transfer mechanism. The small hole (14), which is the engaging part that engages, is
It is bored at regular intervals along 2) and (13).

However, as is apparent from FIG. 2, the chain type container of the present embodiment is characterized in that each of the two recesses (11) is in the center of the container unit (10) and the width of the band-shaped body. The points are that they are formed individually in a row in the direction. That is,
The entire area surrounded by the peripheral flange-like portion (15) having a width of 2 to 4 mm is recessed downward at two places in the figure to form recesses (11), (11). On the two opposite sides A and B of the single container (10), the wall (1
From 6) and (17), two arms (21), (21) or (2) are provided along two straight lines L and M that are parallel to each other and are orthogonal to the two sides.
3) and (23) are connected in series. As will be described later, these arms are provided as means for forming a connecting portion between the container units (10) and (10).

In the vicinity of the tip of the short arm (21) projecting outward from one side A, a small columnar small projection (22) having a round tip is formed in a direction perpendicular to the short arm (21) and in the opposite directions. It is formed integrally. Correspondingly, the small projection (22) should be elastically and relatively slidably fitted in the rotational direction near the tip of the arm (23) protruding outward from the other side B. A lateral hole (24) is formed. In the case of this example, the diameters of the small protrusions (22) and the holes (24) are both about 1.2 mm. The arms (21) and (23) are connected to each other through the small projections (22) and the holes (24) that are click-fitted in this manner so as to be capable of relative refraction and extension, thus forming the above-mentioned connecting portion.

The distance between the center line of the small projection (22) and the center line of the hole (24) arranged near one side edge (12) of the strip is the other side edge ( The small protrusion (22) closer to 13)
Equal to the distance between the center line and the hole (24) center line. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 1, between two adjacent container units (10),
You can bend and stretch in (10). The notch indicated by reference numeral (19) in FIG. 2 is a complementary shape of the adjacent simple substance (10) at the corner portion where the side A or side B and the edge (12) or (13) intersect as described above. A similar notch is abutted to form a notch with a width equal to the diameter of the stoma (14) and serves as one of the stoma. That is, since the notch is formed at the joint, the feed hole (corresponding to the small hole (14)) of the chain type container is also formed between the adjacent single containers.

The chain type container described above is used as shown in FIGS. In the case of this example, the IC chip (40), which is an example of an object to be conveyed, has a square shape, and a plurality of input / output pins (41) are projected from all four sides thereof. As shown by the chained arrow Y in FIG. 2, the chip (40) has the recess (11).
To be housed in. At that time, the bent tip of the pin (41) is
Although it is abutted against the inner surface of (16) and (17), the chip body (4
The outer peripheral edge of 2) is brought into contact with the inner surface of a low jetty (31) standing upright along the four sides from the bottom (30) of the recess. after that,
A protective film (33) is laid over the flange-shaped parts (15) on the four sides, which protects the contained objects from dust and the like while handling the chain-shaped chain-shaped container, and the recesses (11 This is to prevent accidental dropout from).
In this state, the chain type container accommodating a large number of chips is annularly wound around a reel (not shown) as indicated by a symbol R while being bent as shown in FIG. Alternatively, it is supplied to required places near the processing line. At this point, the band-shaped body that is bent between the individual containers is drawn out from the front end side in order as shown by arrow T so as to assume an extended posture as indicated by reference sign S included in the same plane.
At a predetermined position after extension, the tip is recessed (11) by an ejector tool inserted from a round hole (32) in the center of the bottom (30).
While being pushed out, it is transferred to a required processing station or the like by an appropriate robot hand or the like. That is, seal with the cover tape (protective film) as described above, and
Reel with the device such as C chip protected,
In a so-called "mounting machine" for mounting the device on a circuit board, the devices are ejected one by one by ejector pins.

In the second embodiment shown in FIG. 4, two rows in the width direction of the band-shaped body, four recesses (11), (11) in each row are formed in each container unit (10). . Therefore, in this case as well, since the width of the container alone (which corresponds to the width of the strip) is made larger than the length to form a plurality of recesses, refraction between the container alone is easy. In addition, it is possible to keep the innermost diameter small when wound in an annular shape.

In both the first and second embodiments,
The thickness of the flange part (15) is about 0.4 mm, but the bottom (3
The thickness of (0) and walls (16) and (17) is set to about 0.7 mm so as not to be deformed during handling, and the protection effect against the contained object is ensured. This makes it possible, if necessary, to repeatedly use a container of this type, which has conventionally been normally disposable. As described above, in the recycling use of the chain type container of the present invention, it is of course possible to arbitrarily increase or decrease the number of single bodies constituting the band-shaped chain.

In both of the embodiments, the upper ends of the four walls (16) and (17) defining the recessed portion (11), that is, the transition region to the flange-shaped portion (15) is tapered outward. As described in 18), this is to facilitate the operation of putting in and out the contained object. That is, the taper shape is set so that it is easy to insert in the device taping process.

Although the embodiments considered to be typical of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not necessarily limited to the structures of these embodiments, and has the above-mentioned constitutional requirements and achieves the above-mentioned object. However, as long as it has the following effects, it can be appropriately modified and implemented. For example, the number of recesses formed in each single unit is 1 row x 3 rows, or 2 rows.
The number of columns × 3, etc. can be arbitrarily changed.

[0022]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a large number of containers can be flexed and extended freely after being connected to each other, but there is no fear of accidental disassembly. A container in which a chain-shaped strip is configured by itself is provided, and since each single body has a sufficient wall thickness, each strip-shaped body can be swirled on a reel or the like or can be drawn flat. There is no undesired deformation in the single body, and there is no possibility that the conventional bending tendency remains in the stretched posture. Therefore, the container according to the present invention is extremely suitable as a carrying container for IC chips and the like, which requires careful handling and requires precise positioning at the carrying destination. In short, it is possible to connect a large number of rigid single containers each having a pocket so that they can be wound on a reel, and to extend them without curling, while supplying the accommodated device to a mounting machine that requires precision. In particular,
If the IC chip is smaller than the size of the container alone, a plurality of chips can be accommodated in each container, so that the chip supply efficiency to the precision equipment assembly line is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a reduced scale front view showing a use state of a chain type container according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing a single container as one frame of the container together with an object to be contained.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional band-shaped container.

[Explanation of symbols]

(10) Container unit (11) Recess (12) One side edge (13) Other side edge (14) Small hole (15) Inner groove-like recess (21) A pair of protruding from one side A facing each other. Arm (22) Small protrusion (23) Another pair of arms protruding from the opposite side B (24) Hole (40) IC chip (L) as an example of an object to be housed Side near one side edge (12) One straight line that intersects A and B (M) Another straight line that is close to the other side edge (13) and that intersects sides A and B and is parallel to straight line L

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claims: 1. A synthetic resin container unit (10), (10) having recesses (11), (11) for accommodating an object to be conveyed is arranged in a row to present a band-shaped body. An engaging portion that engages and disengages with the transport mechanism along at least one side edge (12) or (13) of the band-shaped body.
(14) are provided at regular intervals over the entire length of the strip,
Adjacent container units are connected to each other at two opposite sides A and B of the container unit (10) intersecting in the lengthwise direction of the strip so that the refraction angle can be changed, and the container units are sandwiched between the two sides A and B. At least two recesses (11) in rows along the edge,
A chain type container for conveying precision parts, characterized in that (11) is formed in each container unit (10).