JPH0824214B2 - Automatic soldering device, its teaching device and teaching method, soldering inspection device and inspection method, and soldering automatic repair device and repair method - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to an automatic soldering device that automatically performs soldering for mounting electronic components on printed wiring boards and for other electrical connections, a device and method for instructing the automatic soldering device on soldering condition information required for soldering, a soldering inspection device and method that has the function of judging the quality of soldered points and generating soldering correction condition information required to correct defective points in the event of defective soldering, and an automatic soldering correction device and method that automatically corrects defective solder points.

BACKGROUND ART There are soldering devices that use the flow soldering method, in which a board with electronic components already mounted on it is immersed in a solder bath to solder it, and soldering devices that use the reflow soldering method, in which electronic components are placed on solder cream that has been applied to the component mounting position on the surface of the board and then heated and welded.

However, these conventional soldering devices can only be used when the soldering conditions are the same for all components, and cannot be used when mounting components with significantly different heat capacities or components with very small lead pitches on a board, requiring each component to be soldered individually by hand or by robot.

On the other hand, with the development of electronics manufacturing technology,
The types of electronic components used have become more diverse,
With the increase in non-standard and custom-made parts, the number of soldering points that cannot be applied to simultaneous soldering using the soldering equipment described above is increasing, and boards are emerging in which all parts must be soldered under individual soldering conditions.

There is a demand for practical application of automatic soldering equipment that can automatically solder components on a circuit board under different soldering conditions. Before soldering, such automatic soldering equipment must be instructed on the type of component to be soldered, at which position on the board, and under what soldering conditions for each type of board. This teaching process is called "teaching," and the teaching data includes the following:
It includes information on the component mounting positions on the board, the types of components to be mounted, and the soldering conditions required for automatic soldering.

However, manually inputting the soldering conditions for each type of board and each type of component requires a great deal of time and effort, and there is also the problem that the automatic soldering device cannot be operated during the teaching work.

For printed circuit boards on which many components are mounted by soldering, it is necessary to inspect the soldering to ensure that it was performed properly after the soldering process. For this purpose, automatic inspection equipment that uses image processing technology to automatically inspect the quality of the soldered joints of each component on printed circuit boards on which many components are mounted is becoming practical. This automatic inspection equipment detects the location and details of soldering defects on the printed circuit board and prints out the detection results on a specified recording paper.

30 shows a specific example of a recording sheet 300 output from an automatic inspection device, in which reference numeral 301 indicates the outline of a printed wiring board, and reference numeral 302 indicates the outline of a mounted component. Mounted components that have no soldering defects are shown with the inside of the outline 302 outlined in white, and mounted components that have soldering defects are shown with the inside of the outline 302 outlined in black. In addition, the details of the soldering defect, such as an excess or shortage of solder, are specifically indicated in appropriate locations on this recording sheet 300 for each soldering defect.

This recording paper 300 is sent to the soldering defect correction line together with the corresponding printed wiring board.
While checking the zero, you will need to use a soldering iron to manually correct any defective soldering.

However, manually correcting defective soldering places a heavy burden on workers. Even if soldering inspection is automated using an automatic inspection device, the manual labor required to correct defective soldering places limits the effectiveness of improving the overall efficiency of component mounting work and streamlining the work.

To solve this problem, in recent years, development has been underway on automatic soldering defect repair devices that can automatically repair soldering defects.

In such an automatic soldering defect repair device, prior to repair work, information necessary for repairing the soldering defect, i.e., position information indicating the soldering defect,
It is necessary to teach the automatic soldering defect repair device information about the repair conditions required to repair defective soldering points. This teaching process is generally called "teaching." Repair conditions generally differ for each component. Information about repair conditions includes the approach angle of the soldering iron to the soldering point, the amount of solder supplied, and the heating time.

However, inputting the above-mentioned repair condition information for all printed wiring boards and all components that are the subject of soldering repair requires a great deal of time and effort, and there is also the problem that the automatic soldering defect repair device cannot be operated during the teaching work.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a teaching device and method that can efficiently teach soldering condition information to an automatic soldering device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a soldering inspection device and method that can efficiently provide repair condition information required to repair soldering defects to an automatic soldering defect repair device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an automatic soldering repair device and method that can efficiently input repair condition information required to repair defective soldering locations.

A teaching device for an automatic soldering apparatus according to the present invention, defined from a first viewpoint, comprises first storage means in which soldering condition information is stored in advance for each type of component, second storage means in which identification codes of components to be mounted on a board are stored in advance for each board, third storage means in which a correspondence relationship between the identification codes of components and the component types to which the components belong is stored in advance, input means for inputting the identification code of a board, and means for reading out from the second storage means, for a board having an identification code input by the input means, all components to be mounted on that board, reading out soldering condition information suitable for the read-out components from the first storage means by referring to the correspondence relationship stored in the third storage means, and creating a soldering condition teaching data table showing the relationship between the board, the components to be mounted on that board, and soldering condition information suitable for those components.

The automatic soldering apparatus according to the present invention, defined from a second viewpoint, comprises: a first storage means for storing soldering condition information in advance in association with components; a second storage means for storing information about components to be mounted on a board in advance for each board; an input means for inputting an identification code of the board;
and means for reading from the second storage means all components to be mounted on a board having an identification code input by the input means, reading from the first storage means soldering condition information suitable for the read components, and creating a soldering condition teaching data table showing the relationship between the board, the components to be mounted on the board, and the soldering condition information suitable for those components.

A teaching method for an automatic soldering device according to the present invention, defined from a third viewpoint, comprises storing soldering condition information for each type of component in advance in a first storage means, storing identification codes of components to be mounted on a board in advance in a second storage means for each board, inputting the identification code of the board,
For the board with the input identification code, the components to be mounted on that board are read from the second storage means, the soldering condition information for the type to which the read components belong is read from the first storage means, and the read components and the read soldering condition information are associated and stored in the teaching data table.

In one embodiment of this teaching method, the parts read from the second storage means are displayed on a display device, and the first
The component types stored in the storage means are displayed on the display device, and the type to which the displayed component belongs is input from the input device from among the displayed component types, and soldering condition information corresponding to the input component type is read out from the first storage means and made to correspond to the displayed component.

In another embodiment of this teaching method, the correspondence between the identification code of a component and the component type to which that component belongs is stored in advance in a third storage means, the component type to which a component read from the second storage means belongs is determined by referring to the correspondence in the third storage means, and soldering condition information corresponding to the determined component type is read from the first storage means and associated with the component read out.

In the automatic soldering apparatus, its teaching device and teaching method according to the present invention, the soldering condition information required for automatic soldering is stored in advance in the first storage means for each component or for each type of component. When teaching the soldering condition information, the soldering condition information corresponding to each component on the board is selected and read from the first storage means,
Since the automatic soldering device is taught, the labor and time required for teaching are greatly reduced.

Defined from the fourth viewpoint, the soldering inspection device according to the present invention comprises inspection means for judging the quality and position of the soldering of components mounted on a board, first storage means for storing in advance the components mounted on the board, second storage means for storing in advance, for each type of component, correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points, and means for, when defective soldering of a component is detected by the inspection means, reading out from the second storage means the correction condition information corresponding to the type of component to which the component belongs, and creating correction data by associating the read correction condition information with position information indicating the point judged to be defective soldering.

The soldering inspection method according to the present invention stores components mounted on a board in advance in a first storage means, stores correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points in a second storage means for each type of component, judges whether the soldering of the components mounted on the board is good or not and its position, and when defective soldering of a component is detected, reads out the correction condition information corresponding to the type of component to which that component belongs from the second storage means, and creates correction data by matching the position information indicating the point determined to be defective soldering with the read correction condition information.

In one embodiment of the soldering inspection device and method defined from the fourth viewpoint, when a soldering defect of a component is detected by the inspection means, the detected component is displayed on the display means. The type of the displayed component is input from the input means. Then, correction condition information corresponding to the type input from the input means is read from the second storage means and associated with the detected component.

In another embodiment, the correspondence between components and the types to which the components belong is stored in advance in a third storage means, and correction condition information corresponding to a component in which a soldering defect has been detected is made to correspond to the detected component by referring to the correspondence stored in the third storage means.

The correction data thus created is stored in a memory means or transmitted to an automatic soldering correction device.

Furthermore, if necessary, an automatic soldering repair device is provided to repair defective soldering locations based on the repair data created.

From the fifth viewpoint, the soldering inspection device according to the present invention comprises: a storage means for storing in advance, in correspondence with each other, components mounted on a board, judgment data for judging the quality of the soldering of the components, and correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points of the components;
The device is provided with an inspection means for judging the quality and position of the soldering of components mounted on a board in accordance with the judgment data stored in the storage means, and a means for, when defective soldering of a component is detected by the inspection means, reading out correction condition information corresponding to that component from the storage means and creating correction data by associating the read-out correction condition information with position information indicating the location judged to be defective soldering.

The soldering inspection method of the present invention involves storing in advance in a storage means, in correspondence with components mounted on a board, judgment data for judging the quality of the soldering of the components, and correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points for the components, judging the quality of the soldering of the components mounted on the board and their positions in accordance with the judgment data stored in the storage means, and when defective soldering of a component is detected, reading out the correction condition information corresponding to that component from the storage means, and creating correction data by associating the read-out correction condition information with position information indicating the point judged to be defective soldering.

In the soldering inspection device and method defined in the fifth aspect, the created correction data is also stored in the storage means or transmitted to the automatic soldering correction device.

Furthermore, an automatic soldering repair device is further provided to repair defective soldering locations based on the created repair data, as required.

Defined from the sixth viewpoint, the soldering inspection device according to the present invention comprises inspection means for judging the quality and position of the soldering of components mounted on a board, storage means for storing in advance the components mounted on the board in correspondence with correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points for those components, and means for, when defective soldering of a component is detected by the inspection means, reading out the correction condition information corresponding to that component from the storage means, and creating correction data by correlating the read-out correction condition information with position information indicating the point judged to be defective soldering.

The soldering inspection method of the present invention involves previously storing in memory means, components mounted on a board and correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points for those components, in correspondence with each other; judging the quality and position of the soldering of the components mounted on the board; and, when defective soldering of a component is detected, reading out the correction condition information corresponding to that component from the memory means; and creating correction data by associating the read-out correction condition information with position information indicating the point judged to be defective soldering.

According to the soldering inspection device and method of the present invention defined in the fourth, fifth and sixth aspects, correction condition information required to correct defective soldering is stored in advance in a storage means, and when a defective soldering point is found in the automatic soldering inspection, the correction condition information corresponding to the part having the defective point is read from the storage means,
The read-out correction condition information and the position information of the defective part are matched to obtain correction data. This correction data can be used directly in the automatic soldering defect correction device, which can greatly reduce the labor and time required to teach the correction device.

From the seventh viewpoint, the automatic soldering repair device of the present invention comprises a first storage means for storing in advance repair condition information for each type of component required to repair a soldering defect, a second storage means for storing mounted components on a board on which the components are mounted, a third storage means for storing in advance the correspondence between the components and the component types to which the components belong, and repair condition information suitable for the mounted components on the board,
The system is provided with means for referencing the correspondence stored in the third storage means, reading it from the first storage means, and creating a correction condition information table in which parts are associated with the corresponding correction condition information.

In one embodiment, the automatic soldering repair device includes an inspection result input means for inputting position information of a soldering defect on a board on which the component is mounted, and reads out repair condition information corresponding to the component having the soldering defect whose position information has been input by the inspection result input means from the repair condition information table;
The device further comprises a soldering correction means for carrying out soldering correction work on defective soldering locations of mounted components on the board in accordance with the read correction condition information.

The test result input means is realized by means for reading out the test results from a fourth storage means in which the test results are stored in advance, or by means for receiving transmitted test results.

Defined from the eighth viewpoint, the automatic soldering repair device according to the present invention comprises first storage means in which repair condition information required to repair defective soldering points is stored in advance for each type of component, second storage means in which the correspondence between components and the component types to which they belong is stored in advance, inspection result input means for inputting position information of defective soldering points for components having defective soldering points on a board on which the components are mounted, and soldering repair means for reading out from the first storage means, by referring to the correspondence stored in the second storage means, repair condition information corresponding to components having defective soldering points whose position information has been input by the inspection result input means, and for carrying out soldering repair work for defective soldering points of components mounted on the board in accordance with the read-out repair condition information.

The test result input means is realized by means for reading out the test results from a third storage means in which the test results have been stored in advance, or by means for receiving transmitted test results.

Defined from the ninth viewpoint, the automatic soldering repair method according to the present invention comprises the steps of: storing in advance in first storage means repair condition information required to repair a soldering defect for each type of component; storing in advance in second storage means the components mounted on a board on which the components are mounted; displaying the mounted components stored in the second storage means on a display device; inputting the type to which the displayed mounted component belongs from an input device; reading out repair condition information corresponding to the input type from the first storage means; creating a repair condition information table that associates the displayed components with the read-out repair condition information; providing a component having a soldering defect on the board on which the components are mounted and position information of the defect; reading out from the repair condition information table the repair condition information corresponding to the component having the given defect; and carrying out soldering repair of the defect in accordance with the read-out repair condition information.

The automatic soldering repair method according to the present invention, as defined from the tenth viewpoint, comprises storing in advance in storage means repair condition information required to repair a soldering defect for each type of component, providing a component having a soldering defect on a board on which the component is mounted and information on the location of the defect, reading out from the storage means the repair condition information corresponding to the component having the given defect, and carrying out soldering repair of the defect in accordance with the read out repair condition information.

An automatic soldering repair device according to the present invention, defined from the eleventh viewpoint, comprises: first storage means for storing in advance repair condition information required to repair a soldering defect in association with a component; second storage means for storing information relating to the components mounted on a board on which the components are mounted; means for reading out repair condition information suitable for the components mounted on the board from said first storage means and creating a repair condition information table in which the components on the board correspond to the repair condition information corresponding to the components; inspection result input means for inputting position information of the soldering defect for a component having a soldering defect on the board on which the components are mounted; and means for reading out from said repair condition information table repair condition information corresponding to the component having the soldering defect whose position information has been input by said inspection result input means;
The device is provided with a soldering correction means for carrying out soldering correction work on defective soldering locations of mounted components on the board in accordance with the read correction condition information.

Defined from the twelfth viewpoint, the automatic soldering repair device according to the present invention comprises first storage means for storing in advance repair condition information required to repair defective soldering points in association with components, inspection result input means for inputting position information of defective soldering points for components having defective soldering points on a board on which the components are mounted, and soldering repair means for reading out from the storage means repair condition information corresponding to the components having defective soldering points whose position information has been input by the inspection result input means, and for carrying out soldering repair work for the defective soldering points of the mounted components on the board in accordance with the read repair condition information.

According to the automatic soldering repair device and method of this invention, defective soldering points are automatically repaired using the position information on the defective soldering points obtained from the soldering inspection and the pre-stored soldering repair condition information, so defective soldering points can be repaired efficiently without manual labor, not only reducing the workload on workers but also significantly improving overall work efficiency.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an automatic soldering line equipped with an automatic soldering device.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of an automatic soldering device and the configuration of the control processing device associated therewith.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a soldering component type table.

FIG. 4 is a side view for explaining the elevation angle of the automatic soldering iron.

FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining the azimuth angle of an automatic soldering iron.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing the processing means for changing the soldering component type table.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart showing the procedure for the soldering condition information teaching process.

FIG. 8 shows an example of the created teaching data table.

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing the control procedure for the soldering process.

FIG. 10 shows the configuration of a soldering inspection/repair line equipped with a soldering inspection device.

FIG. 11 shows another example of the configuration of a soldering inspection/repair line equipped with a soldering inspection device.

FIG. 12 shows another example of the configuration of a soldering inspection device.

FIG. 13 shows yet another example of the configuration of a soldering inspection device.

FIG. 14 shows the details of the configuration of the soldering inspection device and the configuration of its control processing device.

FIG. 15 shows the relationship between the quality of the soldering state and the image pattern obtained by imaging.

FIG. 16 shows an example of an inspection part type table.

FIG. 17 shows an example of a correction part type table.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart showing the procedure for changing the inspection component type table.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart showing the procedure for changing the modification part type table.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart showing the procedure for creating a judgment data file.

FIG. 21 shows an example of the created judgment data file.

FIG. 22 shows an example of the correction data that has been created.

FIG. 23 is a flow chart showing the procedure of the inspection process.

FIG. 24 shows an example of the configuration of a soldering defect repair line equipped with an automatic soldering repair device.

FIG. 25 shows the configuration of the automatic soldering repair device and its control processing device.

FIG. 26 is a flow chart showing the procedure for creating a soldering correction condition information table.

FIG. 27 shows an example of the created correction condition information table.

FIG. 28 is a flow chart showing the soldering correction process procedure.

FIG. 29 is a flow chart showing another example of the soldering correction processing procedure.

FIG. 30 shows an example of a recording sheet output from a conventional automatic inspection device.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First Embodiment The first embodiment relates to an apparatus and method for teaching soldering condition information to an automatic soldering apparatus.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of an automatic soldering line equipped with an automatic soldering device.

This automatic soldering line involves sequentially loading substrates PB with numerous components mounted onto an automatic soldering device 1, which then solders each component onto the substrate PB, and then sequentially removing the soldered substrates PB from the automatic soldering device 1.

The first conveyor 4 is for conveying the substrate PB supplied from an upstream substrate supply mechanism (not shown) to the automatic soldering device 1, and its end is
The second conveyor 5 is connected to the start of the carry-in conveyor 11. The second conveyor 5 carries the board PB after automatic soldering to the automatic soldering device 1.
It is for carrying out from the start of the conveyor 11
It is connected to the end of

The automatic soldering apparatus 1 comprises a soldering machine 3, an XY table 12 disposed below the soldering machine 3, and a carry-in conveyor 11 arranged on the XY table 12. An object detection sensor 2 such as a photoelectric sensor is disposed on the board carry-in side of the carry-in conveyor 11. This object detection sensor 2 detects that a board PB has been carried onto the carry-in conveyor 11 and outputs an object detection signal. This object detection signal is given to a control processing device 20 of the automatic soldering apparatus 1, which will be described later.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of an automatic soldering device.

Components mounted at each component mounting position on the board PB that was brought in
The soldering machine 3 that solders the PA is an automatic soldering iron.
The automatic soldering iron 13 includes a solder wire supply mechanism 15 that supplies solder wire 14 to the tip of the automatic soldering iron 13. The XY table 12 is controlled to move in two orthogonal directions in a horizontal plane, and positions the soldering point on the board PB relative to the automatic soldering iron 13.

A control processing device 20 is electrically connected to the soldering machine 3 .

The control processing device 20 includes a soldering controller 28, an XY table controller 29, a control unit (CPU) 21, a memory 25, a soldering component type table 26, a teaching data table 27, a keyboard 22, a CRT display device 23, and a floppy disk device 24.
It consists of the following:

The soldering controller 28 controls the operation of the automatic soldering iron 13 and the solder wire supply mechanism 15 of the soldering machine 3, and also controls the XY
The table controller 29 controls the operation of the XY table 12 based on instructions from the control unit 21 .

The memory 25 includes a ROM and a RAM. The ROM stores programs, and the RAM is used as a work area for the control unit 21.
The keyboard 22 is used to input various data such as the name of the board to be supplied, and the CRT display device 23 is used to display the input data from the keyboard 22 and the data in the soldering component type table 26.
A floppy disk containing CAD data obtained during the design and manufacture of the board is set in the , and information such as component mounting positions on the soldered board PB is read from this floppy disk. This information can also be entered using the keyboard 22.

The control unit 21 includes a microprocessor and a memory 25
It reads and writes data from and to the floppy disk drive 24, and also controls the operation of input/output devices (keyboard 22, display device 23, controllers 28, 29, etc.).

As shown in FIG. 3, the soldering component type table 26 is a table for storing in advance, for each component group, soldering condition information required for soldering each component to a board, such as the position and angle of the automatic soldering iron 13 relative to the soldering point, the amount of solder supplied, and the heating time.

In Figure 3, component types A to G indicate the type of component, such as square chip, capacitor, or QFP (Quarter Flat Package). Even among components of the same type, there are components with different sizes, pin arrangements, and numbers of pins, and the soldering condition information for each of these components differs. Components of the same type are divided into multiple component groups (e.g., groups A1 to A8 for component type A) based on whether the soldering condition information is the same. Components that belong to the same component group have the same soldering condition information.

The position of the soldering point is, for example, a position based on the center of the component. The angles of the automatic soldering iron 13 include an elevation angle α and an azimuth angle β. The elevation angle α represents the vertical inclination of the automatic soldering iron 13 with respect to the surface of the board PB, as shown in Figure 4, and the azimuth angle β represents the vertical inclination of the automatic soldering iron 13 with respect to the surface of the board PB, as shown in Figure 5.
The figure shows the horizontal inclination of the automatic soldering iron 13 relative to the length of the component PA. In Figures 4 and 5, the symbol EL denotes the electrodes on both sides of the component PA, and LA denotes the land portion provided at the component mounting position on the surface of the board PB. Solder is supplied onto each land portion LA, and soldering is performed between the land portion LA and the electrode EL.

The teaching data table 27 stores, for each board, information necessary for the soldering machine 3 to execute automatic soldering work. This teaching data table is created in the soldering condition information teaching process, the details of which will be described later.

FIG. 6 shows the procedure for correcting or changing the soldering component type table 26.

First, the control unit 21 prepares the data processing conditions before starting processing (initialization processing). After this, the operator operates the keyboard 22 to select a component editor (a program routine for modifying the component type table) (step 101), and the contents of the soldering component type table 26 (for example, a list of component types and component groups) that have been preset in the automatic soldering device 1 are displayed on the screen of the CRT display device 23.

Next, the operator selects the component type and component group for the component for which soldering condition information is to be confirmed (steps 102, 103), and the soldering condition information for the selected component is read from the soldering component type table 26 and displayed on the screen of the CRT display device 23 (step
104).

By looking at the displayed soldering condition information, the operator can determine whether or not the soldering conditions need to be corrected or changed based on the state of soldering that was previously performed on that component.

When the operator determines that the soldering conditions need to be changed, he or she inputs this fact (NO in step 105) and inputs the type of condition information to be changed (parameters: position, angle, solder supply amount, heating time) and new soldering condition information corresponding to that type from keyboard 22 (steps 106, 107). The input new soldering condition information is used to update the soldering condition information for the component group of the corresponding component type (step 108).

After the soldering condition information has been changed, or when it is determined that no change to the soldering conditions is necessary, the operator selects the next component group and component type to be processed and repeats the same process (steps 109, 110).

In this way, the soldering component type table is corrected based on experience and knowledge gained from past soldering inspections, and is changed to become more appropriate.

When creating a new soldering component type table, the processing of steps 106 to 108 can be repeated for all component types and component groups.

FIG. 7 shows the procedure for teaching soldering condition information.

First, the operator operates the keyboard 22 to key in the board name (board ID) and board size of the board that is the subject of teaching processing (step 111).

As described above, the floppy disk in the floppy disk device 24 has the following information stored in it in correspondence with the board name (board ID):
Mounting information such as the name (or part number) of the part to be mounted on the board, the mounting position of the part (position relative to the reference point on the board), and the mounting angle (landscape or portrait orientation, etc.) is stored in advance for all parts to be mounted.

When the operator operates the start key (step
112), the floppy disk device 24 operates, and the component mounting positions (and component names, if necessary) previously written in the registration area for the corresponding board name on the floppy disk are read out, and these are registered in the teaching data table 27 (steps 113, 114).

As shown in FIG. 8, the teaching data table 27 stores, for all mounted components, the positions of the components to be mounted on the board (and the names of the components, if necessary) and soldering condition information for those components, in correspondence with the board name.

Next, the operator selects the component group to which the components to be mounted on the board belong from the contents of the soldering component type table 26 displayed on the screen of the CRT display device 23. The soldering condition information for the selected component group is then read from the component type table 26 and registered in the teaching data table 27 in association with that component (step 115).

More specifically, the names of the components to be mounted on the specified board are read from the floppy disk and displayed on the display device 23. The operator looks at the displayed component name and determines, based on his or her own knowledge or by referring to a correspondence table created in advance, which component type and which component group in the soldering component type table the component belongs to. Once the operator knows which component type and which component group the component belongs to, he or she can specify that component type and component group in the soldering component type table.
The soldering condition information for the specified component type and component group is registered in the teaching data table in correspondence with the component name previously displayed (in correspondence with the position information of that component).

The operations and processes of steps 114 and 115 are repeated for all components to be mounted on the specified board (step 116).

It is also possible to create in advance a part number table (part name-part group correspondence table) that associates part names with the part types and part groups of those parts, and to automatically execute the processing of steps 114 and 115 by referring to this table, without operator intervention.

The teaching data table 27 is created for all types of boards (board names) to be soldered.

FIG. 9 shows the procedure for the automatic soldering process.

The operator inputs the name of the board to be soldered from the keyboard 22 and presses the start key to start the operation (steps 121, 122).

A check is made to see if a board PB has been supplied to the automatic soldering device 1 (step 123). When the board PB is fed onto the carry-in conveyor 11, the object detection sensor 2 detects it (YES in step 123), and the carry-in conveyor 11 operates to take the board PB to a predetermined position (step 124).

The control unit 21 moves the YX table 12 through the XY table controller 29 to position the soldering point of the first component PA at the soldering work position, and then controls the solder wire supply mechanism 15 through the soldering controller 28 in accordance with the instructions of the teaching data table 27, and the solder wire
The required amount of solder 14 is fed to the soldering location and soldering is performed (step 125). The positioning of the soldering location of component PA is performed based on the information regarding component position and soldering location stored in teaching data table 27. Furthermore, soldering machine 3 operates automatic soldering iron 13 so as to satisfy the soldering condition information stored in teaching data table 27, i.e., the elevation angle and azimuth angle of automatic soldering iron 13, the amount of solder supplied, heating time, etc.

When the automatic soldering operation is performed on all soldering points of all components PA on the board PB, the conveyor 11
The second carry-in conveyor 5 then operates to carry the board PB, for which soldering has been completed, out of the automatic soldering device 1 (step 126).

The soldering operation is repeated for all the boards PB that are supplied, and when there are no more boards to be supplied, the soldering operation ends (step 127).

In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to an automatic soldering device having only an automatic soldering function. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to an automatic soldering device having both an automatic soldering function, a function for inspecting soldered portions, and a function for repairing defective soldered portions, as in the following embodiment.

Second Embodiment The second embodiment relates to an apparatus and method for inspecting soldered portions of a printed wiring board on which electronic components are mounted by soldering, and determining whether the soldering is good or bad.

10, 11, 12 and 13 each show an example of the configuration of a soldering inspection/repair line including a soldering inspection device and an automatic soldering repair device that automatically repairs defective soldering on a board that has been determined to have defective soldering by the soldering inspection device.

10, test boards TB mounted with a large number of components are sequentially carried into the soldering inspection device 30, and the soldered portions of each component on each test board TB are inspected. For test boards with defective soldering, positional information indicating the defective portions, along with information on the repair conditions (to be described later), is stored on a floppy disk FD. The floppy disk FD is provided to the automatic soldering repair device 60.

Substrates TBO to be processed that have soldering defects are sequentially carried into the automatic soldering repair device 60, and the soldering defects are automatically repaired in accordance with information read from the floppy disk FD.

In the soldering inspection/repair line shown in Figure 11,
The soldering inspection device 30 and the soldering automatic repair device 60 are connected by a transmission line TL. Information about soldering defects generated by the soldering inspection device 30 is transmitted from the soldering inspection device 30 to the soldering automatic repair device 60 via the transmission line TL.
Transmitted online through TL.

10 and 11, the soldering inspection device 30 and the automatic soldering repair device 60 are configured as independent devices, but it is also possible to incorporate the soldering inspection function and the automatic soldering repair function into a single device. As shown in Figures 12 and 13, a soldering inspection section 30a and an automatic soldering repair section 60a are provided within the soldering inspection device 30A or 30B, and soldering inspection and automatic soldering repair are performed within the soldering inspection device.

In the configuration shown in Fig. 12, the soldering inspection section 30a successively inspects the soldered portions of all components on the board TB to be inspected. After the inspection is completed, the board TBO having defective soldering portions is handed over to the automatic soldering repair section 60a, where the defective soldering portions are repaired. Since the inspection of soldering portions and the automatic repair of defective soldering are carried out separately, a table device 37 is used to support and position the board TB to be inspected.
and a table device 38 for supporting and positioning the substrate to be processed TBO to be repaired, are provided separately and independently of each other.

13, the soldering inspection section 30a sequentially inspects the soldered portions of each component on the board TB to be inspected. Whenever a defective soldering portion is detected, the board TB is handed over to the automatic soldering repair section 60a, where the defective portion is repaired one by one. Because the inspection of soldered portions and the repair of defective soldering are carried out simultaneously, the table device 39 for supporting and positioning the board TB to be inspected is shared by both the soldering inspection section 30a and the automatic soldering repair section 60a.

FIG. 14 shows the overall configuration of the soldering inspection device 30 provided in the soldering inspection/repair line shown in FIG.

The soldering inspection device 30 has an X-axis table 33 and a Y-axis table 3
2, a light projecting device 34, an imaging device 35, a control processing device 40, etc. This soldering inspection device 30 is configured to image the reference board SB and to obtain the images of each component on the reference board SB.
The characteristic parameters of the SA inspection area and the TA of each component on the inspection board TB obtained by imaging the inspection board TB are
The soldering condition of each component TA is inspected by comparing the characteristic parameters of the inspection area with those of the component TA.

The X-axis table 33 and the Y-axis table 32 are each equipped with a motor (not shown) that is controlled by a control signal from the control processing device 40.
The axis table 33 moves the imaging device 35 in the X direction, and the Y axis table 32 moves the conveyor 31 supporting the substrate SB or TB in the Y direction.

The light projecting device 34 is made up of three circular light sources 34A, 34B, 34C, 34D, 34E, 34F, 34G, 34H ...
These annular light sources 34A, 34B,
34C emits red light, green light, and blue light, respectively, and these different colored lights are emitted simultaneously.
The position where the components on the board are observed through 35 is an annular light source.
The annular light sources 34A to 34C are set at positions directly below the centers of the light sources 34A to 34C. Therefore, light of different colors is incident on the observation position from the annular light sources 34A to 34C at different angles of incidence.

The annular light sources 34A, 34B, and 34C can be realized by three white light sources covered with red, green, and blue colored filters, respectively, or by three annular colored fluorescent lamps or neon tubes that emit red light, green light, and blue light, respectively.

The three annular light sources 34A, 34B, and 34C emit red light, green light, and a blue light having wavelength-to-wavelength emission energy distributions such that the light emitted by these light sources becomes white when mixed.
The light sources 34A, 34B, and 34C are configured to emit light of the blue light spectrum, and the image capture controller 55 adjusts the light intensity of each hue light so that the red, green, and blue lights emitted from the light sources 34A, 34B, and 34C mix to form white light. This makes it possible to detect information about the components (component number, polarity, color code, etc.) and pattern information (various marks, etc.) on the boards SB and TB under illumination by the light projector 34.

A color television camera is used for the imaging device 35, and is positioned directly above the observation position facing downward. Light reflected from the surfaces of the substrates SB and TB, which are the objects of observation, is captured by the imaging device 35 and converted into three primary color signals R, G, and B, which are then supplied to the control processing device 40.

The control processing device 40 is composed of an A/D converter 51, an image processing unit 52, a judgment data table 53, a judgment unit 54, an imaging controller 55, an XY table controller 56, an inspection component type table 57, a correction component type table 58, a keyboard 42, a display device 43, a printer 44, a floppy disk device 45, a memory 46, and a control unit 41.

The A/D converter 51 converts the color video signals R, G, B output from the imaging device 35 into digital image data signals and supplies them to the control unit 41. The memory 46 includes RAM, ROM, etc. The ROM is used for storing programs, and the RAM is used as a working area for the control unit 41.

The image processing unit 52 performs image processing on the image data supplied via the control unit 41 to create a determination data file 53 and an optical inspection data file, and supplies these to the control unit 41 and the determination unit 54. The determination data file 53 and the optical inspection data file will be described later.

The imaging controller 55 includes an interface for connecting the control unit 41 with the light projector 34 and the imaging device 35.
The light projecting device 34 is controlled based on the control signal output from the control unit 41.
The control unit 34 controls the amount of light emitted from each of the light sources 34A to 34C, and maintains the balance of the R, G, and B signals in the imaging device 35.

The XY table controller 56 includes an interface for connecting the control unit 41 with the X-axis table 33 and the Y-axis table 32 , and controls the X-axis table 33 and the Y-axis table 32 based on the control output of the control unit 41 .

The display device 43 receives image data, inspection results,
When key-in data and the like are supplied, they are displayed on the display screen. When test results and the like are supplied from the control unit 41, the printer 44 prints them out in a predetermined format.

The keyboard 42 is used for operation, and for inputting the reference board SB and the test board.
It is provided with various keys required for inputting data related to the TB, etc. The data inputted by the keys is supplied to the control unit 41.

The control unit 41 is composed of a microprocessor and the like, and controls the operation of each unit and circuit when executing inspection component type table change processing, correction component type table change processing, judgment data file creation processing, and inspection processing, as will be described later.

The floppy disk device 45 stores information on the position of the defective part and the repair conditions for the inspected board TB where the soldering defect exists, in correspondence with the identification code (board ID or board name) of the board, on a floppy disk FD.
This floppy disk FD is inserted into the floppy disk drive of the automatic soldering repair device 60. The automatic soldering repair device 60 automatically repairs defective soldering points according to the information read from the floppy disk FD.

As shown in Fig. 16, the inspection component type table 57 stores image information and information related to the judgment criteria required for inspecting mounted components for each component type and component group. Component types and component groups are classified from the perspective of soldering inspection. This classification may be the same as the classification in the soldering component type table in the first embodiment or the classification in the correction component type table described next, or may be different in part or in whole.

More specifically, the inspection part type table 57 includes:
This is a table for storing in advance, for each component type and component group, information related to the images required for soldering inspection of mounted components and the criteria for such inspection, such as information related to the lands on the board to which the components are soldered (shape, length, width, etc.), information related to the window set as the inspection area (shape, size, etc.), information related to characteristic parameters that indicate the soldering condition on the lands (hue, brightness, etc.), and criteria for determining whether the characteristic parameters are good or bad.

As will be explained later, this information is selectively read out according to the component type and component group when creating the judgment data file 53. In this embodiment, the information related to the image is color image information, and among information such as hue, brightness (total brightness of all colors), brightness and saturation for each hue,
If the information about the image is monochrome image information, black and white shading information is used.

As shown in FIG. 17, the correction component type table 58 stores, for each component type and component group, correction condition information required to correct defective soldering. Component types and component groups are classified from the perspective of automatic soldering correction. Examples of correction condition information include the approach angle (elevation and azimuth) of the automatic soldering iron relative to the soldering point, the amount of solder supplied, and the heating time. It is preferable that this correction condition information be stored separately for each type of defect (insufficient solder, excessive solder, etc., as described below). When a defective soldering is detected during inspection of a soldering point, this information is selectively read out according to the component type, component group, and defect type to which the component belongs.

The outline of the soldering inspection by the soldering inspection device 30 is as follows: In the judgment data file creation motor, the component type to which the component SA on the reference board SB belongs, image information of the component group and judgment criteria information are selectively read out from the pre-created inspection component type table 57, and a judgment data file is created by setting the image information and judgment criteria information read out from the inspection component type table for the inspection area of the component SA on the reference board SB brought into the observation position.

In the inspection mode, the red, green, and blue hue patterns are detected for the inspection area of the component TA on the substrate TB to be inspected, characteristic parameters are generated, and an inspection data file is created using these pattern data. The data in this inspection data file is compared with the corresponding data in the judgment data file that has already been created, and the quality of the soldering of each component TA on the substrate TB is judged based on the comparison results.

The quality of soldering includes good soldering and poor soldering. Poor soldering includes insufficient solder, excessive solder, and unrepairable (missing parts).

The judgment unit 54 compares the judgment data file supplied from the control unit 41 in the inspection mode with the inspection data file transferred from the image processing unit 52, and determines the inspection standard.
The soldering condition of each component TA on the TB is judged to be good or bad, and the result of the judgment is notified to the control unit 41 .

15 shows a table illustrating the relationship between the cross-sectional shapes of solder when the soldering is good, when a component is missing, and when there is insufficient solder, and the image patterns, red pattern, green pattern, and blue pattern captured by the image capture device 35 in each of the above cases. Because clear differences appear between the color patterns depending on the soldering condition, it is possible to determine whether a component is present or not, and whether the soldering is good or bad (and its condition; insufficient, excessive, etc.).

In the above explanation, the inspection component type table 57 and the correction component type table 58 are provided separately, but it is also possible to use an integrated component type table.

Furthermore, information relating to the judgment criteria and the like required for inspecting mounted components is read from the inspection component type table 57 to create the judgment data file, but the judgment data file may also be created by inputting information relating to the judgment criteria and the like by key operation, etc., without using such component type table 57.

FIG. 18 shows the procedure for changing the inspection component type table 57.

At the start of this process, the control unit 41 controls each unit and circuit of the device to activate the light projector 34 and the image capture device 35, and also prepares the image capture conditions and data processing conditions (initialization process).
When the operator operates the keyboard 42 to select the parts editor, which is a routine for changing the inspection parts type table (step 131 ), the contents of the inspection parts type table 57 are displayed on the screen of the display device 43 .

Next, the operator selects the part type and part group to which the target part belongs (step 132,
133), the existing image information and judgment criteria information for the selected part are read from the inspection part type table 57 and displayed on the display screen of the display device 43 (step 13
4).

If the operator determines that the displayed information does not need to be changed (YES in step 135), the process moves to the selection of the next part type and part group (steps 141, 142).

When the operator determines that the displayed information cannot be used as is for automatic inspection and needs to be changed (NO in step 135), the reference board SB is carried into the observation position of the soldering inspection device 30 (step 136).

The corresponding reference component SA on the reference board SB is imaged by the imaging device 35 (step 137), parameters related to the image are extracted, and the values of these parameters are adjusted to generate the image information to be registered in the inspection component type table 57 and information related to the evaluation criteria (step 138).

The parameters adjusted here include the component position, information about the land, information about the window required for bridge detection, information about characteristic parameters that indicate the soldering condition on the land, and information about the criteria for determining whether the soldering of mounted components is good or bad.

When this adjustment is complete, the reference board SB is removed from the soldering inspection device 30 (step 139). The newly adjusted information is registered in the inspection component type table 57 in association with the relevant component type and component group (step 140). After this, the process proceeds to step 141.

The above-described correction process is carried out sequentially for the necessary part types and part groups.

It is also possible to create a new inspection component type table 57 in accordance with a procedure similar to the processing procedure shown in FIG.

FIG. 19 shows the procedure for changing the component type table 58 for correction.

When the operator operates the keyboard 42 to select the component editor for modifying the component type table (step 15),
1) The contents of the modified component type table 58 are displayed on the screen of the display device 43.

Next, the operator selects the part type and part group to which the target part belongs (step 152,
153), information about the existing soldering correction conditions for the selected component type and component group is displayed on the screen of the display device 43 (step 154).

If no changes are required to the displayed modification condition information, the process moves to the selection of the next part type and part group (steps 155, 159,
160).

When the operator determines that the displayed correction condition information needs to be changed (NO in step 155), one or more types (parameters) of the correction condition information that need to be changed are selected (step 156), and the corresponding values are entered, thereby changing the correction condition information on the display screen (step 157). The parameters to be adjusted and their values include the various conditions for correcting the soldering of the component, that is, as described above, the approach angle (elevation angle and azimuth angle) of the automatic soldering iron to the soldering location, the amount of solder supplied, the heating time, etc.

Thereafter, the changed modification condition information is registered in the modification component type table 58 in association with the corresponding component type and component group (step 158).

It is also possible to create a new correction component type table 58 using the same procedure as shown in FIG.

FIG. 20 shows the procedure for creating the judgment data file 53.

The operator operates the keyboard 42 to input the board name (board ID) and board size of the board to be taught (step 161), and then sets the reference board SB on the Y-axis table 32 and presses the start key (step 162).
2).

The origin and each of the upper right and lower left corners of the reference substrate SB are imaged by the imaging device 35, and the actual reference substrate SB is
The size of the SB is detected, and the control unit 41 controls the X-axis table 33 and the Y-axis table 32 based on the detected size data to position the reference substrate SB at its initial position (step 163).

The reference board SB has good mounting quality, with predetermined reference components SA properly soldered in the component mounting positions. When this reference board SB is positioned in its initial position, the imaging device 35 captures an image of the components on the reference board SB. The image data obtained by this imaging is processed to measure the position of each reference component SA on the reference board SB, and this position data is stored as the component position in the judgment data file 53 (step 164).

The floppy disk containing the CAD data used to design and manufacture the board stores, for each mounted component, the name of the component to be mounted on the board (board ID), the component's mounting position (position relative to the board's reference point), the mounting angle (horizontal or vertical placement, etc.), and other mounting information. As in the process of step 113 of Figure 7, the mounting position of each component is read from such a floppy disk and the judgment data is generated.
It may be possible to register in file 53 (instruction of component mounting positions).

As shown in FIG. 21, the judgment data file 53 stores, for all mounted components, the positions of components mounted on the board (and the names of the components, if necessary), as well as the image information and judgment criteria information required for inspecting the components, in correspondence with the board name.

Next, the operator displays the contents of the inspection component type table 57 on the screen of the display device 43, and selects from the displayed inspection component type table 57 a component group corresponding to the component whose component position (mounting position) was captured in step 164. Then, the inspection condition information of the selected component group is registered in the judgment data file 53 in association with that component (step 165). This is shown in step 115 of FIG. 7.
This is the same as the processing of

The operations and processes of steps 164 and 165 are repeated for all components on the reference board SB (step 166).

It is also possible to create in advance a part number table (part name-part group correspondence table) that associates part names with the part types and part groups of those parts, and to automatically execute the processing of steps 114 and 115 by referring to this table, without operator intervention.

When the above-described processing is completed for all components on one reference board SB, the judgment data file is completed.
Thereafter, it is confirmed whether the inspection is performed correctly using the created judgment data file.

A soldering inspection is attempted using a reference board or a board to be inspected with the same name (same ID) (step 167). The soldering inspection is performed by referring to the previously created judgment data file (details of the soldering inspection process will be described later). The operator looks at the results of the soldering inspection and determines whether the previously created judgment data file is appropriate. If it is appropriate, the judgment data file creation process ends without any further action. If the operator determines that it is inappropriate, he or she corrects any parts of the judgment data file that are deemed inappropriate. This correction can be performed by displaying the contents of the judgment data file on the display screen and correcting the image information and judgment criteria information of the relevant part on the display screen by keying in the data. The judgment data file is then updated with the corrected data (step 168).
Steps are repeated until a suitable decision data file 53 is obtained.
The operations and processes of 167 and 168 will be repeated.

The judgment data file is created for all types of boards (board names) for which soldering inspection is to be performed.

FIG. 23 shows the procedure for the automatic soldering inspection process.

The name of the board to be inspected (board name or board ID) is entered and the start key is pressed (steps 171 and 177).
2).

A check is made to see if the board TB to be inspected has been supplied to the soldering inspection device 30 (step 173), and if so, the conveyor 31 is activated to load the board TB to be inspected onto the Y-axis table 32 (step 174), and automatic inspection begins.

The control unit 41 controls the X-axis table 33 and the Y-axis table 32 to image the first component TA on the inspection target board TB using the imaging device 35.
After that, the image pickup device
The image processing unit 52 processes the image data obtained based on the image signal output from the imaging device 35, automatically extracts each land area in the inspection area, calculates the characteristic parameters of each land area, and creates an inspection data file.

The created inspection data file is transferred from the image processing unit 52 to the judgment unit 54. The judgment unit 54 compares this inspection data file with the judgment data file that has already been created for the corresponding board, and judges whether the soldering of the first component TA is good or bad, and if it is defective, the details of the defect (step 175).

This type of inspection is repeatedly performed for all components TA on the board TB to be inspected. If the soldering results are good for all components TA, the board TB to be inspected is carried out by the conveyor 31 (steps 176, 180). If a soldering defect is found in even one location of a component on the board TB to be inspected, the defective component and the details of the defect are displayed on the display device 43.
or printed by the printer 44 (steps 176, 177).

For a component in which a soldering defect has been found, the correction condition information for the component type and component group to which the component belongs is read from the correction component type table 58. This is performed by the operator inputting the component type and component group, or by referring to the component name-component group correspondence table. The board name (board ID), component position (or component name or component number), and position information indicating the soldering defect location (for example, position relative to the center of the component) are read.
22, which includes the read-out correction condition information and the component information, is created (step 178). This correction data is stored on the floppy disk FD by the floppy disk drive 45 (step 179). If there are multiple defective parts on a single board, or if there are multiple defective parts in a single component, it goes without saying that the component positions, defect position information, and correction condition information for these defective parts are added to the correction data.

After this, the boards having soldering defects are removed (step 180). The operations and processes of steps 173 to 180 are carried out for all the boards to be inspected (steps 173, 18
1).

If the image information and judgment criterion information read from the inspection component type table 57 as well as the correction condition information read from the correction component type table 58 are stored in advance in the judgment data file, there will be no need to refer to the correction component type table 58 in step 178.

When applied to the soldering inspection/repair line shown in FIG. 11, 12 or 13, instead of the processing of step 179, the created repair data can be transmitted to the automatic soldering repair device 60 or repair section 60a via the transmission line TL.

Third Embodiment The third embodiment relates to an automatic soldering repair device and an automatic soldering repair method.

FIG. 24 shows the configuration of a soldering defect repair line provided with an automatic soldering repair device 60.

This soldering defect repair line is for automatically repairing soldering defects on component mounting boards TBO on which a large number of components are mounted, and has an automatic soldering repair device 60 and a board supply mechanism 90. A first transport conveyor 64 is located between the automatic soldering repair device 60 and the board supply mechanism 90, and a second transport conveyor 65 is located downstream of the automatic soldering repair device 60.
are provided respectively.

This third embodiment can also be applied to the automatic soldering repair device 60 or automatic soldering repair section 60a provided in the soldering inspection/repair line described in the second embodiment with reference to FIGS. 10 to 13.

The board supply mechanism 90 supplies the board TBO for which the soldering inspection has been completed.
These substrates are stocked and transported one by one by conveyor 64
That is, the substrate supply mechanism 90 comprises a stocker 91 that stores a large number of stacked substrates TBOs, and a substrate feed-out mechanism 92 that delivers the lowest substrate TBO from the stocker 91. The starting end of the first transport conveyor 64 is positioned at the feed tip of the substrate feed-out mechanism 92, thereby forming a transport path for the substrate TBOs.

The first transport conveyor 64 is for transporting the board TBO supplied from the board supply mechanism 90 to the automatic soldering repair device 60 , and its end is connected to the board carry-in conveyor 71 in the automatic repair device 60 .

An object detection sensor 93 such as a photoelectric sensor and a character reader 94 are disposed near the end of the first transport conveyor 64. The object detection sensor 93 detects the arrival of the substrate TBO and sends an object detection signal to the character reader 94.
is used to read the board ID (board name) displayed on the surface of the board TBO, and when an object detection signal is input from the object detection sensor 93, it performs a character reading operation and transmits the read board ID to the automatic soldering correction device 60 via the transmission line TL.

The automatic soldering repair device 60 is basically the same as the automatic soldering device 1 shown in FIG. 1, and has the same construction as the conveyor 71, X
It has a Y table 72, an object detection sensor 62, and a correction work machine 63.

The repair machine 63 has basically the same configuration as the soldering machine 3 shown in Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 25, the repair machine 63 is used to repair soldering defects on the TBO of the board, and is equipped with an automatic soldering iron 73 and a wire supply mechanism 75 that supplies solder wire 74 to the tip of the automatic soldering iron 73.

A control processing device 80 is connected to the correction work machine 63 .
This control processing device 80 includes a transmission control unit 79, a soldering controller 88, an XY table controller 89, a correction component type table 86, a correction condition information table 87, a control unit 81, a memory 85,
It is composed of a keyboard 82, a CRT display device 83, a floppy disk drive 84, and the like.

The control processor 80 also corresponds to the control processor 20 shown in FIG.
It has basically the same configuration as the above, with the following differences: A transmission control unit 79 controls the transmission of data to and from a board supply mechanism 90, a character reader 94, and the like via a transmission line TL. A floppy disk storing inspection result information is set in a floppy disk device 84, and the inspection result information for the board TBO is read from this floppy disk. The inspection result information can also be input using a keyboard 82. The correction component type table 86 and the correction condition information table 87 will be described later.

Automatic inspection of soldering of components mounted on a circuit board is performed by the automatic inspection device of the second embodiment described above or other types of automatic inspection device, and inspection result information is obtained from these automatic inspection devices. Inspection result information can be obtained by manual visual inspection, in-circuit board testing, or X-ray inspection. In either case, in this embodiment, the inspection result information is stored on a floppy disk as described above.

In this embodiment, the inspection result information stored on the floppy disk includes, for boards with soldering defects, the ID (or board name) of the board, the component position of the component with the soldering defect (including the component name or component number as necessary), position information for identifying the soldering defect (for example, the pin number in the case of an IC, or the position relative to the center of the component), and the details of the soldering defect. The details of the soldering defect include soldering defect items that indicate whether the amount of solder is excessive or insufficient. If necessary, information indicating the degree of excess or insufficiency is included.

In addition to the inspection result information, the correction data (FIG. 22) in the second embodiment includes correction condition information for correcting soldering defects. In this embodiment, the correction condition information is taught to the automatic correction device 60 using the correction component type table 86.

The correction component type table 86 contains correction condition information required to correct soldering defects, such as the automatic soldering iron.
The soldering correction condition information such as the position and angle (the elevation angle α and azimuth angle β described above) for the soldering point 73, the amount of solder supplied, and the heating time is stored in advance for each component type and component group, and can be considered to be the same as the correction component type table shown in FIG.

When repairing defective soldering, if there is excess solder,
An automatic soldering iron 73 is brought close to the land portion to melt and remove unnecessary solder, and if there is a shortage of solder, solder is supplied onto the land portion to replenish the solder between the land portion and the electrode. If the inspection result information includes information on the degree of solder excess or shortage, the amount of solder removed and the amount of solder replenished will be controlled based on this information.

The correction component type table 86 can be changed or newly created as required by the same processing procedure as shown in FIG.

Fig. 26 shows the processing procedure for creating the soldering correction condition information table 87. This correction condition information table 87 is also created for each board name (board ID). The created correction condition information table is shown in Fig. 27.

The operator inputs the board name (board ID) and board size from the keyboard 82 (step 191). When the operator presses the start key, the floppy disk drive 84 operates and reads out the component mounting information for the input board name stored on the floppy disk, i.e., the names of the components mounted on that board (component numbers, component positions, etc.) (step 193). The board name and component position information (and component names or component numbers, if necessary) are stored in the modification condition information table (step 194).

Next, the operator displays the contents of the correction component type table 86 on the screen of the CRT display device 83, and selects a component group corresponding to the mounted component from the displayed correction component type table 86. Then, the correction condition information of the selected component group is registered in the correction condition information table 87 corresponding to that component (step 195).

The operations and processes of steps 194 and 195 are repeated for all the mounted components on the specified board (step 19
6).

It is also possible to create in advance a part number table (part name-part group correspondence table) that associates part names with the part types and part groups of those parts, and to automatically execute the processing of steps 194 and 195 by referring to this table, without operator intervention.

FIG. 28 shows the procedure for the automatic soldering correction process by the control processing device 80.

A floppy disk containing the inspection result information is inserted into the floppy disk drive 84. As described above, this inspection result information includes the board ID (board name) of the board that has the defective soldering area, the location of the defective soldering area (component location and defective area location), and details of the defective soldering.

When the substrate supply mechanism 90 supplies the first substrate TBO to the first transport conveyor 64, the first transport conveyor 64 carries this substrate
The TBO is transported toward the automatic soldering repair device 60. When the board TBO reaches the end of the transport conveyor 64, the object detection sensor 93 detects it, and the character reader 94 reads the board.
The control processing device 8 of the automatic correction device 60 reads the TBO board ID.
Transmit to 0.

When the control unit 81 of the control processing device 80 receives the board ID from the character reader 94, it commands the floppy disk device 84 to read the inspection result information (if any) corresponding to the received board ID from the floppy disk and temporarily store this in the memory 85 (step 201). This enables the control unit 81 to know what kind of soldering defect exists and at what location on the board TBO that has been sent.

When the substrate TBO is sent onto the substrate carry-in conveyor 71,
The object detection sensor 62 detects this (step 202), and the substrate carry-in conveyor 71 operates to take in the substrate TBO to a predetermined position (step 203).

If, as a result of accessing the floppy disk, there is no inspection result information for the board with the received board ID, or if data is stored indicating that there are no defects in the board with the received board ID, then no soldering correction work is required for the board TBO that has been carried in, and so the board TBO is carried out as is (steps 204, 212).

For a board TBO where a solder joint defect exists, the control unit 81 first reads out the position of the first component with a solder joint defect and the position information representing that defect from the memory 85, and then, based on that position information, performs the following through the XY table controller 89.
The operation of the XY table 72 is controlled to position the tip of the automatic soldering iron 73 of the repair work machine 63 at the appropriate position (step 20
4,205,206,207,208).

After stopping the XY table 72, the control unit 81 reads out information relating to the defect content corresponding to the position information from the memory 85 (step 209).

Next, the control unit 81 reads the soldering correction condition data corresponding to the position information of the defective portion read from the memory 85 and the defect content from the correction condition information table 87, and controls the soldering controller 88 in accordance with the correction condition information to perform the correction work (step 210).

For example, if the defect is a lack of solder, the tip of a heated automatic soldering iron 73 is applied to the relevant part and the required amount of molten solder is added by supplying solder wire 74. If the defect is an excess amount of solder, the tip of the heated automatic soldering iron 73 is applied to the relevant part and the excess solder is melted and removed. The molten solder is sucked out by a suction tube as necessary.

If there are any more defective soldering locations after the soldering repair work has been completed (step 211), the process returns to step 205, where the position information for the next defective soldering location is read and the same repair work is carried out. Once there are no more defective soldering locations, the control unit 81 operates the board carry-in conveyor 71 to send the board for which repair work has been completed to the second transfer conveyor 65 (step 212).

It is determined whether or not substrates TBO are present in stocker 91 of substrate supply mechanism 90, that is, whether or not the input number of substrates have passed through automatic repair device 60 (step 213).
If there are still uncorrected boards, the control unit 81 sends a transport command from the transmission control unit 79 to the board supply mechanism 90 to transport the next board (step 214). When there are no more uncorrected boards, the work of repairing defective soldering on all boards is completed.

A method for correcting a soldering defect may involve first removing the solder from the board and then supplying a predetermined amount of solder and soldering it again.

Correction data obtained in the second embodiment described above (Figure 22)
In this case, there is no need to create the correction component type table 86 or the correction condition information table shown in Fig. 26. In addition to the correction condition information table 87 and the inspection result information on the floppy disk, correction work is performed using the correction data.

The repair work in an automatic repair device provided in an inspection/repair line such as that shown in FIG. 11 would be as shown in FIG.

The inspection results obtained by the automatic inspection device 30 are sent to the automatic repair device 60 via the transmission line TL at the same time as the substrate TBO is carried out. When the substrate TBO is detected by the object detection sensor 62 (step 202), the substrate is immediately taken into the automatic repair device 60 by the carry-in conveyor 71 (step 203).
If there are any soldering defects (step 221),
The repair work is carried out, and if no soldering defects are found, the board is taken out of the automatic repair device 60 as is.

When the control unit 81 is given inspection result information relating to a defective soldering location, the control unit 81 directly reads out the soldering correction condition information relating to the corresponding component from the correction component type table 86, and performs soldering correction based on that correction condition information, thereby making it possible to omit the process of creating the correction condition information table.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The automatic soldering apparatus and method, automatic soldering inspection apparatus and method, and automatic soldering correction apparatus and method according to the present invention can be effectively used in factories and the like in the process of mounting many electronic components on printed wiring boards.

Claims (46)

[Claims] [Claim 1] A method for manufacturing a soldering system comprising: a first storage means for storing soldering condition information for each type of component; a second storage means for storing, for each board, the identification codes of components to be mounted on the board; a third storage means for storing, in advance, the correspondence between the identification codes of the components and the component types to which the components belong; an input means for inputting the identification codes of the boards; and a method for storing, in the second storage means, the identification codes of the boards input by the input means for storing all the components to be mounted on the boards.
the soldering condition information suitable for the read component is read from the first storage means by referring to the correspondence stored in the third storage means, and the board;
A teaching device for an automatic soldering device, comprising: means for creating a soldering condition teaching data table that indicates the relationship between the components to be mounted on the board and soldering condition information suitable for those components. [Claim 2] A teaching method for an automatic soldering device, comprising: storing soldering condition information for each type of component in advance in a first storage means; storing identification codes of components to be mounted on a board in advance in a second storage means for each board; inputting the identification code of a board; reading out from the second storage means the components to be mounted on the board with the input identification code; reading out from the first storage means the soldering condition information for the type to which the read-out components belong; and storing the read-out components and the read-out soldering condition information in a teaching data table in correspondence with each other. [Claim 3] A teaching method as set forth in claim 2, comprising the steps of: displaying the components read from the second storage means on a display device; displaying the component types stored in the first storage means on a display device; inputting the type to which the displayed component belongs from among the displayed component types through an input device; and reading soldering condition information corresponding to the input component type from the first storage means and corresponding it to the displayed component. [Claim 4] A teaching method as set forth in claim 2, wherein the correspondence between the identification code of a component and the component type to which that component belongs is stored in advance in a third storage means, the component type to which a component read from said second storage means belongs is determined by referring to the correspondence in said third storage means, and soldering condition information corresponding to the determined component type is read from said first storage means and made to correspond to the component read out. [Claim 5] A soldering inspection device comprising: inspection means for determining whether the soldering of components mounted on a board is good or not and their locations; first storage means for storing in advance the components mounted on the board; second storage means for storing in advance, for each type of component, correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points; and means for, when defective soldering of a component is detected by the inspection means, reading out from the second storage means the correction condition information corresponding to the type of component to which the component belongs, and creating correction data by correlating the position information indicating the location determined to be defective soldering with the read correction condition information. [Claim 6] A soldering inspection device as described in claim 5, further comprising a display means for displaying the detected component when the inspection means detects a defective soldering of the component, and a means for inputting the type of the displayed component, wherein the creation means reads out from the second storage means correction condition information corresponding to the type input from the input means and associates it with the detected component. [Claim 7] A soldering inspection device as described in claim 5, further comprising a third storage means for storing in advance a correspondence relationship between components and the type to which the components belong, and said creation means associates correction condition information corresponding to a component in which a soldering defect has been detected with the detected component by referring to the correspondence relationship stored in said third storage means. 8. The soldering inspection device according to claim 5, wherein said creating means stores the created correction data in storage means. 9. The soldering inspection device according to claim 5, further comprising means for transmitting the correction data created by said creating means to an automatic soldering correction device. 10. The soldering inspection device according to claim 5, further comprising an automatic soldering repair device for repairing defective soldering locations based on the repair data created by said creating means. Claim 11: The soldering defects include insufficient solder and
Claim 5 includes excess solder and missing parts.
Item 1. A soldering inspection device according to item 1. 12. The soldering inspection device according to claim 5, wherein the repair condition information is determined in accordance with the content of the soldering defect. [Claim 13] A soldering inspection device comprising: a storage means for storing in advance, in correspondence with each other, components mounted on a board, judgment data for judging the quality of the soldering of the components, and correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points for the components; an inspection means for judging the quality of the soldering of the components mounted on the board and their positions in accordance with the judgment data stored in said storage means; and a means for, when defective soldering of a component is detected by said inspection means, reading out correction condition information corresponding to the component from said storage means, and creating correction data by associating the read-out correction condition information with position information indicating the point judged to be defective soldering. 14. A soldering inspection device according to claim 13, wherein said creating means stores the created correction data in storage means. 15. A soldering inspection device according to claim 13, further comprising means for transmitting the correction data created by said creating means to an automatic soldering correction device. 16. The soldering inspection device according to claim 13, further comprising an automatic soldering repair device for repairing defective soldering locations based on the repair data created by said creating means. Claim 17: The soldering defects include insufficient solder and
Claim 13 includes excess solder and missing parts.
Item 1. A soldering inspection device according to item 1. 18. The soldering inspection device according to claim 13, wherein the repair condition information is determined in accordance with the content of the soldering defect. [Claim 19] A soldering inspection device comprising: inspection means for determining whether or not the soldering of components mounted on a board is good and their locations; storage means for previously storing components mounted on the board in correspondence with correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points for those components; and means for, when defective soldering of a component is detected by said inspection means, reading out the correction condition information corresponding to that component from said storage means, and creating correction data by correlating the read-out correction condition information with position information indicating the point determined to be defective soldering. [Claim 20] A soldering inspection method comprising: storing components mounted on a board in advance in a first storage means; storing correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points in a second storage means for each type of component; determining whether the soldering of the components mounted on the board is good or not and their positions; and, when defective soldering of a component is detected, reading out the correction condition information corresponding to the type of component to which that component belongs from the second storage means, and creating correction data by matching the position information representing the point determined to be defective soldering with the read correction condition information. [Claim 21] A soldering inspection method as set forth in claim 20, wherein when a defective soldering of a component is detected, the detected component is displayed, the type to which the displayed component belongs is input from an input means, and correction condition information corresponding to the type input from said input means is read from said second storage means and associated with the detected component. [Claim 22] A soldering inspection method as set forth in claim 20, wherein a correspondence relationship between a component and the type to which the component belongs is stored in advance in a third storage means, and correction condition information corresponding to a component in which a soldering defect has been detected is made to correspond to the detected component by referring to the correspondence relationship stored in the third storage means. 23. A soldering inspection method according to claim 20, wherein the created correction data is stored in a storage means. 24. A soldering inspection method according to claim 20, wherein the created correction data is transmitted to an automatic soldering correction device. 25. A soldering inspection method according to claim 20, wherein defective soldering on the board is repaired based on the repair data created. Claim 26: The soldering defects include insufficient solder and
Claim 20 includes excess solder and missing parts.
Item 1. A soldering inspection method according to item 1. 27. A soldering inspection method according to claim 20, wherein the repair condition information is determined in accordance with the content of the soldering defect. [Claim 28] A soldering inspection method comprising: storing in advance in a storage means, in correspondence with a component mounted on a board, judgment data for judging the quality of the soldering of the component, and correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points for the component; judging the quality of the soldering of the component mounted on the board and its position in accordance with the judgment data stored in the storage means; and, when defective soldering of a component is detected, reading out the correction condition information corresponding to the component from the storage means, and creating correction data by associating the position information indicating the point judged to be defective soldering with the readout correction condition information. 29. A soldering inspection method according to claim 28, wherein the created correction data is stored in a storage means. 30. A soldering inspection method according to claim 28, wherein the created correction data is transmitted to an automatic soldering correction device. 31. A soldering inspection method according to claim 28, wherein defective soldering on the board is repaired based on the repair data created. Claim 32: The soldering defects include insufficient solder and
Claim 28 includes excess solder and missing parts.
Item 1. A soldering inspection method according to item 1. 33. A soldering inspection method according to claim 28, wherein the repair condition information is determined in accordance with the content of the soldering defect. [Claim 34] A soldering inspection method comprising: storing in advance in a storage means, in correspondence with components mounted on a board, correction condition information required to correct defective soldering points for the components; determining whether the soldering of the components mounted on the board is good or not and their positions; and, when defective soldering of a component is detected, reading out the correction condition information corresponding to the component from the storage means, and creating correction data by associating the read-out correction condition information with position information indicating the point determined to be defective soldering. [Claim 35] An automatic soldering repair device comprising: a first storage means in which repair condition information required to repair defective soldering locations is stored in advance for each type of component; a second storage means in which mounted components on a board on which the components are mounted are stored; a third storage means in which a correspondence relationship between the component and the component type to which the component belongs is stored in advance; and a means for reading out repair condition information suitable for the mounted components on the board from the first storage means by referring to the correspondence relationship stored in the third storage means, and creating a repair condition information table in which the components are associated with the repair condition information corresponding to them. [Claim 36] An automatic soldering repair device as set forth in claim 35, further comprising: an inspection result input means for inputting position information of defective soldering points for components having defective soldering points on a board on which the components are mounted; and a soldering repair means for reading out from said repair condition information table repair condition information corresponding to the components having defective soldering points whose position information has been input by said inspection result input means, and for carrying out soldering repair work for the defective soldering points of the mounted components on the board in accordance with the read repair condition information. 37. The automatic soldering repair device according to claim 35, wherein said inspection result input means is means for reading out the inspection results from fourth storage means in which the inspection results are stored in advance. 38. The automatic soldering repair device according to claim 35, wherein said inspection result input means is a means for receiving transmitted inspection results. [Claim 39] An automatic soldering repair device comprising: a first storage means in which repair condition information required to repair defective soldering points is stored in advance for each type of component; a second storage means in which a correspondence relationship between components and the component type to which the components belong is stored in advance; an inspection result input means for inputting position information of defective soldering points for components having defective soldering points on a board on which the components are mounted; and a soldering repair means for reading out from the first storage means, by referring to the correspondence relationship stored in the second storage means, repair condition information corresponding to components having defective soldering points whose position information has been input by the inspection result input means, and performing soldering repair work for defective soldering points of mounted components on the board in accordance with the read repair condition information. 40. The automatic soldering repair device according to claim 39, wherein said inspection result input means is means for reading out the inspection results from third storage means in which the inspection results are stored in advance. 41. The automatic soldering repair device according to claim 39, wherein said inspection result input means is a means for receiving transmitted inspection results. [Claim 42] An automatic soldering repair method comprising: storing in advance in first storage means repair condition information required to repair a soldering defect for each type of component; storing in advance in second storage means the components mounted on a board on which the components are mounted; displaying the mounted components stored in said second storage means on a display device; inputting from an input device the type to which the displayed mounted components belong; reading out repair condition information corresponding to the input type from said first storage means; creating a repair condition information table that associates the displayed components with the read-out repair condition information; providing a component having a soldering defect on the board on which the components are mounted and information on the location of the defect; reading out from said repair condition information table the repair condition information corresponding to the component having the given defect; and carrying out soldering repair work for the defect portion in accordance with the read-out repair condition information. [Claim 43] An automatic soldering repair method comprising: storing in advance in a storage means repair condition information required to repair a soldering defect for each type of component; providing a component having a soldering defect on a board on which the component is mounted and information on the location of the defect; reading out from the storage means the repair condition information corresponding to the component having the given defect; and carrying out soldering repair work on the defect in accordance with the read out repair condition information. [Claim 44] A method for manufacturing a soldering system comprising: a first storage means for storing soldering condition information in advance in association with components; a second storage means for storing information on components to be mounted on a board for each board in advance; an input means for inputting an identification code of the board; and a second storage means for storing all components to be mounted on the board for the board having the identification code input by the input means in the second storage means.
and means for reading soldering condition information suitable for the read-out components from said first storage means, and creating a soldering condition teaching data table showing the relationship between a board, a component to be mounted on said board, and soldering condition information suitable for said component. [Claim 45] An automatic soldering repair device comprising: a first storage means for storing in advance repair condition information required to repair defective soldering points in association with components; a second storage means for storing information regarding components mounted on a board on which the components are mounted; means for reading out repair condition information suitable for the components mounted on the board from said first storage means, and creating a repair condition information table in which the components on the board are associated with the repair condition information corresponding to them; an inspection result input means for inputting position information of the defective soldering points for components having defective soldering points on the board on which the components are mounted; and a soldering repair means for reading out from said repair condition information table repair condition information corresponding to components having defective soldering points whose position information has been input by said inspection result input means, and performing soldering repair work for the defective soldering points of the components mounted on the board in accordance with the read repair condition information. [Claim 46] An automatic soldering repair device comprising: storage means for storing in advance repair condition information required to repair defective soldering points in association with components; inspection result input means for inputting position information of defective soldering points for components having defective soldering points on a board on which the components are mounted; and soldering repair means for reading out from said storage means repair condition information corresponding to components having defective soldering points whose position information has been input by said inspection result input means, and for carrying out soldering repair work for defective soldering points of mounted components on the board in accordance with the read repair condition information.