Multi-spindle pick and place method and apparatus
US5040291A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 4, 1990 |
| Grant date | Aug 20, 1991 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 4, 2010 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/53261
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A multi-spindle pick and place head is moveable in X and Y in order to pick up a group of components simultaneously, one component per spindle, at a pick station and to transport them to a placement station at which the components are placed simultaneously on corresponding placement sites of a printed circuit board. Each spindle or the whole head is moveable in Z, as required. Each component may be "SCOT" processed (e.g., squared, centered, oriented and/or tested) while on the spindle and during transport to the placement site. In another embodiment, two multi-spindle heads may operate in parallel, along with a separate "SCOT" station intermediate of the pick and place stations, such that one head transports a group of components from the pick station to the "SCOT" station for processing and the other head transports at least part of that group of processed components from the "SCOT" station to the placement station. In both of these embodiments, each spindle may be further translatable in X and Y, relative to the head of the multi-spindle head, in order to compensate for discrepancies between "nominal" and "actual" patterns of pick and/or placement sites. Vision systems common to …
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.