I. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a component transfer apparatus and method that sets out a rack (or a magazine or a cassette) accommodating a component at a predetermined position and takes out the component accommodated in the rack to be supplied to a supply area or retrieves (or collect) the component to be accommodated in the rack, and more particularly to a component transfer apparatus and method that can carry in a rack to a predetermined position to be positioned or carry out the rack from the predetermined position in order to supply or retrieve a plate-like component such as a substrate.
II. Description of the Related Art
A rack (including, e.g., a magazine or a cassette) in which components for an electronic device or a machine are vertically aligned and accommodated has a slight error in dimension in accordance with each manufacturer even though it is applied to the same field. Further, there are racks having various conformations, e.g., one having high rigidity or low rigidity, one distorted due to use over the years, and others.
Therefore, when such a rack is transferred to a predetermined position to simply perform component supplying and retrieving operations without being assuredly positioned, these operations may not be smoothly performed and a fetch failure or a retrieval failure may possibly occur, thereby eventually affecting an entire production line using the components to lower a production efficiency.
Thus, as a conventional component transfer apparatus that supplies or retrieves components by using such a rack (a magazine), there is known an apparatus (a component supply apparatus) having a configuration that a positioning block which comes into contact with a side surface of a magazine and an adsorption transfer apparatus that adsorbs the side surface of the magazine by an adsorption pad to be transferred are provided to an elevator and the magazine is caused to collide with the positioning block to be positioned while adsorbing and sliding the magazine by the adsorption transfer apparatus when taking out the magazine from a magazine supply stage in order to take out the magazine mounted on the magazine supply stage to the elevator and sequentially take out components accommodated in the magazine or sequentially retrieve the same (see, e.g., Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-306712).
However, in this apparatus, a flat sidewall surface must be provided to the magazine in order to adsorb the side surface of the magazine, and a region of this sidewall surface has a covered conformation. Therefore, workability when taking out and putting in each component with respect the magazine or visibility when confirming an accommodation state of each component from the outside is degraded.
Furthermore, since the magazine is moved while being dragged along a support surface when transferring the magazine between the magazine supply stage and the elevator, if there is a step between the magazine supply stage and the elevator, the magazine may be caught on this step or may receive an impact when getting over the step, whereby an untransferable state may occur or an accommodated component may possibly fall or may be damaged.
Moreover, to effect a transfer operation, there are required two types of energy systems, i.e., an electric energy system that activates a motor and others and an air energy system that sucks air for adsorption using the adsorption pad. Therefore, double facilities, managements and costs are required to supply these two types of energy.
Additionally, as another component transfer apparatus, there is known an apparatus (a plate-like member carrying and supplying apparatus) that includes a frame that can accommodate a rack, an elevator that moves up and down the frame, a first push mechanism provided in the frame to push from above and position the rack carried in with respect to a horizontal reference surface formed in the frame, and a second push mechanism provided in the frame to push from a lateral direction and position the rack carried in with respect to a vertical reference surface formed in the frame, thereby pushing the distorted rack from the vertical direction and the lateral direction to be corrected and set out at a predetermined position in the frame (see, e.g., Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-87015).
However, this apparatus individually requires a driving mechanism (e.g., a cylinder) that pushes the frame from the vertical direction and a driving mechanism (e.g., a cylinder) that pushes the frame from the lateral direction, thereby leading to complication of a configuration, an increase in cost, and others. Further, the rack carried into the frame can be set out at the predetermined position in the frame, and the rack can be moved up and down, but the rack cannot be carried into the frame or carried out from the frame by using this apparatus, whereby a dedicated transfer apparatus that transfers the rack is required. Furthermore, when a cylinder or the like is used as the driving mechanism, a fluid energy system of a working fluid (air or a working oil) that actuates the cylinder is required besides an electric energy system. Therefore, double facilities, managements and costs are required to supply these two types of energy.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds