Apparatus for mounting chip device on printed circuit board

An apparatus for automatically mounting chip devices on a printed circuit board comprising

• chip device supplying means for supplying chip devices one by one in an upside-down fashion in a predetermined order;
• chip device feeding means for receiving and holding the chip devices supplied from the chip device supplying means with the aid of a suction force, while the chip devices are held in the upside-down fashion, feeding and indexing the chip devices thus held into a first transporting position, said feeding means comprising:
• a suction chamber arranged horizontally and having a plurality of air suction holes formed in an upper surface thereof;
• means for maintaining inside of said suction chamber a negative pressure;
• and
• means for moving the chip devices along the upper surface of said suction chamber to said first transporting position, said means for moving the chip devices including a plurality of carriers each having a bottom surface slidable on the upper surface of said suction chamber and means for supporting said carriers during movement of said carriers;
• turning-over means for receiving the chip device indexed at said first transporting position with aid of the suction force, turning over the chip device thus held and transporting the chip device into a second transporting position;
• and
• mounting means for receiving the chip device indexed at said second transporting position with the aid of the suction force, transporting the chip device to a predetermined position adjacent the printed circuit board and placing the chip device on the printed circuit board.