Apparatus for automatically packaging electronic parts on printed circuit board

An apparatus for automatically mounting electronic parts on a printed circuit board, comprising:

• a housing portion for housing a plurality of part supply units each for holding a plurality of electronic parts in a suppliable manner;
• packaging means, including a mounting board on which a plurality of part supply units are set, for removing respective electronic parts from respective part supply units on said mounting board and mounting the electronic parts at predetermined locations on a printed circuit board;
• transfer means for transferring respective part supply units from the housing portion to the mounting board;
• information storage means provided in respective part supply units in which information concerning the type and quantity of the electronic parts is stored and can be read from and written to;
• read/write means disposed in the housing portion and said transfer means for reading electronic part information from and writing electronic part information to the information storage means;
• production management instructing means for supplying a production schedule output including the quantity of printed circuit boards to be assembled and the types and quantities of electronic parts required for every printed circuit board to be assembled;
• and control means for controlling the housing portion, the packaging means, the transfer means and the read/write means in accordance with the production schedule output, for computing a remaining number of respective types of electronic parts, comparing the remaining number with the required number of each type of electronic part determined by the production management instructing means, and outputting information concerning the types and quantities of electronic parts in an out-of-stock condition.