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AssigneeYamaha Hatsudoki Kabushiki Kaisha
InventorsHiroshi Sakurai, Hitoshi Onodera, Kenichi Indo, Hiroyuki Ohta
Estimating the term…
A number of embodiments of component pick up and mounting devices that include a plurality of pick up heads. The speed of the device is improved by providing sensing of the orientation of the components picked up by the pick up devices in a common sensing station. The device also includes means whereby one of the pick up devices may pick up a component large enough to interfere with the picking up of components by the other pick up devices by precluding the picking up of components by the other pick up devices when such a component is picked up by the one pick up device. The device further increases the speed by permitting pick up, recognition and correction of component orientation and mounting either simultaneously or operation of two or more of these functions at the same time on different pick up devices.
A component handling apparatus for picking up a plurality of components from respective first stations, performing at least one operation upon each component and depositing the components at respective second stations, the first station being located at one area and the second station being located at a second area, said apparatus comprising a carriage, supporting means for supporting said carriage for translatory movement between said first and said second areas, a plurality of component holding devices each supported by said carriage in fixed relationship to said carriage in at least two directions and for movement relative to said carriage in the at least a third direction between respective pick up and deposit positions and travel positions, an operational device carried by said carriage for performing an operation on the components held by said component holding devices, operation means for effecting movement of each of said component devices relative to said carriage from their travel position to the pick up position, back to the travel position, and control means for determining if the location of the components in their respective first stations are the same as the relative location of the respective are the same as the relative location of the respective component holding devices in at least the two directions relative to the carriage and if so effecting simultaneous pick up from the components from their first stations by the component holding devices and, if not, effecting sequential pick up of the components by the component holding devices.
A method of operating a component handling apparatus for picking up a plurality of components from respective first stations, performing at lest one operation upon each component and depositing the components at respective second stations, the first station being located at one area and the second station being located at a second area, said apparatus comprising a carriage, supporting means for supporting said carriage for translatory movement between said first and said second areas, a plurality of component holding devices each supported by said carriage in fixed relationship to the carriage in at least two directions and for movement relative to the carriage in at least a third direction between respective pick up and deposit positions and travel positions, an operational device carried by said carriage for performing an operation on the components held by said component holding devices, operation means for effecting movement of each of said component holding devices from their travel position to the pick up position, back to the travel position, said method comprising the steps of determining if the location of the components in their respective first stations are the same as the relative location of the respective component holding devices in the at least two directions relative to the carriage, if so effecting simultaneously pick up from the components from their first stations by the component holding devices and, if not, effecting sequential pick up of the components by the component holding devices.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.