System for supporting a printed circuit board during assembly

Abstract

system of helically coiled air hoses (18) supports a printed circuit board (14) in an assembly station, and allows the conveyor rails (15, 16) to adjust in and out, accommodating various widths of printed circuit boards (PCB). One of the conveyor rails is fixed and the other is movable. Air hoses are each formed in a helix and placed below the PCB and above the upper work surface of the assembly station, and arranged so that when the air hoses are pressurized the helix expands in diameter to become wedged between the work surface and the PCB to support it from below. One end of each of the air hoses is connected to the fixed rail and the other end is connected to the movable rail. The hoses are sufficiently flexible so as to be free to move about in a lateral direction, but they are diametrically rigid to prevent the diameter of each hose from changing substantially when the hoses are pressurized. The individual coils of the helix can be easily deflected by any protruding components on the bottom side of a printed circuit assembly as it shuttles into the assembly station. When the hoses are pressurized, the coils stiffen to support the PCB from the bottom, substantially preventing deformation of the PCB when a force is exerted upon it from above.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.