JP7474988B2 - Component mounting system and control method for component mounting machine - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a component mounting system and a method for controlling a component mounting machine.

The component mounter is equipped with a suction nozzle that picks up components. After picking up the component, the suction nozzle moves to the component mounting position and mounts the picked up component on the board. Productivity can be improved by increasing the movement speed of the suction nozzle. On the other hand, if the movement speed of the suction nozzle is too fast, the picked up component may become misaligned or detach, making it impossible to mount it correctly on the board. For this reason, there is a demand to optimize the movement speed of the suction nozzle. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a nozzle movement speed optimization system for a component mounter.

Patent No. 5988426

However, in the system disclosed in Patent Document 1, the optimization of the suction nozzle movement speed is performed as a pre-processing step prior to the production of mass-produced products. In order to increase the precision of the optimization, it is necessary to repeatedly check the suction state many times, which takes a certain amount of time. As a result, the start of mass production is delayed in this system, reducing the production efficiency of mass-produced products.

Therefore, the present disclosure provides a component mounting system and a control method for a component mounting machine that can help to simultaneously suppress declines in production efficiency and optimize the movement speed of the suction nozzle.

A component mounting system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a component mounting system including a component mounter that mounts multiple components on a board, the component mounter including multiple suction nozzles that pick up the components, a head that holds the multiple suction nozzles, and a drive mechanism that moves the head back and forth between a first position to which the multiple components are supplied and a second position to which the board is placed, the component mounting system including a recognition unit that recognizes the suction state of the components by the multiple suction nozzles, and a memory unit that stores the recognition results by the recognition unit, and the drive mechanism moves the head back and forth from the first position to a second position to which the board is placed. The head is moved to the second position at a first speed, and the head is moved from the second position to the first position at a second speed faster than the first speed, and a first nozzle that is one of the plurality of suction nozzles mounts the first component that was picked up at the first position on the board at the second position, and a second nozzle that is one of the plurality of suction nozzles moves from the second position to the first position while picking up the second component, without mounting the second component that was picked up at the first position on the board at the second position, and then moves from the first position to the second position while picking up the second component.

In addition, a control method for a component mounter according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a control method for a component mounter that mounts multiple components on a board, the component mounter including multiple suction nozzles that pick up the components, a head that holds the multiple suction nozzles, and a drive mechanism that moves the head back and forth between a first position to which the multiple components are supplied and a second position to which the board is placed, the control method for the component mounter including a speed control step of controlling the drive mechanism so that the head moves from the first position to the second position at a first speed and moves from the second position to the first position at a second speed faster than the first speed, and a suction control step of controlling the suction of the components by the multiple suction nozzles. a recognition step of recognizing the suction state of the component by the plurality of suction nozzles, and a storage step of storing the recognition result in the recognition step in a storage unit, and in the suction control step, a first nozzle, which is one of the plurality of suction nozzles, is caused to pick up a first component at the first position and mount the picked-up first component on the board at the second position, and a second nozzle, which is one of the plurality of suction nozzles, is caused to pick up a second component at the first position and maintain the second component in suction during movement from the second position to the first position and during movement from the first position to the second position without mounting the picked-up second component on the board at the second position.

In addition, one aspect of the present disclosure can be realized as a program that causes a computer to execute the above control method. Alternatively, one aspect of the present disclosure can be realized as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium that stores the program.

This disclosure can help prevent declines in production efficiency while optimizing the movement speed of the suction nozzle.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a component mounting system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a head and a suction nozzle provided in the component mounter according to the embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a movement deviation of a component caused by high speed movement of a suction nozzle. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the behavior of the production nozzle in the component mounting system according to the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the behavior of an experimental nozzle in the component mounting system according to the embodiment. FIG. 6A is a diagram showing an example of a recognition image of the immediately preceding turn. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an example of a recognition image for the current turn. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a scatter diagram of turn-to-turn change amounts. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing changes in the experimental speed of the head (suction nozzle). FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a first example of the selection of an experimental nozzle in the component mounting system according to the embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the component mounting system according to the first example shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a second example of the selection of the experimental nozzle in the component mounting system according to the embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the component mounting system according to the second example shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a third example of the selection of the experimental nozzle in the component mounting system according to the embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the component mounting system according to the third example shown in FIG. FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing the speed change process in the component mounting system according to the embodiment.

(Summary of the Disclosure)
A component mounting system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a component mounting system including a component mounter that mounts a plurality of components on a board, the component mounter including a plurality of suction nozzles that pick up the components, a head that holds the plurality of suction nozzles, and a drive mechanism that moves the head back and forth between a first position to which the plurality of components are supplied and a second position to which the board is placed, the component mounting system including a recognition unit that recognizes a state in which the components are picked up by the plurality of suction nozzles, and a memory unit that stores a recognition result by the recognition unit, and the drive mechanism moves the head back and forth between the first position to which the plurality of suction nozzles are supplied and a second position to which the board is placed. the head is moved from the first position to the second position at a first speed, and the head is moved from the second position to the first position at a second speed faster than the first speed, a first nozzle that is one of the plurality of suction nozzles mounts a first component that has been picked up at the first position onto the board at the second position, and a second nozzle that is one of the plurality of suction nozzles moves from the second position to the first position while picking up the second component, without mounting a second component that has been picked up at the first position onto the board at the second position, and then moves from the first position to the second position while picking up the second component.

Because the movement speed of the head (and suction nozzle) is high when moving from the second position where the board is placed to the first position where the components are supplied, the component mounting system of this embodiment uses this high-speed movement to conduct an experiment to determine whether the suction state of the components can withstand high-speed movement. By conducting an experiment using a second nozzle, which is not used in production, out of the multiple suction nozzles held by the head, the recognition results of the suction state can be accumulated as experimental results while mass-produced products are being produced. In other words, since there is no need to stop the production of mass-produced products, a large amount of experimental results can be obtained while suppressing a decrease in production efficiency. In this way, the component mounting system of this embodiment can help achieve both suppression of a decrease in production efficiency and optimization of the movement speed of the suction nozzle.

In addition, for example, the component mounting system according to one aspect of the present disclosure may further include a determination unit that determines whether the suction state of the second component by the second nozzle is normal based on the recognition result stored in the memory unit.

This allows for a determination of the suction state, which can be used to judge whether or not the component can withstand high-speed movement. In addition, the determination of the suction state of components used in mass-produced products can also be used to determine whether or not they can be mounted on a board.

Also, for example, when the determination unit determines that the suction state of the second component is normal, the drive mechanism may repeat the reciprocating movement of the head multiple times while the second nozzle keeps suctioning the second component.

This allows experiments to be conducted continuously, making it possible to accumulate many recognition results in a short period of time. The more recognition results there are, the more reliable the experimental results can be. This therefore increases the accuracy of optimization of movement speed.

Also, for example, the drive mechanism may increase the movement speed from the second position to the first position in a stepwise manner from a third speed slower than the second speed during repeated reciprocating movement of the head, thereby reaching the second speed.

This allows the speed to be increased in stages to the target speed, so if the suction state becomes abnormal during the speed increase, the experiment can be quickly stopped, preventing the halt of mass-produced production due to parts falling, etc.

Furthermore, for example, the driving mechanism may repeat the reciprocating movement of the head while the second nozzle is adsorbing the second component, in a state in which the moving speed from the second position to the first position is maintained at the second speed after the moving speed from the second position to the first position reaches the second speed.

This allows experiments to be conducted continuously, making it possible to accumulate many recognition results in a short period of time. The more recognition results there are, the more reliable the experimental results can be. This therefore increases the accuracy of optimization of movement speed.

Also, for example, the recognition unit may capture an image of the plurality of suction nozzles passing between the first position and the second position, the recognition result being an image including the second nozzle and the second component picked up by the second nozzle, and the determination unit may calculate an amount of deviation between a reference position of the second nozzle and a reference position of the second component based on the image, and determine whether or not the suction state of the second component is normal based on the calculated amount of deviation.

This makes it possible to easily and accurately determine whether the suction state is normal or not based on the amount of deviation between the reference positions.

Also, for example, the determination unit may determine whether the suction state of the second component is normal or not based on the difference between the calculated deviation amount and the immediately preceding deviation amount each time the head repeats reciprocating movement.

By using the difference between the current deviation amount and the previous deviation amount, it is possible to accurately detect the change in the adsorption state due to a single high-speed movement. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether or not the device can withstand high-speed movement.

In addition, for example, the drive mechanism may further change the movement speed from the first position to the second position to the second speed when the number of times that the suction state of the second component is determined to be normal becomes equal to or exceeds a predetermined number of times.

This allows the speed at which the head picks up a production part and moves it from the first position to the second position to be increased to a speed that is judged to be capable of withstanding high-speed movement. This allows the time required for one reciprocating movement of the head to be shortened, thereby improving production efficiency.

Also, for example, after the head has repeatedly moved back and forth, the second nozzle may release the suction of the second component, pick up one of the multiple components at the first position, and mount the picked-up component on the board at the second position.

This allows the suction nozzles used in the experiment to also be used in production. Since suction nozzles that are free during the production of mass-produced products (suction nozzles that are not used in production for a certain period of time) can be used effectively, it is possible to prevent a drop in production efficiency due to the effects of experiments. In addition, since the parts used in the experiment are discarded, it is possible to conduct experiments with different types of parts than those used in production.

Also, for example, the second nozzle may mount the second component on the substrate at the second position after repeated reciprocating movements of the head.

This allows the suction nozzles and parts used in the experiment to also be used in production. Since suction nozzles that are free during the production of mass-produced products (suction nozzles that are not used in production for a certain period of time) can be used effectively, it is possible to prevent a drop in production efficiency due to the effects of experiments. In addition, since the parts used in the experiment can also be used for mounting on boards, the number of parts that are discarded can be reduced.

Also, for example, the second nozzle may not be used at least for mounting the multiple components onto the substrate.

This allows the experimental nozzles to be used for experiments over a long period of time, without being used for production. This allows for more accumulated results, which increases the reliability of the experimental results.

In addition, a control method for a component mounter according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a control method for a component mounter that mounts multiple components on a board, the component mounter including multiple suction nozzles that pick up the components, a head that holds the multiple suction nozzles, and a drive mechanism that moves the head back and forth between a first position to which the multiple components are supplied and a second position to which the board is placed, the control method for the component mounter including a speed control step of controlling the drive mechanism so that the head moves from the first position to the second position at a first speed and moves from the second position to the first position at a second speed faster than the first speed, and a suction control step of controlling the suction of the components by the multiple suction nozzles. a recognition step of recognizing the suction state of the component by the plurality of suction nozzles, and a storage step of storing the recognition result in the recognition step in a storage unit, and in the suction control step, a first nozzle, which is one of the plurality of suction nozzles, is caused to pick up a first component at the first position and mount the picked-up first component on the board at the second position, and a second nozzle, which is one of the plurality of suction nozzles, is caused to pick up a second component at the first position and maintain the second component in suction during movement from the second position to the first position and during movement from the first position to the second position without mounting the picked-up second component on the board at the second position.

This allows for the same effect as the component mounting system described above to be achieved.

In addition, for example, the control method of a component mounter according to one aspect of the present disclosure may further include a determination step of determining whether or not the suction state of the second component by the second nozzle is normal based on the recognition result stored in the memory unit, and an output step of outputting information related to the second speed when the number of times that the suction state of the second component is determined to be normal reaches or exceeds a predetermined number of times.

This allows the judgment results to be used not only for the mounter on which the experiment was performed, but also for other mounters.

The following describes the embodiment in detail with reference to the drawings.

The embodiments described below are all comprehensive or specific examples. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component placement and connection forms, steps, and order of steps shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not described in an independent claim are described as optional components.

In addition, each figure is a schematic diagram and is not necessarily an exact illustration. Therefore, for example, the scales of each figure do not necessarily match. In addition, in each figure, substantially the same configuration is given the same reference numerals, and duplicate explanations are omitted or simplified.

In the following explanation, one turn means one reciprocating movement of the head of the component mounter. In other words, the movement of the head from the first position to the second position and from the second position to the first position is counted as one turn.

(Embodiment)
[1. Component Mounting System]
First, the configuration of a component mounting system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a component mounting system 1 according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the component mounting system 1 includes a component mounter 10, a planning device 20, a control device 30, and a management device 40. Each device is connected to each other so that they can communicate with each other via wired or wireless communication. The specific configuration of each device that constitutes the component mounting system 1 will be described below.

[1-1. Component Mounting Machine]
First, the component mounter 10 will be described.

The component mounter 10 is a device that mounts multiple components onto a substrate 3. The component mounter 10 manufactures electronic substrates for various devices, such as mobile terminals such as smartphones and tablet terminals, in-vehicle devices, home appliances, and computer devices. The substrate 3 is, for example, a printed circuit board.

Each of the multiple components is a circuit component such as a resistor, a capacitor, an inductor, or a transformer. The multiple components are, for example, SMD (Surface Mount Device) type circuit components that can be surface mounted.

The multiple parts include production parts 2a and experimental parts 2b, as shown in FIG. 1. The production parts 2a are an example of a first part used in production, and are parts that are mounted on the board 3. The experimental parts 2b are an example of a second part used in an experiment, and are not mounted on the board 3. The experimental parts 2b may be of the same type as the production parts 2a, or may be of a different type.

An "experiment" means moving the suction nozzle at high speed while it is picking up a component. By checking the state of the component after the high-speed movement, it is possible to determine whether the component's state can withstand high-speed movement, specifically, whether the component after high-speed movement can be mounted on the board as is. The more experiments are performed, the more reliable the experimental results will be, and therefore the more accurate the optimization of the movement speed can be.

In addition, as will be described in detail later, the experimental part 2b may be mounted on the board 3 after being used in an experiment. In other words, one part may be both an experimental part 2b and a production part 2a.

As shown in FIG. 1, the component mounter 10 includes multiple suction nozzles for suctioning components, a head 12, a drive mechanism 13, a feeder 14, and a recognition unit 15. The multiple suction nozzles include a production nozzle 11a and an experimental nozzle 11b.

The production nozzle 11a is an example of a first nozzle, which is one of a plurality of suction nozzles, and is used in production. Specifically, the production nozzle 11a picks up the production parts 2a supplied from the feeder 14, and mounts the picked-up production parts 2a on the board 3. The production nozzle 11a repeatedly picks up the production parts 2a and mounts them on the board 3.

The experimental nozzle 11b is an example of a second nozzle, which is one of a plurality of suction nozzles, and is used for experiments. Specifically, the experimental nozzle 11b picks up the experimental part 2b supplied from the feeder 14, and keeps the experimental part 2b in the suction state without mounting the picked-up experimental part 2b on the board 3.

The specific operation of each of the production nozzle 11a and the experimental nozzle 11b will be described later with reference to Figures 4 and 5. In addition, as will be described in detail later, the experimental nozzle 11b may function as the production nozzle 11a after being used in an experiment. In other words, one suction nozzle may be the experimental nozzle 11b in a given turn and the production nozzle 11a in another turn.

The head 12 holds multiple suction nozzles. Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of the head 12 and suction nozzles provided in the component mounter 10 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 2, the head 12 has a plurality of nozzle holders 12a for holding suction nozzles. Suction nozzles can be attached one-to-one to the plurality of nozzle holders 12a. FIG. 2 shows an example in which the head 12 can hold four suction nozzles. The four suction nozzles include production nozzles 11a, 11c, and 11d, and an experimental nozzle 11b. Note that there may be a plurality of experimental nozzles, or there may be only one production nozzle.

The drive mechanism 13 moves the head 12 back and forth between the suction position and the mounting position. The drive mechanism 13 is realized, for example, by an actuator or a stepping motor.

The suction position is an example of a first position where multiple components are supplied, and is a position where the suction nozzle picks up the components. Specifically, the suction position is a position where components are supplied by the feeder 14. The suction position is also called the component supply position. The mounting position is an example of a second position where the board 3 is placed, and is a position where the suction nozzle mounts the components on the board. The mounting position is also called the board placement position.

In the following, the movement of the head 12 from the suction position to the mounting position is referred to as the "outward path." The movement speed of the head 12 on the outward path is referred to as the "outward path speed." The movement of the head 12 from the mounting position to the suction position is referred to as the "return path." The movement speed of the head 12 on the return path is referred to as the "return path speed." The outward path speed is an example of a first speed. The return path speed is an example of a second speed, and is faster than the outward path speed. In other words, the drive mechanism 13 moves the head 12 from the suction position to the mounting position at the outward path speed, and moves the head 12 from the mounting position to the suction position at a return path speed that is faster than the outward path speed. The drive mechanism 13 repeats the reciprocating movement of the head 12 multiple times.

When the driving mechanism 13 moves the head 12, the head 12 and the multiple suction nozzles move together. In other words, when the head 12 moves, both the production nozzle 11a and the experimental nozzle 11b attached to the head 12 move. The movement speed of the head 12 is equal to the movement speed of each of the production nozzle 11a and the experimental nozzle 11b. In other words, the forward speed of the production nozzle 11a is equal to the forward speed of the experimental nozzle 11b. The return speed of the production nozzle 11a is equal to the return speed of the experimental nozzle 11b. The same is true for the production nozzles 11c and 11d.

Feeder 14 is a parts supply unit that supplies production parts 2a and experimental parts 2b.

The recognition unit 15 recognizes the state of component suction by the multiple suction nozzles. Specifically, the recognition unit 15 is an imaging unit that images the multiple suction nozzles passing between the suction position and the mounting position. More specifically, the recognition unit 15 takes an image each time the head 12 moves along the outward path (i.e., every turn). The recognition unit 15 is realized, for example, by an optical element such as a lens, an image sensor, etc.

The recognition unit 15 captures an image of the suction nozzle with a component picked up, and generates an image (hereinafter referred to as the "recognition image") that includes the suction nozzle and the component picked up by the suction nozzle. The recognition image includes, for example, all of the suction nozzles held by the head 12. In other words, the recognition image includes the production nozzle 11a, the production component 2a, the experimental nozzle 11b, and the experimental component 2b. The recognition image is an image that collectively represents the state of component pick-up by all of the suction nozzles.

[1-2. Planning device]
Next, the planning device 20 will be described.

The planning device 20 is a device that creates a production plan and an experimental plan for the movement speed of mass-produced products. The planning device 20 is realized, for example, by a computer device equipped with a processor, a memory, an input/output device, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the planning device 20 includes an input unit 21, a memory unit 22, an experimental planning unit 24, and a production planning unit 25.

The input unit 21 accepts input of candidate experiment conditions from a user. The user may be a production manager or production planner of the component mounting system 1. The candidate experiment conditions are experimental conditions for optimizing the movement speed, and are expressed as at least one of the suction nozzle type, component type (variety), and board type, or a combination of at least two of these.

The storage unit 22 stores condition information 23. The condition information 23 is information indicating candidate experiment conditions input by the input unit 21. The storage unit 22 may store a program for operating the planning device 20, etc. The storage unit 22 is realized by a non-volatile storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a semiconductor memory.

The experimental planning unit 24 creates an experimental plan based on the condition information 23 while referring to the production plan. Specifically, the experimental planning unit 24 determines whether or not the experimental nozzle 11b can be secured without reducing the production efficiency that can be calculated based on the production plan. Specifically, when there is a suction nozzle that is not used in production for a predetermined number of consecutive turns or more, the experimental planning unit 24 determines that the suction nozzle can be secured as the experimental nozzle 11b. For example, when there is a suction nozzle that is not used in the production plan and the type of the suction nozzle is the type of suction nozzle indicated by the condition information 23, the experimental planning unit 24 creates an experimental plan to use the suction nozzle as the experimental nozzle 11b.

The production planning unit 25 creates a production plan for mass-produced products. The production plan is information that indicates the combination of multiple components to be mounted on the board 3 and multiple suction nozzles for each turn. For example, based on the production plan, the time required to mount all components on one board 3 can be calculated as an example of production efficiency.

The production planning unit 25 also modifies the production plan based on the experimental plan created by the experimental planning unit 24. For example, by changing the turn on which the component is mounted and/or the suction nozzle used to mount the component, it may be possible to secure the experimental nozzle 11b without reducing production efficiency. In this case, the production planning unit 25 modifies the production plan based on the experimental plan so that the experimental nozzle 11b is secured. The production planning unit 25 transmits the generated production plan and experimental plan to the control device 30.

[1-3. Control device]
Next, the control device 30 will be described.

The control device 30 controls the component mounter 10 based on the production plan and the experiment plan. The control device 30 is, for example, but is not limited to, a microcontroller or a computer device.

The control device 30 controls the movement of the head 12 by controlling the drive mechanism 13. The control device 30 may change the movement speed of the head 12 based on the determination result by the determination unit 44 of the management device 40.

The control device 30 also controls the operation of the multiple suction nozzles via the head 12. Specifically, the control device 30 controls the suction and release of suction of each of the multiple suction nozzles. For example, when the determination unit 44 determines that the suction state of the production part 2a is not normal, the control device 30 controls the production nozzle 11a that picks up the production part 2a, thereby causing the production part 2a to be discarded without being mounted on the board 3.

[1-4. Management Device]
Next, the management device 40 will be described.

The management device 40 is a device that accumulates the recognition results by the recognition unit 15. The management device 40 also evaluates the experimental results based on the accumulated recognition results. The management device 40 is realized, for example, by a computer device that includes a processor, a memory, an input/output device, and the like. As shown in FIG. 1, the management device 40 includes an acquisition unit 41, a storage unit 42, a determination unit 44, and a display unit 45.

The acquisition unit 41 acquires the recognition result from the recognition unit 15.

The storage unit 42 stores accumulated information 43. The accumulated information 43 is information indicating the recognition result by the recognition unit 15. Specifically, the accumulated information 43 includes a plurality of recognition images obtained by imaging for each turn. Note that the accumulated information 43 may include a recognition amount or an inter-turn change amount, which will be described later, instead of or in addition to the recognition images. The storage unit 42 may store a program for operating the management device 40, and the like. The storage unit 42 is realized by a non-volatile storage device such as an HDD or semiconductor memory.

The judgment unit 44 judges whether the suction state of the production nozzle 11a for the production part 2a is normal or not. If the suction state of the production part 2a is not normal, it cannot be mounted on the board 3, so the judgment result is output to the control device 30, and the production nozzle 11a is controlled so as not to mount on the board 3.

The judgment unit 44 judges whether the suction state of the experimental part 2b by the experimental nozzle 11b is normal or not based on the recognition result stored in the memory unit 42. The judgment result of the experimental part 2b is used to evaluate the movement speed of the head 12 (suction nozzle).

Specifically, the determination unit 44 calculates the amount of deviation between the reference position of the experimental nozzle 11b and the reference position of the experimental part 2b based on the recognition image, and determines whether the suction state of the experimental part 2b is normal or not based on the calculated amount of deviation. More specifically, each time the head 12 repeats reciprocating movement, the determination unit 44 determines whether the suction state of the experimental part 2b is normal or not based on the difference between the calculated amount of deviation and the immediately preceding amount of deviation. The amount of deviation is also referred to as the recognition amount. The difference in the amount of deviation is also referred to as the amount of change between turns. Specific examples of the recognition amount and the amount of change between turns will be described later.

The display unit 45 displays predetermined information generated based on the recognition result. The display unit 45 is realized, for example, by a liquid crystal display device or an organic EL (Electroluminescence) display device.

For example, the display unit 45 generates a scatter diagram of the recognition amount or the amount of change between turns, and displays the generated scatter diagram. The horizontal and vertical axes of the scatter diagram are the horizontal (X-axis) and vertical (Y-axis) of the recognition image. The scatter diagram makes it possible to grasp the variation in the recognition amount for each turn or the amount of change between turns.

[2. Movement deviation]
Next, a description will be given of component misalignment (hereinafter referred to as movement misalignment) that may occur when the suction nozzle moves at high speed with reference to FIG.

Figure 3 is a diagram for explaining the displacement of a part caused by high-speed movement of the suction nozzle. (a) in Figure 3 shows the suction state before the high-speed movement, and (b) shows the suction state after the high-speed movement. In (b), the part before the high-speed movement is illustrated as pre-movement part 2x.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the production nozzle 11a moves at high speed, the picked-up production component 2a may shift due to the effects of acceleration and deceleration. If the amount of shift due to the movement is too large, the production component 2a cannot be mounted in the correct position on the board 3. In this case, the production nozzle 11a discards the picked-up production component 2a without mounting it on the board 3.

When production parts 2a are discarded, the number of discarded parts increases, and production costs worsen. In addition, because it is necessary to repeatedly pick up and mount the same type of production parts 2a, the takt time increases and production efficiency decreases. For this reason, the forward speed is kept low to prevent movement deviations from occurring.

On the other hand, the production nozzle 11a does not pick up parts on the return trip. This allows the return trip speed to be faster than the forward trip speed.

The movement deviation varies depending on the movement speed, the size and weight of the component, and the ease of being picked up by the suction nozzle. In other words, if the type of component and the type of suction nozzle are different, the amount of deviation due to movement may differ even if the movement speed is the same. Therefore, since the allowable range of the movement speed at which mounting on the board 3 can be performed correctly differs depending on the combination of the type of component and the type of suction nozzle, it is necessary to determine the allowable range of the movement speed for each combination of the type of component and the type of suction nozzle, and to determine the optimal movement speed (for example, the upper limit of the allowable range). In order to accurately determine the optimal movement speed, it is necessary to repeat experiments to determine whether the movement deviation due to high-speed movement is within the allowable range for each combination of the type of component and the type of suction nozzle. In this embodiment, the experiment is repeated using a return speed that is faster than the outward speed as the experimental speed.

[3. Suction Nozzle Behavior]
Next, the behavior of the suction nozzle will be described with reference to FIGS.

[3-1. Production nozzle]
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the behavior of the production nozzle 11a in the component mounting system 1 according to the present embodiment. (a) to (c) of FIG. 4 show the behavior of the production nozzle 11a on the outward path. Also, (d) to (f) of FIG. 4 show the behavior of the production nozzle 11a on the return path. (a) and (f) of FIG. 4 show the behavior of the production nozzle 11a at the pickup position. (c) and (d) of FIG. 4 show the behavior of the production nozzle 11a at the mounting position. (b) and (e) of FIG. 4 show the behavior of the production nozzle 11a between the pickup position and the mounting position. (a) to (f) of FIG. 4 are one turn.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), the production nozzle 11a picks up the production part 2a supplied from the feeder 14. The production nozzle 11a moves from the pick-up position to the mounting position at a forward speed while picking up the production part 2a. During this movement, the pick-up state is recognized by the recognition unit 15, as shown in FIG. 4(b).

Next, as shown in (c) and (d) of FIG. 4, the production nozzle 11a mounts the production part 2a on the board 3. At this time, if it is determined that the suction state of the production part 2a is not normal based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 15, the production nozzle 11a discards the production part 2a without mounting it.

Next, as shown in (e) and (f) of FIG. 4, the production nozzle 11a moves from the mounting position to the suction position at a return speed that is faster than the forward speed. At this time, the production nozzle 11a is not picking up a component. (f) of FIG. 4 shows the state in which the next production component 2c is being supplied from the feeder 14 at the suction position.

After this, production nozzle 11a repeats a turn consisting of a cycle of pickup, low-speed movement, mounting, and high-speed movement. Similarly, production nozzles 11c and 11d are held by the same head 12, so they repeat turns in the same cycle as production nozzle 11a.

[3-2. Experimental nozzle]
Fig. 5 is a diagram showing the behavior of the experimental nozzle 11b in the component mounting system 1 according to the present embodiment. (a) to (f) in Fig. 5 respectively show the behavior of the experimental nozzle 11b at the same timing as (a) to (f) in Fig. 4.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), the experimental nozzle 11b picks up the experimental part 2b supplied from the feeder 14. The experimental nozzle 11b moves from the pick-up position to the mounting position at a forward speed while picking up the experimental part 2b. During this movement, the pick-up state is recognized by the recognition unit 15, as shown in FIG. 5(b).

Next, as shown in (c) and (d) of FIG. 5, the experimental nozzle 11b does not mount the experimental part 2b on the board 3 at the mounting position. In other words, the experimental nozzle 11b maintains the adsorption of the experimental part 2b. Note that if it is determined that the adsorption state of the experimental part 2b is not normal based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 15, the experimental nozzle 11b discards the experimental part 2b.

Next, as shown in (e) and (f) of FIG. 5, the experimental nozzle 11b moves from the mounting position to the suction position at a return speed faster than the forward speed while still holding the experimental component 2b. The experimental nozzle 11b continues to hold the experimental component 2b even at the suction position. The experimental nozzle 11b moves from the suction position to the mounting position at the forward speed while still holding the experimental component 2b. At this time, the suction state is recognized by the recognition unit 15 as shown in (b) of FIG. 5. Since the experimental component 2b has been moved at high speed, there is a possibility that a movement deviation has occurred. Therefore, the presence or absence of a movement deviation can be determined based on the recognition result by the recognition unit 15.

Then, the experimental nozzle 11b repeats turns consisting of cycles of low-speed movement and high-speed movement. In other words, one experimental part 2b is kept adsorbed to the experimental nozzle 11b over multiple consecutive turns.

If the experimental part 2b has been discarded when the experimental nozzle 11b returns to the suction position shown in FIG. 5(f), the experimental nozzle 11b picks up a new experimental part 2b at the suction position as shown in FIG. 5(a). Multiple turns are repeated for the new experimental part 2b.

Since the production nozzle 11a and the experimental nozzle 11b are held in the same head 12, production and experiments are carried out simultaneously. In other words, it is possible to obtain many recognition results by repeating experiments without reducing production efficiency.

[4. Recognition image and judgment process]
Next, the recognition result by the recognition unit 15 and the determination process using the recognition result will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B. FIG.

Figure 6A is a diagram showing an example of the recognition image 15a of the previous turn. Figure 6B is a diagram showing an example of the recognition image 15b of the current turn. Both Figures 6A and 6B show the case where only the experimental nozzle 11b and the experimental part 2b are present in each of the recognition images 15a and 15b, and the illustration of the other suction nozzles is omitted.

The recognition unit 15 is disposed below the space through which the head 12, the suction nozzles, and the components pass, and images the suction nozzles and the components from below upward. Therefore, the recognition images 15a and 15b are images of the undersides of the components. In Figs. 6A and 6B, the tip of the experimental nozzle 11b (i.e., the contact portion with the experimental component 2b) is shown by a dashed line. The exact position of the experimental nozzle 11b can be determined based on the reference position of the nozzle holder 12a or the head 12 (not shown in Figs. 6A and 6B) included in each of the recognition images 15a and 15b, even if the experimental nozzle 11b is hidden behind the experimental component 2b and cannot be seen.

Figures 6A and 6B respectively show the reference position N of the experimental nozzle 11b and the reference position P of the experimental part 2b. The reference position N of the experimental nozzle 11b is the center position when the tip of the experimental nozzle 11b is viewed from the front (below). If the tip shape of the experimental nozzle 11b is circular, the reference position N is the center of the circle. The reference position P of the experimental part 2b is the center position when the bottom surface of the experimental part 2b is viewed from the front. If the bottom view shape of the experimental part 2b is rectangular or square, the reference position P is the intersection point of two diagonals. Note that the reference positions N and P do not have to be the center positions of each, and may be a point on each contour, and are not particularly limited.

In this embodiment, the determination unit 44 calculates the distance between the reference position P and the reference position N as the deviation amount. The deviation amount of the previous turn shown in FIG. 6A is d1, and the deviation amount of the current turn shown in FIG. 6B is d2. Here, the deviation amount d2 is greater than the deviation amount d1. In other words, it can be seen that a single high-speed movement has caused a change in the adsorption state.

The judgment unit 44 judges whether the suction state of the experimental part 2b is normal or not based on the difference between the deviation amount d2 and the deviation amount d1. For example, the judgment unit 44 compares the difference d2-d1 with a predetermined threshold value, and judges that the suction state is not normal if the difference is greater than the threshold value. If the difference is smaller than the threshold value, it judges that the suction state is normal. The threshold value is a value that is determined based on whether or not the part can be mounted on the board 3, and is determined based on the type of part, etc. The threshold value may be 0.

In this way, by using the difference in deviation between turns, it is possible to accurately grasp the movement deviation that occurs during one high-speed movement. This makes it possible to accurately determine whether the movement deviation caused by high-speed movement is acceptable, i.e., whether it is possible to increase the outbound speed.

The judgment unit 44 counts the number of times that the suction state of the experimental part 2b is judged to be normal (hereinafter referred to as the "normal number"), and judges whether the counted normal number is equal to or greater than a predetermined number. If the normal number is equal to or greater than the predetermined number, the judgment unit 44 judges that the forward speed can be changed to the return speed (experimental speed), and outputs speed information regarding the return speed to the control device 30. The speed information is information indicating that the forward speed can be changed to the return speed. The speed information may include a value for the return speed.

The determination unit 44 may determine whether the outbound speed can be changed to the return speed by statistically processing a plurality of recognition amounts or inter-turn change amounts. For example, the determination unit 44 may create a scatter diagram of the inter-turn change amounts. Specifically, the determination unit 44 calculates the X and Y components of the inter-turn change amounts, and plots the calculated inter-turn change amounts on a scatter diagram with the X and Y axes as the horizontal and vertical axes, respectively.

The X component of the amount of change between turns is calculated as dx2 - dx1. The Y component of the amount of change between turns is calculated as dy2 - dy1. dx1 and dy1 are the X and Y components of the recognition amount d1, respectively, as shown in Figure 6A. dx2 and dy2 are the X and Y components of the recognition amount d2, respectively, as shown in Figure 6B.

Figure 7 is a diagram showing an example of a scatter diagram of the amount of change between turns. The scatter diagram shown in Figure 7 is displayed on the display unit 45. This makes it easier to visually understand the variation in the amount of change between turns, so it may be used to determine whether or not the user can change the outbound speed to the return speed. Alternatively, the determination unit 44 may calculate at least one of the average, standard deviation (or variance), and maximum value of the amount of change between multiple turns.

For example, the determination unit 44 may calculate the average and standard deviation, and determine that the forward speed can be changed to the return speed if each of the calculated values is smaller than a predetermined value. This allows the return speed, which has little movement deviation and little variation and is stable, to be used as the forward speed. Alternatively, the determination unit 44 may calculate the maximum value and standard deviation, and determine that the forward speed can be changed to the return speed if each of the calculated values is smaller than a predetermined value. This allows the return speed, which has little possibility of an error occurring and has little variation and is stable, to be used as the forward speed. This can increase the stability of production and contribute to improving production efficiency.

[5. Setting the return speed (experimental speed)]
Next, the process of setting the return speed (experimental speed) will be described with reference to FIG.

Figure 8 shows the change in the experimental speed (return speed) of the head 12. In Figure 8, the horizontal axis represents the number of turns, and the vertical axis represents the return speed. Figure 8 shows the change in the return speed when the suction state of the experimental part 2b is determined to be normal, and the head 12 repeatedly moves back and forth while one experimental part 2b is being suctioned.

As shown in FIG. 8, when an experiment is performed, a target speed for the return speed is set. The target speed is an example of a second speed. For example, the input unit 21 of the planning device 20 acquires the target speed by accepting input from a user.

In this embodiment, the drive mechanism 13 increases the return speed in stages from the start speed during repeated reciprocating movements of the head 12, thereby reaching the target speed. The number of turns (steps) of the speed increase is, for example, 20 times, but is not particularly limited. The start speed is an example of a third speed, and is a speed slower than the target speed. For example, the start speed is the forward speed, but may be a speed faster than the forward speed.

Recognition is also performed at each turn of speed increase. Therefore, if it is determined based on the recognition results that the suction state of the experimental part 2b is not normal, the experiment can be stopped immediately. This makes it possible to prevent the stop of mass-produced production due to the occurrence of a part falling, etc. Alternatively, the production plan and the experiment plan can be changed to slow down the target speed of the experiment, within an acceptable range of reduction in production efficiency.

Furthermore, after the return speed reaches the target speed, the driving mechanism 13 repeats the back and forth movement of the head 12 while the experimental nozzle 11b is adsorbing the experimental part 2b, with the return speed maintained at the target speed. When the number of back and forth movements repeated at the target speed, i.e., the number of turns, reaches or exceeds a predetermined number, the determining unit 44 determines that the forward speed can be changed to the target speed. Thereafter, the driving mechanism 13 changes the forward speed to the target speed. The driving mechanism 13 may set a new target speed and repeat the experiment, or may only perform production at the same forward and return speeds.

[6. motion]
Next, a description will be given of the operation of the component mounting system 1. The component mounting system 1 performs different operations depending on how the experimental nozzle 11b is selected. Below, an example of the selection of the experimental nozzle 11b and a description will be given of the operation based on the example of the selection. The operation will be described.

[6-1. First example]
First, the first example will be described with reference to FIGS.

Figure 9 is a diagram showing a first example of the selection of an experimental nozzle 11b in the component mounting system 1 according to this embodiment. (a) in Figure 9 shows the production plan before correction based on the experimental plan. (b) in Figure 9 shows the production plan corrected based on the experimental plan.

Figure 9 shows the use of four nozzles N001 to N004 for eight turns. For example, Figure 9 corresponds to a production plan in which there are 24 components to be mounted on board 3, and all components are completed in eight turns using only three nozzles.

As shown in FIG. 9(a), nozzles N001 to N003 are all used in production in every turn. On the other hand, nozzle N004 is not used in production in every turn. In other words, nozzle N004 is a suction nozzle that is not used to mount multiple components on a single board 3. In this case, as shown in FIG. 9(b), nozzle N004 that is not used in production is selected as the experimental nozzle 11b and is used in the experiment in every turn.

Figure 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the component mounting system 1 according to the first example shown in Figure 9.

As shown in FIG. 10, first, a combination of suction nozzles and components to be experimented is registered via the input unit 21 (S10). The input unit 21 stores the input combination of suction nozzles and components as condition information 23 in the storage unit 22.

Next, the production planning unit 25 determines whether or not the experimental nozzle 11b can be secured based on the production plan (S11). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 9, if nozzle N004 is also used in production, there are no suction nozzles not used in production, and therefore the experimental nozzle 11b cannot be secured. Therefore, if the experimental nozzle 11b cannot be secured (No in S11), the component mounting system 1 ends the process. Note that instead of ending the process, the component mounting system 1 may only perform production without conducting an experiment.

If the experimental nozzle 11b can be secured (Yes in S11), the experimental planning unit 24 creates an experimental plan (S12). Specifically, the nozzle N004 shown in FIG. 9 is used as the experimental nozzle 11b, and the part combined with the nozzle N004 is determined as the experimental part 2b by referring to the condition information 23.

Next, the production planning unit 25 modifies the production plan based on the experimental plan (S13). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the experimental plan for nozzle N004 is incorporated into the production plan. The modified production plan is sent to the control device 30.

Next, the suction nozzle is attached to the head 12 (S14). For example, the user attaches the production nozzle 11a and the experimental nozzle 11b to the nozzle holder 12a of the head 12. Then, the component mounting system 1 waits until production and experimentation start (No in S15).

When production and experimentation are started (Yes in S15), the experimental nozzle 11b picks up the experimental part 2b (S16), and the production nozzle 11a picks up the production part 2a (S17). Note that the parts can be picked up either first, or simultaneously.

Next, the drive mechanism 13 starts moving the head 12 from the suction position toward the mounting position (S18). While the head 12 is moving, the recognition unit 15 recognizes the suction status of all components (S19). Specifically, the recognition unit 15 captures images of all suction nozzles and all components to generate a recognition image including all suction nozzles and all components. The generated recognition image is stored as accumulated information 43 in the memory unit 42 via the acquisition unit 41 (S20).

Next, the judgment unit 44 judges whether the suction state of all the parts is normal or not (S21). If there is even one part whose suction state is not normal (No in S21), the control device 30 controls the corresponding suction nozzle to discard the abnormal part (S22). At this time, the production part 2a may be discarded, or the experimental part 2b may be discarded.

After the defective parts are discarded, or if the suction status of all parts is normal (Yes in S21), the production nozzle 11a mounts the production parts 2a on the board 3 (S23). Next, the drive mechanism 13 moves the head 12 from the mounting position to the suction position at a high return speed (S24).

If the experiment is not to be ended (No in S25), the control device 30 judges whether the experimental nozzle 11b is still holding the experimental part 2b by suction (S26). If the experimental nozzle 11b is not holding the experimental part 2b, i.e., if the experimental part 2b was discarded in step S22 (No in S26), the experimental nozzle 11b picks up a new experimental part 2b (S16), and the processing from step S17 onwards is repeated. If the experimental nozzle 11b is holding the experimental part 2b, i.e., if the experimental part 2b was not discarded in step S22 (Yes in S26), the production nozzle 11a picks up the next production part 2a (S17), and the processing from step S18 onwards is repeated. In this case, the experimental nozzle 11b is maintained holding the experimental part 2b.

After that, the component implementation and the experiment are repeated until the experiment is terminated (Yes in S25). As a result, the recognition results are stored as accumulated information 43 in the memory unit 42 of the management device 40.

As is clear from FIG. 9, the suction nozzles not used in production are used as experimental nozzles 11b, so experiments can be performed repeatedly without reducing production efficiency. Therefore, the component mounting system 1 according to this embodiment can help to achieve both suppression of a decrease in production efficiency and optimization of the suction nozzle movement speed.

[6-2. Second Example]
Next, a second example will be described with reference to FIGS.

Figure 11 is a diagram showing a second example of the selection of an experimental nozzle 11b in the component mounting system 1 according to this embodiment. (a) of Figure 11 shows the production plan before correction based on the experimental plan. (b) of Figure 11 shows the production plan corrected based on the experimental plan.

Figure 11 shows the usage of four nozzles N001 to N004 for eight turns. As shown in (a) of Figure 11, nozzles N001 to N003 are all used for production in every turn. On the other hand, nozzle N004 is used for production in turns 1, 2, 7, and 8, but is not used for production in turns 3 to 6.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 11(b), nozzle N004 is selected as the experimental nozzle 11b only in turns 3 to 6, which are not used in production. In turns 1, 2, 7, and 8, nozzle N004 functions as the production nozzle 11a as per the initial production plan. After repeatedly moving back and forth as the experimental nozzle 11b in turns 3 to 6, nozzle N004 releases the adsorption of the experimental part 2b, discarding it. Then, in turn 7, nozzle N004, as the production nozzle 11a, adsorbs the production part 2a and mounts it on the board 3.

Figure 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the component mounting system 1 according to the second example shown in Figure 11. The following will focus on the differences from Figure 10, and the explanation of the commonalities will be omitted or simplified.

As shown in FIG. 12, the process (S10 to S15) before production and experimentation starts is the same as the process shown in FIG. 10. When production and experimentation starts (Yes in S15), if the experimental nozzle 11b is secured first (Yes in S30), the experimental nozzle 11b picks up the experimental part 2b (S16), and the production nozzle 11a picks up the production part 2a (S17).

As shown in FIG. 11, if the experimental nozzle 11b is not secured at first (No in S30), the production nozzle 11a picks up the production part 2a (S17). In other words, in the first turn, all of the multiple suction nozzles function as the production nozzles 11a.

The subsequent processes (S18 to S21) until it is determined whether the suction status of all parts is normal based on the recognition results are the same as those shown in FIG. 10. After discarding the abnormal parts, or if the suction status of all parts is normal (Yes in S21), the control device 30 determines whether or not to use the experimental nozzle 11b for production in the next turn based on the production plan (S31). Note that in turns in which the experimental nozzle 11b is not secured (for example, turns 1, 2, 7, and 8 in FIG. 11), this determination is omitted.

In turn 6 of FIG. 11, nozzle N004, which is the experimental nozzle 11b, will be used in production in the next turn 7. Therefore, in this case (Yes in S31), the control device 30 causes the experimental nozzle 11b to release the suction of the experimental part 2b, thereby disposing of the experimental part 2b (S32).

In turns 3 to 5 of FIG. 11, nozzle N004, which is the experimental nozzle 11b, is also used as the experimental nozzle 11b in the next turn. Therefore, since the experimental nozzle 11b is not used for production (No in S31), the experimental part 2b is not discarded and remains adsorbed.

Then, the production nozzle 11a mounts the production component 2a on the board 3 (S23). Next, the drive mechanism 13 moves the head 12 from the mounting position to the suction position at a high return speed (S24).

If the experiment is not to be ended (No in S25), the control device 30 judges whether the experimental nozzle 11b is still holding the experimental part 2b by suction (S26). If the experimental nozzle 11b is not holding the experimental part 2b and the experimental part 2b was discarded in step S22 because the suction state was not normal (No in S26 and No in S33), the experimental nozzle 11b picks up a new experimental part 2b (S16), and the process from step S17 onwards is repeated.

If the experimental nozzle 11b is not holding the experimental part 2b, and the experimental part 2b has been discarded in step S32 in order to use the experimental nozzle 11b for production in the next turn (No in S26 and Yes in S33), the control device 30 changes the function of the experimental nozzle 11b to the production nozzle 11a (S34). As a result, in step S17, the production nozzle 11a that was the experimental nozzle 11b in the previous turn can pick up the production part 2a in the same way as the other production nozzles 11a. Thereafter, the processing from step S18 onwards is repeated.

If the experimental nozzle 11b is holding the experimental part 2b, i.e., the experimental part 2b has not been discarded in step S22 or S32 (Yes in S26), the production nozzle 11a picks up the next production part 2a (S17), and the processing from step S18 onwards is repeated. In this case, the experimental nozzle 11b is maintained holding the experimental part 2b.

After that, the mounting of the parts and the experiment are repeated until the experiment is finished (Yes in S25). As a result, the recognition results are stored as accumulated information 43 in the memory unit 42 of the management device 40. Furthermore, if the suction nozzle that functioned as the experimental nozzle 11b is used in production in the next turn, the experimental part 2b is discarded in the previous turn. This allows the experiment to be performed repeatedly without affecting production.

As is clear from FIG. 11, the suction nozzle is used as the experimental nozzle 11b only during turns that are not used for production, so experiments can be performed repeatedly without reducing production efficiency. Therefore, the component mounting system 1 according to this embodiment can help to achieve both suppression of reductions in production efficiency and optimization of the suction nozzle movement speed.

[6-3. Third example]
Next, a third example will be described with reference to FIGS.

Figure 13 is a diagram showing a third example of the selection of an experimental nozzle 11b in the component mounting system 1 according to this embodiment. (a) of Figure 13 shows the production plan before correction based on the experimental plan. (b) of Figure 13 shows the production plan corrected based on the experimental plan.

Figure 13 shows the use of four nozzles N001 to N004 for eight turns. The production plan shown in Figure 13 has the same functions as the production plan shown in Figure 11 for each suction nozzle. It differs from Figure 11 in that the experimental parts 2b are also production parts 2a. Specifically, as shown in Figure 13(b), in turn 3 when the experiment begins, the production parts 2a to be used in production in turn 7 when production resumes are picked up as experimental parts 2b. In turn 7, the experimental parts 2b that continued to be picked up during the experiment are mounted on the board 3 as production parts 2a.

Figure 14 is a flowchart showing the operation of the component mounting system 1 according to the third example shown in Figure 13. In the following, the differences with Figures 10 and 12 will be mainly described, and the description of the commonalities will be omitted or simplified.

As shown in FIG. 14, the process (S10 to S15) until the start of production and experiment is the same as the process shown in FIG. 10. When production and experiment are started (Yes in S15), if the experimental nozzle 11b is secured first (Yes in S30), the experimental nozzle 11b picks up the production part 2a to be mounted on the board 3 in a later turn as the experimental part 2b (S40). For example, in the example shown in FIG. 13, the nozzle N004 is secured as the experimental nozzle 11b in turn 3, so it picks up the production part 2a at this time. Specifically, it picks up the production part 2a to be mounted in turn 7, which next functions as the production nozzle 11a, as the experimental part 2b. After that, the production nozzle 11a picks up the production part 2a (S17).

If the experimental nozzle 11b has not been secured at first (No in S30), the production nozzle 11a picks up the production part 2a (S17). In other words, in the first turn, all of the multiple suction nozzles function as production nozzles 11a.

The subsequent processes (S18 to S21) until it is determined whether the suction status of all parts is normal based on the recognition results are the same as those shown in FIG. 10. If the suction status of all parts is normal (Yes in S21), the control device 30 determines whether the experimental nozzle 11b will be used for production in that turn based on the production plan (S41).

When the experimental nozzle 11b is a turn to be used for production, such as turn 7 shown in FIG. 13 (Yes in S41), the experimental nozzle 11b mounts the experimental component 2b that was still adsorbed onto the board 3 as a production component 2a (S42). When the experimental nozzle 11b is not a turn to be used for production (No in S41), the experimental component 2b remains adsorbed.

The subsequent process is the same as that shown in FIG. 10. As a result, the recognition results are stored as accumulated information 43 in the memory unit 42 of the management device 40. Furthermore, when the suction nozzle that has functioned as the experimental nozzle 11b is used for production in the next turn, the production part 2a to be used in production is picked up in advance as the experimental part 2b, and is mounted on the board 3 as is. This allows the experiment to be repeated without affecting production, while reducing the number of parts that are discarded.

As is clear from FIG. 13, the suction nozzle is used as the experimental nozzle 11b only during turns that are not used for production, so experiments can be performed repeatedly without reducing production efficiency. Therefore, the component mounting system 1 according to this embodiment can help to achieve both suppression of reductions in production efficiency and optimization of the suction nozzle movement speed.

7. Speed Change Processing
Next, the speed change process using the recognition result will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a flowchart showing the speed change process in the component mounting system 1 according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 15, first, the judgment unit 44 reads the accumulated information 43 from the memory unit 42 (S50). Next, the judgment unit 44 calculates the recognition amount and the inter-turn change amount of the experimental part 2b (S51). At this time, the display unit 45 may display a scatter diagram of the recognition amount and/or a scatter diagram of the inter-turn change amount.

Next, the determination unit 44 determines whether or not the outbound speed can be changed to a high speed (S52). Specifically, the determination unit 44 determines whether or not the outbound speed can be changed to the experimental speed based on the results of comparing the amount of change between turns with a threshold value, or the results of comparing the average and standard deviation based on a scatter plot with a threshold value. If the outbound speed cannot be changed (No in S52), the process ends. At this time, the experiment may be performed by lowering the experimental speed.

If the forward speed can be changed (Yes in S52), the determination unit 44 outputs the speed information (S53). For example, the determination unit 44 outputs the speed information to the control device 30, but may also output the speed information to a control device of another component mounter.

Next, the control device 30 changes the outbound speed to the experimental speed (return speed) based on the speed information (S54). This increases the outbound speed, thereby shortening the time required for one turn. This can improve production efficiency.

Other Embodiments
Although the component mounting system and the control method for a component mounter according to one or more aspects have been described based on the embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to these embodiments. As long as they do not deviate from the gist of the present disclosure, various modifications conceivable by a person skilled in the art to the present embodiments and forms constructed by combining components in different embodiments are also included within the scope of the present disclosure.

For example, in the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the mounter 10 includes the recognition unit 15, but the mounter 10 and the recognition unit 15 may be configured separately. Also, for example, an example has been shown in which the management device 40 includes the determination unit 44, but the control device 30 may include the determination unit 44. Alternatively, the recognition unit 15 may include the determination unit 44.

Recognition by the recognition unit 15 may be performed on the return journey instead of the outbound journey, or on both the outbound journey and the return journey. As shown in Figures 4 and 5, the production nozzle 11a and the experimental nozzle 11b pass through a range where recognition by the recognition unit 15 is possible (specifically, the photographing range). When recognition is performed on both the outbound journey and the return journey, two recognition results are obtained in one turn.

The determination unit 44 may calculate the change in the recognition amount on the return path as the amount of change between turns. Alternatively, instead of the amount of change between turns, the determination unit 44 may calculate the difference between the recognition amount on the outward path and the recognition amount on the return path, and use this to determine the adhesion state.

In addition, for example, an example was shown in which the return speed was increased stepwise up to the target speed of the experiment, but the return speed may be the target speed from the beginning.

For example, in the component mounting system 1, a determination is made as to whether or not it is possible to increase the forward speed, but this determination does not have to be made. Specifically, the component mounting system 1 only needs to accumulate the accumulated information 43, and the accumulated accumulated information 43 may be used by another device.

The communication method between the devices described in the above embodiment is not particularly limited. When wireless communication is performed between the devices, the wireless communication method (communication standard) is, for example, short-range wireless communication such as ZigBee (registered trademark), Bluetooth (registered trademark), or wireless LAN (Local Area Network). Alternatively, the wireless communication method (communication standard) may be communication via a wide area communication network such as the Internet. Furthermore, wired communication may be performed between the devices instead of wireless communication. Specifically, wired communication is communication using power line communication (PLC) or a wired LAN.

In the above embodiment, the process executed by a specific processing unit may be executed by another processing unit. The order of multiple processes may be changed, or multiple processes may be executed in parallel. The allocation of components of the component mounting system to multiple devices is one example. For example, components included in one device may be included in another device. The component mounting system may be realized as a single device.

For example, the processing described in the above embodiment may be realized by centralized processing using a single device (system), or may be realized by distributed processing using multiple devices. Also, the processor that executes the above program may be single or multiple. In other words, centralized processing or distributed processing may be performed.

In addition, in the above embodiment, all or part of the components such as the control unit may be configured with dedicated hardware, or may be realized by executing a software program suitable for each component. Each component may be realized by a program execution unit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or a processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a HDD or semiconductor memory.

In addition, components such as the control unit may be composed of one or more electronic circuits. Each of the one or more electronic circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

The one or more electronic circuits may include, for example, a semiconductor device, an IC (Integrated Circuit), or an LSI (Large Scale Integration). The IC or LSI may be integrated into one chip or into multiple chips. Here, we refer to it as an IC or LSI, but the name may change depending on the degree of integration, and it may be called a system LSI, a VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration), or an ULSI (Ultra Large Scale Integration). Also, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array) that is programmed after the LSI is manufactured can be used for the same purpose.

The general or specific aspects of the present disclosure may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, or a computer program. Alternatively, the aspects may be realized as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium, such as an optical disk, a HDD, or a semiconductor memory, on which the computer program is stored. The aspects may also be realized as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

Furthermore, each of the above embodiments may be modified, substituted, added, omitted, etc. in various ways within the scope of the claims or their equivalents.

The present disclosure can be used as a component mounting system that can help prevent declines in production efficiency while optimizing the movement speed of the suction nozzle, and can be used, for example, in component mounting systems, component mounting machines, and component mounting management devices.

1 Component mounting system 2a, 2c Production component 2b Experimental component 2x Pre-movement component 3 Substrate 10 Component mounter 11a, 11c, 11d Production nozzle 11b Experimental nozzle 12 Head 12a Nozzle holder 13 Drive mechanism 14 Feeder 15 Recognition unit 15a, 15b Recognition image 20 Planning device 21 Input unit 22, 42 Memory unit 23 Condition information 24 Experiment planning unit 25 Production planning unit 30 Control device 40 Management device 41 Acquisition unit 43 Accumulated information 44 Determination unit 45 Display unit

Claims (13)

A component mounting system including a component mounter that mounts a plurality of components on a substrate,
The component mounter includes:
a plurality of suction nozzles for suctioning the components;
a head holding the plurality of suction nozzles;
a drive mechanism for reciprocating the head between a first position to which the components are supplied and a second position to which the substrate is placed,
The component mounting system includes:
a recognition unit that recognizes a suction state of the component by the plurality of suction nozzles;
A storage unit that stores a recognition result by the recognition unit,
the drive mechanism moves the head from the first position to the second position at a first speed, and moves the head from the second position to the first position at a second speed faster than the first speed;
a first nozzle that is one of the plurality of suction nozzles mounts a first component picked up at the first position on the board at the second position;
a second nozzle, which is one of the plurality of suction nozzles, moves from the second position to the first position while suctioning the second component, without mounting the second component on the board at the second position, and then moves from the first position to the second position while suctioning the second component;
Component mounting system. moreover,
a determination unit that determines whether or not a suction state of the second component by the second nozzle is normal based on the recognition result stored in the storage unit,
The component mounting system according to claim 1 . when the determining unit determines that the suction state of the second component is normal, the driving mechanism repeats the reciprocating movement of the head a plurality of times while the second nozzle keeps suctioning the second component.
The component mounting system according to claim 2 . the driving mechanism increases a moving speed from the second position to the first position in a stepwise manner from a third speed that is slower than the second speed, so as to reach the second speed during the repeated reciprocating movement of the head;
The component mounting system according to claim 3 . the driving mechanism, after the moving speed from the second position to the first position reaches the second speed, repeats the reciprocating movement of the head while the second nozzle keeps adsorbing the second component in a state in which the moving speed from the second position to the first position is maintained at the second speed;
The component mounting system according to claim 4 . the recognition unit captures images of the plurality of suction nozzles passing between the first position and the second position;
the recognition result is an image including the second nozzle and the second component attracted to the second nozzle,
the determining unit calculates an amount of deviation between a reference position of the second nozzle and a reference position of the second component based on the image, and determines whether or not a suction state of the second component is normal based on the calculated amount of deviation.
The component mounting system according to any one of claims 3 to 5. the determination unit determines whether or not the suction state of the second component is normal based on a difference between the calculated deviation amount and the immediately preceding deviation amount each time the reciprocating movement of the head is repeated.
The component mounting system according to claim 6 . the driving mechanism further changes the moving speed from the first position to the second position to the second speed when the number of times that the suction state of the second component is determined to be normal becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times.
The component mounting system according to any one of claims 3 to 7. the second nozzle, after the repeated reciprocating movement of the head, releases the suction of the second component, picks up one of the plurality of components at the first position, and mounts the picked-up component on the board at the second position.
The component mounting system according to any one of claims 3 to 8. the second nozzle mounts the second component on the board at the second position after the head has repeatedly moved back and forth;
The component mounting system according to any one of claims 3 to 8. the second nozzle is not used for mounting the plurality of components on the substrate;
The component mounting system according to any one of claims 1 to 8. A method for controlling a component mounter that mounts a plurality of components on a board, comprising the steps of:
The component mounter includes:
a plurality of suction nozzles for suctioning the components;
a head holding the plurality of suction nozzles;
a drive mechanism for reciprocating the head between a first position to which the components are supplied and a second position to which the substrate is placed,
The component mounter control method includes:
a speed control step of controlling the driving mechanism so that the head moves from the first position to the second position at a first speed and moves from the second position to the first position at a second speed faster than the first speed;
a suction control step of controlling suction of components by the plurality of suction nozzles;
a recognition step of recognizing a suction state of the component by the plurality of suction nozzles;
a storage step of storing a recognition result in a storage unit,
In the adsorption control step,
a first nozzle, which is one of the plurality of suction nozzles, is caused to pick up a first component at the first position, and the picked up first component is mounted on the board at the second position;
a second nozzle, which is one of the plurality of suction nozzles, is caused to pick up a second component at the first position, and the second nozzle is caused to maintain the second component in a state of being picked up while moving from the second position to the first position and while moving from the first position to the second position, without mounting the picked-up second component on the board at the second position;
A method for controlling a component mounting machine. moreover,
a determining step of determining whether or not a suction state of the second component by the second nozzle is normal based on the recognition result stored in the storage unit;
and an output step of outputting information about the second speed when the number of times that the suction state of the second component is determined to be normal becomes equal to or greater than a predetermined number of times.
A method for controlling a component mounter according to claim 12.

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