| 4667403 | Method for manufacturing electronic card modules | May, 1987 | Edinger et al. | 29/840 |
| 5317802 | Method for loading a printed circuit board mounting line | June, 1994 | Jyoko | 29/832 |
| 5396432 | Versatile production system and method of operating same | March, 1995 | Saka et al. | 700/111 |
| 5402564 | Parts mounting sequence determination method and apparatus | April, 1995 | Tsukasaki et al. | 29/832 |
| 5517639 | System for outputting execution time of industrial automated apparatus | May, 1996 | Yamaguchi | 700/108 |
| 5980086 | Facility operating method | November, 1999 | Kanematsu et al. | 700/101 |
| 6507765 | Computer integrated manufacturing control and information system | January, 2003 | Hopkins et al. | 700/95 |
| 6631305 | Capability analysis of assembly line production | October, 2003 | Newmark | 700/110 |
| DE29919676 | February, 2000 | |||
| EP0822473 | February, 1998 | Remote maintenance system | ||
| JP5127720 | May, 1993 | |||
| JP9024665 | January, 1997 | |||
| JP11213010 | August, 1999 | DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM FOR DIGITAL CONTENTS | ||
| JP11276963 | October, 1999 | DEVICE AND METHOD FOR VISCOUS FLUID APPLICATION | ||
| JP11277379 | October, 1999 | DETERMINING DEVICE OF PROCESSING DEVICE DETERMINING METHOD THEREOF, AND COMPUTER-READABLE RECORDING MEDIUM RECORDING DETERMINING PROGRAM OF PROCESSING DEVICE | ||
| JP2000133988 | May, 2000 | METHOD FOR MOUNTING ELECTRONIC COMPONENT AND DEVICE THEREOF | ||
| JP2000236197 | August, 2000 | MAINTENANCE METHOD OF ELECTRONIC COMPONENT MOUNTING SYSTEM | ||
| JP2000259729 | September, 2000 | WORKING MACHINE MANAGING SYSTEM |
English language Abstract of JP 2000-259729.
English Language Abstract of JP 2000-133988.
English Language Abstract of JP 11-277379.
English Language Abstract of JP 11-213010.
English Language Abstract of JP 11-276963.
English Language Abstract of JP 9-024665.
English Language Abstract of JP 5-127720.
U.S. Appl. No. 11/341,693 to Yano et al., filed Jan. 30, 2006.
1. A method for monitoring a mounting tact of a component mounting apparatus, the component mounting apparatus comprising a component supplier for supplying a component and a component holder for holding and mounting the component supplied from the component supplier onto a circuit board, the mounting tact being a time required by the component holder to mount a supplied component on the circuit board, the method comprising: collecting and monitoring a mounting tact result value of the component mounting apparatus during a mounting operation, via a communication system; calculating a tact loss which is an amount of the tact that exceeds a standard mounting tact, the tact loss corresponding to a mounting tact actual value and a standard mounting tact, wherein the mounting tact actual value is an actual value of the mounting tact and the standard mounting tact is a time required by the component mounting apparatus to mount the component on the circuit board in accordance with a specification of the component mounting apparatus without any tact loss; and monitoring the calculated tact loss.
2. The method for monitoring a mounting tact according to claim 1, further comprising: analyzing a cause of decrease in the mounting tact result value based on the calculated tact loss.
3. The method for monitoring a mounting tact according to claim 1, further comprising: calculating tact loss by collecting NC data of the production type upon collection of the mounting tact result value of the component mounting apparatus, and by performing theoretical calculations based on the collected NC data so that a movement of the component supplier, during mounting of the component onto the circuit board, is calculated, and an excess of the calculated movement over an allowable moving range within the standard mounting tact is calculated.
4. A method for monitoring a mounting tact of a component mounting apparatus, the component mounting apparatus comprising a component supplier for supplying a component and a component holder for holding the component from the component supplier and mounting the component onto a circuit board, the method comprising: collecting and monitoring a mounting tact result value of the component mounting apparatus during a mounting operation, via a communication system; calculating a tact loss, corresponding to an amount by which a mounting tact result value is greater than a standard mounting tact; and monitoring the calculated tact loss, wherein the tact loss is calculated by collecting NC data of the production type upon collection of the mounting tact result value of the component mounting apparatus, and by performing theoretical calculations based on the collected NC data, wherein the theoretical calculations to obtain the tact loss is performed using tact simulation parameters including a standard mounting tact of the component mounting apparatus, the allowable moving range within the standard mounting tact of the component holder, and a moving speed of the component holder.
5. The method for monitoring a mounting tact according to claim 4, wherein each parameter of the tact simulation parameters is adjusted based on a comparison between the mounting tact result value corresponding to a result value obtained by mounting production by the same NC data with the theoretical value of the mounting tact obtained by calculations.
6. A service providing method for providing a service for monitoring a mounting tact of a component mounting apparatus, from a service provider provided for a supplier or a service person side of the component mounting apparatus, including a component supplier for supplying a component and a component holder for holding and mounting the component supplied from the component supplier onto a circuit board, to a service receiver provided on a user side for mount production using the component mounting apparatus via a communication system including the Internet, the mounting tact being a time required by the component holder to mount the components on the circuit board, the method comprising: collecting and monitoring a mounting tact result value of the component mounting apparatus during mounting operation by the service provider via the service receiver; calculating a tact loss which is an amount of tact exceeding a standard mounting tact, the tact loss corresponding to a mounting tact actual value and a standard mounting tact, wherein the mounting tact actual value is an actual value of the mounting tact, and the standard mounting tact is a time required by the component mounting apparatus to mount the component on the circuit board in accordance with a specification of the component mounting apparatus without any tact loss; and analyzing a cause of a decrease in the mounting tact result value.
7. The service providing method according to claim 6, wherein the tact loss is calculated by collecting NC data of the production type upon collection of the mounting tact result value of the component mounting apparatus, and by performing theoretical calculations based on the collected NC data so that the movement of the component supplier, during mounting of the component onto the circuit board, is calculated, and an excess of the calculated movement over an allowable moving range within the standard mounting tact is calculated.
8. The service providing method according to claim 6, wherein the service provider displays a graph showing the mounting tact result value of the component mounting apparatus and a graph showing the tact losses of the respective displayed mounting tact result values.
9. A service providing device provided for a supplier or a service person side of a component mounting apparatus, the component mounting apparatus comprising a component supplier for supplying a component and a component holder for holding and mounting the component supplied from the component supplying device onto a circuit board, the service provide device comprising: a monitor configured to monitor a mounting tact of the component mounting apparatus to a service receiver provided on a user side for a mount production using the component mounting apparatus via a communication system including the Internet, the mounting tact being a time required by the component holder to mount the components on the circuit board, wherein the mounting tact monitor collects and monitors a mounting tact result value of the component mounting apparatus during mounting operation via the service receiver; and a calculator that calculates a tact loss which is an amount of a tact exceeding a standard mounting tact, corresponding to a mounting tact actual value and the standard mounting tact, and to analyze a cause of a decrease in a mounting tact result value based on the calculated tact loss, the mounting tact actual value being an actual value of the mounting tact, the standard mounting tact being a time required by the component mounting apparatus to mount the component on the circuit board in accordance with a specification of the component mounting apparatus without any tact loss.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to: a service receiving device for deriving a service from a production facility manufacturing supplier, the service being for realizing high-efficiency and high-quality production of a production line where a plurality of production facilities including a component mounting apparatus are connected in order of steps; a service providing device for providing a service from a manufacturer side that supplies the production facility; and a method for providing a service from the production facility manufacturing supplier. The present invention also relates to a service receiving program for operating the service receiving device and a service providing program for operating the service providing device.
2. Background Art
A large number of electronic appliances have been reduced in size as well as in weight, while a circuit board constituting the electronic appliance has been more and more highly integrated and mounted at a higher density. On such a circuit board, components are mounted by the above-mentioned component mounting apparatus or component mounting line.
This component mounting line is a type of production line for automatically mounting components on a circuit board. An example of the production line is constituted by: a board supplying device for supplying circuit boards in a one-by-one manner; a cream solder printer for printing a cream solder onto the circuit board; a cream solder print inspection machine for inspecting a state of the printed cream solder; an applicator for applying an adhesive for adhering components onto the board; a high-speed placement machine for placing the components onto the circuit board at high speed; a multifunctional placement machine for placing various kinds of components including an odd-shaped component onto the circuit board; a placed component inspection machine for inspecting a missing component or a positional offset of a component on the circuit board after placement of the components; a reflow device for melting the cream solder so as to solder an electrode of the component and a land on the circuit board to each other to obtain a mounted state of the components; a visual inspection machine for visually inspecting a state of soldering, a placed state of the component or the like; and a board housing device for housing the mounted circuit board therein. A plurality of types of these production facilities are connected in series to each other. Circuit boards sequentially pass through these devices in a one-by-one manner so as to achieve the mount production.
Moreover, depending on the kind of electronic component, equipment in other forms such as a component insertion machine for inserting a radial lead, an axial lead, or a jumper wire, a component mounting apparatus for achieving the mounting with a joint between metals by friction, diffusion due to friction, or fusion can be used for fabricating a circuit board.
In component mounting apparatus manufacturers supplying a component mounting apparatus or a component mounting line as described above, the destination of delivery of a component mounting apparatus or a component mounting line has been expanded not only on a domestic scale but also on a global scale. In this context, a conventional servicing status while the component mounting apparatus is running upon and after delivery to the destination of delivery is as follows.
When a component mounting apparatus or a component mounting line is to be delivered to the destination of delivery, an operation for installing the component mounting line and an adjustment operation for setting up the component mounting line are performed by an operator dispatched from a component mounting apparatus manufacturer. At this time, an instructor dispatched from the component mounting apparatus manufacturer describes the operation of the component mounting apparatus and offers the training for an operator of the apparatus at a factory of the destination of delivery, with reference to an instruction manual delivered along with the component mounting apparatus.
In a case where the component mounting apparatus is shut down due to a trouble, or quality defect of products, or the like occurs during production in the component mounting line after its delivery, the operator, who has received instructions for the operation and the training, analyses its cause at the factory of the destination of delivery so as to eliminate the trouble or the quality defect. In a case where the trouble or the quality defect still remains, the component mounting apparatus manufacturer is requested to dispatch a service person. The service person is asked to analyze the cause so as to eliminate the trouble or the quality defect of products.
Such a service will be specifically described, taking a component mounting apparatus 450 illustrated in FIG. 67 as an example. The component mounting apparatus 450 includes: a data storage section 451 for recording and storing operation information and error information of the component mounting apparatus for trouble recovery or maintenance; an output device 452 (a printer, a floppy disk drive, a display screen, or the like) for outputting the information stored in the data storage section 451 ; and a communication device 454 for outputting the information to an external personal computer 453 or the like. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 68, a service point 172 for repairing the trouble occurring in the component mounting apparatus 450 and performing maintenance for a customer factory 171 where the apparatus 450 is delivered to be operated is provided on the manufacturer side.
When a trouble occurs on the customer side, the trouble is conventionally recovered as in an example of a procedure shown in a flow chart of FIG. 69. First, in a case where a trouble occurs in the component mounting apparatus 450 present in the customer factory 171 (Step S 601 ), an operator on the customer side outputs the contents of the trouble occurrence, for example, the operation information and the error information of the component mounting apparatus and the like, through the output device 452 of the component mounting apparatus 450 (Step S 602 ). The output information is communicated to the service point 172 by using information transfer means such as a telephone, a facsimile, or the like (Step S 603 ). Thereafter, a service person who has received the communication at the service point 172 receives the contents of the trouble (the operation information, the error information, and the like of the component mounting apparatus) so as to check if all data necessary for analysis have been completed (Step S 604 ). In a case where all data have not been completed, the service person makes contact with the operator at the customer factory 171 again so as to collect the information. In a case where all data have been completed, the analysis is carried out (Step S 605 ) so that the service person visits the customer to recover the trouble (Step S 606 ).
The operation of the component mounting apparatus has been significantly complicated in these days with the diversification of circuit boards or components to be mounted and the corresponding sophistication of component mounting apparatuses. Accordingly, in spite of the service as described above, shutdown due to a trouble or quality defect of products is frequently caused by a faulty operation of the operator who operates a component mounting apparatus.
Moreover, the operators at the destinations of delivery of component mounting apparatuses have varied levels. From a global point of view, in particular, the operators at the destinations of delivery of apparatuses have infinitely varied levels for the respective zones of the world. Thus, the quality of component mount production is varied depending on the level of the operator. As a result, it becomes difficult to ensure the uniform quality over all factories at the destinations of delivery.
Particularly, it is difficult for the operator at the destination of delivery to learn know-how of component mounting, that is, to select a component mounting condition depending on the type of a circuit board or a component to be mounted. Nevertheless, the description of operation or the training for an operator at the time of delivery of the apparatus is normally made on the operation for a particular test circuit board. In many cases, the description or the training does not cover the learning of selection of a component mounting condition depending on the type of a circuit board or a component to be mounted. Thus, it takes considerable time for an operator at the destination of delivery to learn such know-how.
For example, an operator for operating the component mounting apparatus 450 is required to create NC data which is necessary for the component mounting apparatus to perform an operation for mounting components. For creation of such data, it is necessary to search and input a significant amount of information for an individual component to be mounted, as is illustrated in FIG. 23. Nonetheless, the utilization of a system for automatically creating NC data from a component database has an advantage in that it is no more necessary to perform any research and input for a component which is once used and registered in the component database. However, there may sometimes be a trial and error process during production to confirm if the input contents are really suitable or not. Moreover, the number of types of components to be mounted, used in the component mount industry, is estimated to be 100,000 or more in total. In the field of mounting such various kinds of components, the number of components to be newly mounted is hardly reduced in an actual condition. Thus, the contents are likely to be misinput upon creation of NC data. An error in the input contents leads to a trouble of a component mounting apparatus or quality defect of products. What is worse, as the workload of creating the NC data is increased to be enormous, there is an increased possibility that the misinput might occur.
In addition to this, the workload is similarly high in teaching of component recognition data, setting of a squeegee operating condition in screen printing of a cream solder, setting of a heating temperature profile in a reflow device, and the like, which results in an increased possibility that the misinput might occur.
In a case where the shutdown of a component mounting apparatus caused by a trouble or quality defect of products occurs due to a faulty operation by the operator, the support is hardly provided in a timely manner under a servicing condition as conventional. In many cases, it is only after the analysis of the cause by a service person dispatched from a component mounting apparatus manufacturer that the cause of the trouble is proved to be a faulty operation. In some cases, it is even after several days' stay of the service person at the mounting field for grasping the phenomenon that the cause is found. Consequently, it takes several days to recover a component mounting line, resulting in a considerable amount of production loss or quality loss.
A main object of the present invention is to provide a component mounting apparatus, a service providing device, and a servicing method, in which a component mounting apparatus side can receive or be provided with a customer service related to production including the productivity and the quality maintenance from a manufacturer side supplying the component mounting apparatus or a service person side through all communications including the Internet according to the needs so as to facilitate the implementation of production.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In order to achieve the above object, a component mounting apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for mounting a component on a circuit board, the apparatus including a communication device which is connectable to the Internet line and is capable of receiving a service necessary for mount production through communication via the Internet line. Furthermore, the communication device: is used for monitoring an operating status of the component mounting apparatus by the service person side; notifies the contents of trouble occurrence to the service person side so as to allow the reception of a service; is used for a remote operation during component mounting from the service person side; is used to collect data for analysis of a trouble, including production mount data or device operation data accumulated in the component mounting apparatus, by the service person side; or allows a software for running the component mounting apparatus to be installed, or allows a component library for operating the component mounting apparatus or other services to be derived from the service person side. Moreover, the communication device derives a service from the service information database provided for the service person side, in which the service information is accumulated.
A servicing method according to the present invention is for a component mounting apparatus for mounting a component onto a circuit board, wherein the component mounting apparatus is connected to a service person side for providing a service of the component mounting apparatus via the Internet line, so that an operating status of the apparatus is monitored by the service person side via the Internet line.
A service providing device according to the present invention is for providing a service necessary for mount production, the device which is provided for a supplier side or a service person side of a component mounting apparatus including: a component supplying device for supplying a component; and component holding means for holding the component from the component supplying device so as to mount the component onto a circuit board, or a component mounting line including the component mounting apparatuses which are connected to each other, wherein the service providing device includes: a transmitting/receiving section for transmitting/receiving information to/from a service receiving device provided for a user side for effectuating the mount production using the component mounting apparatus or the component mounting line, via communication means including the Internet; and a control section used for derivation of a service by the service receiving device via the transmitting/receiving section. Furthermore, the control section is used for derivation of the service data or a service software from the service information database by the service receiving device via the transmitting/receiving section, or for derivation of a service for analyzing a problem arising in the component mounting apparatus or a service for monitoring a production status.
A component mounting apparatus of the present invention includes a cream solder printer for printing a cream solder on a circuit board so as to mount a component thereon. The component mounting apparatus includes: a transmitting/receiving section for transmitting/receiving information to a service providing device provided for a supplier or a service person side of the component mounting apparatus via communication means including the Internet; an input section for inputting instructions for deriving a service; and a control section, in response to the instructions from the input section, for performing control so as to derive a service necessary for printing of the cream solder from the service providing device via the transmitting/receiving section. Furthermore, the control section allows the service person side to receive a service for retrieving information related to characteristics of various cream solders or a printing condition, or notifies the service person side of a printing condition or a printing state or status which is selected to be practically used for printing of the cream solder by the cream solder printer so that the service person receives a service, through the Internet line via the transmitting/receiving section with the service person side who provides a service of the component mounting apparatus including the cream solder printer.
A servicing method according to the present invention is a method for providing a service of a component mounting apparatus including a cream solder printer for printing a cream solder onto a circuit board, wherein the servicing method allows the component mounting apparatus to derive information related to cream solder printing from a service person side who provides a service of the component mounting apparatus via the Internet with the service person side.
A service providing device according to the present invention is for providing a service necessary for cream solder printing, which is provided for a provider or a service person side of a component mounting apparatus including a cream solder printer for printing a cream solder onto a circuit board so as to mount a component thereon, wherein the service providing device includes a service information database, in which characteristic information of a cream solder, performance information obtained by accumulating information related to a printing condition, state or status which is selected to be practically used by a user side receiving the service from the service providing device or a provider or a service person side of a component mounting line, and/or information which is rendered adequate by using at least one of monitoring, evaluation, a countermeasure, and improvement for the accumulated information, is registered as data to be derived by the service receiving device. In this case, for a printing condition database for registering the printing condition of the cream solder among the service information databases, the control section can intend to converge the database while accumulating the evaluated performance of the printing condition as the needs.
The solder characteristic information includes a solder manufacturer, a product number, a particle size, a viscosity and other items. When the control section fails to retrieve the data as a result of retrieval of a product number, the control section performs the retrieval by a particle size and/or a viscosity. It is suitable that, in the retrieved solder characteristic information, characteristic information close to that of a desired solder product number is treated as the result.
The printing condition database suitably includes: a new database containing newly input data; and a basic database to be retrieved from the service receiving device, to which the transition is made when the data registered in the new database is determined to be adequate or stable. It is suitable that even data related to the same solder product number, particle size and viscosity are separately accumulated in the new database, so that the optimal data is selected from the accumulated data to make the transition to the basic database.
Other objects and features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description and the drawings. The features of the invention can be used alone or in combinations varied as much as possible.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a component mounting apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a flow chart for connection from the component mounting apparatus to the Internet in the first embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a flow chart for connection from the exterior via the Internet line to the component mounting apparatus in the first embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a general configuration view showing a customer servicing method and a device thereof according to a second embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 5 is a view showing a specific example of a monitoring state for the component mounting apparatus through the Internet line from a remote location in the second embodiment;
FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a processing in FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 shows a specific example of a state where trouble or error information of the component mounting apparatus is notified to a remote location through the Internet line in the second embodiment;
FIG. 8 shows a specific example of a state where the component mounting apparatus is operated from a remote location through the Internet line in the second embodiment;
FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a processing in FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 shows a specific example of a state where production result data and device operation data stored in the component mounting apparatus are collected from a remote location through the Internet line in the second embodiment;
FIG. 11 is a flow chart showing a processing in FIG. 10;
FIG. 12 shows a specific example of a state where a software in the component mounting apparatus is updated through the Internet line in the second embodiment;
FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a processing in FIG. 12;
FIG. 14 is a configuration view of a component mounting system in a third embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 15 is a general configuration view of a service system in the third embodiment;
FIG. 16 is a general configuration view of another service system in the third embodiment;
FIGS. 17A and 17B show a configuration of a main part of a cream solder printer in the third embodiment, where FIG. 17A is a plan view and FIG. 17B is a front view thereof;
FIG. 18A is a configuration view showing a main part of one type of placement machine in the third embodiment, and FIG. 18B is a configuration view showing a main part of another type of placement machine in the third embodiment;
FIG. 19 is a control configuration view of a placement machine in the third embodiment;
FIG. 20 is a control configuration view of a management device in the third embodiment;
FIG. 21 is a memory configuration view of a data memory section of the management device in the third embodiment;
FIG. 22 is a configuration view of facility information in the third embodiment;
FIG. 23 is a configuration view of NC data in the third embodiment;
FIG. 24 shows a WEB screen of a service receiving device in the third embodiment;
FIG. 25 is a control configuration view of a service providing device in the third embodiment;
FIG. 26 is a control configuration view of a service receiving device in the third embodiment;
FIG. 27A is a data configuration view of a speed master in the third embodiment, and FIG. 27B is a data configuration view of a tact simulation parameter in the third embodiment;
FIG. 28 is a configuration view of an operation quality information DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 29 is a configuration view of a service information DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 30 is a configuration view of a contract DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 31 is a configuration view of a business information DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 32 is a configuration view of an instruction manual DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 33 is a configuration view of a mending part DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 34 is a configuration view of a virtual training DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 35 is a configuration view of a maintenance information DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 36 is a configuration view of a software DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 37 is a configuration view of a mounted component DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 38 is a configuration view of a mounting technique DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 39 is a configuration view of an optimization software DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 40 is a configuration view of a monitoring and analyzing software DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 41 is a schematic data flow chart of the entire service system in the third embodiment;
FIG. 42 is the first half of a flow chart showing a contract and a service in the third embodiment;
FIG. 43 is the second half of the flow chart showing the contract and the service in the third embodiment;
FIG. 44A is a flow chart showing an operation of graph display for a line operation rate transition analysis processing related to monitoring and analysis in the third embodiment, FIG. 44B is a flow chart showing an operation of graph display for a line mounting tact analysis processing related to monitoring and analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 44C is a flow chart showing an operation of graph display for a suction rate transition analysis processing related to monitoring and analysis in the third embodiment;
FIG. 45 is a flow chart in the case where an operation rate indicating an operation of monitoring and analysis is a target value or higher in the third embodiment;
FIG. 46 is a flow chart in the case where the operation rate is lower than a target value in the third embodiment;
FIG. 47A is a view showing a display screen of line operation rate transition analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 47B is a view showing a display screen of line tact analysis corresponding to FIG. 47A;
FIG. 48A is a view showing another display screen of line operation rate transition analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 48B is a view showing a display screen of line tact analysis corresponding to FIG. 48A;
FIG. 49A is a view showing a further display screen of line operation rate transition analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 49B is a view showing a display screen of line mounting tact analysis corresponding to FIG. 49A;
FIG. 50A is a view showing a further display screen of line operation rate transition analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 50B is a view showing a display screen of line mounting tact analysis corresponding to FIG. 50A;
FIG. 51A is a view showing a further display screen of line operation rate transition analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 51B is a view showing a display screen of shutdown time transition analysis corresponding to FIG. 51A;
FIG. 52A is a view showing a further display screen of line operation rate transition analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 52B is a view showing a display screen of component suction rate transition analysis corresponding to FIG. 52A;
FIG. 53A is a view showing a further display screen of line operation rate transition analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 53B is a view showing a display screen of line mounting tact analysis corresponding to FIG. 53A;
FIG. 54A is a view showing a further display screen of line operation rate transition analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 54B is a view showing a display screen of shutdown time transition analysis corresponding to FIG. 54A;
FIG. 55A is a view showing a further display screen of line operation rate transition analysis in the third embodiment, and FIG. 55B is a view showing a display screen of shutdown time transition analysis corresponding to FIG. 55A;
FIG. 56 is a flow chart showing an optimization processing for a placement machine alone in the third embodiment;
FIG. 57 is an image view showing the relation between the division of a component supplying device and the component mounting order in the third embodiment;
FIG. 58 is a flow chart showing an optimization processing for revising the optimization processing for the placement machine alone and the arrangement of common components in the third embodiment;
FIG. 59A is an image view showing the relation with a fixed mounting order of the component supplying device in the third embodiment, and FIG. 59B is an image view showing the relation when the fixed mounting order shown in FIG. 59A is replaced by a free mounting order;
FIG. 60A is a view showing an example of simulation of the arrangement of common components and a production tact in the third embodiment, and FIG. 60B is a view showing an example of simulation of type switching time corresponding to FIG. 60A;
FIG. 61A is a view showing an example of simulation of the arrangement of partially common components and a production tact in the third embodiment, and FIG. 61B is a view showing an example of simulation of type switching time corresponding to FIG. 61A;
FIG. 62A is a view showing an example of simulation of the optimal arrangement of individual components and a production tact in the third embodiment, and FIG. 62B is a view showing an example of simulation of type switching time corresponding to FIG. 62A;
FIG. 63 is a flow chart showing a component distribution correction processing in the third embodiment;
FIG. 64 is a flow chart showing the optimization processing for the placement machine alone and the component distribution correction processing in the third embodiment;
FIG. 65 is a flow chart showing the placement machine unit optimization processing for restraining the vibration of the component supplying device in the third embodiment;
FIG. 66 is a flow chart showing an expanded optimization processing of the component supplying device in the third embodiment;
FIG. 67 is a block diagram showing a conventional component mounting apparatus;
FIG. 68 is a configuration view of a conventional customer servicing method and a device thereof;
FIG. 69 is a flow chart showing a conventional procedure of a trouble recovery method;
FIG. 70 is a configuration view showing an example of a solder characteristic DB relating to solder characteristics in cream solder information in the mounting technique DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 71 is a configuration view showing an example of a printing condition DB of a cream solder in the cream solder information in the mounting technique DB in the third embodiment;
FIG. 72 is a menu screen for handling the cream solder information on the service receiving device side in the third embodiment;
FIG. 73 is a flow chart showing a retrieval operation of the solder characteristic DB; and
FIG. 74 is a flow chart showing a procedure of creating the printing condition DB.
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings for understanding of the invention. The embodiments described below merely show representative specific examples in the case of a component mounting apparatus for mounting components such as an electronic component onto a circuit board such as a printed board so as to fabricate an electronic circuit board, and therefore do not limit the recitation of the present invention within the scope of claims.
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described.
A component mounting apparatus 151 shown in FIG. 1 according to the first embodiment includes a communication device 152 that is connectable to the Internet line, and a group of softwares. The communication device 152 is, for example, a computer; it may be an internal function of a control device 153 of a computer or the like for controlling an operation of the component mounting apparatus 151 as in this embodiment, or may be dedicated equipment. The communication device 152 may be a host computer for managing a plurality of component mounting apparatuses 151 , or may be a computer which can communicate with all the component mounting apparatuses 151 in the entire factory. The group of softwares includes: a communication software 161 , which runs on the communication device 152 to be connected to the Internet line (for example, a provider) for communication via the Internet; a browsing software 162 , which runs on the communication device 152 to allow the consultation of a website on the Internet; a server software 163 , which runs on the communication device 152 so as to respond to a request through communication via the Internet line; and an application software 164 , which runs on the communication device 152 to perform the transmission and the reception of information with the server software 163 so as to transmit data accumulated in a data storage section 154 to the Internet line or to update a software or the setting within the device. The group of these softwares run in the communication device 152 . The communication device 152 is incorporated into the component mounting apparatus 151 .
The control device 153 including the data storage section 154 controls the operation of an output device 155 including a display 155 a so as to input and store operation data including a trouble or an error of the component mounting apparatus 151 , production result data, and the like into the data storage section 154 . The control device can output data, which is input to or stored in the data storage section 154 , to the exterior by the output device 155 so that the data can be used. The output is performed by recording on a recording medium 168 a such as a floppy disk, printing on a recording chart 168 b, screen display on the display 155 a, or the like. The output device 155 also outputs communication data from the server software 163 in response to a request via the communication by the communication device 152 .
A procedure of connection from the above-described component mounting apparatus 151 to the Internet line will be described with reference to a flow chart shown in FIG. 2. First, the communication software 161 for connection to the Internet line is activated so as to establish a connection to the Internet by means of a communication medium such as a telephone line 156 or a LAN 157 (Step S 1 ). Next, the browsing software 162 is activated so as to consult a website of a server connected on the Internet or to acquire data (Step S 2 ). Naturally, for this data acquisition, the security is intended to be ensured by ID management or the like.
Next, a connection procedure from the exterior via the Internet line to the component mounting apparatus 151 will be described with reference to a flow chart shown in FIG. 3. First, the communication software 161 is activated so as to establish a connection to the Internet by means of a communication medium such as the telephone line 156 or the LAN 157 (Step S 11 ). When there is a request for consultation from the Internet, the server software 163 receives the request (Step S 12 ). Based on the contents of the request, the server software 163 issues a request to the application software 164 (Step S 13 ). The application software 164 acquires data accumulated in the data storage section 154 (operation information, trouble or error information or the like of the component mounting apparatus 151 ) (Step S 14 ), and then transfers the acquired data via the communication software 161 to a requestor (Step S 15 ).
In this manner, the component mounting apparatus 151 is always capable of performing the communication via the Internet line so that a customer service such as daily monitoring, regular check, recovery or maintenance at the occurrence of a trouble, and updating of a software is received from the destination of communication. It does not take long time to receive a service, and the cost is reduced because the cost resulting from a transfer of a service person and the cost resulting from a dedicated line facility for each customer are not required. Thus, this procedure is particularly advantageous when a customer is remotely located from a service person.
Hereinafter, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
A customer servicing method and a device thereof according to the second embodiment use, as shown in FIG. 4, the component mounting apparatus 151 which is not particularly different from that shown in the first embodiment, and, in addition to this, include a service point 172 of a service person for offering a service to a customer. Regarding the component mounting apparatus 151 , the common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and the overlapping description thereof is omitted. The component mounting apparatus 151 is delivered to and installed in a customer factory 171 . The communication device 152 is connected to the Internet line via the telephone line 156 , the LAN 157 , or the like. The communication device 152 can be constituted as an internal function of the control device 153 of the component mounting apparatus 151 . The communication device may be the above-described computer for managing a plurality of component mounting apparatuses, or may be a computer which communicates with each of the component mounting apparatuses 151 in the customer factory so as to receive a service. The service point 172 is located at the position different from the customer factory 171 , for example, at a remote location. Within the service point 172 , a communication device 180 such as a computer, connected to the Internet via the telephone line 156 , the LAN 157 , or the like, is placed. The communication device 180 may be an internal function of a computer for performing customer management, or may be dedicated equipment.
FIG. 5 shows a specific example of monitoring a state of the component mounting apparatus 151 via the Internet line from a remote location at the service point 172 shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 shows a processing flow thereof. In order to monitor the component mounting apparatus 151 , in the state where the communication devices 152 and 180 are both connected to the Internet (Steps S 21 and S 22 ), a browsing software 162 a running on the communication device 180 within the service point 172 and the server software 163 running on the communication device 152 within the component mounting apparatus 151 communicate with each other (Steps S 23 and S 24 ). The server software 163 activates the application software 164 (Step S 25 ). The application software 164 passes the operation information held in the data storage section 154 of the component mounting apparatus 151 to the server software 163 (Steps S 26 and S 27 ). Furthermore, the browsing software 162 a within the service point 172 receives that information (Step S 28 ), so that a service person can consult the operation information of the component mounting apparatus 151 in the customer factory 171 without leaving the service point 172 . By automatically or manually repeating this processing, a state of the component mounting apparatus 151 is monitored.
In this case, the operation information is information indicating an operating status of the component mounting apparatus 151 , and includes, for example, the total of an operation rate, operating time or shutdown time, real time information indicating if the component mounting apparatus is currently in operation, under suspension, or in trouble, and the like.
FIG. 7 shows a specific example for notifying trouble or error information of the component mounting apparatus 151 to the service point 172 at a remote location via the Internet line. When an error such as a trouble occurs in the state where the communication devices 152 and 180 are both being connected to the Internet, the component mounting apparatus 151 notifies the service point 172 of error information via the Internet line by using communication means such as an electronic mail with an electronic mail software of the browsing software 162 a.
FIG. 8 shows a specific example of operating the component mounting apparatus 151 via the Internet line from a remote location at the service point 172 . FIG. 9 shows a processing flow thereof. In the state where the communication devices 152 and 180 are both connected to the Internet (Steps S 31 and S 32 ), in response to a request received by the server software 163 (Steps S 34 and S 35 ), the application software 164 in the component mounting apparatus 151 transmits information currently displayed on a screen by the display 155 a of the component mounting apparatus 151 , to the browsing software 162 a of the computer within the service point 172 via the server software 163 (Steps S 36 and S 37 ). The application software 164 also receives a screen operation (an operation of a mouse, an input through a keyboard, or the like) of the browsing software 162 a on the communication device 180 side so as to display it on the display 155 a of the component mounting apparatus 151 (Steps S 39 and S 40 ). As a result, a screen operation is performed on a display 180 a of the computer serving as the communication device 180 in the service point 172 so as to realize an operation, which is equivalent to a screen operation on the display 155 a of the component mounting apparatus 151 in the customer factory 171 . In this manner, a recovery operation is performed. Instead of or in addition to this operation, instructions for operation can be issued so as to deal with an operation which is hard or impossible to automatically perform.
FIG. 10 shows a specific example for collecting production result data and device operation data of the component mounting apparatus 151 accumulated in the data storage section 154 from a remote location at the service point 172 via the Internet line. FIG. 11 shows a processing flow thereof. When a trouble occurs in the component mounting apparatus 151 in the state where the communication devices 152 and 180 are both connected to the Internet (Steps S 41 and S 42 ), a service person at the service point 172 activates the browsing software 162 a running on the communication device 180 in the service point 172 . As a result, the browsing software 162 a running on the communication device 180 in the service point 172 and the server software 163 in the component mounting apparatus 151 communicate with each other (Steps S 43 and S 44 ), so that the server software 163 activates the application software 164 (Step S 45 ). The application software 164 passes the production result data and the device operation data in the component mounting apparatus 151 to the server software 163 (Steps S 46 and S 47 ). Furthermore, the browsing software 162 a in the service point 172 receives that information (Steps S 48 ). Thereby, a service person consults information necessary for trouble analysis of the component mounting apparatus 151 at the customer factory 171 without leaving the service point 172 so as to perform an analysis operation with the analysis software 165 (Step S 49 ). The result of analysis is reflected into the component mounting apparatus 151 by a remote operation as indicated in the flow chart of FIG. 9 so as to be used for a recovery operation of a trouble or the like.
Herein, the production mount data is the totaled data such as the number of produced circuit boards, the number of errors, and the like. The device operation data is log information such as the contents and time of error occurrence and the like during operation of the component mounting apparatus 151 . With these data, the cause of a trouble can be analyzed.
FIG. 12 shows a specific example of updating a software in the communication device 152 included in the component mounting apparatus 151 via the Internet line from a remote location at the service point 172 . In the communication device 180 , a software of the component mounting apparatus 151 , a component library corresponding to data for each component for operating the component mounting apparatus 151 , an instruction manual for operating the component mounting apparatus 151 , and the like are accumulated in a service information database 26 . FIG. 13 shows a processing flow thereof. In the state where the communication devices 152 and 180 are both connected to the Internet (Steps S 51 and S 52 ), an operator in the customer factory 171 uses the browsing software 162 in the communication device 152 included in the component mounting apparatus 151 to output a request for consultation to the communication device 180 in the service point 172 (Step S 53 ). The application software 164 a, which is activated by the server software 163 a on the side of the communication device 180 receiving that request, acquires a list of corresponding softwares from the service information DB 26 (Steps S 54 to S 56 ). The acquired list is transferred to the browsing software 162 of the communication device 152 via the server software of the communication device 180 , so that the operator at the customer factory can consult it (Steps S 57 and S 58 ). In the case where there is a software of the updated version among the softwares relating to the component mounting apparatus 151 , the browsing software 162 in the component mounting apparatus 151 and the server software 163 a in the service point 172 are allowed to communicate with each other so as to download and update the updated software, which is acquired from the service information database 26 present on the communication device 180 side in the service point 172 , into the component mounting apparatus 151 (Steps S 59 to S 64 ).
Besides the softwares of the component mounting apparatus 151 , for example, even the component library and the instruction manual can be acquired and consulted from the service information DB 26 of the service point 172 in the same procedure as described above.
Although the implementation of at least one of the specific examples shown in FIGS. 7, 8 , 10 , and 12 in the second embodiment described above is even effective, it is suitable to carry out all the specific examples with the device shown in FIG. 4.
Hereinafter, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
This embodiment relates to a service system for a component mounting system 120 as shown in FIG. 14, including a component mounting line 100 and a management device 101 for receiving/transmitting information from/to the component mounting line 100 so as to manage the component mounting line 100 . FIG. 15 shows the entire system configuration of a service system 380 of this embodiment. This service system 380 shows an example of the case where each factory of the destination of delivery of a component mounting apparatus, which possesses the component mounting system 120 , and the service receiving device 1 at the destination company of delivery are connected to each other through a network 3 , whereas the service receiving device 1 and the service providing device 2 at a component mounting apparatus manufacturing supplier are connected to each other through a network 60 .
In FIG. 15, the service providing device 2 includes a service information database 26 (hereinafter, referred to as a service information DB). The service receiving device 1 at the destination company of delivery fetches the service information from the service providing device 2 via the network 60 . With the fetched service information, the service providing device provides a service to component mounting lines 100 a, 100 b, and 100 c of the respective factories A, B, C, and the like which are under the umbrella of the destination company of delivery via the management device 101 .
Herein, the network 60 may be any communication means including, for example, the Internet as long as it is capable of performing the communication. However, the network is the Internet in this embodiment because the Internet is suitable for transmitting/receiving information at high speed. Although similar communication means may be used as the network 3 , the intranet for connecting global points in the company is used in this embodiment. Although it is assumed that each of the factories A, B, and C of the destination company of delivery is present at each global point, it is not limited thereto; all factories may be present at domestic points.
The service providing device 2 may be placed at a location other than at the component mounting apparatus manufacturing supplier or may be placed in a service provider for providing a service for the component mounting apparatus.
In this manner, for a user in any zone of the world, the same service is provided to the service receiving device 1 provided for the user side via the network 60 . As a result, regardless of the operational level learned by the operator of the component mounting apparatus in each zone, it is possible to provide a service which results from the accumulation of know-how concerning the selection of a condition for mounting a component depending on the type of a circuit board or a component to be mounted. Thereby, uniform high-efficiency and high-quality mount production is realized all over the world. Moreover, since a service is derived independently from the user side, the service is derived at any timing necessary for the user side. Thus, each user does not suffer from any damage caused by a delay in taking action to maintain the efficiency of the mount production and the quality of the products.
The contents of disclosure of a service that the service receiving device 1 derives from the service providing device 2 vary depending on the level of a contract that the destination company of delivery made with the component mounting apparatus manufacturing supplier. If the level of a contract is low, only the latest instruction manual information and the inventory information of mending parts can be disclosed so as to derive these information. However, as the level of a contract is elevated, the range of disclosure is expanded so as to sequentially cover the virtual training for offering the training via a network, information on component to be mounted, a mounting order optimization software, and the like. An adequate service which meets the level of a user is thereby provided. Moreover, a service to be provided for each user is easily managed, and a service is prevented from being needlessly derived from a user who is not under contract.
It is desirable to determine the level of a contract depending on the level of an operator of the component mounting apparatus or the difficulty level of a mounting technique used for production at a factory, and further on the demand of the destination of delivery. In this manner, an appropriate level of a contract is easily determined from various points of view. Alternatively, the service providing device 1 and an operator interact with each other in a dialogical manner, or the service receiving device 1 or the service providing device 2 automatically judges to allow an appropriate level of a contract to be determined. Based on this level of a contract, a user at the destination of delivery is charged. The accounting is regularly made, for example, by the month. The accounting is regularly made, for example, by the month in a collective manner depending on the level of a contract of a service, instead of charging for each provided service. An accounting processing is facilitated both for a user and for a manufacturer. Moreover, for a user, there is not any more inconvenience that the user might select an unnecessary service to be wrongly charged.
When the level of a contract is elevated, it is possible to provide a service in which the service providing device 2 of the component mounting apparatus manufacturing supplier monitors the quality and an operating status of the component mounting line 100 via the network 60 and further, when something wrong happens during monitoring, a service for giving feedback as a countermeasure against it.
In order to provide the above-mentioned monitoring service, as shown in FIG. 14, in the component mounting line 100 where the individual component mounting apparatuses 105 to 111 are connected, facility information such as an operation rate, shutdown time, type switching time, and the like, tact information such as a mounting tact corresponding to time required for the mounting of one circuit board, a tact loss, and the like, and further quality information such as the presence/absence of a quality defect, the contents of a defect, and the like of each of the component mounting apparatuses 105 to 111 are collected to the management device 101 via a network 102 . In FIG. 15, the management devices 101 a to 101 c of the respective factories A to C which include the component mounting lines 100 a to 100 c shown in FIG. 14, and the service receiving device 1 at the company, to which a component mounting apparatus is to be delivered, are connected to each other via the network 3 . The facility information, the tact information, and the quality information collected in the management devices 101 a to 101 c are collected in the service receiving device 1 , which are in turn transmitted to the service providing device 2 at the component mounting apparatus manufacturing supplier via the network 60 . These facility information, tact information, and quality information are converted so as to have a data structure that is easy to analyze for operation, and is then accumulated in an operation quality information database 51 (hereinafter, referred to as an operation quality information DB) provided for the service providing device 2 .
The service providing device 2 monitors if the operation rate, the mounting tact, and the ratio of defective products reach their targets; if not, its factor is analyzed. If the factor of failing to reach the targets is found as a result of factor analysis, a service for eliminating the factor is provided for the service receiving device 1 . The service receiving device 1 feedbacks the provided service to the component mounting lines 100 a to 100 c via the management devices 101 a to 101 c at the respective factories.
In this manner, when a trouble such as shutdown of the component mounting apparatus, quality defect of products, or the like occurs at the mounting factory of a user, a user side can derive the service for analyzing the trouble to provide a solution at any time. Thus, it is possible to minimize the reduction in production efficiency and in quality due to shutdown caused by a trouble. For example, the following inefficiency as is conventionally found is remarkably improved; it is only after several days' stay for analysis that a service person, who is dispatched from a manufacturer for analysis of a trouble caused by a faulty operation, can prove the cause to be a faulty operation.
Moreover, the user side can derive at any time a service for monitoring a production so as to analyze a problem if it arises. As a result, if there is a symptom that a trouble may arises, it is possible to sense the symptom so as to avoid any trouble that may arise. Thereby, stable high-efficiency and high-quality production is carried on.
Although the network 102 is a LAN (Local Area Network) for wirelessly transmitting/receiving information (hereinafter, referred to as a wireless LAN) in this embodiment, the network is not limited thereto. However, with the wireless LAN, it is possible to flexibly respond to a change in layout of each of the component mounting apparatuses 151 of the component mounting line, without altering a cable wiring of the network 102 . As a result, it is possible to freely and actively promote the construction of a new mounting line with the addition of the new component mounting apparatus 151 , which is capable of realizing the production with a higher tact and higher quality, without considering an alteration in cable wiring due to layout change. Moreover, it is possible to transmit the derived service information not only to the component mounting apparatus 151 but also to a portable terminal such as a portable telephone, a PHS, or the like carried by an operator of the component mounting apparatus 151 . Accordingly, it is possible to encourage the operator of the component mounting apparatus 151 to reflect the received service into the production.
With the above structure, the service providing device 2 provides a necessary service to a factory at destination of delivery in accordance with the level of a contract desired by the destination of delivery. With some contract levels, it is possible to simultaneously monitor and analyze an operation or quality status at each mount factory in real time by the service providing device 2 . Then, the factor of lowering operation and quality statuses is found, so that a service for eliminating the factor is provided in real time. Thus, it is possible to manage the operating and quality statuses of all mounting factories which are developed on the global scale in the same manner so as to maintain high and uniform quality and production statuses.
Although the case where each factory at the destination of delivery of component mounting apparatuses and a component mounting apparatus manufacturing supplier are connected via the network 3 is described above, it is not limited thereto. The service providing device 2 may be present in a specific factory among the respective factories for mount production so as to provide a service for the other factories via a network including the Internet. Moreover, although one management device 101 is provided for one component mounting line 100 , it is not limited thereto. A single management device 101 may be provided for a plurality of component mounting lines 100 . Alternatively, a single management device 101 is provided only for one component mounting apparatus.
Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 16, each component mounting apparatus may be equipped with the service receiving device 1 described above as an internal function in its control section 201 so as to receive a service from the service providing device 2 via the network 60 from the component mounting apparatus itself, depending on the level of a contract.
Moreover, although the component mounting line 100 constituted by the component mounting apparatus 151 is described above, it is not limited thereto. The component mounting line may be a production facility alone for processing or assembling a product, or may be a production line in which the production facilities are connected to each other.
The outline of the third embodiment of the present invention has been described above. Hereinafter, system configuration and operation will be individually described in detail.
I. Configuration of the Component Mounting System 120
The component mounting system 120 is a production system for mounting a component onto a circuit board so as to carry out the mount production of circuit boards. As shown in FIG. 14 , the component mounting system 120 is constituted by the management device 101 , the wireless LAN 102 serving as a network, and the component mounting line 100 . The component mounting line 100 includes: a supplying device 104 ; a cream solder printer 105 ; a cream solder print inspection machine 106 ; an adhesive applicator 107 ; a high-speed placement machine 108 a; a multifunctional placement machine 108 b; a placed component inspection machine 109 ; a reflow device 110 ; a visual inspection machine 111 and a housing device 112 .
The cream solder printer 105 , the cream solder print inspection machine 106 , the adhesive applicator 107 , the high-speed placement machine 108 a, the multifunctional placement machine 108 b, the placed component inspection machine 109 , the reflow device 110 , and the visual inspection machine 111 are connected to the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 .
Each of the high-speed placement machine 108 a and the multifunctional placement machine 108 b is a type of component mounting apparatus for surface-mounting a chip component on a circuit board, and is also referred to as a mounter or a placement machine. Although not described in this embodiment, the component mounting apparatus includes a component insertion machine for inserting a lead of a component such as an axial component or a radial component into a lead insertion hole on the circuit board. The component insertion machine is also referred to as an inserter, and sometimes inserts a jumper wire. The cream solder printer 105 , the cream solder print inspection machine 106 , the adhesive applicator 107 , the placed component inspection machine 109 , the reflow device 110 , the visual inspection machine 111 , and the like, which constitute the component mounting line 100 , are included in the category of component mounting apparatus in a broad sense. In this embodiment, these cream solder printer 105 , cream solder print inspection machine 106 , adhesive applicator 107 , placed component inspection machine 109 , reflow device 110 , visual inspection machine 111 , and the like are included in the category of component mounting apparatus, unless otherwise noted.
In a similar manner, the term “placement” is defined to denote the surface mounting including the case where a metallic joint between an electrode and a land is intended by using diffusion due to friction or fusion utilizing an ultrasonic wave so as to mount a chip component onto a circuit board. The term “placement” is defined to be included in “mounting” for mounting a component onto a circuit board so as to form a circuit. Not only the term “placement” but also the phrase containing “placement” used in this embodiment below mean the surface mounting of a chip component described above unless otherwise noted. On the other hand, the signification of the term “mounting” and the phrase containing “mounting” is not limited to the meaning of “placement;” it is used to indicate the formation of a circuit in a broader concept which even includes “insertion,” “solder print,” “adhesive application,” and “various inspections,” unless otherwise noted.
The amount of time for mounting of a single circuit board by a component mounting apparatus is defined as “mounting tact.” In the mounting tact, in particular, a standard value of the mounting tact in the case where a component mounting apparatus operates in accordance with its specifications without generating any tact loss is referred to as a “standard mounting tact”, and an actual value of a mounting tact detected or collected from the component mounting apparatus is referred to as a “mounting tact actual value”.
(1) Supplying Device 104
The supplying device 104 stocks a plurality of circuit boards in advance. No component is mounted on these circuit boards yet. The supplying device 104 supplies the circuit boards to the cream solder printer 105 in a one-by-one manner.
(2) Cream Solder Printer 105
The cream solder printer 105 receives the circuit boards from the supplying device 104 in a one-by-one manner, and prints a cream solder onto the received circuit board so as to provide the circuit board, on which the cream solder is printed, to the cream solder print inspection machine 106 . Moreover, the cream solder printer 105 outputs facility information relating to the print of the cream solder and the like to the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 . Furthermore, the cream solder printer 105 is capable of installing the NC data and the like for indicating various conditions for printing by the cream solder printer 105 , from the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 .
The cream solder printer 105 includes, as shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B illustrating its main configuration: a stage 67 on which a circuit board 10 is placed; a screen plate 66 , which covers the circuit board 10 and has an opening (not shown) in the form and at the position corresponding to those of a land on the circuit board 10 ; a squeegee 62 a held by a squeegee head 64 on the screen plate 66 . The squeegee 62 a is driven by a squeegee driving part 65 via the squeegee head 64 to be moved in a direction indicated with an arrow in the drawing along the screen plate 66 . At this moment, the squeegee 62 a moves while pressing the cream solder 68 supplied onto the screen plate 66 against the screen plate 66 so that the cream solder is supplied through the opening provided through the screen plate 66 onto a land of the circuit board 10 for achieving the printing. The squeegee head 64 also holds another squeegee 62 b which enables the printing when the squeegee head is moved in a direction opposite to that of the printing with the squeegee 62 a.
In this case, in order to maintain the quality in the cream solder printer 105 , it is necessary to set the NC data in consideration of various conditions for cream solder printing. For example, it is necessary to select a type, a temperature, and a viscosity of the cream solder, in consideration of a material of the circuit board, a mounting density, and the like. Moreover, it is also necessary to set a traveling speed of the squeegees 62 a and 62 b, depending on the type of the circuit board 10 or the type of the cream solder 68 . By appropriately selecting the above-described conditions, the cream solder is expanded in an excellent manner over the land of the circuit board 10 through the opening of the screen plate 66 so as to prevent the imperfect printing such as faintness or blur of the cream solder. Furthermore, it is also important to well separate the opening of the screen plate 66 and the printed cream solder 68 from each other so as to avoid any crack of the cream solder 68 by controlling the speed of upwardly detaching the screen plate 66 from the circuit board 10 after printing. If the cream solder 68 is not separated from this opening, so that the accumulated cream solder results in solder clogging on the opening, it is necessary to additionally perform the cleaning so as to eliminate the solder clogging.
A mounting tact in the cream solder printer 105 is determined by time for carrying in and out the circuit board 10 (loading time), attachment/removal time of the screen plate 66 on/from the circuit board 10 , a traveling speed of the squeegees 62 a and 62 b, and the like.
(3) Cream Solder Print Inspection Machine 106
The cream solder print inspection machine 106 receives the circuit boards 10 in a one-by-one manner from the cream solder printer 105 so as to inspect a state of the cream solder 68 printed on the received circuit board 10 . The cream solder print inspection machine 106 supplies the circuit board 10 , which has undergone the inspection, to the applicator 107 of an adhesive. The cream solder print inspection machine also outputs facility information, information of the result of inspection relating to the cream solder print inspection, and the like to the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 . Moreover, the cream solder print inspection machine 106 is capable of installing the NC data for indicating inspection data for inspection or the like from the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 . The inspection data contains the position of a land on which the cream solder 68 is to be printed, a threshold value of inspection OK/NG, and the like.
At this point, the cream solder print inspection machine 106 picks up an image of the circuit board, on which the cream solder 68 is printed, and processes the obtained image so as to judge if the cream solder 68 is normally printed. If the print is judged to be unsuccessful, the type of a defect and the location on the board where the defect occurs are output. Examples of the contents of a defect include a print positional offset of the cream solder 68 , faintness, blur, or overflow of the cream solder 68 , and the like. For the identification of a location on the board, for example, the location is identified by a circuit number assigned to each component to be mounted and an electrode number assigned to each electrode of each mounted component.
A mounting tact in the cream solder print inspection machine 106 is determined by time for carrying in and out the circuit board 10 (loading time), time for picking up an image of the circuit board 10 , time for processing and inspecting the data of the picked-up image of the circuit board 10 , and the like.
(4) Applicator 107 of Adhesive
The applicator 107 of an adhesive receives the circuit boards in a one-by-one manner from the cream solder print inspection machine 106 so as to apply an adhesive for placing a component onto the received circuit board 10 . Then, the applicator supplies the circuit board 10 , on which the adhesive is applied, to the high-speed placement machine 108 a. The applicator 107 also outputs facility information relating to the application of an adhesive and the like via the wireless LAN 102 to the management device 101 . Moreover, the applicator 107 of an adhesive is capable of installing the NC data for indicating the position of application of an adhesive and various conditions for application of an adhesive, or the like from the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 .
The applicator 107 of an adhesive includes: a syringe which stores an adhesive therein; an application nozzle connected to the syringe, for applying the adhesive pushed out from the syringe at an air pressure; and an XY table for positioning the position of application on the circuit board below the application nozzle.
In order to maintain the quality in such an applicator 107 of an adhesive, it is necessary to set the NC data in consideration of various conditions for applying an adhesive. For example, it is important to appropriately control the type, a temperature, a viscosity, and further a pressure for application and application time of an adhesive so as to apply an adequate amount of an adhesive for adhering a component without causing any stringiness. Moreover, the nozzle clogging must be prevented from occurring by controlling the above-described various conditions.
A mounting tact in the applicator 107 of an adhesive corresponds to time needed to apply an adhesive onto a single substrate, and is determined by time for carrying in and out the circuit board 10 (loading time), time for applying an adhesive onto all the application points corresponding to the positions where the respective components are to be mounted, and the like. In this case, a mounting tact is limited to the application of an adhesive so as to be also referred to as an “application tact,” whereas a standard mounting tact is limited to the application of an adhesive so as to be also referred to as a “standard application tact.” A mounting tact actual value is limited to the application of an adhesive so as to be also referred to as an “application tact actual value.”
When the application tact (or the application tact actual value) exceeds the standard application tact, the exceeded amount of the tact is referred to as a “tact loss.” The tact loss includes, for example, a movement loss of the XY table 9 . The standard application tact per application point is referred to as a “standard application tact per point,” the application tact per application point is referred to as an “application tact per point,” and the tact loss per application point is referred to as a “tact loss per point.”
(5) High-Speed Placement Machine 108 a
The high-speed placement machine 108 a receives the circuit boards 10 in a one-by-one manner from the applicator 107 of an adhesive so as to place a component on the received circuit board 10 at high speed, and then supplies the circuit board 10 , on which the component is placed, to the multifunctional placement machine 108 b. Moreover, the high-speed placement machine 108 a outputs facility information relating to the placement of a component and the like to the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 . Furthermore, the high-speed placement machine 108 a is capable of installing the NC data indicating the position where a component is to be placed and various conditions for placing a component and the like from the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 .
In the component mounting line 100 , each of the high-speed placement machine 108 a and the multifunctional placement machine 108 b is a type of placement machine for placing a component onto the circuit board 10 ; the common parts thereof are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the overlapping description thereof is herein omitted. The high-speed placement machine 108 a is mainly designed to place a small chip component onto the circuit board 10 at high speed, whereas the multifunctional placement machine 108 b is designed to place a great variety of types of chip component including an odd-shaped component onto the circuit board 10 . These placement machines are common in that they place the components onto the circuit board 10 .
The high-speed placement machine 108 a includes, as shown in FIG. 18A, a component supplying section 11 having a plurality of component supplying devices 5 mounted onto a moving table 6 , an XY table 9 for mounting the circuit board 10 thereon so as to move and position the circuit board in XY directions for mounting a component, a rotational table 8 which intermittently rotates, component suction nozzles 7 positioned at constant pitches at the outer periphery of the rotational table 8 , and a placement head 4 for placing a component supplied from the component supplying section 11 at a predetermined position on the positioned circuit board 10 . Although not shown in detail in the drawing, a reeled component housing tape for holding a plurality of components of the same type at constant pitches is mounted on the component supplying device 5 so as to supply the component. The component housing tape is intermittently fed by the component housing pitch so as to supply the components in a one-by-one manner. The component supplying section 11 loads a necessary number of the component supplying devices 5 onto the moving table 6 in accordance with the type of component to be placed. The moving table 6 moves in a direction indicated with an arrow 12 to be positioned so that the component supplying device 5 capable of supplying a component to be placed matches the component supplying position. Each time the component suction nozzles 7 of the placement head 4 , which are at the position so as to fetch a component out of the component supplying device 5 positioned at the component supplying position, suck a component supplied from the component supplying device 5 , the rotational table 8 intermittently rotates by the arrangement pitch of the component suction nozzles 7 in a direction indicated with an arrow 13 . When the component suction nozzles 7 sucking the component are positioned so as to be opposed to the location where the component is sucked on the outer periphery of the rotational table 8 as a result of the successive intermittent rotation of the rotational table 8 , the component suction nozzles 7 place the component at the placement position on the circuit board 10 . The XY table 9 positions the circuit board 10 so as to be aligned with the placement position of the component placed by the component suction nozzles 7 . The component supplying section 11 , the XY table 9 , the placement head 4 , and the like described above are controlled by the control section 201 .
Although not illustrated, in intermittent rotation of the rotational table 8 , a recognition section is provided for recognizing the sucked component from a downward direction with a camera so as to detect the positional offset of suction (the amount of a shift in X and Y directions and the amount of rotational shift around an axis of the component suction nozzle 7 ), at the rotation stop position in the course of movement of the component suction nozzles 7 from the position where the component is fetched out from the component supplying device 5 to the position where the component is placed onto the circuit board 10 . The control section 201 controls the component suction nozzles 7 to correct the rotation around their axes so as to eliminate the amount of a rotational shift detected by the recognition section, and to correct the positioning of the XY table 9 so as to eliminate the positional offset amount in the X and Y directions, which is detected by the recognition device.
The component supplying device 5 is not limited to the tape feeder type described above, and includes, for example, a tray-type one or a stick-type one. The above-described tape feeder type one is also called a parts cassette or a parts feeder.
Moreover, in the high-speed placement machine 108 a in the above-described case, the placement head 4 is equipped with the component suction nozzles 7 which serve to suck and hold a component. However, a chuck for grasping and holding a component may be used instead. In the component mounting apparatus other than the high-speed placement machine 108 a, for example, in the multifunctional placement machine 108 b described below, a chuck for grasping and holding a component is frequently used. Moreover, in the component inserting machine, a chuck is used in the most of cases. These component suction nozzles 7 , chuck, and the like for holding a component from the component supplying device 5 and mounting it onto the circuit board 10 are collectively referred to as component holding means.
In the high-speed placement machine 108 a as shown in FIG. 18A, in order to maintain the quality, it is necessary to set NC data in consideration of various conditions for placing a component. For example, it is necessary to perform the setting in consideration of a placement speed (specifically, a rotational speed of the rotational table 8 , and a moving speed and an acceleration of the XY table 9 ) depending on the kind, the size, the weight, and the like of a component. If a heavy component is intended to be placed at high speed, a suction positional shift occurs due to inertia force of the component, resulting in inconveniences such as a positional offset in placement of the component, a fall of the component from the component suction nozzles 7 , and the like. Moreover, in order that the recognition section recognizes the amount of a suction offset of the component, it is necessary to teach in advance the recognition data corresponding to image data of the component at a normal position without any suction offset and to preselect a recognition algorism with which an image processing is to be performed. Furthermore, in the case where the component supplying device 5 , the component suction nozzle 7 , or the like becomes defective, an component suction error is generated to lower an operation rate of the placement machine. Therefore, the defective component supplying device 5 or component suction nozzle 7 must be quickly replaced by the one for repairs.
A mounting tact in the high-speed placement machine 108 a corresponds to the amount of time needed for placing components onto a single circuit board, and is determined based on time for carrying in and out the circuit board 10 (loading time), time for placing all components at the placement positions, and the like. In this case, a mounting tact is limited to the placement of components so as to be also referred to as an “placement tact,” whereas a standard mounting tact is limited to the placement of components so as to be referred to as a “standard placement tact.” A mounting tact actual value is limited to the placement of components so as to be referred to as an “placement tact actual value.”
When the placement tact (or the placement tact actual value) exceeds the standard placement tact, the exceeded amount of the tact is referred to as a “tact loss.” The tact loss includes, for example, a movement loss of the XY table 9 and a movement loss of the component supplying section 11 . The standard placement tact for each placement point is referred to as a “standard placement tact per point,” the placement tact for each placement point is referred to as an “placement tact per point,” and the tact loss for each placement point is referred to as a “tact loss per point.”
Moreover, in the high-speed placement machine 108 a as shown in FIG. 18A, in order to achieve its initial object of placing a component at high speed, that is, placing a component with a standard placement tact corresponding to a tact enabling the placement in a standard manner, it is necessary to optimize the placement order of components and the position where the component supplying device 5 is placed on the moving table 6 . For example, the amount of time needed for the rotational table 8 of the placement head 4 to rotate by one pitch corresponds to the standard placement tact per point. If the component supplying device 5 is not positioned at the component supplying position during the standard placement tact per point, a component cannot be placed with the standard placement tact per point. Moreover, if the XY table 9 does not position the circuit board 10 at the component placement position during the standard placement tact per point, a component cannot be placed with the standard placement tact per point. For the positioning of each of the component supplying device 5 and the XY table 9 , an allowable movement range where the movement is permitted during the standard placement tact per point is determined. The component placement order and the position of the component supplying device 5 are optimized so that the movement of the component supplying device 5 and the movement of the XY table 9 both fall within this allowable movement range. However, it is normally impossible to all components to be placed with the standard placement tact per point. In this case, the optimization is effected so as to minimize the tact loss corresponding to the amount of excess from the standard placement tact, even if it is impossible to perform the placement with the standard placement tact. This tact loss is ideally obtained by calculating a larger one of: time calculated based on the amount of excess in the amount of movement of the component supplying device 5 from the allowable movement range; and time calculated based on the amount of excess in the amount of movement of the XY table 9 .
Although two placement machines (that is, the high-speed placement machine 108 a and the multifunctional placement machine 108 b ) are connected in series in the component mounting line 100 , a larger number of placement machines may be connected in series.
Therefore, assuming that a plurality of placement machines are connected in series in the component mounting line 100 , the n-th placement machine among a plurality of placement machines is indicated as a placement machine n 108 . Hereinafter, the placement machine n 108 will be described instead of describing the high-speed placement machine 108 a.
(5-1) Placement Machine n 108
A control system of the placement machine n 108 is constituted by, as shown in FIG. 19, the control section 201 , a placement control section 202 , a placement section 203 , a memory section 204 , a recognition section 210 , a transmitting/receiving section 205 , an input section 206 , a screen control section 207 , and a display section 208 .
The placement section 203 corresponds to the component supplying section 11 , the XY table 9 and the placement head 4 shown in FIG. 19 in the high-speed placement machine 108 a. The transmitting/receiving section 205 is for performing the transmission and reception with the management device 101 , and includes an antenna capable of performing the transmission and reception in the wireless LAN 102 in this example. However, it is not limited thereto, and may be a network adapter connected through a cable.
(a) Memory Section 204
The memory section 204 stores the facility information 211 shown in FIG. 22 and the NC data 220 shown in FIG. 23, and a control software necessary for the control section to control the placement machine n 108 .
The facility information 211 is constituted by production management information and cassette information (information relating to the component supplying device 5 , that is, the parts cassette), as shown in FIG. 22 as an example thereof. The production management information includes the expected number of products, the expected number of circuits, the number of products, . . . , the operation rate, the suction rate and the like, whereas the cassette information includes ZNO corresponding to a number indicating the position where the component supplying device 5 is located, the name of a component, the remaining number of components of the component supplying device 5 , and the like.
In this case, the number of products corresponds to the number of circuit boards produced by the placement machine n 108 , the operation rate corresponds to a ratio of the amount of actual mounting time of components onto a circuit board to the total operation time of the placement machine n 108 , and the suction rate corresponds to a ratio of the actual number of components sucked by the component suction nozzles 7 to the total number of suction in the placement machine n 108 .
The NC data contains, as shown in FIG. 23, an NC program 221 , an arrangement program 231 , and a component library 241 .
The NC program 221 is a program for specifying the kind and the position of a component to be placed and the number of placement onto a single circuit board by the placement machine n 108 . More specifically, as shown in FIG. 23, a step No. indicates the order of placing a component; the placement position (X, Y, W (placement angle), the circuit number), Z (an arrangement number of the component supplying device 5 for fetching out a component), and the name of a component are specified for each step No.
The arrangement program 231 corresponds to the NC program 221 , and specifies the name of a component and a shape code which are set in the component supplying device 5 having the Z number specified with each step No. of the NC program 221 . The shape code corresponds to a code uniquely assigned to components having the same shape.
The component library 241 is constituted by detailed data relating to each component, and stores information such as a shape (a length, a width, a thickness, and the like), an placement condition (a head speed, an XY speed, a nozzle, a tool, and the like), recognition data (although not shown in FIG. 23, contained in the component library) of a component for each shape code in the component arrangement program 231 , and the like.
Herein, the head speed corresponds to a speed at which the placement head 4 intermittently rotates, in an example of the high-speed placement machine 108 a of FIG. 18A, and is specified in accordance with the size of the component (for each shape code). For example, the placement head 4 can be rotated at high speed with a microchip component such as a 1005 chip component (a chip component having a length of 1 mm and a width of 0.5 mm). However, if the placement head 4 does not rotate at low speed for a large component such as an SOP component, a sucked component causes the suction positional offset due to inertia force. Similarly, the XY speed corresponds the traveling speed of the XY table 9 , and the nozzle corresponds to a kind of the component suction nozzle 7 to be used and is specified for each shape code. Although only one kind of component suction nozzle 7 is placed at each position provided at a constant pitch interval on the outer periphery of the rotational table 8 in FIG. 18A for simplification, a plurality of component suction nozzles (for example, a small one, a medium-sized one, and a large one) selected depending on the kind of a component are actually provided at the respective positions. Moreover, the recognition data teaches the position that the component suction nozzle 7 sucking a component should be take in advance, which allows the recognition section 210 to recognize.
The control software is necessary to control the placement machine n 108 . The control section 201 controls the placement machine n 108 in accordance with the control software read from the memory section 204 . For example, the control section 201 passes the control software to the placement control section 202 so as to control the placement section 203 .
The NC data 220 or the control software can be installed from the management device 101 via the transmitting/receiving section 205 .
(b) Placement Control Section 202
The placement control section 202 reads out the NC data 220 from the memory section 204 based on an instruction of the control section 201 so that the control section 203 is controlled to sequentially place the components in accordance with an instruction of the NC data 220 . Moreover, the placement control section 202 receives information of the result of placement from the placement section 203 so as to update each information contained in the facility information 211 stored in the memory section 204 .
The fundamental operation of the placement section 203 , that is, the intermittent rotation and the component placement operation of the placement head 4 , the traveling operation of the component supplying section 11 and the positioning operation of the XY table 9 are controlled in accordance with the control software described above.
(c) Transmitting/Receiving Section 205
Upon reception of a request for uploading the facility information 211 or the NC data 220 from the management device 101 , the transmitting/receiving section 205 outputs the received request to the control section 201 . In accordance with the instruction of the control section 201 , the transmitting/receiving section 205 reads out the facility information 211 or the NC data 220 stored in the memory section 204 so as to transmit it to the management device 101 .
The transmitting/receiving section 205 receives the NC data 220 , which is newly created from the management device 101 or is once uploaded to be reoptimized at the higher order, so as to store the received NC data 220 in the memory section 204 in accordance with an instruction of the control section 201 .
The transmitting/receiving section 205 receives the control software from the management device 101 so as to store it to the memory section 204 .
(d) Recognition Section 210
Although not shown in FIG. 18A, the recognition section 210 downwardly recognizes a sucked component with a camera so as to detect a suction positional offset (the amount of an offset in X and Y directions, the amount of a rotational offset about an axis of the component suction nozzle 7 ). The control section 201 rotates the component suction nozzle 7 about its axis for correction so as to eliminate the rotational offset detected by the recognition section 210 . Moreover, the control section 201 performs the control to correct the amount of positioning of the XY table 9 so as to eliminate the amount of an offset in the X and Y directions detected by the recognition section 210 .
Moreover, for recognition, recognition data (contained in the NC data 220 ), which is taught in advance, is stored in the memory section 204 . When an actually placed component is to be recognized, the above-described recognition data or a prespecified recognition algorism (contained in the control software) is read out from the memory section 204 so as to perform a recognition processing.
(e) Control Section 201
The control section 201 controls the respective sections of the placement machine, and instructs the placement control section 202 , the transmitting/receiving section 205 , and the like as described above to control so as to upload the facility information 211 and the NC data 220 and to download the NC data 220 .
The control section 201 receives an instruction order by an operator from the input section 206 so as to perform a processing in accordance with the received instruction order. The control section 201 also outputs an instruction order and the contents of display relating to screen display to the screen control section 207 .
(5-2) Component Mounting Apparatus k
A k-th component mounting apparatus among a plurality of the respective component mounting apparatuses including the placement machine connected with each other is denoted as a component mounting apparatus k. The component mounting apparatus k is more broadly interpreted, and it is apparent that the placement machine n 108 is included in the component mounting apparatus k.
Although not shown in the drawing, a configuration of a control system of the component mounting apparatus k is similar to that of the control system of the placement machine n 108 . For example, the control system of the component mounting apparatus k includes the control section 201 , the memory section 204 , the recognition section 210 , the transmitting/receiving section 205 , the input section 206 , the screen control section 207 , and the display section 208 . In addition, an operation control section for controlling the original operation of the component mounting apparatus k, which corresponds to the placement control section 202 of the placement machine n 108 , is included. The operation control section controls, for example, an operation for inserting a component into a circuit board if it concerns the component insertion machine, and an operation for printing a cream solder onto a circuit board if it concerns the cream solder printer 105 .
The memory section 204 stores the facility information 211 similar to that shown in FIG. 22, the NC data similar to that shown in FIG. 23, and a control software necessary for the control section 201 to control the component mounting apparatus k.
The facility information 211 has the common items from the uppermost item to the operation rate in production management information in FIG. 22 over the types of the component mounting apparatus k. Although the other production management information and cassette information can be directly used in the component insertion machine, there is particular information in the cream solder printer 105 , the adhesive applicator 107 , the reflow device 110 , or various inspection machines, respectively.
The NC data 220 is almost common to various component mounting apparatuses k for the component library 241 . The NC program 221 and the arrangement program 231 can be directly used in the component insertion machine. The NC programs 221 can be directly used in the adhesive applicator 107 and various inspection machines. For each of the cream solder printer 105 and the reflow device 110 , the NC program 221 having a particular format for indicating each particular operation is present.
The transmitting/receiving section 205 serves to perform the transmission and the reception with the management device 101 , and includes an antenna enabling the transmission and the reception via the wireless LAN 102 in this embodiment. However, the transmitting/receiving section is not limited thereto; it may be a network connected through a cable thereto.
(6) Multifunctional Placement Machine 108 b
The multifunctional placement machine 108 b receives the circuit board 10 in a one-by-one manner from the high-speed placement machine 108 a to place components onto the received circuit board 10 so as to supply the circuit board 10 having the components placed thereon to the placed component inspection machine 109 . Moreover, the multifunctional placement machine 108 b outputs the facility information relating to the placement of components and the like to the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 . Furthermore, the multifunctional placement machine 108 b can install the NC data 220 indicating the position where a component is to be mounted and various conditions for placing a component, and the like from the management device 101 via the wireless LAN 102 .
The multifunctional placement machine 108 b places a grea