APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR DETECTING COMPONENT ATTACHMENT

• Main Authors: UKAI, HIDEHIRO, ASAI, RYOTA
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 30.09.2009
• Subjects: CASINGS OR CONSTRUCTIONAL DETAILS OF ELECTRIC APPARATUS; COMBINED OPERATIONS; ELECTRIC TECHNIQUES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; MACHINE TOOLS; MANUFACTURE OF ASSEMBLAGES OF ELECTRICAL COMPONENTS; METAL-WORKING NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR; OTHER WORKING OF METAL; PERFORMING OPERATIONS; PRINTED CIRCUITS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TRANSPORTING; UNIVERSAL MACHINE TOOLS

An apparatus for detecting component attachment of the present invention includes a detection head (70) for detecting presence or absence of a component or whether or not a component is attached, and a driving mechanism (80) for driving the detection head in an attachment direction of the component. The detection head (70) includes a movable element (72) having a distal end portion capable of being brought into contact with a predetermined portion of the component, a guide passage (71c) for guiding the movable element in the attachment direction so as to be capable of reciprocal motion, a fluid passage (71d) for passing a fluid when the distal end portion is brought into contact with the predetermined portion and pushed and the movable element is moved to a predetermined position, and a detection portion for detecting a pressure or a flow rate of the fluid flowing through the fluid passage. By means of this apparatus and the method, as compared with a conventional case using an optical sensor or electric conductivity, the structure can be simplified, and whether or not the component is attached at the predetermined attachment position (whether or not the component is located at the predetermined attachment position) can be detected easily and with high accuracy, regardless of the material of the component or the like.