Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Manabu Yamane

Hitoshi Kubota

Takashi Anezaki

Hiroyuki Inoue

Akiyoshi Nakada

Kazuichi Yamashita

Toshitsugu Inoue

Hiroshi Nakagawa

Tomohiro Maruo

Naoyuki Hashimoto

Hideki Tsutsumi

A method for measuring the three-dimensional position of an object to be captured. A laser measuring unit is provided having an image recognition camera confronting the object, first and second laser light emitting sources respectively irradiating from a slant direction a lateral slit light onto the object relative to a vertical axis of a vision coordinate system and irradiating a vertical slit light onto the object relative to a lateral axis of the vision coordinate system, one slit image on the vertical axis of the object and one slit image on the lateral axis of the object and one of the slit images on the vertical and lateral axes formed before and after the laser measuring unit is moved a predetermined amount in a direction of a camera optical axis relative to the object are taken into the camera, and the three-dimensional position is calculated from the relationship between the predetermined moving distance amount and the deviation of the slit images on the vision coordinates of the coordinate system. This method can be used to locate an electric adjustment position of an electronic component and to move the hand of an industrial robot carrying an electric adjustment member to the electronic component for adjusting the electronic component in the electric adjustment position.

Method for measuring three-dimensional position of object to be captured

A component assembling apparatus includes an intermittently rotatable index table for holding a plurality of positioning tools for use in positioning components to be assembled, and an index table driving mechanism for intermittently rotating the index table. The apparatus also includes a component feeding device for feeding one of the components and holding the component at a removal position of the device, a tool container for storing the plurality of assembling tools for assembling the components, and an arm robot for removably securing one of the assembling tools at its end. The arm robot is operable to move the component from the removal position of the component feeding device to a predetermined position of the positioning tool on the table, and to assemble the component on the positioning tool. An arm robot driving mechanism is provided for actuating the arm robot and the assembling tool.

Component assembling apparatus

A method of measuring a three-dimensional position of a workpiece by using a laser measuring unit provided at a hand portion of an industrial robot, the laser measuring unit including an image recognition camera and first and second laser beam sources for emitting lateral and vertical slit beams, respectively, the method comprising the steps of: positioning the laser measuring unit such that the laser measuring unit confronts the workpiece; emitting the lateral and vertical slit beams towards the workpiece from the first and second laser beam sources, respectively; inputting the lateral and vertical slit beams on the workpiece, as first and second slit images, into the image recognition camera, respectively; detecting a first point of a maximum output of the lateral slit beam at an edge of the workpiece in the first slit image and a second point of a maximum output of the vertical slit beam at another edge of the workpiece in the second slit image; and calculating the three-dimensional position of the workpiece based on a first amount of deviation of the first point from a first preset reference point and a second amount of deviation of the second point from a second preset reference point.

Method of measuring three-dimensional postion of workpiece

An apparatus for mounting a flat package type IC on a printed circuit board is disclosed. The apparatus includes: a robot hand for holding the IC; cameras each for taking an image of a part of the IC taking an image of a part of the board, which cameras are fixed to the hand and arranged symmetrically with respect to the rotation axis of the hand; a first processor for obtaining linear deviation and rotational deviation of leads from the images of the IC, and for obtaining linear deviations and rotational deviation of lands from the images of the board; a second processor for obtaining a linear difference between the linear deviations of the IC and board, and for obtaining a rotational difference between the rotational deviations of the IC and board; and a driver for adjusting the position of the IC, by linearly moving the hand by the linear difference, and by rotating the hand by the rotational difference, thereby correctly positioning the leads on the corresponding lands.

Apparatus for mounting a flat package type IC

A pallet shifter having two pallet carriers (4a, 4b) rotated by a hydraulic cylinder (5) or the like, the pallet carriers (4a, 4b) being kept in horizontality by a parallelogram link (50, 60) defined by a center (7) of rotation of the driving lever (8), a center (11) of rotation of a pallet carriers (4a, 4b), a center (12) of rotation of a stabilizing lever (13), and a coupling point (14) of the stabilizing lever (13) and the pallet carriers (4a, 4b).

Growing community of inventors

Neyagawa, Japan

Manabu Yamane