The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Nov. 23, 1999
Filed:
May. 31, 1996
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., Osaka-fu, JP;
Abstract
An inspecting apparatus is arranged on an electronic component mounting line for inspecting whether a mounting state of the component mounted on a printed circuit board by a mounting apparatus in a precedent process or a printing state of a cream solder by a cream solder printing apparatus in a precedent process is non-defective or defective. The inspecting apparatus includes an input device for taking data of the mounting state of the component to be inspected or the printing state of the cream solder to be inspected, a comparing device for comparing the data of the mounting state or the printing state input through the input device with an absolute decision criterion having a predetermined allowable range to decide whether the mounting state or the printing state is non-defective or defective and an operating state criterion which is within and narrower than the allowable range of the absolute decision criterion, and a deciding device for deciding an operating state of the mounting apparatus or the cream solder printing apparatus in the precedent process based data within the absolute decision criterion and outside the operating state criterion. An automatic position setting device is operable for setting a relative position of a metal mask and the printed circuit board. Further, a method for inspecting printing states of cream solders includes setting a window in a picked up image, performing color extraction of an element within the window and detecting predetermined patterns, calculating positions and/or areas of the elements, and deciding a defective or nondefective state by comparing the calculated position and/or area with respective reference data.