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:
Jun. 04, 2002
Filed:
Jun. 24, 1999
Carl E. Haugan, Saint Paul, MN (US);
Bruce Peterson, Plymouth, MN (US);
Jan T. A. van de Ven, Einhover, NL;
CyberOptics Corp., Minneapolis, MN (US);
Abstract
Methods and apparatus for improving the efficiency of using optical sensors with component placement machines for the placement of components onto a circuit board. One of the improved methods involves the placement of a projection or notch at a selected position on the quill. The projection or notch is detected by the light based component sensor system on the placement head to indicate that it is safe to begin moving the placement head. A second improved method uses a constant, high angular velocity to rotate the component when the sensor is using the shadow cast by the body of the component to align the component. The use of a constant angular velocity allows for the correction for the rotation in determining the orientation to give very accurate results even though the velocity is relatively high. In a further improvement, the information used to determine the position of the component on the quill is used to calculate the dimensions of the component for comparison with expected dimensions of the component. Also, measurements taken without a component in the light path can be used to monitor the condition of the sensor to determine if maintenance is required or recommended.