Patent ID: 6481099
Filing Date: 2002-11-19
Classification: H05K,Y10T

Abstract:
A circuit board fabricating method comprising:providing a component placing device for placing electronic components on circuit boards; providing a conveyor device for transferring circuit boards through the component placing device, said conveyor device including a pair of conveying surfaces for conveying the circuit boards and a pair of board supports for supporting one of the circuit boards, each said board support extending between and being supported by the pair of conveying surfaces; providing a table having a surface thereon that is situated below both the pair of conveying surfaces and the pair of board supports; providing an electronic component storage having electronic components stored therein; providing a loading apparatus positioned above the pair of board supports for moving selected electronic components from the electronic component storage to an appropriate position on a circuit board that is supported by the pair of board supports, said loading apparatus including a vacuum manifold and a nozzle; providing a pair of deflection shields each extending from and at an acute angle with respect to the surface of the table to terminate at an edge, each said edge being flush with and adjacent to one of said conveying surfaces and beneath said pair of board supports; operating the loading apparatus to move the nozzle to a selected electronic component stored within the electronic component storage; securing the selected electronic component to the nozzle by the application of a vacuum pressure from the vacuum manifold to the nozzle; moving the nozzle and the selected electronic component above one of the deflection shields; and releasing the selected electronic component from the nozzle so as to fall from the nozzle to strike one of the deflection shields and thereby being prevented from falling beneath the table.