Patent Publication Number: US-2003221312-A1

Title: PCB auto-unloading mechanism

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001] The present invention is related to a kind of a PCB Auto-unloading mechanism, consisting of a floating plate and a moving mechanism attached between a fixing plate and a bed. On both sides of the floating plate insets a bushing, allowing the floating plate to move on a guiding shaft fixed between the fixing plate and the bed. The floating plate moves up and down through the control of the moving mechanism fixed on top of the fixing plate. Moreover, a plurality of ejecting pins are embedded on the surface of the floating plate. The ejecting pins can pass through the corresponding holes on the bed and the template for displacement, allowing the PCB to be released from the fixedness and complete the unloading operation smoothly so as to ensure the accuracy of the positioning for the next processed PCB.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002] As shown in FIG. 1, the PCB unloading mechanism of the prior art characterizes with a fixed template  2 ′ on the bed  1 ′. Positioning pins  3 ′ designed for the positioning of the PCB to be processed are attached on the template  2 ′. When the processing is done, the operator uses a shovel  5  to dig out the PCB to complete the Auto-unloading operation. However, this unloading pattern of the PCB  4 ′ idles the operation of the machine during the reclaiming. Moreover, digging up the PCB  4 ′ with a shovel  5 ′ would loosen up or tilt the positioning pins  3 ′, which influences the positioning accuracy of the next PCB  4 ′ and causes defective products. How to speed up the loading/unloading process of the PCB to enhance the operation of the machine and maintain the accuracy of PCB&#39;s production have always been the bottleneck of the PCB industry. This invention offers an excellent answer.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0003] The present invention aims at providing a kind of PBC auto-unloading mechanism by moving the floating plate up and down through the movement of the moving mechanism, by which to release the PCB from fixedness and complete the loading and unloading operations smoothly. The present invention improves the PCB unloading method of the prior art that digs off the PCB with a shovel, and enhances the operation of the machine as well as maintains the accuracy of the positioning by keeping the floating plate at a fixed vertical height, which in turn ensures the accuracy for positioning of the next PCB. 
     
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
     [0004]FIG. 1 is a traditional operation illustration of unloading the PCB with a shovel.  
     [0005]FIG. 2 is a structural illustration for the components of the present invention.  
     [0006]FIG. 3 is a movement illustration with the crank-link mechanism installed horizontally as the moving mechanism of the present invention.  
     [0007]FIG. 4 is a movement illustration with the cone and wedge-shaped moving mechanism installed horizontally as the moving mechanism of the present invention  
     [0008]FIG. 5 is a movement illustration with the wheel-moving mechanism installed horizontally as the moving mechanism of the present invention  
     [0009]FIG. 6 is an unloading operation illustration for the present invention. FIG. 7 is another structural illustration with other relative components of the present invention. FIG. 8 is an unloading operation illustration for another structure of the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
     [0010] The present invention of PCB unloading mechanism is composed of the fixing plate  1  and the bed  2  equipped with one floating plate  3  and one moving mechanism  4 . On both sides of the floating plate  3  embed with the bushing  31  for the floating plate  3  to move when being equipped on the guiding shaft  8  between the fixing plate  1  and the bed  2 . The floating plate  3  can move vertically through the control of the moving mechanism  4  installed above the fixing plate  1 .  
     [0011] The foregoing moving mechanism  4  is a mechanism that controls the vertical movement, which can be replace with the pneumatic mechanism  41  in FIG. 2, the crank-link mechanism  12  in FIG. 3, the cone and wedge-shaped moving mechanism  13  in FIG. 4 or the wheel-moving mechanism  14  in FIG. 5 on the basis of their space requirement for installation. For example, the pneumatic mechanism  41  that belongs to a vertically installed moving mechanism  4  needs more installation space, while the crank-link mechanism  42 , the cone and wedge-shaped moving mechanism  43  and the wheel-moving mechanism  44  that belong to horizontally installed moving mechanism  4  save more installation space.  
     [0012] Furthermore, the forgoing floating plate  1  can inset several pairs of ejecting pins  32  that pass through the holes  21 ,  51  on the bed  2  and the template  5 . In this way, the ejecting pins  32  can prop up the template  5  with the stripper plate  6  inset with the positioning pins  52  lying above. Above the stripper plate  6 , the PCB  7  to be processed is placed and fixed with the positioning pins  52  on the template  5  for processing.  
     [0013] As shown in FIG. 6, the floating plate  3  of the present invention moves up and down by the movement of the moving mechanism  4 . During the loading process, the moving mechanism  4  draws the floating plate  3  downward and draws the ejecting pins  32  back to the holes  21 ,  51  so that the PCB  7  and the stripper plate  6  lay flatly on the template  5  for processing. After processing, the moving mechanism  4  pushes the floating plate  3  upward, protruding the ejecting pins  32  over the hole  51 , raising up the stripper plate  6 , and then lifts up the PCB  7  to release it from the fixedness caused by the positioning pins  52 . This completes the unloading operation of the PCB  7 . Such invention improves the traditional unloading method of the PCB  7 , which is completed with a shovel. The present invention not only enhances the operation of the machine, but also ensures the accuracy of positioning by moving the floating plate  3  horizontally with the assistance of the bushing  31  inset on both sides that keeps the ejecting pins  32  in accurate vertical displacement. By keeping the positioning pins  52  on the template  5  from slanting due to collision, the accuracy of the positioning for the next PCB  7  is ensured.  
     [0014] In order to simplify the parts, the positioning pins  52  on the template  5  of the PCB unloading mechanism for the present invention can replaced with the ejecting pins  32 , which provide the same function as the positioning pins  52  does and discard the use of the stripper plate  6 . As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the floating plate  3  moves up and down through the movement of the moving mechanism  4 . During the loading process, the movement of the moving mechanism  4  pushes the floating plate  3  upward, allowing the ejecting pins  32  to protrude the hole  51  and let the PCB  7  lay flatly on the template  5  for processing. After processing, the moving mechanism  4  is pulled downward to draw the floating plate  3  downward and draw the ejecting pins  32  back to the holes  21 ,  51 , which then releases the PCB  7  from the fixedness caused by the ejecting pins  32  and completes the unloading operation. The simplified structure not only performs the same function, but also saves the cost of equipment.