Patent Publication Number: US-2007102441-A1

Title: Component supplying apparatus and component supplying method

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
      1. Field of the Invention  
      The present invention generally relates to a component supplying apparatus and a component supplying method, and more particularly to a component supplying apparatus and a component supplying method for supplying one or more components from a component installment chamber to a component supply part.  
      2. Description of the Related Art  
      In a case of mounting small-sized components (e.g. screws, bushes, chips) to a substrate or the like, the components are typically supplied in an aligned manner by using a component supplying apparatus. Thereby, automation for mounting the components can be achieved and the efficiency for mounting/assembling the components can be improved.  
      Such a component supplying apparatus is provided in various types. In one example, a component supplying apparatus is installed with components that are aligned beforehand on a tray, an embossed tape, or a stick so that the components can be supplied in an aligned state.  
      In another example, a component supplying apparatus is provided with a component installment chamber for installing components therein, in which the components are aligned by oscillating the component installment chamber. In another example, a component supplying apparatus uses gravity for aligning and guiding components into a supply tube provided at a lower portion thereof. In another example, a component supplying apparatus having a drum-shaped rotating component installment chamber uses centrifugal force for aligning and guiding components into a supply tube.  
      However, the above-described apparatus (method) for supplying components with a tray, an embossed tape, or a stick is uneconomical since it incurs costs for preparing the tray, the embossed tape, or the stick for aligning the components. In addition, such tray or the like consumes a large amount space and is unsuitable for a small-size desktop apparatus.  
      Furthermore, although the component supplying apparatus having the oscillating component installment chamber may be able to supply components of various shapes, such a component supplying apparatus requires an oscillation generating apparatus, thereby resulting in an over-sized component supplying apparatus. Furthermore, the component supplying apparatuses using gravity or centrifugal force are unable to supply components such as long chip components or screws since such components are liable to become jammed inside the supply tube. In addition, the component supplying apparatuses using gravity or centrifugal force tend to be expensive owing to the fact that they require a complicated mechanism.  
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
      It is a general object of the present invention to provide a component supplying apparatus and a component supplying method that substantially obviate one or more of the problems caused by the limitations and disadvantages of the related art.  
      Features and advantages of the present invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent from the description and the accompanying drawings, or may be learned by practice of the invention according to the teachings provided in the description. Objects as well as other features and advantages of the present invention will be realized and attained by a component supplying apparatus and a component supplying method particularly pointed out in the specification in such full, clear, concise, and exact terms as to enable a person having ordinary skill in the art to practice the invention.  
      To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, an embodiment of the present invention provides a component supplying apparatus including: a component installment part for installing one or more components therein; a blowout port including an opening from which air is blown into the component installment part; and a component supply part into which the components are guided from the component installment part by the air from the blowout port; wherein the component supply part is provided in communication with an upper end part of a sidewall of the component installment part.  
      Furthermore, an embodiment of the present invention provides a component supplying method using a component supplying apparatus including a component installment part, a blowout port, and a component supply part, the method including the steps of: installing one or more components in the component installment part; blowing air into the component installment part from an opening of the blowout port; and guiding the components into the component supply part from the component installment part by the air from the blowout port; wherein the component supply part is provided in communication with an upper end part of a sidewall of the component installment part.  
      Furthermore, an embodiment of the present invention provides a component supplying apparatus including: an apparatus body including a top plate and a component installment part for installing one or more components therein; a blowout port including an opening from which air is blown into the component installment part; a lid member provided above the component installment part; and a component supply part into which the components are guided from the component installment part by the air from the blowout port; wherein the component supply part is provided in communication with an upper end part of a sidewall of the component installment part.  
      Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view showing a main portion of a component supplying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 2  is a cross-sectional view showing a main portion of a component supplying apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3A  is a perspective view showing a main portion of a component supplying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 3B  is a plan view showing the component supplying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4A  is a perspective view showing a main portion of a component supplying apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 4B  is a plan view showing the component supplying apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view showing a main portion of a component supplying apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 6  is a cross-sectional view of a component supplying apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of a component supplying apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 8  is a cross-sectional view of a main portion of a component supplying apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the present invention;  
       FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view showing an exemplary configuration of a component supply port according to an embodiment of the present invention (Part  1 ); and  
       FIG. 10  is a cross-sectional view showing an exemplary configuration of another component supply port according to an embodiment of the present invention (Part  2 ). 
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
      In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.  
       FIGS. 1 and 2  show a component supplying apparatus  10 A according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The component supplying apparatus  10 A according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes, for example, an apparatus body  11 , a component installment chamber  12 A, a blowout port  13 A, a component supply port  14 A, and a lid member  15 .  
      The apparatus body  11  is formed as a casing. The apparatus body  11  includes a top plate  17  provided at an upper portion thereof and the component installment chamber  12 A provided at an opening formed in the top plate  17 . The component installment chamber  12 A is a portion into which one or more components  16  are installed. The component installment chamber  12 A has a shape of a funnel. Accordingly, the component installment chamber  12 A has a sidewall (slope)  20 A that is inclined. The component installment chamber  12 A has a bottom plane at which the blowout port  13 A is provided.  
      The blowout port  13 A has an opening which is formed as a slit. In this example, the opening of the blowout port  13 A has a rectangular shape instead of a round shape. The blowout port  13 A is connected to one end of an air guiding passage  18  formed inside the apparatus body  11 .  
      The other end of the air guiding passage  18  is connected to a compressor (not shown) that generates compressed air. Accordingly, the compressed air generated by the compressor is blown out into the component installment chamber  12 A from the blowout port  13 A via the air guiding passage  18 . The compressed air is blown toward the components  16  such that the components  16  are lifted inside the component installment chamber  12 A.  
      Since the compressor may be provided outside of the apparatus body  11 , the apparatus body  11  according to this embodiment of the present invention has the component installment chamber  12 A, the blowout port  13 A, and the air guiding passage  18  provided therein. Thereby, size-reduction as well as cost-reduction can be achieved for the component supplying apparatus  10 A. Although there are various commercially available compressors, any type of compressor may be employed as long as the compressor can generate compressed air for sufficiently lifting the components  16  inside the component installment chamber  12 A.  
      The component supply port  14 A is provided at the top plate of the apparatus body  11 . The component supply port  14 A is formed as a groove. More specifically, the component supply port  14 A includes an inside end part that is in communication with an upper rim of the side wall  20 A of the component installment chamber  12  and an outside end part that is provided as an opening at an outside wall of the apparatus body  11 . When the compressed air is blown into the component installment chamber  12 , the components  16  inside the component installment chamber  12 A are guided into the inside end part of the component supply port  14 A and are delivered out from the outside end part of the component supply port  14 A, for example, to an assembly person that assembles (mounts) the components  16  and/or to an assembly apparatus (mounting apparatus) that performs an assembling operation (mounting operation) (described in detail below).  
      The lid member  15  is situated above the top plate  17  of the apparatus body  11 . The lid member  15  has a disk shape and is positioned in a manner covering the upper opening part of the component installment chamber  12 . Being positioned in this state, the lid member  15  also covers a part of the component supply port  14 A. Furthermore, the lid member  15  is positioned on the apparatus body  11  in a manner that a clearance  19  of approximately 0.05 mm is obtained between the top plate  17  and the lid member  15 .  
      Next, the operation of the component supplying apparatus  10 A according to the first embodiment of the present invention is described.  
      In performing a component supplying operation with the component supplying apparatus  10 A, first, the lid member  15  is opened and the one or more components  16  are installed (placed) in the component installment chamber  12 A. At this stage, the compressor is in a deactivated state. Therefore, the blowing of the compressed air is stopped.  
      When the installing of the components  16  is completed, the lid member  15  is mounted in a manner so that the clearance  19  can be provided at an upper part of the top plate  17  of the apparatus body  11 . Then, the compressor is activated to allow compressed air to be blown into the component installment chamber  12 A from the blowout port  13 A via the air guiding passage  18 . Thereby, the components  16  installed in the component installment chamber  12 A are lifted from the lower to the upper portion of the component installment chamber  12 A by the flow of the compressed air from the blowout port  13 A.  
      By guiding the compressed air into the component installment chamber  12 A, the pressure inside the component installment chamber  12 A becomes higher than atmospheric pressure. Accordingly, the air inside the component installment chamber  12 A flows out of the component installment chamber  12 A from the component supply port  14 A being in communication with the component installment chamber  12 A and from the clearance  19  provided between the lid member  15  and the top plate  17 .  
      Since the components  16  inside the component installment chamber  12 A move along the flow of the compressed air, at least a portion of the components are guided into the component supply port  14 A. The component supply port  14 A is formed with a shape corresponding to the shape of the components  16 .  
      More specifically, in a case where the components  16  are chip components having a rectangular shape, the component supply port  14 A is formed having a rectangular cross section corresponding to the shape of the components  16  (the cross section being formed slightly larger than the size of the components  16 ) as shown in  FIG. 9 . In another case where the components  16  are screw components, the component supply port  14 A is formed having a narrow groove cross section corresponding to the stem part of the screw component  16  (the cross section being formed slightly larger than the size of the stem part of the screw component  16 ) as shown in  FIG. 10 . In addition, the clearance  19  is set having a height greater than the height of the head part of the screw component  16  as shown in  FIG. 10 .  
      Among the components  16  which are lifted to the inside end part of the component supply port  14 A (opening of the component supply port  14 A provided at the sidewall  20 A), the components  16  that are oriented in a position matching the shape of the component supply port  14 A can be guided into the component supply port  14 A owing to the fact that the component supply port  14 A is suitably formed with a shape corresponding to the shape of the components  16 . Therefore, the components  14 A that enter the component supply port  14 A are aligned having the same position (orientation). Accordingly, each component  16  is delivered out of the apparatus body  11  from the outside end part of the component supply port  14 A (opening of the component supply port  14 A provided at the outside wall of the apparatus body  11 ) having the same relative position (orientation).  
      Hence, the component supplying apparatus  10 A according to the first embodiment of the present invention is configured to lift the components  16  with compressed air and guide the lifted components  16  into the component supply port  14 A. Therefore, a satisfactory component supplying operation as well as size-reduction of the apparatus body  11  can be achieved with the above-described component supplying apparatus  10 A provided with a simple configuration.  
      Since the component installment chamber  12 A according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a funnel shape, the lifted components  16  falling from the upper portion of the component installment chamber  12 A gather at a center part of the bottom portion of the component installment chamber  12 A. The center part at which the components  16  gather is the area where the blowout port  13 A is provided. The blowout port  13 A, which is formed as a slit, has a shape that makes it difficult for the components  16  to remain thereon. Accordingly, the fallen components  16  can be efficiently re-lifted, to thereby improve the efficiency for guiding the components  16  to the component supply port  14 A.  
      Since the clearance  19  is provided between the top plate  17  of the apparatus body  11  and the lid member  15 , the compressed air, which is guided into the component installment chamber  12 A, can flow out of the component installment chamber  12 A not only through the component supply port  14 A but also through the clearance  19 . Therefore, the lifted components  16  (or at least a-portion of the lifted components  16 ) are aligned in a state being absorbed (evacuated) along the clearance  19  between the lid member  15  and the top plate  17 .  
      The lifted components  16  are gradually conveyed in an absorbed state along the clearance  19  by the compressed air flowing through the clearance  19  and are guided into the component supply port  14 A upon reaching the inside end part of the component supply port  14 A. Since it is relatively rare for the lifted components  16  to be guided directly into the component supply port  14 A, a large portion of the lifted components  16  are guided into the component supply port  14 A by being conveyed along the clearance  19 . Accordingly, the clearance  19  enables the components  16  to be smoothly guided into the component supply port  14 A.  
      Next, the second to seventh embodiments of the present invention are described with reference to  FIGS. 3A-8 .  
       FIGS. 3A and 3B  each show a component supplying apparatus  10 B according to the second embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 3A  is a perspective view of the component supplying apparatus  10 B.  FIG. 3B  is a plan view of the component supplying apparatus  10 B. In  FIGS. 3A and 3B , like components are denoted by like numerals as of  FIGS. 1 and 2  and are not described in further detail.  
      In the above-described component supplying apparatus  10 A according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus body  11  includes a funnel shaped component installment chamber  12 A having a blowout port  13 A at a bottom portion thereof. In the component supplying apparatus  10 B according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the apparatus body  11  includes a cylindrical shaped component installment chamber  12 B. Furthermore, the component installment chamber  12 B includes a blowout port  13 B provided at a sidewall (inner wall)  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B.  
      The blowout port  13 B is formed as a slit that is elongated in a vertical direction. The opening of the blowout port  13 B is provided in the sidewall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B. The opening of the blowout port  13 B is located approximately at a middle part (in the height direction) of the sidewall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B. The component supply chamber  12 B has a shape substantially of a circle according to the plan view shown in  FIG. 3B . Furthermore, as shown in  FIG. 3B , the component supply port  14 B is situated approximately at a position to which a line that is tangent to the circle extends.  
      When the compressor (not shown) is activated after the components  16  are installed in the component installment chamber  12 B, compressed air is blown into the component installment chamber  12 B from the blowout port  13 B via the air guiding passage  18 . Thereby, the components  16  installed in the component installment chamber  12 B are lifted from the lower to upper portion of the component installment chamber  12 B by the flow of the compressed air from the blowout port  13 B.  
      Since the blowout port  13 B according to the second embodiment of the present invention is provided at the sidewall (inner wall)  20 B of the cylindrical shaped component installment chamber  12 B, the compressed air flows in a manner circling along the inner wall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B. Accordingly, the components  16  are moved by the flow of the compressed air along the inner wall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B.  
      Since the component supply port  14 B is provided at a position to which a tangential line of the circle of the component installment chamber  12 B extends, the components  16  (or at least a portion of the components  16 ) circling along the inner wall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B are guided into the component supply port  14 B together with the compressed air upon reaching the opening of the component supply port  14 B.  
      In the component supplying apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, since the component supply port  14 B is situated in a position to which a tangential line of the circle (inner circular peripheral) of the component installment chamber  12 B extends, the components  16  circling along the inner wall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B have a velocity element with respect to the direction of the tangential line of the circle of the component installment chamber  12 B. Accordingly, the components  16  circling along the inner wall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B are smoothly guided into the component supply port  14 B upon reaching the inside end part of the component supply port  14 B. Thereby, the efficiency for guiding the components  16  into the component supply port  14 A can be improved.  
       FIGS. 4A and 4B  each show a component supplying apparatus  10 C according to the third embodiment of the present invention.  FIG. 4A  is a perspective view of the component supplying apparatus  10 C.  FIG. 4B  is a plan view of the component supplying apparatus  10 C. In  FIGS. 4A and 4B , like components are denoted by like numerals as of  FIGS. 1-3B  and are not described in further detail.  
      The component supplying apparatus  10 C according to the third embodiment of the present invention has a configuration that is substantially the same as that of the component supplying apparatus  10 B of the second embodiment. However, although the component supply port  14 B of the second embodiment is situated in a position to which a tangential line of the circle of the component installment chamber  12 B extends, the component supply port  14 C of third embodiment is situated in a position to which a normal line of the circle of the component installment chamber  12 C extends.  
      With the configuration of the third embodiment, the angle between an inner groove wall of the component supply port  14 C (an inner groove wall of the component supply port  14 C situated at a downstream side with respect to the flow of the compressed air) and the sidewall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B (indicated with a double-headed arrow θ 2  in  FIG. 4B ) can be larger compared to that of the component supplying apparatus  10 B of the second embodiment (indicated with a double-headed arrow θ 1  in  FIG. 3B ).  
      In other words, the angle between an inner groove wall of the component supply port  14 B (an inner groove wall of the component supply port  14 B situated at a downstream side with respect to the flow of the compressed air) and the sidewall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B (as indicated with the double-headed arrow θ 1  in  FIG. 3B ) is more acute than that of the component supplying apparatus of the third embodiment, since the component supply port  14 B of the second embodiment is situated in a position to which a tangential line of the circle of the component installment chamber  12 B extends. Furthermore, in the above-described configuration of the second embodiment, the opening of the component supply port  14 B, which is provided at the sidewall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 B, has a relatively large area (size of the opening). This increases the probability that the components  16  circling along the sidewall  20 B will collide with an inner end part T 1  (see  FIG. 3B ) of the component supply port  14 B upon reaching the inner end part T 1  of the component supply port  14 B.  
      In the configuration of the third embodiment, the angle θ 2  between the inner groove wall of the component supply port  14 C and the sidewall  20 B becomes greater than the angle θ 1  between the inner groove wall of the component supply port  14 B and the sidewall  20 B (θ 2 &gt;θ 1 ) owing to the fact that the component supply port  14 C is situated in a position to which a normal line of the circle of the component installment chamber  12 C extends. Accordingly, this reduces the probability that the components  16  circling along the sidewall  20 B will collide with an inner end part T 2  (see  FIG. 4B ) of the component supply port  14 C upon reaching the inner end part T 2  of the component supply port  14 C. Accordingly, the components  16  can be prevented from being caught or deflected at the inner end part T 2  of the component supply port  14 C. Thereby, the efficiency for guiding the components  16  to the component supply port  14 C can be improved.  
       FIG. 5  shows a component supplying apparatus  10 D according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 5 , like components are denoted by like numerals as of  FIGS. 1-4B  and are not described in further detail.  
      The component supplying apparatus  10 D according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention has a configuration that is substantially the same as that of the component supplying apparatus  10 B of the second embodiment. In the component supplying apparatus  10 B of the second embodiment, the depth of the component installment chamber  12 B is relatively shallow, and the opening of the blowout port  13 B is situated in the proximity of a bottom plane  21  of the component installment chamber  12 B (see  FIG. 3A ). However, in the component supplying apparatus  10 C of the fourth embodiment, the component installment chamber  12 C has a depth that is greater than that of the component installment chamber  12 B of the second embodiment.  
      More specifically, the component installment chamber  12 C has a space area  27  provided at a position lower than the opening of the blowout port  13 B. In the fourth embodiment of the present invention, the height (depth) of the space area  27  is indicated with an arrow H in  FIG. 5 . Accordingly, by providing the space area  27  at a position lower than the opening of the blowout port  13 B, the capacity for installing the components  16  inside the component installment chamber  12 C can be increased while still being able to have the components  16  satisfactorily circle along the sidewall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 C.  
       FIG. 6  shows a component supplying apparatus  10 E according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 6 , like components are denoted by like numerals as of  FIGS. 1-5  and are not described in further detail.  
      The component supplying apparatus  10 E according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention has a configuration such that the bottom plate  22  provided at a bottom portion of a component installment chamber  12 D can be raised and lowered with respect to the blowout port  13 B. More specifically, an actuator  23  is provided below the bottom plate  22  of the component installment chamber  12 D. Accordingly, the actuator  23  raises and lowers the bottom plate  22  in the vertical direction (arrow directions Z 1 -Z 2  shown in  FIG. 6 ). It is to be noted that the actuator  23  is configured to raise and lower the bottom plate  22  to an extent of not interfering with the compressed air flowing out from the blowout port  13 B. That is, the upper limit of elevating (raising/lowering) the bottom plate  22  with the actuator  23  is the position (level) at which the blowout port  13 B is provided.  
      Accordingly, with the component supplying apparatus  10 E, the capacity of the component installment chamber  12 D can be adjusted in correspondence with the amount of components  16  to be installed in the component installment chamber  12 D by raising and lowering the bottom plate  22  (bottom plane  21 ) of the component installment chamber  12 D with the actuator  23 . Furthermore, even in a case where the components  16  have a large amount of weight that they are difficult to lift with compressed air, the components  16  can be lifted by lifting the bottom plane  21  to a position closer to the blowout port  13 B. Accordingly, a steady component supplying operation can be achieved even in a case where the components  16  are heavy.  
       FIG. 7  shows a component supplying apparatus  10 F according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 7 , like components are denoted by like numerals as of  FIGS. 1-6  and are not described in further detail.  
      The component supplying apparatus  10 F according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention has a configuration in which a component installment chamber  12 E is provided with a cylindrical part  24  and a funnel part  25 . Furthermore, the component installment chamber  12 E includes two blowout ports  13 A and  13 B. As shown in  FIG. 7 , the funnel part  25  is provided below the cylindrical part  24 . The blowout port  13 A is formed at a bottom portion of the funnel part  25 . The cylindrical part  24  is formed in a manner continuing from an upper portion of the funnel part  25 . The blowout port  13 B is formed at the sidewall  20 B of the cylindrical part  24 .  
      With this configuration, the components  25  installed or falling into the funnel part  25  are lifted to the cylindrical part  24  by the compressed air blowing out from the blowout port  13 A. Then, when the lifted components  16  reach the cylindrical part  24 , the compressed air blowing out from the blowout port  13 B guides the components  16  along the sidewall  20 B of the cylindrical part  24 . Accordingly, the components  16  in the funnel part  25  can be reliably lifted to the cylindrical part  24  and guided into the component supply port  14 B. Thereby, a steady component supplying operation can be achieved.  
       FIG. 8  shows a component supplying apparatus  10 G according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention. In  FIG. 8 , like components are denoted by like numerals as in  FIGS. 1-7  and are not described in further detail.  
      In the component supplying apparatus  10 F according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention, the cylindrical part  24  is formed in a manner continuing from the funnel part  25 . Meanwhile, in the component supplying apparatus  10 G according to the seventh embodiment of the present invention, a step part  26  is provided at the sidewall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 F between the blowout port  13 A and the blowout port  13 B.  
      The step part  26  is formed with a shape and size that allow one or more components  16  to be placed thereon. Although the step part  26  in this embodiment is provided in a manner encircling the sidewall  20 B, the step part  26  may also be provided in an intermittent manner along the sidewall  20 B. It is to be noted that the step part  26  may also be a member that projects inward from the sidewall  20 B of the component installment chamber  12 F (e.g. protrusion, boss).  
      Accordingly, by providing the step part  26  at a position between the two blowout ports  13 A and  13 B, a portion of the components  16  falling towards the funnel part  25  can be caught at the step part  26  instead of falling to the bottom portion of the funnel part  25 . Therefore, the components  16  that are caught at the step part  26  can be lifted from the step part  25  (which is situated higher than the bottom portion of the funnel part  25 ) instead of being lifted up from the bottom portion of the funnel part  25 . That is, instead of lifting the components  16  up from the bottom portion of the funnel part  25 , a portion of the components  16  can be lifted from a position closer to the component supply port  14 B. Thereby, the components  16  can be lifted by the blowing compressed air with greater efficiency.  
      Although the components  16  in the above-described embodiments of the present invention are described by using chip components and screws as examples, other types of small-sized components may also be employed.  
      In the component supplying apparatus according to the above-described embodiments of the present invention, the compressor is provided as an independent member that is separate from the component supplying apparatus for the purpose of reducing the size of the component supplying apparatus and for allowing various types of compressor to be connected to the component supplying apparatus. Nevertheless, the compressor may also be provided as a built-in member of the component supplying apparatus.  
      Further, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, but variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.  
      The present application is based on Japanese Priority Application No. 2005-323841 filed on Nov. 8, 2005, with the Japanese Patent Office, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.