Patent Application
20130146418
Embodiments of the present invention as exemplarily described herein relate generally to sorting apparatuses. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to automated sorting apparatuses capable of efficiently transporting and sorting a component into one of a plurality of sort bins. Embodiments of the present invention also relate to methods of sorting components into sort bins.
Many components such as electronic devices are tested for electrical and optical properties during manufacturing by automated test systems. Typical automatic sorting apparatuses use precision electrical or optical properties of a device and either accept, reject or sort it into an output category depending on the measured values. For miniature devices, automatic sorting apparatuses are often designed to handle, bulk loads, where the manufacturing process creates a volume of devices that have substantially identical mechanical characteristics such as size and shape but differ in electrical or optical properties that generally fall within a range and rely on testing to sort the components into sort bins containing other components with similar characteristics. For some components, the number of groups into which a component can be sorted can be large. As the number of possible number of groups into which a component can be sorted increases, the size of the sorting apparatus can grow undesirably large, the size of the sorting apparatus can grow undesirably large at least in part due to the number of sort bins incorporated within the sorting apparatus.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, a sorting apparatus includes a component carrier structured to transport a component along a travel path, a first sort bin, a second sort bin, a first transfer station structured to transfer a component from the component carrier at a first transfer position along the travel path to the first sort bin and a second transfer station structured to transfer a component from the component carrier at a second transfer position along the travel path to the second sort bin. In this embodiment, the distance between the first transfer position and the second transfer position can be less than a width of at least one of the first sort bin and the second sort bin.
According to another embodiment of the present invention, a sorting apparatus includes a first component carrier having a first component retainer and a second component retainer. Each of the first and second component retainers can be configured to support a component and the first component carrier is configured to transport the first and second component retainers along a travel path. The sorting apparatus can also include a first sort bin, in addition to a first transfer station and a second transfer station disposed along the travel path. In this embodiment, the first transfer station can be structured to transfer a component from the first component retainer to the first sort bin and the second transfer station can be structured to transfer a component from the second component retainer to the first sort bin.
According to still another embodiment of the present invention, a method of sorting components can include transporting a first component and a second component along a travel path, transferring the first component from a first transfer position along the travel path to a first sort bin and transferring the second component from a second transfer position along the travel path to a second sort bin. In this embodiment, a distance between the first transfer position and the second transfer position can be less than a width of at least one of the first sort bin and the second sort bin.
According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a method of sorting components can include transporting a first component and a second component along a travel path, transferring the first component from a first transfer position along the travel path to a sort bin and transferring the second component from a second transfer position along the travel path to the sort bin.
The invention is described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which example embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. In the drawings, the sizes and relative sizes of layers and regions may be exaggerated for clarity.
It will be understood that, although the terms first, second, third, etc., may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, sets, etc., these elements, components, regions, sets, should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element, component, region, set, etc., from another element, component, region, set, etc. Thus, a first element, component, region, set, etc., discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, set, etc., without departing from the teachings provided herein.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises” and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.
Referring to
As schematically illustrated, the sorting apparatus 100 includes component carriers 104 configured to transport components 102 along a travel, path, sort bins 106 configured to receive one or more components 102 and a transfer system 108 configured to transfer components 102 from the component carriers 104 to the sort bins 106. Although
Referring to
Referring back to
In one embodiment, each sort bin 106 can have a width that is greater than the largest dimension of a component 102 to be sorted into the sort bin 106 to reduce the likelihood that a component 102 will become lodged across the interior space of a sort bin 106 (a phenomenon also known as “bridging” or “window locking”). For example, a sort bin 106 can have a width that is at least three times greater than the largest dimension of a component 102 to be sorted into the sort bin 106. In another example, a sort bin 106 can have a width that is at least four times greater than the largest dimension of a component 102 to be sorted into the bin sort 106. In yet another example, a sort bin 106 can have a width that is at least eight times greater than the largest dimension of a component 102 to be sorted into the bin sort 106. Other factors that can influence the width, W, of a sort bin 106 include, for example, the fragility of the component 102, the presence or absence of vibration, gravity, etc. The largest dimension of a component 102 that can be sorted into a sort bin 106 can, for example, be in a range of between about 2.0 mm and about 10 mm. In another example, the largest dimension of a component 102 that can be sorted into a sort bin 106 can be in a range between about 3.5 mm and about 7 mm. In one embodiment, a sort bin 106 can have a width that is in a range of about 24 mm to about 40 mm. In other embodiments, however, a sort bin 106 can have a width that is less than about 24 mm or greater than about 40 mm. Although
The sorting apparatus 100 can further include a test system 110 configured to measure one or more characteristics of the components 102 and, for each component 102, generate measurement data representing the value of a component characteristic for a component 102 that has been measured by the test system 110. Examples of component characteristics include physical dimensions of a component 102, electrical characteristics (e.g., charge time, leakage current, forward operating voltage, electrical current draw, resistance value, capacitance, etc.) of a component 102, optical characteristics (e.g., luminance flux, luminous intensity, spectral light output, dominant wavelength output, peak wavelength output, correlated color temperature, color rendering index, etc.) of a component 102. In one embodiment, the test system 110 can be provided as any of the test stations exemplarily described in the '002 application, the '516 application or the '504 application. Although
The sorting apparatus 100 can further include a track 112 configured to guide a movement of the component carriers 104 such that the components 102 are transported along the travel path (e.g., from the test system 110 to the transfer system 108). In the illustrated embodiment, track 112 is moveable along the travel path and the component carriers 104 are fixed to the track 112. As a result, the component carriers 104 can move along the travel path with the track 112. In another embodiment, however, the track 112 is fixed and the component carriers 104 are moveable with respect to the track 112 along the travel path. In one embodiment, the track 112 can be provided as the track exemplarily described in the '002 application or as the conveyor exemplarily described in the '516 application or the '504 application.
The sorting apparatus 100 can further include a drive system 114 configured to move the component carriers 104 such that the components 102 are transported along the travel path. In one embodiment, the drive system 114 is configured to incrementally move the component carriers 104 such that the components 102 are incrementally moved (i.e., indexed) along the travel path by an incremental distance, Di. For example, the drive system 114 can include a motor coupled to the track 112 to incrementally move the track 112 along the travel path by the incremental distance, thereby causing the component carriers 104 to move along the travel path by the incremental distance. Incremental movement involves periods of motion separated by a period of stillness. Generally, the incremental distance, Di, can be determined first by the maximum dimension of the component 102 to be sorted into a bin sort 106 and, second by the width, W, of a sort bin 106. In one embodiment, the incremental distance, Di, is greater than the maximum dimension of the component 102 to be sorted into a bin sort 106 and less than the width, W, of a sort bin 106. In one embodiment, the incremental distance, Di, is half the width, W, of a sort bin 106. In other embodiments, the incremental distance, Di, can be less than or equal to the maximum dimension of the component 102 to be sorted into a bin sort 106. In one embodiment, the incremental distance, Di, can be in a range of about 12 mm to about 20 mm. In another embodiment, the incremental distance, Di, is 12 mm. The drive system 114 can generate drive data indicating that the drive system 114 has moved the track 112 or component carriers 104 along the travel path by the incremental distance, Di.
The sorting apparatus 100 can further include a controller 116 coupled to the transfer system 108, the test system 110 and the drive system 114. In one embodiment, the controller 116 is configured to control operations of the transfer system 108 based upon the characteristics of a component 102 measured at the test system 110. For example, the controller 116 can be coupled to an output of the test system 110 and receive measurement data from the test system 110. The controller 116 can also be coupled to an output of the test system 110 and receive drive data from the drive system 114. Based on the received measurement data and drive data, the controller 116 can control the transfer system 108 to transfer a component 102 having a measured component characteristic from a component carrier 104 to an appropriate sort bin 106. As used herein, an “appropriate” sort bin 106 can refer to a sort bin 106 that either contains or is otherwise assigned to receive components having a component characteristic that is the same or similar to the measured component characteristic of the component 102 to be transferred from the component carrier 104.
The controller 116 can include operating logic (not shown) that defines various control, management and/or regulation functions, and may be in the form of dedicated hardware, such as a hardwired state machine, a processor executing programming instructions, and/or a different form as would occur to those skilled in the art. Operating logic may include digital circuitry, analog circuitry, or a hybrid combination of both of these types. In one embodiment, the operating logic includes a programmable microcontroller or microprocessor, that can include one or more processing units arranged to execute software and/or firmware stored in memory (not shown). Memory can include one or more types including semiconductor, magnetic, and/or optical varieties, and/or may be of a volatile and/or nonvolatile variety. In one embodiment, memory stores programming instructions of operating logic. Alternatively or additionally, memory may store data that is manipulated by operating logic. In one arrangement, operating logic and memory are included in a controller/processor form of operating logic that manages and controls operational aspects of the transfer system 108, although in other arrangements they may be separate. In yet another embodiment, the controller 116 can be provided as any of the controllers exemplarily described in the '002 application, the '516 application, or the '504 application.
Referring to
Each transfer station is configured to transfer a component 102 from the component carrier 104 at a transfer position along the travel path to a sort bin 106 in a corresponding set of sort bins 106. For example, as shown in
As shown in
As exemplarily illustrated in
In the illustrated embodiment, the number of sets 401 of transfer stations corresponds to, and is equal to, the number of sets of sort bins 106. In other embodiments, however, the number of sets 401 of transfer stations may not correspond to, or can be greater than or less than, the number of sets of sort bins 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the number of sub-sets 403 of transfer stations within a set 401 of transfer stations corresponds to, and is equal to, the number of sort bins 106 within a set of sort bins 106. In other embodiments, however, the number of sub-sets 403 of transfer stations within a set 401 of transfer stations may not correspond to, or can be greater than or less than, the number of sort bins 106 within a set of sort bins 106.
Any of the actuators 402a, 402b, 404a or 404b of any transfer station may be provided as an electrical motor, a pneumatic actuator, a hydraulic actuator, a linear actuator, a piezoelectric actuator, an electroactive polymer, or the like or a combination thereof. An actuator of any transfer station may, for example, be provided as the eject block exemplarily described in the '002 application. Any of the guide members 406a, 406b, 408a or 408b may be provided as any suitable guide member (e.g., a tube, a conduit, a duct, a hose, or the like or a combination thereof).
Referring particularly to
In the embodiment illustrated in
By providing the transfer system 108 as exemplarily described above, the distance that a component carrier 104 travels to transport a component 102 to be sorted into any sort bin 106 can be reduced, thereby helping to increase the number of groups into which a component 102 can be sorted while also helping to prevent the sorting apparatus 100 from occupying an undesirably large footprint in a facility.
It will be appreciated that the configuration of the guide members (e.g., of guide members 406a, 408a, 406b and 408b) can depend on many factors such as the manner in which the component 102 is removed from the component carrier 104 by an actuator, the separation distance (Ds) between the component 102 and the entrance of a sort bin 106, the aforementioned dimensions of the sort bin 106, the location of the track 112 relative to a sort bin 106, or the like or a combination thereof. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the guide members is provided as a tube that is substantially rigid such that one end of the tube cannot move significantly (e.g., more than about 5 mm) relative to the other end of the tube without breaking or otherwise becoming undesirably damaged. In other embodiments, however, the tube may be flexible. The tubes of the guide members may be connected together (e.g., so that they can move together) or may be disconnected (e.g., so that one tube is independently moveable).
In the illustrated embodiment, the tube of each of the guide members includes a material (e.g., an anti-static polymeric material) that has been formed from a single hose-like structure. In other embodiments, however, the tube of each of the guide members can be formed from a multi-piece structure. For example, and with reference to
In one embodiment, the tube blocks 702 and 704 can be detachably coupled together or can be integrally formed with one another. Similarly, the tube blocks 710 and 712 can be detachably coupled together or can be integrally formed with one another. Accordingly, a pair of tube blocks 702 and 704 or 710 and 712 can be used to form the guide member of a transfer station. In one embodiment, the tube blocks 702 and 710 can be detachably coupled together or can be integrally formed with one another. In one embodiment, any tube block can include more than one channel such that a pair of tube blocks 702 and 704 or 710 and 712 can be used to form the guide members for sub-sets 403 of transfer stations that are adjacent to each other (e.g., in the 2nd direction shown in
The foregoing is illustrative of embodiments of the invention and is not to be construed as limiting thereof. Although a few example embodiments of the invention have been described, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that many modifications are possible in the example embodiments without materially departing from the novel teachings and advantages of the invention. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Therefore, it is to be understood that the foregoing is illustrative of the invention and is not to be construed as limited to the specific example embodiments of the invention disclosed, and that modifications to the disclosed example embodiments, as well as other embodiments, are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. The invention is defined by the following claims, with equivalents of the claims to be included therein.
