Abstract: Method of positioning an object on a carrier, device suitable for carrying out this method, and suction tube suitable for use in the device.The method is for laser soldering of an electronic component (7) on a pc-board (1). The component is positioned on a contact face (3) of the pc-board (1) by a device comprising a vibration transducer (53, 69, 85) which is brought into mechanical hard contact with the component (7) while the component is held against the pc-board. Subsequently, a laser (205, 207) heats solder present on the contact face and vibrations generated by the laser in the solder are passed on to the vibration transducer while the mechanical hard contact is being maintained. The vibration transducer then checks for the presence of mechanical contact between the object and the carrier and/or the melting of the solder from a comparatively strong decrease in the vibration amplitude during melting of the solder.

Abstract: Methods, devices and an image sensor for investigating an object (13) by means of a reflectable radiation beam (25) which forms a spot (24) on the object which can be moved relative to the object (13), whereby the actual position of the spot on the object is determined by means of the reflected portion of the radiation beam detected by an optical detector (23), while the desired position of the spot relative to the object is determined by means of a multidimensional image sensor (21). The radiation beam can subsequently be moved relative to the object until the actual position of the spot corresponds to the desired position of the spot, or differences between the actual and the desired position of the spot may be determined as a measure for differences in the distance between the object and a reference plane (62).

Abstract: A method of placing a component on a printed circuit board by means of a manipulator and a device suitable for carrying out this method, whereby the position of the component is determined with an imaging device. The imaging device makes a picture of the component and of a reference member coupled to the manipulator. The position of the component relative to the manipulator can be directly determined from this picture. The positions of the manipulator and the component relative to the imaging device may also be determined. Using the so determined component position, the component is placed on a printed circuit board in a given orientation so that the component leads are inserted into mating holes in the printed circuit board.

Abstract: The code is scanned along at least four non-coincident parallel lines in a bar code reading device. The actual processing is started when a margin of sufficient width is detected. The width of the bar is counted and the width found is used to address a table memory. This results in a width indication for a valid bar and a reset signal for an invalid bar. There is provided an bar counter which counts the bars and which addresses a bar memory in order to store the bar identification therein. When the reset signal is received, the series of bar identification received thus far for the relevant line is invalidated, unless all bars of a complete code have already been received. During validation a check is performed as regards correct contents and possibly correspondence between two potentially correct bar codes found.