TAPE AND REEL ORIENTATION SYSTEM

Abstract

A method and system identify an orientation of a part to be packaged by a tape and reel machine. The method includes identifying a packing slot of the tape and reel machine. The method includes identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot. The method includes determining whether the orientation of the part in the packing slot matches a predetermined orientation for the part. Additionally, the method includes generating an alert in response to determining that the orientation of the part does not match the predetermined orientation of the part.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S) AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present application is related to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/521,277, filed Aug. 8, 2011, entitled “Tape and Reel Orientation System”. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/521,277 is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby incorporated by reference into the present application as if fully set forth herein. The present application hereby claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/521,277.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to tape and reel machines, and more specifically, managing orientation of components within a tape and reel machine.

BACKGROUND

Tape and reel machines are utilized to prepare components for use in a variety of applications. These machines depend on the accurate placement of the component. The failure of the proper placement of the component into a tape to reel machine can create significant problems. In order to overcome these problems, systems and methods are needed to ensure that components placed into a tape and reel machine are properly oriented.

SUMMARY

A method and system identify an orientation of a part to be packaged by a tape and reel machine.

In various embodiments, a method includes identifying a packing slot of the tape and reel machine. The method includes identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot. The method includes determining whether the orientation of the part in the packing slot matches a predetermined orientation for the part. Additionally, the method includes generating an alert in response to determining that the orientation of the part does not match the predetermined orientation of the part.

In various embodiments, a system includes a tape and reel machine, a packing slot operatively connected to the tape and reel machine; and a verification device operationally proximate to the packing slot. The verification device is configured to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot, determine whether the orientation of the part in the packing slot matches a predetermined orientation for the part, and generate an alert in response to determining that the orientation of the part does not match the predetermined orientation of the part.

In other embodiments, a method of visually verifying an orientation of a part to be packaged using a tape and reel machine is provided. The method includes receiving an image of the part in a packing slot. The method includes comparing the received image with a second image of a second part with a correct orientation to determine whether the orientation of the part in the packing slot is correct. Additionally, the method includes generating an alert in response to determining that the orientation of the part does not match the correct orientation.

Before undertaking the DETAILED DESCRIPTION below, it may be advantageous to set forth definitions of certain words and phrases used throughout this patent document: the terms “include” and “comprise,” as well as derivatives thereof, mean inclusion without limitation; the term “or,” is inclusive, meaning and/or; the phrases “associated with” and “associated therewith,” as well as derivatives thereof, may mean to include, be included within, interconnect with, contain, be contained within, connect to or with, couple to or with, be communicable with, cooperate with, interleave, juxtapose, be proximate to, be bound to or with, have, have a property of, or the like; and the term “controller” means any device, system or part thereof that controls at least one operation, such a device may be implemented in hardware, firmware or software, or some combination of at least two of the same. It should be noted that the functionality associated with any particular controller may be centralized or distributed, whether locally or remotely. Definitions for certain words and phrases are provided throughout this patent document, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that in many, if not most instances, such definitions apply to prior, as well as future uses of such defined words and phrases.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present disclosure and the advantages thereof, reference is now made to the following brief description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and detailed description, wherein like reference numerals represent like parts:

FIG. 1 illustrates tape and reel orientation system according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system in which various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a wiring diagram connecting a verification device to a tape and reel machine according to various embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a process of detecting whether there is an orientation error using an image according to various embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a data processing system that may be used in implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1 through 5, discussed below, and the various embodiments used to describe the principles of the present invention in this patent document are by way of illustration only and should not be construed in any way to limit the scope of the invention. Those skilled in the art will understand that the principles of the invention may be implemented in any type of suitably arranged device or system.

FIG. 1 illustrates a tape and reel orientation tape and reel orientation system 100 according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. In this illustrative embodiment, the tape and reel orientation tape and reel orientation system 100 includes a tape and reel machine 101 and a verification device 104. During operation of the tape and reel machine 101, a part 108 is placed into a packing slot 106 and secured by tape 102. The verification device 104 ensures that the orientation of the part 108 placed into the packing slot 106 is correct prior to the attaching of the tape 102. It is expressly understood that FIG. 1 illustrates a plurality of placing slots and parts, and that the designation of the part 108 and the packing slot 106 is for the purpose of clarity.

As will be described in more detail herein, the verification device 104 may be embodied as a scanner, an optical camera, a barcode reader, a charge detection device, a radio frequency identification (RFID) scanner, or any other device capable of determining the presence and/or orientation of the part 108 within the packing slot 106. The verification device 104 is positioned such that it is in operational proximity with the part 108 such that the verification device 104 is effective in determining the orientation of the part 108 based upon the embodiment of the verification device 104.

As will be appreciated, parts (such as part 108) may be placed in packing slots by humans or mechanical devices. One problem is that orientation of the part placed into the packing slot may be incorrect. Therefore, prior to securing the part in the packing slot 106 with the tape 102, verification device 104 may be used to determine if the proper part is in the packing slot 106 and/or the part is in the proper orientation.

The verification device 104, when embodied as a scanner, may use electrical or optical scanning to locate a specific point or area on the part 108 within the packing slot 106. If the point or area on the part 108 within the packing slot 106 does not correspond to a known point or area, the part 108 may be incorrectly orientated within the packing slot 106.

The verification device 104, when embodied as an optical camera, may generate an image of the part 108 within the packing slot 106 and compare the image with an image of the part in the proper orientation using an image recognition technique. This image recognition technique may compare the image of a part (in a known and correct orientation) with the part presently in the tape and reel machine. If comparison does not indicate a match with the correct orientation, the verification device 104 may indicate a failure of orientation.

The verification device 104, when embodied as a barcode reader, may use an optical beam to read a barcode affixed to the part 108 within the packing slot 106. If the barcode does not correspond to a known barcode, the part 108 may be incorrectly orientated within the packing slot 106. It is further understood that the verification device 104 may, in some embodiments, be designed to have a threshold for readability of a particular barcode. Therefore, a barcode may be read and determined to be within a particular quality threshold to be correct. Not only may the presence of the barcode be examined, but also the quality of the print on the barcode. This quality of print may also be determined by any of the other various methods of the implementation of the verification device 104 as described herein, including charge systems particularly when the label includes a conductive material on the face of the part 108.

The verification device 104, when embodied as a charge detection device, may create a charge and detect the presence of a particular segment of conductive material on the part 108 within the packing slot 106. The failure of the charge detection device to locate a particular charge in the packing slot 106 may indicate a failure of the presence or correct orientation of the part 108. In addition, the use of the charge detection device may further enable a level of quality assurance of the part 108, as the absence of a particular element within the part 108 may indicate a faulty element.

The verification device 104 may also include a plurality of such devices, or a combination of such devices (as described previously) to provide multiple checks on the proper orientation and presence of the part 108 within the tape and reel orientation system 100. It will be understood that other embodiments of the verification device 104 may be used with the present disclosure and the examples offered herein are intended for exemplary purposes only and are not intended to be limiting.

Verification device 104 may be coupled to a warning light, a visual indicator, a computer device, an audio warning, or another device capable of transmitting an error signal indicating a problem with the orientation of the part 108 within the packing slot 106 to an operator of the tape and reel orientation system 100. It is expressly understood that the verification device 104 may further automatically stop the tape and reel orientation system 100 from proceeding further and interrupt the tape and reel orientation system 100 from sealing the part 108 using the tape 102.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of a system 200 in which various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. The system 200 includes a verification device 202 (e.g., verification device 104) coupled to a backend validation device 208, a tape and reel machine 204 (e.g., tape and reel machine 101) and a manual advance controller 206. The verification device 202 and the backend validation device 208 may be coupled to an external system 210.

In some embodiments, the verification device 202 is positioned such that the verification device 202 can determine whether the part 108 is placed with the correct orientation into the packing slot 106. During operation of the tape and reel machine 204, the verification device 202 may detect a problem with the orientation or presence of the part 108 within the packing slot 106. In the event of such a problem, the verification device 202 may send a signal to the tape and reel machine 204 to prevent the part 108 in the packing slot 106 from being sealed with the tape 102.

The detection of an incorrect orientation or other problem by the validation device 202 may further include the use of a backend validation device 208. The backend validation device 208 may include one or more databases storing information relating to the image(s) of the part 108, the barcode of the part 108, or other suitable information useful for determining proper orientation and/or presence of the part.

It is understood that the backend validation device 208 and the verification device 202 may include communications capabilities enabling the verification device 202 or the backend validation device 208 to report a potential problem with the orientation or presence of the part 108 to another system. External system 210 may further receive information from either or both of the backend validation device 208 and verification device 202 which may be used for any purpose, including record keeping and quality analysis. The external system 210 may further be used to track inventory and available parts used in conjunction with the tape and reel machine 204.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example of a wiring diagram 300 connecting a verification device to a tape and reel machine according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. The wiring diagram 300 illustrates one method of communicatively coupling the tape and reel machine 204 to the verification device 202. The tape and reel machine 204 includes an input/output port 304 while the verification device 202 includes an input/output port 302. For purposes of clarity and by the way of non-limiting example, the port 304 may be connected via a cable to the port 302.

The ports 302, 304 may be serial and/or parallel ports. One example of a serial port may be an RS232 port (as specified by Electronic Industries Association, published as “EIA232E—Interface Between Data Terminal Equipment and Data Circuit-Terminating Equipment Employing Serial Binary Data Interchange” in a standard publication which is hereby incorporated by reference). Any suitable standard (or non-standard) port(s) and communication protocol(s) may be utilized.

It is also further contemplated that there may be an operational tool 306 (represented as a switch), such as a foot petal, a mechanical switch, a button, or other input, that may be implemented in the manual advance controller 206. The operational tool 306 may be used to restart the reel and tape machine 204 in the event of an interruption of service. It is expressly understood that a relay 308 may also be positioned between the port 302 and the port 304. The wiring diagram of FIG. 3 illustrates a single direct connection between the port 304 and the port 302, while there is a second connection between the port 304 and the port 302 through relay 308 which may be triggered by the operational tool 306. One advantage of this arrangement is that in the event of a failure detected by the verification device 302, the operational tool 306 may be used to restart the tape and reel machine 204.

FIG. 4 illustrates a process 400 of detecting whether there is an orientation error using an image according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. For example, the process 400 may be performed by the verification device 202, the backend validation device 208 and/or external system 210 to detect an orientation and/or presence of the part 108 in the packing slot 106.

In block 402, an image of the part 108 in the packing slot 106 is generated by the verification device 204 prior to the part 108 being sealed in the slot 106 by the tape 102. In block 404, the generated image is compared against one or more stored images, referred to as the known image(s). The known image(s) are images of the part in the correct orientation. The known image(s) may be stored in the verification device 202, backend validation device 208 or the external system 210.

In block 406, a determination is made by at least one of the verification device 202, the backend validation device 208, or the external system 210, whether the orientation (or presence) of the part 108 in the packing slot 106 matches the known and stored image(s). If the images match, the part 108 is determined to be in the proper orientation. Then in block 408, the tape and reel machine 204 continues processing to a next part, and the process 400 is repeated for the next part.

If, however, at block 406 the images do not match, the part 108 is determined to not be in the correct orientation, and in block 410, the tape and reel machine 204 is stopped and a user is alerted to this fact. Upon correction of the orientation and/or placement of the correct part 108 in the packing slot 106, the manual advance controller 206 may restart the tape and reel machine 204 to continue processing the replaced and/or reoriented part 108.

In other embodiments, instead of or in addition to determination of orientation, the verification device 202, the backend validation device 208 and/or external system 210 may determine presence or absence of the correct part 108 in the packing slot 106. The verification device 202, the backend validation device 208 and external system 210 described above may be implemented on one or more computer systems (e.g., data processing system 500) with sufficient processing power, memory resources, and network throughput capability to handle the necessary functions described herein.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of a data processing system 500 that may be used in implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure. The computer system 500 includes a processor 502, which may be referred to as a central processor unit or CPU, that is in communication with memory devices including secondary storage 508, read only memory (ROM) 510, random access memory (RAM) 512, input/output (I/O) device 506, and network devices 504. The processor 502 may be implemented as one or more CPU chips.

The secondary storage 508 typically includes one or more disk drives or tape drives and is used for non-volatile storage of data and as an over-flow data storage device if RAM 512 is not large enough to hold all working data. Secondary storage 508 may be used to store programs that are loaded into RAM 512 when such programs are selected for execution. The ROM 510 is used to store instructions and perhaps data that are read during program execution. ROM 510 is a non-volatile memory device that typically has a small memory capacity relative to the larger memory capacity of secondary storage. The RAM 512 is used to store volatile data and perhaps to store instructions. Access to both ROM 510 and RAM 512 is typically faster than to secondary storage 508.

I/O devices 506 may include printers, video monitors, liquid crystal displays (LCDs), touch screen displays, keyboards, keypads, switches, dials, mice, track balls, voice recognizers, card readers, paper tape readers, or other well-known input devices. The network connectivity devices 504 may take the form of modems, modem banks, Ethernet cards, universal serial bus (USB) interface cards, serial interfaces, token ring cards, fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) cards, wireless local area network (WLAN) cards, radio transceiver cards such as code division multiple access (CDMA) and/or global system for mobile communications (GSM) radio transceiver cards, and other well-known network devices. These network devices 504 may enable the processor 502 to communicate with an Internet or one or more intranets. With such a network connection, it is contemplated that the processor 502 might receive information from the network, or might output information to the network in the course of performing the above-described processes.

The processor 502 executes instructions, codes, computer programs, scripts that it accesses from hard disk, floppy disk, optical disk (these various disk based systems may all be considered secondary storage 508), ROM 510, RAM 512, or the network devices 504.

While several embodiments have been provided in the present disclosure, it should be understood that the disclosed systems and methods might be embodied in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. The present examples are to be considered as illustrative and not restrictive, and the intention is not to be limited to the details given herein. For example, the various elements or components may be combined or integrated in another system or certain features may be omitted, or not implemented.

Also, techniques, systems, subsystems and methods described and illustrated in the various embodiments as discrete or separate may be combined or integrated with other systems, modules, techniques, or methods without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Other products shown or discussed as directly coupled or communicating with each other may be coupled through some interface or device, such that the products may no longer be considered directly coupled to each other but may still be indirectly coupled and in communication, whether electrically, mechanically, or otherwise with one another. Other examples of changes, substitutions, and alterations are ascertainable by one skilled in the art and could be made without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed herein.

It should be understood that although an exemplary implementation of one embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated above, the present system may be implemented using any number of techniques, whether currently known or in existence. The present disclosure should in no way be limited to the exemplary implementations, drawings, and techniques illustrated above, including the exemplary design and implementation illustrated and described herein, but may be modified within the scope of the appended claims along with their full scope of equivalents.

Claims

1. A method of identifying an orientation of a part to be packaged by a tape and reel machine, the method comprising:

identifying the part in a packing slot of the tape and reel machine;

identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot;

determining whether the orientation of the part in the packing slot matches a predetermined orientation for the part; and

generating an alert in response to determining that the orientation of the part does not match the predetermined orientation of the part.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

determining whether a part is present in the packing slot; and

generating an alert in response to determining that the part is not present in the packing slot.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising:

determining whether the part present in the slot is a correct part for the tape and reel machine in response to determining that the part is present in the packing slot; and

generating an alert in response to determining that the part is not the correct part for the tape and reel machine.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot comprises:

generating an image of the packing slot; and

identifying the orientation of the part using an image recognition technique.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot comprises:

identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot using a charge detection technique.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot comprises:

identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot using a barcode reader.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the orientation of the part in the packing slot comprises:

using at least two different methods to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

overriding the alert using a mechanical switch.

9. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

interrupting the tape and reel machine in response to determining that the orientation of the part does not match the predetermined orientation of the part.

10. A system for identifying an orientation of a part to be packaged, the system comprising:

a tape and reel machine;

a packing slot operatively connected to the tape and reel machine; and

a verification device operationally proximate to the packing slot, the verification device configured to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot, determine whether the orientation of the part in the packing slot matches a predetermined orientation for the part, and generate an alert in response to determining that the orientation of the part does not match the predetermined orientation of the part.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the verification device is configured to:

determine whether a part is present in the packing slot; and

generate an alert in response to determining that the part is not present in the packing slot.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the verification device is configured to:

determine whether the part present in the slot is a correct part for the tape and reel machine in response to determining that the part is present in the packing slot; and

generate an alert in response to determining that the part is not the correct part for the tape and reel machine.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot, the verification device is further configured to:

generate an image of the packing slot; and

identify the orientation of the part using an image recognition technique.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot, the verification device is further configured to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot using a charge detection technique.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot, the verification device is further configured to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot using a barcode reader.

16. The system of claim 10, wherein to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot, the verification device is further configured to use at least two different methods to identify the orientation of the part in the packing slot.

17. The system of claim 10 further comprising:

a mechanical switch configured to override the alert.

18. The system of claim 10, wherein the tape and reel machine is configured to interrupt operation in response to generation of the alert.

19. A method of visually verifying an orientation of a part to be packaged using a tape and reel machine, the method comprising:

receiving an image of the part in a packing slot;

comparing the received image with a second image of a second part with a correct orientation to determine whether the orientation of the part in the packing slot is correct; and

generating an alert in response to determining that the orientation of the part does not match the correct orientation.

20. The method of claim 19 further comprising:

transmitting results of the comparing to at least one external device.