Patents by Inventor Masaru Ichihara

Masaru Ichihara has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 7099432
    Abstract: The X-ray inspection device and the X-ray inspection method according to the present invention are configured to hold an object to be inspected irradiated with an X-ray from an X-ray irradiation device, uses a swinging device for performing swinging motion of tilting the object to be inspected at an arbitrary angle and in an arbitrary direction, images the X-ray that passes through the object to be inspected in an X-ray detection device and extracts data of a desired cross section from the X-ray image of the X-ray detection device in a control device.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: August 29, 2006
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaru Ichihara, Shinji Yoshino, Hiroyuki Inoue, Toshio Kinoshita, Kazuo Ohuchi
  • Patent number: 7051431
    Abstract: In a mounting system where a chip component is mounted by a small component mounting apparatus on paste solder applied onto a board and the mounting state is inspected by a mounting inspection apparatus, and when the mounting inspection apparatus confirms that a chip component is not present, it is firstly confirmed whether or not a mounting trace of a chip component is present on solder, and a mounting nozzle is specified which has mounted a chip component found to be a missing component according to the confirmation result. Thereafter, the confirmation result is transmitted to a controller of the small component mounting apparatus. The controller selects and obtains coping information from a data base based on the confirmation result, and the information is shown on a display.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2003
    Date of Patent: May 30, 2006
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., LTD
    Inventors: Yoichiro Ueda, Masaru Ichihara, Daisuke Sato, Ken Takano
  • Publication number: 20050074088
    Abstract: The X-ray inspection device and the X-ray inspection method according to the present invention are configured to hold an object to be inspected irradiated with an X-ray from an X-ray irradiation device, uses a swinging device for performing swinging motion of tilting the object to be inspected at an arbitrary angle and in an arbitrary direction, images the X-ray that passes through the object to be inspected in an X-ray detection device and extracts data of a desired cross section from the X-ray image of the X-ray detection device in a control device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 23, 2004
    Publication date: April 7, 2005
    Applicant: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Masaru Ichihara, Shinji Yoshino, Hiroyuki Inoue, Toshio Kinoshita, Kazuo Ohuchi
  • Patent number: 6872949
    Abstract: Brightness information of, for example, an average value of brightnesses at an X-ray image of a first connected part when an electronic component is mounted onto only one face of a printed board is obtained. Binary images of an X-ray image of the board with the electronic components mounted to both faces are formed by an upper and a lower levels relative to the brightness information. The binary images are synthesized with each other so as to extract an image of only a second connected part. The image of only the second connected part can be obtained in this manner on the basis of the X-ray image of the double face-mounted board, so that an accuracy for connection inspection is improved. Also, a relationship between a density in the X-ray image of the connected part and a thickness of the connected part is obtained beforehand, based on which a plurality of thickness images are obtained for a plurality of X-ray images of different image storage times.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2005
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Seiji Mizuoka, Masaru Ichihara, Noriyuki Suzuki, Haruko Kubota, Kazumasa Okumura
  • Publication number: 20040049758
    Abstract: In a mounting system where a chip component is mounted by a small component mounting apparatus on paste solder applied onto a board and the mounting state is inspected by a mounting inspection apparatus, and when the mounting inspection apparatus confirms that a chip component is not present, it is firstly confirmed whether or not a mounting trace of a chip component is present on solder, and a mounting nozzle is specified which has mounted a chip component found to be a missing component according to the confirmation result. Thereafter, the confirmation result is transmitted to a controller of the small component mounting apparatus. The controller selects and obtains coping information from a data base based on the confirmation result, and the information is shown on a display.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 14, 2003
    Publication date: March 11, 2004
    Applicant: Matsushita Elec. Ind. Co. Ltd.
    Inventors: Yoichiro Ueda, Masaru Ichihara, Daisuke Sato, Ken Takano
  • Publication number: 20010040217
    Abstract: Brightness information of, e.g., an average value of brightnesses at an X-ray image of a first connected part when an electronic component (422) is mounted onto only one face of a printed board (421) is obtained. Binary images of an X-ray image of the board with the electronic components mounted to both faces are formed by an upper and a lower levels relative to the brightness information. The binary images are synthesized with each other so as to extract an image of only a second connected part. The image of only the second connected part can be obtained in this manner on the basis of the X-ray image of the double face-mounted board, so that an accuracy for connection inspection is improved in comparison with the related art. Also, a relationship between a density in the X-ray image of the connected part and a thickness of the connected part is obtained beforehand, based on which a plurality of thickness images are obtained for a plurality of X-ray images of different image storage times.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 21, 2001
    Publication date: November 15, 2001
    Inventors: Seiji Mizuoka, Masaru Ichihara, Noriyuki Suzuki, Haruko Kubota, Kazumasa Okumura
  • Patent number: 6133052
    Abstract: A measurement window 29 is set in a bump formation position found from the bump formation co-ordinates of bonding data in respect of an image that has been picked up of the external appearance of a stud bump 23 at an inspection position. The image in this measurement window 29 is converted to respective binary images based on binary conversion levels which are respectively individually set for measurement of bump pedestal 24 and for bump head 27. Of image grains constituted by continuous areas of the same image level in the binary image, an image grain having maximum area is extracted and the position, shape and dimensions of the bump pedestal 24 and bump head 27 are then respectively measured using respectively a hole-filled image and the hole portion of this extracted image grain. The quality and presence of a stud bump 23 are determined by comparing the measured values with set values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 17, 2000
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Masaru Ichihara
  • Patent number: 5854745
    Abstract: When an electronic component is picked up at an electronic component feeding part and then positioned and mounted at a predetermined mounting position on a transparent panel, mounting position marks formed at the mounting position on the transparent panel are registered with positioning marks formed on the electronic component, to thereby recognize the relative position from a surface opposite to a surface of the transparent panel where the electronic component is to be mounted, so that the position of the electronic component is corrected based on the result of the recognition before the electronic component is mounted at the predetermined mounting position on the transparent panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 1995
    Date of Patent: December 29, 1998
    Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Nobuhiko Muraoka, Shinji Kanayama, Shinzo Eguchi, Masaru Ichihara, Shuichi Hirata, Nobuhisa Watanabe