Abstract: An electric-component holding head, including a holder member including a nozzle-hold portion which holds a suction nozzle, and having a negative-pressure passage through which a negative pressure is supplied to the suction nozzle so that the suction nozzle holds an electric component by applying the negative pressure thereto, a filter which is provided in the negative-pressure passage and removes foreign matters present in an air passing through the filter, the holder member having an outer surface and a filter-insert hole which has an opening in the outer surface and communicates between the outer surface and the negative-pressure passage so that the filter is inserted from outside the holder member via the filter-insert hole into the negative-pressure passage, and a closure member which closes the opening of the filter-insert hole.

Abstract: A substrate holding device for holding a ceramic substrate. The substrate holding device includes a receiving member and a clamping jaw which have respective contact surfaces brought into contact with the ceramic substrate, wherein the contact surfaces are constituted by elastically deformable portions. A variable flow regulator valve and an electromagnetically-operated proportional control valve are provided between an air source and a clamp cylinder which actuates the clamping jaws. A flow rate of air supplied to the clamp cylinder is controlled by the variable flow regulator valve and a control device which controls the variable flow regulator valve, such that movement velocity of the clamping jaws is gradually reduced in a final stage of the forward movement of the clamping jaw toward the receiving member.

Abstract: Method of mounting an electric component on a component-mounting surface such that the electric component held by a suction nozzle under a negative pressure is forced onto the component-mounting surface, with termination of application of the negative pressure to the suction nozzle, and the suction nozzle is then moved away from the component-mounting surface, the method comprising the steps of: initiating application of a positive pressure to a passage communicating with the suction nozzle, before the electric component is forced onto the component-mounting surface; maintaining the application of the positive pressure to the passage, until the suction nozzle is spaced apart from the electric component by at least 0.4 mm; and then exposing the passage to the atmosphere. Also disclosed is an electric-component mounting system arranged to practice the method.

Abstract: A method of mounting an electric component on a circuit substrate, including the steps of moving one of a suction nozzle and an electric-component supplying device toward the other of the nozzle and the supplying device, so that the nozzle applies a suction to the component supplied by the supplying device and thereby receives the component, moving one of the nozzle and the substrate toward the other of the nozzle and the substrate, so that the nozzle mounts the component on the substrate, taking an image of at least a portion of the component held by the nozzle, as seen in a direction perpendicular to an axial direction of the nozzle, in a state in which the nozzle takes a known position in the axial direction, determining, based on image data representing the taken image, a position of a mounted surface of the electric component that is opposite to a sucked surface of the component sucked by the nozzle, and controlling, based on the determined position, a movement of the nozzle toward one or each of the sup

Abstract: A method of detecting a relative positioning error between a fiducial-mark imaging device and a substrate-holding device in an electric-component mounting system wherein the fiducial-mark imaging device is arranged to take an image of at least one substrate fiducial mark provided on a circuit substrate, and a positioning error of the circuit substrate as held by the substrate-holding device is detected on the basis of the image of the at least one substrate fiducial mark, so that an electric component is mounted by a mounting head onto the circuit substrate, so as to eliminate the positioning error of the circuit substrate, wherein the fiducial-mark imaging device is operated to take an image of at least one holding-device fiducial mark provided on the substrate-holding device, and the relative positioning error between the fiducial-mark imaging device and the substrate-holding device is detected on the basis of a positioning error of the image of the holding-device fiducial mark within an imaging area of the

Abstract: A rotary-type circuit-component supplying apparatus including a plurality of feeders each of which stores a plurality of circuit components of a same sort and which supplies the components one by one from a component-supply portion thereof, at least one rotary table which is rotatable about a first axis line which is substantially vertical and which holds the feeders such that the respective component-supply portions of the feeders are arranged along a circle having a center on the first axis line, and a table-driving device which rotates and stops the rotary table to position the component-supply portion of each of the feeders at a predetermined component-supplying position, the feeders including at least one pendent feeder which includes a main portion which is held by the rotary table such that the main portion extends in a substantially horizontal direction, and which supports a tape-feeding mechanism which feeds a tape carrying the circuit components to the component-supply portion of the pendent feeder,

Abstract: An electric-component mounting system including: a determining device operable with respect to presently required operations of working devices disposed on a common main body, to determine, as a cycle-time-determinant working device, each working device which determines a cycle time of the system such that the cycle time is determined by a required operating time of the cycle-time-determinant working device as calculated when the presently required operation is performed at predetermined maximum acceleration and deceleration values or a predetermined maximum operating speed; and a slowdown device operable to determine actual acceleration and deceleration values or an actual operating speed of each of non-cycle-time-determinant working devices which are the working devices except the cycle-time-determinant working device, the slowdown device determining the actual acceleration and deceleration values or operating speed of the non-cycle-time-determinant working device, so as to be lower than predetermined maxim

Abstract: A printed-wiring-board holding device includes a printed-wiring-board supporting device and a printed-wiring-board pressing device. The printed-wiring-board pressing device includes a pressing-plate elevating device and guide device. The pressing plate has openings formed through its portions corresponding to portions of a printed-wiring board onto which electronic components are to be mounted. When the electronic components are mounted onto the printed-wiring board, support pins of the printed-wiring-board supporting device are brought into contact with a bottom surface of the printed-wiring board, while the pressing plate is brought into contact with a top surface of the printed-wiring board, for thereby restraining the printed-wiring board from opposite sides of the printed-wiring board. Thus, the printed-wiring board is held while being held flattened without being warped.

Abstract: An angular position adjusting device including a first member which holds an object having an axis of rotation, a second member which holds the first member rotatably about the axis of the object, and a rotating mechanism interposed between the first and second members and operable to rotate the first member relative to the second member about the axis of the object, and wherein one of the first and second members has an guiding surface formed to extend along an arc of a circle having a center at the axis of the object, the arc having a center angle smaller than 180°, and the other of the first and second members has a guided surface for sliding contact with the arcuate guiding surface, when the first member is rotated by the rotating mechanism relative to the second member, to adjust the angular position of the object about its axis.

Abstract: In an image taking system including an illuminating device including a light source which emits a light for illuminating an object, a camera which takes an image of the object, and a processing and controlling device which includes a data processing portion that processes image data representing the image of the object taken by the camera, at least one of the camera and the illuminating device includes a brightness controlling device which controls a brightness of an image taken by the camera, and the processing and controlling device includes a brightness detecting portion which detects a brightness of at least a portion of the image of the object taken by the camera, and a control-parameter varying portion which varies, based on the brightness detected by the brightness detecting portion, at least one control parameter of the brightness controlling device so that a brightness of at least a portion of an image taken by the camera is equal to a preset brightness.

Abstract: A method of supporting a fragile board by a plurality of supporting members formed of respective elastic materials. The method includes steps of (a) preparing a plurality of first and second supporting members as the supporting members such that the second supporting members have higher compression modulus than the first supporting members; (b) arranging the first and second supporting members on a plane such that each of the first supporting members is adjacent to a corresponding one of the second supporting members and such that each of the first supporting members has a larger height from the plane than each of the second supporting members; and (c) positioning the first and second supporting members under the board, whereby the board is supported at a lower surface thereof by the supporting members.

Abstract: Method and device for supplying electric components, using two component supply tables each including a feeder support structure and a plurality of component feeders mounted on the feeder support structure, each component feeder accommodating a group of electric components of one kind and arranged to successively supply the electronic components such that a combination of electric components of different kinds that can be supplied from the component feeders on one of the two tables is the same as that of electric components of different kinds that can be supplied from the component feeders on the other table, and wherein a first table which is one of the two tables is operated to supply the electric components, while a second table which is the other table is held in an off state, and the first table is held in an off state while the second table is operated to supply the electric components, after the first table has been exhausted of the electric components of any kind, and wherein the first ands second tab

Abstract: An electric-component mounting system including: nozzle holders each carrying suction nozzles and rotatable to bring selected one of the suction nozzles; a turning device to turn the nozzle holders about a common axis of turning, for stopping each nozzle holder at predetermined working positions including nozzle-selecting, component-receiving and component-mounting positions; a holder rotating device which includes an engaging member engageable with and disengageable from an engaging portion of each nozzle holder, and which is disposed at the nozzle-selecting position, to rotate the nozzle holder, with the engaging member engaging the engaging portion; and an engaging-and-disengaging device to move the engaging member for engagement and disengagement with and from the engaging portion, and wherein each nozzle holder receives an electric component at the selected suction nozzle when each nozzle holder is located at the component-receiving position, and mounts the electric-component onto a circuit substrate whi

Abstract: An apparatus for assisting an operator of an electric-component supply device including component feeders mounted on feeder support and each accommodating electric components, the apparatus including (a) a position indicator operable to indicate the feeder-mounting position at which the component feeder is to be mounted on the feeder support, and/or the feeder-mounting position at which the component feeder has been removed from the feeder support, and/or (b) a feeder indicator operable to indicate at least one of (i) the component feeder which has been mounted on the feeder support, (ii) the component feeder which is to be removed from the feeder support and (iii) the component feeder on which an intermediate operation is required to be performed between moments of the operations to mount and remove the component feeder on and from the feeder support.

Abstract: A holding apparatus including a suction nozzle which applies a negative pressure to a back surface of an object and thereby holds the object, a front-surface lighting device which emits a first visible light toward a front surface of the object held by the suction nozzle and thereby lights the front surface, and a back-surface lighting device which lights the back surface of the object held by the suction nozzle and which includes a light emitting plate which is provided around a base portion of the suction nozzle and emits a second light from a light emitting surface thereof facing a side of a free end of the suction nozzle that holds the object; and a dark infrared-ray transmitting filter which is dark, covers the light emitting surface of the light emitting plate, and transmits infrared rays of the second light.

Abstract: An electric-component mounting system including a component-holding device for holding an electric component, a board-supporting device for supporting a printed-wiring board on which the electric component is mounted, a first relative-movement device operable to move the component-holding device and the board-supporting device relative to each other in a first direction parallel to a surface of the board supported by the board-supporting device, a second relative-movement device operable to move the component-holding device and the board-supporting device relative to each other in a second direction which intersects the surface of the board; and a control device including a positioning portion operable to select one of a plurality of different control targets which is used for the first relative-movement device to establish a predetermined relative position between the component-holding device and the board-supporting device, and wherein the positioning portion selects one of the different control targets, de

Abstract: A method supporting a printed circuit board, including the step of causing a contact portion of at least one board supporting member including a vibration damping portion formed of a vibration damping rubber, to contact at least one portion of a lower surface of the printed circuit board and thereby support the printed circuit board on a side of the lower surface thereof.

Abstract: An apparatus for mounting one or more electric components on a circuit substrate, the apparatus including a nozzle moving device which moves a suction nozzle having an end surface that applies a suction to an electric component and thereby holds the component, in a direction intersecting an axis line of the suction nozzle, and an elevating and lowering device which elevates and lowers the suction nozzle so that the suction nozzle performs at least one of sucking and holding the electric component and mounting the component on the circuit substrate, the elevating and lowering device including a movable member, and a connecting device which connects the movable member to the suction nozzle such that the suction nozzle continues moving while the movable member continues moving, the connecting device including a downward-movement control device which changes, while the apparatus performs an electric-component mounting operation, at least one of a position of an end of a downward movement of the suction nozzle cau

Abstract: An electronic-component supplying apparatus, including a bed with two linear guides; six tables movably supported by the guides, each table supporting electronic-component supplying cartridges such that respective component-supply portions of the cartridges are arranged along a straight line parallel to the guides, the six tables including a first group of three tables and a second group of three tables; three carriers which are movable, independent of one another, through three routes, respectively, each carrier being stopable at any position on the corresponding route, the three routes extending parallel to one another and the guides, within a carrier-movement area on the bed; engaging devices and engageable portions each of which is disengageably engageable with at least one corresponding engaging device of the engaging devices, one of (a) each of the six tables and (b) each of the three carriers supporting a corresponding one of the engaging devices, the other of (a) the each of the six tables and (b) the

Abstract: A system for performing an operation for a circuit substrate, including a plurality of main conveyors each of which conveys, positions, and supports a circuit substrate, the plurality of main conveyors being arranged in a direction perpendicular to a circuit-substrate conveying direction in which the each main conveyor conveys the circuit substrate, an operation performing device which performs at least one operation for the circuit substrate positioned and supported by the each main conveyor, at least one of (a) a carry-in conveyor which conveys the circuit substrate to the each main conveyor and loads the circuit substrate thereon, and (b) a carry-out conveyor which loads the circuit substrate off the each main conveyor and conveys the circuit substrate away therefrom, and a conveyor shifting device which selectively shifts the at least one of the carry-in conveyor and the carry-out conveyor to one of a plurality of shift positions at each of which the one conveyor is aligned with a corresponding one of the