Technical Field

The present application relates to a thrust measurement apparatus, in particular to a detection apparatus for measuring the thrust of a movement mechanism in a movement mechanism of a printer.

Background Art

A solder paste may be printed onto a circuit board using a printer when producing a surface-mounted printed circuit board. Typically, a circuit board with a solder pad pattern or some other conductive surface on which a solder paste is deposited is automatically sent to a stencil printer; and the circuit board is correctly aligned with the stencil or screen of the stencil printer prior to printing the solder paste onto the circuit board using one or more apertures or markings on the circuit board (referred to as a “reference point”). In some systems, the circuit board is aligned with the stencil using a position detector.

The printer includes a movement mechanism that is capable of causing the circuit board or the position detector to move along an X direction, Y direction, or Z direction to reach a suitable position.

Summary of the Invention

The present application provides a thrust measurement apparatus including: a track device; a slider capable of sliding along the track device; a measurement device for detecting a thrust at a site to be tested, the measurement device being coupled to the slider to be movable along an extension direction of the track device with the slider. According to the above-described thrust measurement apparatus, the track device extends in a straight direction.

According to the above-described thrust measurement apparatus, the thrust detection apparatus further includes: a drive device in connection with the measurement device, the drive device being capable of driving the measurement device to move along an extension direction of the track device.

According to the above-described thrust measurement apparatus, the drive device includes a screw assembly including a screw, a nut, and a power member, the nut being mounted on the screw and the power member being able to drive the screw to rotate such that the nut is able to move in a straight direction, the nut being connected with the slider and the measurement device, and the nut being able to drive the measurement device to move.

According to the above-described thrust measurement apparatus, the track device has an engagement portion and the slider has a mating portion, the engagement portion being engageable with the mating portion such that the slider is slidably connected to the track device, one of the engagement portion and the mating portion including a groove and the other including a convex portion.

According to the above-described thrust measurement apparatus, the thrust detection apparatus further includes: a detection connector, one end of the detection connector being connected to a sensing component of the measurement device and the other end being connected to a site to be tested.

According to the above-described thrust measurement apparatus, the thrust detection apparatus further includes: a kinetic connector, one end of the kinetic connector being connected to the measurement device and the other end being connected to the drive device. According to the above-described thrust measurement apparatus, the thrust detection apparatus further includes: a mounting bracket, the mounting bracket being connectable with a device to be detected, the track device and the drive device being connected with the mounting bracket, the drive device and the track device being arranged side by side.

According to the above-described thrust measurement apparatus, the drive device is capable of driving forward or reverse movement of the measurement device.

According to the above-described thrust measurement apparatus, the thrust measurement apparatus is used to detect the thrust of a movement mechanism of a printer.

The thrust measurement apparatus in the present application is used to measure the thrust of a movement mechanism in a printer. The thrust detection apparatus in the present application includes a track device, a measurement device, and a drive device. The drive device causes the measurement device to move along a path defined by the track device. During the measurement process, the measurement device is able to move in a straight direction at a uniform speed, which reduces the effect of changes in the direction and speed of movement of the measurement device on the thrust measurement, and the measurement results are more accurate.

Brief Description of Drawings

Fig. 1 is a stereoscopic view of a portion of a printer in the present application;

Fig. 2A is a stereoscopic view of a movement mechanism of Fig. 1;

Fig. 2B is an exploded view of the movement mechanism of Fig. 2A;

Fig. 3 is a stereoscopic view of the printer and a thrust measurement apparatus of

Fig. 1; Fig. 4A is a stereoscopic view of the thrust measurement apparatus of Fig. 3;

Fig. 4B is an exploded view of the thrust measurement apparatus of Fig. 4A;

Fig. 5 is a stereoscopic view of a mounting bracket of Fig. 4B;

Fig. 6A is a stereoscopic view of a track device and a slider of Fig. 4B;

Fig. 6B is an exploded view of the track and the slider of Fig. 6A;

Fig. 7 is a stereoscopic view of the measurement device of Fig. 4B;

Fig. 8 is a stereoscopic view of a detection connector of Fig. 4B;

Fig. 9 is a stereoscopic view of a kinetic connector of Fig. 4B;

Fig. 10 is a stereoscopic view of a drive device of Fig. 4B; and

Fig. 11 is a stereoscopic view of the movement mechanism in Fig. 2A and the thrust measurement apparatus in Fig. 4A.

Specific Embodiments

Various specific embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the attached drawings that form a part of this Specification. It should be understood that while terms denoting orientation, such as “front,” “rear,” “upper,” “lower,” “left,” “right,” etc., are used in the present application to describe various exemplary structural parts and elements of the present application, these terms are used herein for convenience of illustration only and are determined based on the exemplary orientations shown in the attached drawings. Since the examples disclosed in the present application may be disposed in different orientations, these terms denoting orientation are for illustrative purposes only and should not be considered as limiting. The same or similar reference numerals used in the present application refer to the same components where possible. Fig. 1 is a stereoscopic view of a portion of a printer in the present application, and as shown in Fig. 1, a printer 100 includes a frame 101 and a movement mechanism 103 connected to the frame 101. The movement mechanism 103 is coupled to a corresponding component and is capable of driving the component to a suitable position. The component coupled to the movement mechanism 103 includes a circuit board to be processed or a position detector for positioning. The printer 100 includes a plurality of movement mechanisms 103 that mate with each other such that the respective components are movable along an X direction, a Y direction, or a Z direction. For ease of identification, one movement mechanism 103 capable of moving in the Y direction is exemplarily illustrated in Fig. 1, with other movement mechanisms omitted.

Fig. 2A is a stereoscopic view of the movement mechanism 103 of Fig. 1 and Fig. 2B is an exploded view of the movement mechanism of Fig. 2A. As shown in Figs. 2A and 2B, the movement mechanism 103 includes a movement assembly 202 and a bracket 201. The movement assembly is a screw assembly, including a power member 211, a screw 212, and a nut 213. One end of the screw 212 is connected to the power member 211, the other end is connected to a fixture 214, and the nut 213 is mounted on the screw 212. The fixture 214 and the power member 211 are both connectable with the frame 101 to connect the movement assembly 202 to the frame 101. In some examples, the fixture 214 is a portion of the frame 101. The power member 211 is capable of driving the rotation of the screw 212 to induce movement of the nut 213 in a straight direction relative to the screw. The screw 212 is capable of being rotated in a forward or reverse direction such that the nut 213 is capable of being moved along the screw 212 in a direction towards or away from the power member 211. The bracket 201 includes a connection portion 225 and a support portion 226. The connection portion 225 has a clamp 227 that can be mounted on the nut 213 and is securely connected with the nut 213 through a connector. The support portion 226 extends along the Y direction of the printer and a component that needs to be moved is mounted on the support portion 226. The connection portion 225 of the bracket 201 is connected to the nut 213 and the component located on the support portion 226 is able to move with the nut 213. In one example of the present application, the bracket 201 is coupled to a position detector (e.g., a camera) for detecting a relative position of a circuit board to move the position detector to a suitable position.

Fig. 3 is a stereoscopic view of the printer and the thrust measurement apparatus of Fig. 1, as shown in Fig. 3, the thrust measurement apparatus 301 is mountable on the frame 101 and is positioned on a side of the movement mechanism 103 to measure the thrust of movement of the nut 213 of the movement mechanism 103. The thrust of the movement of the nut 213 reflects the torque of the screw 212.

During operation of the printer 100, the movement mechanism 103 converts the rotational motion of the screw 212 into a straight motion of the nut 213, and the nut 213 drives the corresponding component to move. In some instances, it is necessary to measure the thrust required for the movement of the nut 213 so as to calculate the torque required for rotation of the screw 212. In some applications, an operator directly uses a load cell to pull the nut 213 to measure the thrust required for movement of the nut 213. However, changes in the direction of movement may occur due to the operator’s pulling of the load cell, and the uneven force can affect the accuracy of the measurement results. The thrust measurement apparatus 301 of the present application is capable of relatively accurately detecting the thrust of the nut 213.

Fig. 4A is a stereoscopic view of the thrust measurement apparatus of Fig. 3 and Fig. 4B is an exploded view of the thrust measurement apparatus of Fig. 4A. As shown in Figs. 4A and 4B, the thrust measurement apparatus 301 includes a track device 401, a slider 402, a measurement device 405, a drive device 407, a mounting bracket 409, a kinetic connector 412, and a detection connector 411. The track device 401 is in connection with the mounting bracket 409 and the slider 402 mates with the track device 401 and can slide relative to the track device 401. The measurement device 405 is in connection with the slider 402 and is capable of sliding with the slider 402 relative to the track device 401. The measurement device 405 is connected to the nut 213 of the movement mechanism 103 by a detection connector 411. The measurement device 405 and the slider 402 are coupled with the drive device 407 via the kinetic connector 412. The drive device 407 is capable of driving the movement of the measurement device 405 and the slider 402 to induce movement of the nut 213 of the movement mechanism 103 to detect the thrust required for movement of the nut 213.

In the present application, the measurement device 405 moves with the slider 402 along a path defined by the track device 401 and is driven by the drive device 407, and can measure the thrust of the movement mechanism 103 with relative accuracy.

Fig. 5 is a stereoscopic view of the mounting bracket 409 of Fig. 4B. As shown in Fig. 5, the mounting bracket 409 is generally a cuboid with a top surface 511, a bottom surface 512, an outer side surface 513, an inner side surface 514, a front end surface 515, and a rear end surface 516. The front end surface 515 and the rear end surface 516 are located at both ends of the mounting bracket 409 respectively in a length direction. Here, the bottom surface 512 includes mounting portions 521 and 522 that extend beyond the inner side surface 514, the mounting portions 521 and 522 being proximate the front end surface 515 and the rear end surface 516, respectively. Mounting holes are provided on the mounting portions 521 and 522 to facilitate detachably connection with the frame 101 of the printer by fasteners. When the mounting bracket 409 is connected with the frame 101, the inner side surface 514 is proximate the frame 101 and the outer side surface 513 is away from the frame 101. A handle 536 is provided on the front end surface 515 and the rear end surface 516 to facilitate an operator’s grasp of the mounting bracket 409 to mount or remove it. The drive device 407 and the track device 401 are disposed on the top surface 511 side by side, where the track device 401 is positioned on a side proximate the inner side surface 514. Fig. 6A is a stereoscopic view of the track device and the slider of Fig. 4B and Fig. 6B is an exploded view of the track and the slider of Fig. 6A. As shown in Figs. 6A and 6B, the track device 401 is a long bar and extends straight along a length direction. The track device 401 has a pair of oppositely disposed side surfaces 621 and 622, a top surface 623 and a bottom surface 624. The track device 401 is coupled to the mounting bracket 409 by a fastener and the bottom surface 624 of the track device 401 is in contact with the top surface 511 of the mounting bracket 409. The track device 401 includes a lower portion 651 proximate the bottom surface 624 and an upper portion 652 proximate the top surface 623. At the upper portion 652, the pair of side surfaces 621 and 622 extend downwardly from the top surface 623 towards each other, with a cross section of one cross-sectional upper portion 652 of the track device 401 being an inverted trapezoid with a large top and a small bottom. Here, the upper portion 652 forms an engagement portion 631. In the present example, the upper portion 652 may be considered a convex portion that protrudes from the lower portion 651.

In the present application, the slider 402 includes two, and the two sliders have the same structure. The slider 402 includes a top surface 671 and a bottom surface 672 that are disposed oppositely, and the top surface 671 is connectable with the measurement device 405. The slider 402 includes a recess 662 formed from by recessing from the bottom surface 672 to the inside of the slider 402, the recess 662 forming a mating portion 642. The shape of the recess 662 matches the shape of the upper portion 652 of the track device 401, and on one cross section of the slider 402, the recess 662 is an inverted trapezoid with a large top and a small bottom. The upper portion 652 of the track device 401 is capable of being inserted into the recess 662 of the slider 402 along the length direction of the track device 401. Moreover, as a result of the inverted trapezoidal setting of the recess 662, the slider 402 can only slide along the length direction of the track device 401 without moving in other directions to disengage from the track device 401. In another example of the present application, the track device is provided with a recess and the slider is provided with a convex portion, and the slider is slidably connected to the track device by a mating of the recess and the convex portion.

In one example of the present application, the track device is fixedly connected to the mounting bracket by a fastener. In another example of the present application, the track device is integrally molded with the mounting bracket.

In yet another example of the present application, the track device is a groove formed recessing inwardly from the top surface of the mounting bracket, and the slider has a convex portion mated with the groove.

Fig. 7 is a stereoscopic view of the measurement device of Fig. 4B, and as shown in Fig. 7, the measurement device 405 includes a body 702 and a sensing portion 701. The sensing portion 701 is connected to a site to be tested and is able to measure the force received by the site to be tested. The body 702 is in connection with the slider 402 and the drive device 407, and the drive device 407 is capable of driving the slider 402 to drive movement of the measurement device 405.

In one example of the present application, the measurement device is a load cell.

Fig. 8 is a stereoscopic view of a detection connector in Fig. 4B, and as shown in Fig. 8, the detection connector 411 includes a base 801, a first extension 802 and a second extension 803. The base 801 is generally squarely plate-shaped with the first extension 802 and the second extension 803 extending generally along directions perpendicular to the base 801 from edges of the base 801, respectively. The extension directions of the first extension 802 and the second extension 803 are mutually perpendicular. Here, the first extension 802 has an aperture 805 to facilitate connection of the sensing portion 701 of the measurement device 405 to the detection connector 411. The second extension 803 is capable of connecting the measurement device 405 to a component to be tested via a connector. Fig. 9 is a stereoscopic view of the kinetic connector of Fig. 4B, and as shown in Fig. 9, the kinetic connector 412 includes a base 901, a first extension 902 and a second extension 903. The base 801 is generally squarely plate- shaped with the first extension 902 and the second extension 903 extending generally along directions perpendicular to the base 901 from edges of the base 901, respectively. The extension directions of the first extension 902 and the second extension 903 are mutually perpendicular. Here, the first extension 902 has an aperture 905 to facilitate connection of the measurement device 405 to the drive device 407. The second extension 903 is capable of connecting the kinetic connector 412 to the measurement device 405 and to the slider 402 via a connector (for example, a nut), that is, the measurement device 405, the kinetic connector 412, and the slider 402 are connected together.

Fig. 10 is a stereoscopic view of the drive device of Fig. 4B, and as shown in Fig. 10, the drive device 407 is a screw assembly. Similar to the movement assembly 202, the drive device 407 includes a power member 1013 , a screw 1011, and a nut 1012. One end of the screw 1011 is connected to the power member 1013, the other end is connected to a fixture 1014, and the nut 1012 is mounted on the screw 1011. The fixture 1014 and the power member 1013 are both coupled to the mounting bracket 409 to connect the drive device 407 to the mounting bracket 409. The power member 1013 is capable of driving the screw 1011 to rotate to induce movement of the nut 1012 in a straight direction relative to the screw. The screw 1011 is capable of being rotated in a forward or reverse direction such that the nut 1012 is capable of being moved along the screw 1011 in a direction towards or away from the power member 1013. The drive device 407 is capable of providing a uniform pull force to pull the measurement device 405 to move at a uniform speed.

Fig. 11 is a stereoscopic view of the movement mechanism in Fig. 2A and the thrust measurement apparatus in Fig. 4A. To clearly show the movement mechanism and the thrust measurement apparatus, the frame 101 is omitted in Fig. 10. The thrust measurement apparatus 301 and the movement mechanism 103 are both connected to the frame 101. Here, the thrust measurement apparatus 301 is detachably coupled with the frame 101 and, upon completion of the thrust detection, the thrust measurement apparatus 301 may be removed from the frame 101. The movement mechanism 103 may become stuck during operation due to excessive friction or other causes, and in order to understand the working condition of the movement mechanism 103, it is necessary to measure the torque required by the screw 212 when the nut 213 is moved. The torque required by the screw 212 may be calculated based on the thrust required to move the nut 213. The measurement device 405 in the present application is used to measure the thrust required for movement of the nut 213.

The thrust measurement apparatus 301 and the movement mechanism 103 are arranged side by side. The extension directions of the screw 1011 of the thrust measurement apparatus 301, the track device 401, and the screw 1011 of the movement mechanism 103 are parallel to one another. The nut 213 is movable along the extension direction of the screw 1011 of the movement mechanism 103; the nut 1012 is movable along the extension direction of the screw 1011 of the thrust measurement device 301; and the measurement device 405 is movable along the extension direction of the track device 401 with the slider 402. That is, the nut 213, the nut 1012, and the measurement device 405 are parallel to each other.

The sensing portion 701 of the measurement device 405 is connected to the bracket 201 by the detection connector 411. The bracket 201 is connected to the nut 213 such that the sensing portion 701 is connected to the nut 213. In another example of the present application, the sensing portion 701 is directly connected to the nut 213. The movement of the measurement device 405 is able to induce movement of the nut 213 along the extension direction of the screw 212, and thus the measurement device can measure the force required for movement of the nut 213. The pull force required by the measurement device 405 to pull the nut 213 to move is the thrust required for the movement of the nut 213. The thrust required for the movement of the nut 213 can be obtained by reading the pull force data of the measurement device 405.

The measurement device 405 is slidably connected with the track device 401 by the slider 402. The direction of motion of the slider 402 is defined by the track device 401, so that the direction of motion of the measurement device 405 is defined by the track device 401. The measurement device 405 is capable of moving in a straight direction, which is capable of avoiding the influence of the change of the applied force direction on the measurement accuracy.

The measurement device 405 is connected to the nut 1012 of the drive device 407 by the kinetic connector 412, and the drive device 407 can provide uniform dynamics such that the nut 1012 is able to move at or near a uniform speed. The uniform dynamics also contributes to the measurement accuracy of the measurement device 405.

In one example of the present application, the drive device 407 uses a screw assembly as a drive device to power the movement of the measurement device 405. In other examples of the present application, the drive device 407 employs other mechanisms that provide uniform dynamics, such as a turbine worm mechanism.

The thrust measurement apparatus in the present application is capable of detecting the thrust of the movement mechanism in the X direction, Y direction, and Z direction of the printer. During mounting, the track device of the detection apparatus needs to be set parallel to the movement direction of the corresponding movement mechanism. The movement mechanism may be a movement mechanism in a printer to move a board circuit, a position detector (a camera), or a solder paste jar.

Although the present disclosure has been described in connection with examples of the embodiments outlined above, various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents, whether known or foreseeable now or in the near future, may be apparent to those having at least ordinary skill in the art. In addition, the technical effects and/or technical problems described in the present specification are exemplary and not limiting; therefore, the disclosure in the present specification may be used to solve other technical problems and have other technical effects and/or may solve other technical problems. Therefore, examples of the present disclosure as set forth above are intended to be illustrative and not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is intended to include all known or earlier developed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements and/or substantial equivalents.