Apparatus and method for determining the position of a component prior to placement

摘要

Apparatus and a method for determining the position of a component held on the end of a pick up tool includes a pick up tool and positioning sensing system mounted on a movable frame with each other. The position sensing system includes an adjustable light source for producing an intense fan of light onto a collimating lens. The collimating lens produces an object field comprising a thin wide sheet of collimated light to be projected on a component held by the pick up tool. The thin wide sheet of light is projected on a component whose position is to be determined and the unblocked rays of light are projected onto an objective focusing lens which focuses the unblocked light through a very small aperture onto a relay lens which receives the refocused unblocked rays of light and produces refocused collimated light rays which are directed as an image onto a linear array sensor having a plurality of high density pixel sensors whose position is known relative to the pick up tool. The component whose position is to be determined is rotated in the imaging field. A computer/controller is coupled to the linear array sensor and an encoder for producing sets of X, Y and +E,sez O-+EE data indicative of the refocused collimated light rays projected onto said pixel sensor and the computer/controller is programmable for analyzing said digital data and for determining the X, Y and +E,sez O-+EE position of the component on the pick up tool.