What is claimed is:
1. An apparatus for positioning back-up pins on a support plate for supporting a circuit board thereon, the apparatus comprising:
a back-up pin plate having a substantially planar upper surface for positioning back-up pins thereon;
a back-up pin stand for placing back-up pins therein;
a camera for taking an image of a surface of the circuit board to be supported by a plurality of back-up pins;
a control unit configured to display at least one image of the circuit board taken by the camera, the image including a first image representative of a portion of the surface of the circuit board and a second image representative of substantially the entire surface of the circuit board, the control unit further configured to allocate a plurality of support locations for supporting the circuit board while viewing the first image and the second image of the circuit board; and
a transfer member adapted to transfer a plurality of back-up pins from the back-up pin stand to the allocated support locations on the back-up pin plate.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the back-up pin plate includes a magnetizable material, and each of the back-up pins includes a magnetic portion for attaching onto the back-up pin plate by a magnetic force between the back-up pin plate and the back-up pin.
3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the camera is a line charge-coupled device camera.
4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first image is a real-time image taken by the camera and the second image is an image composed of a plurality of the real-time images taken by the camera.
5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the control unit includes a display screen for displaying the images of the circuit board taken by the camera.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the control unit further includes a user interface for allowing a user to control the allocation of the support locations and positioning of the back-up pins.
7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the control unit further includes an input device for the allocation of the support locations.
8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the input device of the control unit is a mouse configured to move a mouse pointer in the display screen displaying the image of the circuit board and select the support locations with the aid of the displayed screen.
9. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the user interface comprises a back-up pin type selection menu.
10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the user interface comprises an insert mode for the allocation of the support locations.
11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the user interface further comprises a remove mode for cancellation of the previously allocated support locations.
12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the user interface comprises a save mode for saving the allocation information in the control unit.
13. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the user interface comprises a PCB loading mode for loading a circuit board onto the apparatus.
14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the back-up pin stand comprises a plurality of openings for receiving lower portions of the back-up pins.
15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the camera is coupled with the transfer member for moving together along a Cartesian coordinate.
16. An apparatus for positioning back-up pins on a support plate for supporting a circuit board thereon, the apparatus comprising:
a plurality of back-up pins each having a magnet portion at least a lower portion thereof;
a back-up pin plate formed at least partially with a magnetizable material and including a substantially planar upper surface for positioning the back-up pins thereon; and
a transfer member adapted to transfer a plurality of back-up pins onto support locations on the back-up pin plate for supporting a circuit board thereon.
17. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a back-up pin stand for placing back-up pins therein.
18. The apparatus of claim 16 further comprising a camera for taking an image of a surface of the circuit board to be supported by a plurality of back-up pins.
19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the camera is coupled with the transfer member for moving together along a Cartesian coordinate.
20. The apparatus of claim 18 further comprising a control unit configured to display at least one image of the circuit board taken by the camera, the image including a first image representative of substantially the entire surface of the circuit board and a second image representative of a portion of the surface of the circuit board, the control unit further configured to allocate a plurality of support locations for supporting the circuit board while viewing the first image and the second image of the circuit board.
21. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the back-up pins have a generally cylindrical shape with the upper portions of the back-up pins having different diameters.
22. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the back-up pins each has a circumferential groove for providing a secure holding of the back-up pin by the transfer member.
23. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the back-up pins each has a marking on its top surface thereof.
24. A back-up pin to be placed on a support plate for supporting a circuit board thereon in an electronic part mounting process, the back-up pin comprising:
a lower portion having a magnetic characteristic and including a planar lower surface; and
an upper portion including a planar upper surface for supporting a substrate thereon.
25. The back-up pin of claim 24, further comprising a circumferential groove along an intermediate portion thereof.
26. The back-up pin of claim 24 having a generally cylindrical shape.
27. The back-up pin of claim 26 having a diameter of about 8 mm at an upper end thereof.
28. The back-up pin of claim 26 having a diameter of about 2 mm at an upper end thereof.
29. A method of positioning back-up pins for supporting a substrate, the method comprising:
scanning an image of a surface of a substrate using a camera;
displaying a first image representative of a portion of the surface of the substrate and a second image representative of substantially the entire surface of the substrate on a monitor of a control unit;
allocating back-up pin support locations using the first and second images displayed on the monitor; and
transferring and positioning a plurality of back-up pins at the allocated locations on a back-up pin plate.
30. The method of claim 29 further comprising photographing of an image of back-up pins placed on a back-up pin stand prior to the transferring of the back-up pins.
31. The method of claim 29, wherein the first image is a real-time image taken by the camera, and the second image is an image composed of a plurality of the real-time images taken by the camera.
32. The method of claim 29, wherein the allocation of support locations is performed by selecting the locations by a mouse using the first and second images displayed on the monitor.
33. The method of claim 32, wherein the allocation of support locations is performed by selecting the locations by the mouse on the second image while viewing the first image to confirm the support locations are not interfered with any parts disposed on the substrate.
34. The method of claim 29, wherein the allocation enables selection of particular back-up pins from a plurality of back-up pins with different sizes or type.
35. The method of claim 29, wherein the scanning of the image of the substrate comprises scanning a marking formed on a top surface of the back-up pins to identify the type or dimension of the respective back-up pin.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A retractable ramp system comprising:
a frame including longitudinal guide members;
a carriage extending laterally between and longitudinally moveable along the guide members;
a ramp pivotably coupled to the carriage and movable between stowed and deployed positions;
a motor coupled to the frame, the motor including a drive shaft defining an axis;
a drive assembly coupled to the motor and including a drive pulley defining a plurality of axially-extending openings, a drive member driven by the drive pulley and coupled to the carriage, and a release assembly for engaging and disengaging the drive pulley and the motor, the release assembly including a first collar axially slidable along the drive shaft and including a pair of axially-extending pins, the pins selectively received by at least some of the plurality of openings in the drive pulley to rotatably couple the drive pulley to the drive shaft, the release assembly also including a second collar coupled to the drive shaft for rotation therewith between the first collar and the drive pulley, the second collar defining openings through which the pins extend, the motor operable to move the ramp between the stowed and deployed positions when engaged with the drive pulley; and
a manual control assembly including a bearing block moveable under manual control along one of the guide members to deploy the ramp when the motor and the drive pulley are disengaged, wherein the drive pulley freely rotates upon the drive shaft when the release assembly disengages the drive pulley from the motor.
2. The retractable ramp system of claim 1, wherein the carriage includes bearing members movable along the guide members, and wherein the bearing block engages one of the bearing members to urge the carriage along the guide members during manual movement of the ramp toward the deployed position.
3. The retractable ramp system of claim 1, wherein the manual control assembly includes a manual crank assembly including a handle, a pulley, and a cable coupled to the pulley and the bearing block, and wherein rotation of the handle winds the cable upon the pulley to pull the bearing block along the one of the guide members to deploy the ramp.
4. The retractable ramp system of claim 1, the release assembly further including:
a stop collar coupled to an end of the drive shaft;
a biasing member positioned between the stop collar and the second collar and biasing the second collar toward the drive pulley to thereby bias the pins into engagement with the at least some of the plurality of openings in the drive pulley.
5. The retractable ramp system of claim 4, wherein the first collar defines a groove, the release assembly further including:
a release actuator including at least one pin received by the groove; and
a release cable coupled to the release actuator and manually operable to overcome the biasing member and move the release actuator pin and, thereby, the first collar, axially away from the drive pulley to disengage the drive pulley from the drive shaft.
6. The retractable ramp system of claim 1, wherein the bearing block remains substantially stationary relative to the guide member during movement of the ramp toward the deployed position by the motor when the motor is engaged with the drive pulley.
7. A retractable ramp system for a vehicle having a floor, the retractable ramp system comprising:
a frame including longitudinal guide members;
a carriage extending laterally between and longitudinally moveable along the guide members;
a motor operable to move the carriage along the guide members;
a ramp pivotally coupled to the ramp carriage for movement therewith between stowed and deployed positions, the ramp including a substantially planar support surface and lips extending substantially orthogonally to the support surface and longitudinally along outer edges of the ramp, the support surface defining a cutout along an inboard end of the ramp; and
a ramp flap having an inboard end pivotally coupled adjacent to the floor and an outboard end, the outboard end including a plurality of rollers that ride along the support surface during movement of the ramp platform between the stowed and deployed position, and that fall off of the support surface and drop into the cutout when the ramp platform reaches the deployed position, wherein the ramp flap provides a transition surface for movement between the support surface and the vehicle floor, wherein the plurality of rollers includes a pair of outboard rollers and at least one inboard roller, wherein at least some of the rollers are coupled to the ramp flap by a substantially wedge-shaped bracket, and wherein during movement of the ramp platform from the deployed position toward the stowed position, the wedge-shaped brackets engage the ramp platform to urge the ramp flap upwardly and position the rollers for engagement with the support surface.
8. The retractable ramp system of claim 7, wherein the ramp platform includes a pair of wear plates disposed on the support surface for engagement with the wedge-shaped brackets during movement of the ramp platform from the deployed position toward the stowed position.