Fixture to enable positioning of SMT components

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10225968-B1
Application number	US-201815974779-A
Country	US
Kind code	B1
Filing date	May 9, 2018
Priority date	Apr 17, 2018
Publication date	Mar 5, 2019
Grant date	Mar 5, 2019

Abstract

A fixture to enable correct positioning of components in surface mount technology (SMT) field includes a tray, a positioning mechanism, at least one first upper magnet, at least one second upper magnet, and at least one lower magnet. The tray has at least one positioning hole. The positioning mechanism includes a base member, at least one sliding assembly, and at least one positioning post. The sliding assembly is slidably mounted to the base member. The positioning post is mounted to the base member, and disposed in the positioning hole of the tray. The first upper magnet and the second upper magnet are attached to the tray. The lower magnet is attached to the sliding assembly. The tray and the positioning mechanism are repulsive when the lower magnet aligns with the first upper magnet but are attracted when the lower magnet aligns with the second upper magnet.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A surface mount technology (SMT) positioning fixture comprising:
a tray having at least one positioning hole;
a positioning mechanism comprising:
a base member;
at least one sliding assembly slidably mounted to the base member; and
at least one positioning post mounted to the base member, and disposed in the positioning hole of the tray;

at least one first upper magnet attached to the tray;
at least one second upper magnet attached to the tray; and
at least one lower magnet attached to the sliding assembly;
wherein the tray and the positioning mechanism are configured to move towards or away from each other;
wherein poles of the first upper magnet and the second upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism have opposite polarities;
wherein a pole of the lower magnet facing the tray has the same polarity as the pole of the first upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism, and has opposite polarity to the pole of the second upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism;
wherein when the sliding assembly is moved relative to the base member to align the lower magnet with the first upper magnet, the tray and the positioning mechanism move away from each other because the lower magnet and the first upper magnet are repulsive; and
wherein when the sliding assembly is moved relative to the base member to align the lower magnet with the second upper magnet, the tray and the positioning mechanism move towards each other because the lower magnet and the second upper magnet attract each other.

2. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 1 ,
wherein the base member has:
at least one positioning hole aligning with the positioning hole of the tray;

wherein the positioning post passes through the positioning hole of the base member, and the positioning post has:
an upper portion disposed in the positioning hole of the tray; and
a lower portion protruding from a lower surface of the base member; and

wherein the positioning mechanism further comprises a securing member secured to the lower surface of the base member, and the securing member has at least one securing recess in which the lower portion of the positioning post is secured.

3. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 2 ,
wherein the tray has:
an upper surface; and
a lower surface to which the first upper magnet and the second upper magnet are attached;

wherein the base member has at least one sliding recess formed in an upper surface thereof;
wherein the sliding assembly has a slider slidably mounted in the sliding recess of the base member; and
wherein the lower magnet is attached to the slider of the sliding assembly.

4. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 3 ,
wherein the base member has a plurality of limiting holes located in the sliding recess;
wherein the slider has a plurality of limiting posts extending therefrom and corresponding to the limiting holes of the base member; and
wherein the sliding assembly has an operating member slidably mounted to the lower surface of the base member and secured to the slider.

5. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 3 , wherein the tray has a board receiving recess formed in the upper surface thereof, and the positioning hole of the tray is located in the board receiving recess.

6. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 4 , wherein the tray has a board receiving recess formed in the upper surface thereof, and the positioning hole of the tray is located in the board receiving recess.

7. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 5 , wherein the tray has two side openings located on opposite sides thereof and communicating with the board receiving recess.

8. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 6 , wherein the tray has two side openings located on opposite sides thereof and communicating with the board receiving recess.

9. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of guide posts passing through the tray and the positioning mechanism.

10. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 2 , further comprising a plurality of guide posts passing through the tray and the positioning mechanism.

11. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 3 , further comprising a plurality of guide posts passing through the tray and the positioning mechanism.

12. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 4 , further comprising a plurality of guide posts passing through the tray and the positioning mechanism.

13. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 5 , further comprising a plurality of guide posts passing through the tray and the positioning mechanism.

14. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 6 , further comprising a plurality of guide posts passing through the tray and the positioning mechanism.

15. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 1 , wherein the pole of the first upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a south pole, the pole of the second upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a north pole, and the pole of the lower magnet facing the tray is a south pole.

16. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 2 , wherein the pole of the first upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a south pole, the pole of the second upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a north pole, and the pole of the lower magnet facing the tray is a south pole.

17. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 3 , wherein the pole of the first upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a south pole, the pole of the second upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a north pole, and the pole of the lower magnet facing the tray is a south pole.

18. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 4 , wherein the pole of the first upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a south pole, the pole of the second upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a north pole, and the pole of the lower magnet facing the tray is a south pole.

19. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 5 , wherein the pole of the first upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a south pole, the pole of the second upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a north pole, and the pole of the lower magnet facing the tray is a south pole.

20. The SMT positioning fixture of claim 6 , wherein the pole of the first upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a south pole, the pole of the second upper magnet facing the positioning mechanism is a north pole, and the pole of the lower magnet facing the tray is a south pole.

Assignees

• Fu Tai Hua Ind Shenzhen Co Ltd
• Hon Hai Prec Ind Co Ltd

Inventors

• Liu Eddy
• Li xi-hang
• Che Xue-Feng
• Chen ri-qing
• Xia Xing

Classifications

• H05K1/144 Primary

  Stacked arrangements of planar printed circuit boards · CPC title

• B23K3/087

  Soldering or brazing jigs, fixtures or clamping means · CPC title

• H05K2201/083

  Magnetic materials · CPC title

• H05K13/0053

  Arrangements for assisting the manual mounting of components, e.g. special tables or light spots indicating the place for mounting · CPC title

• H05K2203/166

  Alignment or registration; Control of registration · CPC title