Controller and a control method for a hot air blower

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10413985-B2
Application number	US-201615388111-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 22, 2016
Priority date	Dec 25, 2015
Publication date	Sep 17, 2019
Grant date	Sep 17, 2019

Abstract

A controller and a control method for a hot air blower used in the field of solder reworking. The controller allows a user to change the control parameters effectively while using the hot air blower.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A controller for controlling the level of the thermal energy temperature and airflow of a hot air blower having a heating member and an air feed, said controller comprising:
a heating control section to execute control management data instructions which define heating control management data profiles having multiple stages, said heating control section executes the profile from a first stage to a last stage in order and irreversibly;
a data storage section to store control management data profiles; and
a user interface including an input section to receive user input and said user interface provides operation instructions to change the level of the thermal energy delivered to the heating member of the hot air blower during the controller's execution of any stage of a heating control management data profile, including changes to the target temperature during a specific stage of the profile during execution of that stage.

2. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said controller controlling the heating provided by the hot air blower according to a heating control management data profiles having multiple stages, and the controller changes the target temperature and the level of the thermal energy delivered to the heating member upon receipt of an input to said input section and thereafter continuing to run the remaining control management data profile stage or stages.

3. The controller of claim 2 , wherein said input section of said user interface further allows user input to provide an operation instruction to save changes in the level of the thermal energy delivered to generate a new control management data profile.

4. The controller of claim 3 , wherein after the execution of the last stage of the control management data profile, a data update section of said controller outputs a new control management data profile to said data storage section upon receipt of a user input to said input section to update the control management data profile.

5. The controller of claim 4 , wherein the update of the control management data profile is selectable for each stage where the level of the thermal energy is changed.

6. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said input section of said user interface comprises a first input section and a second input section, said first input section receiving user input to change the level of the thermal energy delivered to the heating member and the second input section receiving user input to provide operation instructions to generate a new control management data profile.

7. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said heating control section reads set point data of the control management data profile from the storage section and generates a heating control output signal based upon the control management data profile set points and a timer.

8. The controller of claim 6 , wherein said first input section of said user interface generates a temperature indicating signal upon activation by a user, said temperature indicating signal instructing that the target temperature be changed, said temperature indicating signal being outputted from said first input section to a change management section of said heating control section, whereupon said heating control section changes the target temperature according to the temperature indicating signal while continuing to run the remaining control management data profile.

9. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said data storage section may be a ROM (Read Only Memory) or a RAM (Random Access Memory), a hard disk and/or a flash memory in a personal computer (PC) or a USB memory.

10. The controller of claim 6 , wherein said user interface includes buttons, dials or a touch panel on the controller for the user to activate said first input section and said second input section of said controller.

11. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said user interface is provided by a desk top computer, a laptop computer, a keyboard, a mouse, a tablet computer or a smart phone using a wired or radio frequency or blue tooth connection to said controller.

12. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said data storage section stores at least one control management data profile including data programmed with temperature, time duration, and air volume in at least two stages for controlling said temperature and airflow of a hot air blower, said data profile being executed by said controller sequentially subject to a change data signal input from said user interface.

13. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said data storage section stores at least one control management data profile including data programmed with temperature, time duration, and air volume in four to six stages for controlling said temperature and airflow of the hot air blower, said data profile being executed by said controller sequentially subject to a change data signal input from said user interface.

14. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said data storage section stores a plurality of control management data profiles, each profile having five stages, and for each stage the profile includes a target temperature, target air volume, a start time and an end time, said controller controlling the heating provided by the hot air blower from the first stage to the last stage in order and irreversibly unless modified by a change input command.

15. The controller of claim 14 , wherein said target temperature of the control management data profiles is either one of the temperature for the hot air, the component, the substrate, or the bonding material as measured by a temperature sensor providing a temperature signal input to said controller.

16. The controller of claim 8 , wherein said change management section of said heating control section outputs a change profile command to said data storage section to define a new control management data profile.

17. The controller of claim 16 , wherein said user interface allows a user to input an instruction to said change management section to control the output of the change profile command to said data storage section.

18. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said data storage section stores a plurality of control management data profiles, each profile having five stages, and for each stage the profile includes a target temperature, target air volume, a start time and an end time, said controller controlling the heating provided by the hot air blower from the first stage to the last stage in order and irreversibly and wherein said input section of said user interface generates a change signal upon activation by a user, said change signal instructing that at least one of the target temperature, target air volume, start time or an end time be changed, said change signal being outputted from said input section to a change management section of said controller, whereupon said controller changes the target temperature target air volume, start time or an end time according to the change signal while continuing to thereafter run the remaining control management data profile.

19. The controller of claim 18 , wherein said change management section of said controller outputs a change profile command to said data storage section to define a new control management data profile including the changed target temperature, target air volume, start time or end time.

20. The controller of claim 1 , wherein said user interface further comprises an image generation section and a display, said image generation section creating image data to update the control management data and providing an output on said di

Assignees

• Hakko Corp

Inventors

• Teraoka Yoshitomo
• Takeuchi Hitoshi
• Igi Yasumasa
• Nakamura Kenta

Classifications

• B23K1/018

  Unsoldering; Removal of melted solder or other residues · CPC title

• G05B19/042

  using digital processors (G05B19/05 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H05K3/341

  Surface mounted components · CPC title

• B23K11/252

  using digital means · CPC title

• B23K3/0478 Primary

  comprising means for controlling or selecting the temperature or power · CPC title