Various electronic parts mounting apparatus are known. For example, as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 57-48672, previously filed by the present applicant, a tipped part seal-in tape is wound and accommodated in a tape reel, the tape being intermittently drawn and delivered to a fixed part-removing station. The tipped parts are suctioned off the tape by a plurality of reciprocally movable suction nozzles which are provided below a lower portion of the peripheral edge of an intermittently rotating turntable. The tipped parts are mounted on a table which is movable and controllable in an X-Y direction for positioning and identifying the tipped parts suctioned and held by the suction nozzles.
Positioning apparatus for tipped parts held by the suction nozzles are described, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-24,997 and Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-136,288 Specifications, in which the tipped parts are positioned according to an arranging mode on a print substrate. For purposes of this application, "print substrate" means a printed circuit board. The tipped parts are urged from various directions by positioning pawl members disposed in a fixed positioning station. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-168,298 Specification, discloses an apparatus in which the position and shape of the tipped parts are recognized in advance by optical means. The suction nozzles are then rotated to properly position the tipped parts and simultaneously correct deviations in the positioning of the rotating nozzles at the time of suction.
However, in the conventional positioning apparatus and in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-24,997 Specification, the positioning and rotation of the nozzles to adjust the direction of the tipped parts cannot be effected at the same time, which limits the speed of the apparatus. An apparatus disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 58-136,288 shows in FIG. 27 a V-shaped notched groove 201 which is formed at the end of a suction nozzle 200 to suction and hold a cylindrical tipped part. When a center between the V-shaped notched groove 201 at the end of the suction nozzle 200 and each of the positioning pawl members 203 and 204 is deviated from each other, the cylindrical tipped part 202 tends to be positioned by the positioning pawl members 203 and 204 in an unstable state where the tipped part 202 does not properly fit in the V-shaped notched groove 201. In addition, when the tipped part 202 is released from each of the positioning pawl members 203 and 204 after completion of the positioning, the tipped part 202 may become disoriented due to movement in such a way that the tipped part 202 is fitted into the notched groove 201 under the influence of the suction force of the suction nozzle 200. For this reason, it is difficult to adjust the direction of the notched groove 201 at the end of the suction nozzle and the direction of each of the positioning pawl members 203 and 204 for providing precise coincidence, which has to be carried out for each suction nozzle. Moveover, the apparatus must be replaced according to the shape and size of the tipped parts.
In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-168,298 Specification, when the rotational center between the suction nozzles is deviated, the position of the tipped parts after rotation becomes deviates, and therefore, a troublesome precise adjustment of the rotational center of each of the suction nozzles needs to be carried out.