US 12,466,178 B2
Stencil printer cover having movable door with closing feature
Patsy A. Mattero, Smithfield, RI (US); and Kenneth J. King, East Freetown, MA (US)
Assigned to Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL (US)
Filed by Illinois Tool Works Inc., Glenview, IL (US)
Filed on Mar. 4, 2024, as Appl. No. 18/594,357.
Prior Publication US 2025/0276512 A1, Sep. 4, 2025
Int. Cl. B41F 15/36 (2006.01); B41F 15/08 (2006.01); B41F 15/26 (2006.01); B41F 15/42 (2006.01); B41F 15/44 (2006.01); B41L 13/02 (2006.01); B41L 13/18 (2006.01); H05K 3/12 (2006.01)
CPC B41F 15/0881 (2013.01) [B41F 15/26 (2013.01); B41F 15/36 (2013.01); B41F 15/423 (2013.01); B41F 15/44 (2013.01); B41L 13/02 (2013.01); B41L 13/18 (2013.01); H05K 3/1225 (2013.01); B41P 2215/10 (2013.01)] 22 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A stencil printer for printing an assembly material on an electronic substrate, the stencil printer comprising:
a frame;
a stencil coupled to the frame, the stencil having apertures formed therein;
a support assembly coupled to the frame, the support assembly being configured to support the electronic substrate in a print position beneath the stencil;
a print head gantry coupled to the frame;
a print head assembly supported by the print head gantry in such a manner that the print head assembly is configured to traverse the stencil during print strokes, the print head assembly including a print head having a squeegee blade assembly configured to roll solder paste along the stencil;
a cover coupled to the frame to enclose operating components of the stencil printer, including the stencil, the support assembly, the print head gantry and the print head assembly, the cover being hingedly mounted to the frame of the stencil printer and movable between a closed position and an open position, the cover including an elongate opening formed therein and a movable door configured to selectively close the elongate opening, the elongate opening being sized to enable the stencil and/or a tooling tray to pass through, the movable door being slidably coupled to the cover to enable movement of the movable door with respect to the cover between the closed position and the open position;
a controller coupled to the movable door, the controller being configured to control movement of the movable door between a closed position and an open position; and
a sensor assembly proximate the elongate opening, the sensor assembly being coupled to the controller and configured to detect an object within the elongate opening when moving the movable door to the closed position,
wherein the sensor is configured to generate a signal to the controller when detecting an object within the elongate opening,
wherein the controller, upon receiving the signal from the sensor, is configured to move the movable door to the open position, and
wherein the sensor assembly includes a linear resistive pressure sensor configured to detect a force created by the object when engaging the linear resistive pressure sensor.