Positioning device

1. A positioning device adapted to centrally position an electronic device in an opening of a circuit board, the positioning device comprising:

a support table on which the circuit board is supported;

two pairs of sliding blocks slidably mounted in the support table and movable in a first horizontal direction and a second horizontal direction perpendicular to the first horizontal direction, respectively;

a plurality of positioning plates individually extending vertically from the top of each sliding block;

a base on which the support table is supported;

a cylinder in the base;

a ball in the cylinder;

a piston rod slidably mounted in the cylinder that pushes the ball to:

(a) move upward in a vertical direction, and

(b) drive the two pairs of sliding blocks to move away from each other in the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction, respectively, until the positioning plates of the two pairs of sliding blocks abut against the inner walls of the opening of the circuit board, respectively, to allow the electronic device to be received in a positioning slot defined by the positioning plates; and

a release mechanism that drives the ball to move downward in the vertical direction to allow the two pairs of sliding blocks to be moved toward each other in the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction, so that the positioning plates drives the electronic device received in the positioning slot to move toward a center of the opening.

2. The positioning device according to claim 1 , wherein bottom of each sliding block has a slope surface and the ball abuts against the slope surfaces of the two pairs of sliding blocks at the same time.

3. The positioning device according to claim 1 ,

(a) further including four restoring springs in the support table that individually push against the sliding blocks, and

(b) wherein the ball drives against the elastic forces of the four restoring springs and the two pairs of sliding blocks to move the two pairs of sliding blocks away from each other in the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction.

4. The positioning device according to claim 3 , further including a pushing spring in the cylinder and biasing the piston rod upward in the vertical direction against the elastic forces of the four restoring springs to drive the piston rod to move upward in the vertical direction and push the ball to a work position where the presence of the ball affects the sliding blocks through the piston rod.

5. The positioning device according to claim 4 , wherein:

(a) the top of the piston rod has a flange, and

(b) the pushing spring is sleeved on the piston rod and abuts against a bottom surface of the flange.

6. The positioning device according to claim 4 , wherein the release mechanism includes:

(a) a first release slider mounted in the base:

(1) moveable in the second horizontal direction, and

(2) having

(i) an inclined chute, and

(ii) a pressing finger extending in the second horizontal direction between a pair of sliding blocks opposite to each other in the first horizontal direction with an end of the pressing finger having an inclined pressing end surface, and

(b) a second release slider:

(1) mounted in the base,

(2) movable in the vertical direction, and

(3) having:

(i) a sliding plate extending obliquely and slidably received in the inclined chute in response to upward movement of the second release slider in the vertical direction,

(ii) the pressing finger of the first release slider moving toward the ball in the second horizontal direction, so that the ball is driven to move downward gradually through the inclined pressing end surface from the work position to a release position, where the ball is separated from the sliding blocks, and the two pairs of sliding blocks are allowed to be moved toward each other in the first horizontal direction and the second horizontal direction by the four restoring springs.

7. The positioning device according to claim 6 , wherein in response to downward movement of the second release slider in the vertical direction, the second release slider pushes the pressing finger of the first release slider to move away from the ball in the second horizontal direction until the pressing finger is separated therefrom, such that the ball is moveable upwardly from the release position to the work position under the push of the pushing spring.

8. The positioning device according to claim 1 , wherein the positioning device further includes a pressing device that presses the electronic device onto the circuit board.

9. The positioning device according to claim 8 , wherein:

(a) the electronic device has a main body and a plurality of soldering legs extending horizontally outward from the main body, and

(b) when the electronic device is pressed on the circuit board, the main body of the electronic device is received in the opening of the circuit board while the soldering legs are supported on the surface of the circuit board.

10. The positioning device according to claim 9 , wherein the pressing device comprises:

(a) a mounting bracket,

(b) a pressing block mounted on the mounting bracket and slidable in the vertical direction, and

(c) a pressing spring mounted on the mounting bracket and applies a vertical-downward press force to the pressing block so as to press the electronic device onto the circuit board.

11. The positioning device according to claim 10 , wherein:

(a) the circuit board has a plurality of first positioning holes,

(b) the mounting bracket has a plurality of second positioning holes corresponding to the first positioning holes, respectively,

(c) the support table has a plurality of positioning pins, and

(d) the positioning pins pass through the first positioning holes and the second positioning holes, respectively, so as to position the circuit board and the mounting bracket on the support table.

12. The positioning device according to claim 1 , wherein:

(a) the base has a positioning shaft,

(b) the support table has a positioning hole, and

(c) the positioning shaft passes through the positioning hole so as to position the support table on the base.

13. The positioning device according to claim 1 , wherein the electronic device includes a light emitting diode.