JP2000187053A - Substrate inspecting system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate inspecting system which can judge whether or not a substrate is supplied to a substrate inspecting part in correct orientation, thereby avoiding wasteful inspection to the substrate. SOLUTION: The system is provided with a board inspecting part 6 with an inspecting terminal 12 which comes in touch with an electrode terminal of an engine board 50 to be inspected, a transfer rail 31 for transferring the board 50 to supply to an inspection position in the vicinity of the board inspecting part 6 and discharge from the inspection position, and a drive means (step motor) for driving the transfer rail 31 for the board 50 to bring the board inspecting part 6 and the board 50 at the inspection position close to each other to make the electrode terminal and the inspecting terminal 12 touch each other. In this case, a through hole 50a and a guide pin 14 are formed respectively to the board 50 and the board inspecting part 6 to be engaged with each other when the board 50 and the board-inspecting part 6 approach to have the electrode terminal and inspecting terminal 12 touch with each other. A reflecting light sensor 34 is set for detecting whether the through hole 50a of the board 50 and the guide pin 14 of the board inspecting part 6 are engaged with each other or not.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a board inspection system for inspecting a board to be inspected while the electrode terminals of the board are in contact with the inspection terminals of a board inspection section.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of board inspection system,
The substrate to be inspected is transported to an inspection position near the substrate inspection unit by a substrate transportation unit including a transport belt and a guide rail, and the substrate is so contacted that the electrode terminals of the substrate and the inspection terminals of the substrate inspection unit are brought into contact with each other. After approaching the substrate inspection section with the substrate inspection section, the inspection of the substrate was started.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional board inspection system, there is a risk that the board is transported to the above-described inspection position with the front and rear directions of the board wrong. In general, the arrangement of the electrode terminals on the board to be inspected is one with respect to an axis perpendicular to the component mounting surface of the board and passing through the center of the component mounting surface.
In most cases, it is not 80 degrees rotationally symmetric.
Therefore, if the direction of conveyance of the substrate is wrong, the electrode terminals of the substrate and the inspection terminals of the substrate inspection section do not come into contact with each other,
Even if the inspection operation of the substrate is started in this state, a predetermined inspection result cannot be obtained, and the inspection operation is wasted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to make it possible to determine whether or not a board to be inspected has been supplied to a board inspection section in a correct direction, thereby reducing waste of the board. It is an object of the present invention to provide a board inspection system capable of avoiding a complicated inspection operation.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a substrate inspection section having an inspection terminal for contacting an electrode terminal of a substrate to be inspected, and a substrate inspection section near the substrate inspection section. A substrate transporting unit that transports the substrate so as to supply the substrate to the inspection position and discharge the substrate from the inspection position; bringing the substrate inspection unit and the substrate located at the inspection position closer to each other so that the electrode terminal and the inspection terminal A driving unit for driving at least one of the substrate and the substrate inspection unit so that the substrate and the substrate inspection unit are brought into contact with each other. Form an engaging portion that engages with each other when the electrode terminal and the inspection terminal come into contact with each other, and the engagement portion on the substrate side and the engagement portion on the substrate inspection unit side are engaged. Detection means for detecting whether or not That.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate is transported by the substrate transport unit and supplied to an inspection position near the substrate inspection unit, and at least one of the substrate and the substrate inspection unit is driven by the driving unit. To bring the substrate and the substrate inspection unit closer. Here, when the substrate supplied to the inspection position is the substrate to be inspected and the orientation of the substrate is correct, the engagement portion on the substrate inspection portion and the engagement portion on the substrate side are engaged. ,
The substrate and the board inspection unit approach each other to a predetermined distance, and the electrode terminals of the board and the inspection terminals of the board inspection unit come into contact with each other. On the other hand, when the substrate supplied to the inspection position is a substrate other than the inspection target, or when the orientation of the substrate is wrong, the engagement portion on the substrate inspection portion and the engagement portion on the substrate side Are not engaged, the board and the board inspection unit do not approach each other to a predetermined distance, and the electrode terminals of the board do not contact the inspection terminals of the board inspection unit. By detecting whether or not the engaging portion on the substrate side and the engaging portion on the substrate inspecting portion are engaged with each other by the detecting means, it is determined whether the substrate to be inspected is supplied to the substrate inspecting portion in a correct direction. Can be determined.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the board inspection system of the first aspect, a through hole is formed in one of the substrate and the board inspection section as the engagement portion, and the through hole is formed in the other. It is characterized in that a projection portion that penetrates and engages is formed.

In the substrate inspection system according to the second aspect, when the substrate supplied to the inspection position is a substrate to be inspected and the orientation of the substrate is correct, the substrate is formed on one of the substrate and the substrate inspection section. The protrusion formed on the other side penetrates and engages with the through hole, and the board and the board inspection section approach each other to a predetermined distance, and the electrode terminal of the board and the inspection terminal of the board inspection section come into contact with each other. I do. On the other hand, when the substrate supplied to the inspection position is a substrate other than the inspection target, or when the orientation of the substrate is wrong, the projection does not penetrate into the through hole and does not engage with the substrate. And the substrate inspection unit do not approach to a predetermined distance, and the electrode terminals of the substrate do not contact the inspection terminals of the substrate inspection unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate inspection system according to the first or second aspect, the engagement portion is connected to the substrate inspection portion when the substrate approaches the substrate inspection portion. And a guide mechanism for guiding at least one of the substrate and the substrate inspection section so as to contact the inspection terminal.

In the substrate inspection system according to the third aspect, when the engagement portion on the substrate inspection portion and the engagement portion on the substrate side engage with each other as the substrate approaches the substrate inspection portion. Even if the position of the substrate is slightly shifted, the substrate is guided, and the electrode terminals of the substrate and the inspection terminals of the substrate inspection section surely come into contact with each other.

In the case where the board and the board inspection section are formed of one set of engagement sections, if the engagement section is formed at a position shifted from the center of the board, the front and rear directions of the board can be changed. Is correct or not. In the case where the engagement portion is an even-numbered pair, the engagement portion is shifted from a 180-degree rotationally symmetric arrangement with an axis perpendicular to the component mounting surface of the substrate and passing through the center of the component mounting surface as a rotation axis. If formed, it is possible to determine whether the front and rear directions of the substrate are correct.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a board inspection system for inspecting the function of an engine board used in a color ink jet printer as an image forming apparatus will be described below.

FIG. 2A is a front view showing the appearance of the board inspection system of the present embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a board inspection unit on which the engine board 50 to be inspected is mounted in the board inspection system. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of FIG. The board inspection unit 6 is modularized so that an operator can freely replace it according to the type of the engine board 50 to be inspected. When the board inspection section 6 is set at a predetermined position in the apparatus main body, the connector 25 of the general-purpose section commonly used for various boards on the back side in the figure moves to the front side in the figure, and the connector 13 on the board inspection section 6 side As a result, the board inspection section 6 and the general-purpose section are electrically connected. Since the board inspecting section 6 stores information about the engine board 50, the connection between the board inspecting section 6 and the general-purpose section 20 causes the transport belt 31 a and the guide rail 31 b as transport means for transporting the engine board 50. Is transported by a step motor (not shown), and the width of the transport rail 31 is set to match the width of the substrate 50.

The engine board 50 which is set on the transport rail 30 in a predetermined front and rear direction and transported in the direction of arrow A,
A bar code as an identification mark provided on the substrate 50 is read by a bar code reader (not shown). Then, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), it stops at a predetermined inspection position on the transport rail 31 installed above the substrate inspection unit 6.
The transport rail 31 is configured to be able to move up and down by a driving unit (not shown).

One of two ends of the engine board 50 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction (a front side in FIG. 2 and a right side in FIG. 1) has two through holes as two engaging portions for detecting board orientation. 50a are formed. A guide pin 14 is provided at an end of the upper surface of the board inspection unit 6 as two engagement portions that can penetrate the through hole 50a. This engine board 5
When the transport rail 31 on which the “0” is placed is moved in the downward direction of the arrow B in the figure by a driving unit (not shown), the guide pins 14 of the board inspection unit 6 move the engine board 50 as shown in FIG. It engages through the through hole 50a. Due to this engagement, the engine board 50 and the board inspection section 6 approach each other, and the electrode terminals (not shown) on the engine board 50 side and the inspection terminals 12 on the board inspection section 6 side come into contact with each other, so that the board can be tested. At this time, the reflection light reflected on the lower surface of the engine substrate 50 is received by the reflection type optical sensor 34 as a detecting means provided at the end of the upper surface of the substrate inspection unit 6, whereby the guide pins 14 50 through holes 50a
To detect whether or not the engine board 50 has approached the board inspection unit 6 to a predetermined distance. This detection result is sent to a control unit (not shown).

The guide pin 14 and the through hole 50
“a” is also used as a guide mechanism of the engine board 50. In order to configure the guide mechanism, the guide pin 14 has a conical shape with a thin tip, and the diameter of the bottom of the guide pin 14 is substantially the same as the diameter of the through hole 50a. Thereby, even if the position of the engine board 50 is slightly shifted, when the board 50 and the board inspection unit 6 approach each other, the through hole 50 is formed on the central axis of the guide pin 14.
The substrate 50 is guided so that the center of a is located, and the electrode terminals of the substrate 50a surely come into contact with the inspection terminals 12 of the substrate inspection section 6.

The engine board 50 approaching the board inspection section 6 is pressed by a pressing member 33 in the direction of arrow C. By this pressing, the inspection terminals 12 protruding from the upper surface of the substrate inspection section 6 and the electrode terminals of the engine substrate 50 are reliably brought into contact. When the function inspection of the engine board 50 is completed, the pressing member 33 and the transport rail 31 are raised, and the engine board 50 on the transport rail 31 is sent out onto the downstream transport rail 32 as shown by an arrow D in the drawing. It is carried to the next step.

When the front and rear directions of the engine board 50 conveyed on the conveyance rail 31 are opposite to the predetermined directions, the guide pins 14 are connected to the through holes 5 of the engine board 50.
1a, the end of the engine board 50 is pushed up by the guide pins 14 and tilted, as shown in FIG. 1C. The inclination of the substrate 50 is detected by the optical sensor 34 described above. Based on this detection result, it is determined that the front and rear directions of the engine board 50 are opposite. The engine board 50 determined to be in the opposite direction is not subjected to the function test, and the board 50 is transported by the transport rail 32,
It is stored in a re-inspection stocker not shown.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the board inspection unit 6
It can be determined whether or not the direction of the engine board 50 conveyed to the engine board is correct, so that useless inspection operation of the engine board 50 can be avoided.

Further, according to the present embodiment, the guide pins 14 and the through holes 50a can also be used as guides for the engine board 50. Therefore, when a guide mechanism for guiding the boards is provided separately. As a result, the device configuration can be further simplified.

In the above embodiment, the board inspection system for inspecting the function of the engine board used in the color ink jet printer has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to the case of inspecting other boards.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3A, two through holes 50 are formed at one end in the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the engine substrate 50 (the direction of arrow A).
Although a is formed, the present invention can be applied without being limited to the number of sets of the through hole 50a and the guide pin 14. Here, when the number of the through holes 50a is an odd number, the through holes 50a
Can be formed. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3B and 3C, a through hole 50a can be formed. On the other hand, when the number of the through holes 50a is an even number,
As in the present embodiment and the modification of FIG.
The through-hole 50a is displaced from the 180-degree rotationally symmetric arrangement with respect to an axis perpendicular to the component mounting surface and passing through the center of the component mounting surface.
To form

In the above embodiment, the engine board 5
Although the case where the transport rail 31 on which the “0” is placed is described as being lowered has been described, the present invention relates to the case where the substrate inspecting unit 6 is configured to be lifted, or both the transport rail 31 and the substrate inspecting unit 6 are used. The present invention can also be applied to a case in which driving is performed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the engaging portion is
A through hole 50a is formed on the engine board 50 side, and a guide pin 6 is formed on the board inspection section 6.
The present invention is not limited to the combination of the a and the guide pin 6, and the present invention can be applied to a case where another type of engagement portion such as a combination of a protrusion and a recess engageable with each other is employed. Things.

In the present embodiment, the engaging portion including the through hole 50a and the guide pin 6 is formed so as to determine whether the front and rear directions of the engine board 50 are correct. An engagement portion may be formed so that it can be determined whether or not the target substrate has been correctly supplied to the inspection position. In this case, when a wrong board other than a predetermined inspection target is supplied to the board inspection unit 6, useless inspection operation of the board can be avoided. In this case, for example, through holes having different diameters and shapes are formed in the different types of substrates as the engaging portions, and a predetermined type of substrate that can be inspected by the substrate inspecting portion is provided on the substrate inspecting portion 6 side. A guide pin having a diameter and a shape that engages only with the through hole is formed.

[0026]

According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not the substrate to be inspected has been supplied to the substrate inspecting section in a correct direction, thereby avoiding unnecessary inspection operations of the substrate. There is an effect that can be.

In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, the engaging portion on the board inspection section side and the engaging section on the board side used for the determination are
Since it can be used also as a guide mechanism for the substrate, there is an effect that the device configuration can be further simplified as compared with a case where the guide mechanism is separately provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a side view of an engine board conveyed in a predetermined direction above a board inspection unit of a board inspection system according to an embodiment of the present invention. (B) is a side view showing a state where the engine board is lowered. (C) is a side view showing a state in which the engine board that has been transported in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction is lowered.

FIG. 2A is a front view showing the appearance of the board inspection system. (B) is an enlarged view of the board inspection part in which the engine board is mounted in the board inspection system.

FIG. 3A is a plan view of an engine board inspected by the board inspection system of the embodiment. (B) thru | or (d) are top views of the engine board | substrate which concerns on a modification.

[Explanation of symbols]

 6 Board Inspection Unit 12 Inspection Terminal 14 Guide Pin 30-32 Transport Rail 34 Reflective Optical Sensor 50 Engine Board 50a Through Hole

Claims (3)

[Claims] A substrate inspection section having an inspection terminal in contact with an electrode terminal of a substrate to be inspected, and the substrate is supplied to an inspection position near the substrate inspection section and discharged from the inspection position. A substrate transporting unit for transporting, and driving at least one of the substrate and the substrate inspection unit such that the substrate inspection unit and the substrate at the inspection position are brought close to each other to bring the electrode terminals into contact with the inspection terminals. A board inspection system comprising a driving unit, wherein the substrate and the board inspection unit approach each other when the electrode terminal and the inspection terminal come into contact with each other. A board inspecting system, comprising: an engaging portion that engages; and a detecting unit that detects whether the board-side engaging portion and the board inspecting portion-side engaging portion are engaged. . 2. The board inspection system according to claim 1, wherein a through hole is formed in one of the substrate and the board inspection section as the engagement section, and the other is inserted through the through hole and engaged. A substrate inspection system characterized by forming a projecting portion. 3. The board inspection system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said engagement portion is connected to an electrode terminal of said board when said board comes close to said board inspection portion. And a guide mechanism for guiding at least one of the substrate and the substrate inspection unit.