JP2001113420A - Positioning method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a positioning method and device capable of simplifying the working in a cell state and executing the working in a short time. SOLUTION: This positioning method comprises placing plural work pieces 9 on recessed parts 11 of a tray 1, and pressing the same by pressure contact parts 21 of a tray cover 2 located oppositely to the tray to fix the work pieces 9 respectively to one corner of each recessed part 11 of the tray. A positioning device comprises the tray 1 having recessed parts 11 for placing plural work pieces 9, and the tray cover 2 located oppositely to the tray 1 and having projecting parts 21 to be pressed to the work pieces 9 for fixing the same respectively to one corner of each recessed part of the tray.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a positioning method and an apparatus therefor, and more particularly to a positioning method capable of mechanically guaranteeing the same position and simplifying the processing, instead of detecting the position of a component each time. A method and an apparatus therefor.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the manufacture of parts, there are many steps that require the positioning of parts. For example, a hole is drilled at a specific position of a part, a liquid is applied to a specific position, or a second is formed at a specific position.
In order to process the object closer to it, it is indispensable to detect the position of the component.

A specific description will be given by taking an inspection process in the manufacture of a liquid crystal panel as an example. In general, a plurality of panels (hereinafter, referred to as "cells") are taken out of a large substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a "mother substrate") in order to increase production and reduce costs. . When the liquid crystal panel is operated to perform the inspection, it is necessary to supply a predetermined electric signal to an input terminal for driving the panel. There are two ways at which stage of the inspection the inspection is performed. a) When the process is performed on the mother substrate, the position coordinates of the cells in the mother substrate are determined by the pattern accuracy of the photolithography process. As long as the alignment marks of the mother substrate are detected, each cell can be checked without checking the position of each cell. By moving the stage on which the mother board is mounted, for example, a needle for inputting an input signal can be lowered. Or, b) after the cell is divided, the alignment mark is read for each cell, the cell is moved to a predetermined position, and the needle is lowered to the input terminal of the cell. In this way, an electric signal necessary for the inspection is added, and the quality is determined based on the inspection result.

[0004] In production, the processing speed is important from the viewpoint of production volume and cost. One of the fields of the present invention,
The inspection process is the same. The processing speed is greatly different between the case where the cell is divided and the state of the mother substrate. Details of the inspection process will be described below. (1) First, a processing component (inspection object) is transferred to a predetermined location. For example, a substrate stored in a cassette is taken out by a robot arm and placed on a stage for inspection. (2) The alignment mark of the inspection object is read, and the stage is moved. (3) The stage is moved to a predetermined coordinate position. (4) A signal input needle is applied to an input signal terminal in a cell in the mother board, and a test for quality determination such as a predetermined operation check is performed. (5) The above (3) and (4) are repeated. (6) Return the object to be inspected. (7) The above (1) to (6) are repeated to process a large number of inspection objects. In the case of inspecting the mother substrate as it is, the above (1), (2), and (6) are performed once per mother substrate, and since there are a plurality of cells on the mother substrate, (1), (2) per cell ) And (6) require less time. However, when divided into cells, the required time of (1), (2), and (6) is required for each cell. That is, the inspection after the division into cells has a problem that the processing speed is reduced.

Conventionally, a method has been proposed in which a large number of processing components are placed on a tray, alignment markers are accurately read, and fixed by suction (see JP-A-2-66474).
There were problems such as an increase in work processes.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the conventional problems, and a positioning method and a positioning method for easily and quickly processing a processing component in a cell state. Provide the technology of the device.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a plurality of processing components are placed in a depression of a tray, and a pressing portion of a tray lid opposed to the tray is pressed against the processing component to form a depression in the tray. This is a positioning method that is fixed at one corner and positioned.

Further, the present invention provides a tray having a depression on which a plurality of processing components are placed, facing the tray,
And a tray lid having a convex portion pressed against a processing component and fixed to one corner of the depression of the tray.

The present invention is a positioning device, wherein the convex portion is a deformable structure or a movable member.

Further, the present invention is a positioning device having an elastic body for connecting the tray and the tray lid to each other.

Further, the present invention is a positioning device including a stage having an opening, and a vacuum suction groove for sucking the tray, the processing component, and the tray cover together.

According to the present invention, after a plurality of processing components are placed in a depression of a tray, the tray is placed on a stage, and an alignment member is opposed to the processing member. After the tray and the processing component are attracted to the stage while being pressed against one corner, the arrangement member is removed, and the stage is moved to a necessary place while the tray and the processing component are attracted. .

Further, the present invention provides a tray having a depression on which a plurality of processing components are placed, a stage for placing the tray and adsorbing the tray and the processing component, and a pressing portion facing the tray and pressing the processing component. A positioning device comprising: an alignment member that is removed when a processing component is sucked; and a stage moving mechanism that moves the stage.

Further, the present invention is the positioning device, wherein the alignment member has a cushioning material for holding the processing component in the pressing portion.

Further, the present invention is a positioning device, wherein the stage has a vacuum suction groove overlapping a groove provided on a surface of the tray facing the stage.

Further, the present invention is the positioning device, wherein the depression of the tray is larger than the processing component, and has a size in which a pressing member for pressing the processing component is inserted.

The present invention is also a positioning device in which the stage is inclined by placing a tray on which a processing component is placed.

The present invention is the positioning device, wherein the tray is made of a material whose surface in contact with the processing component has a lower hardness than the material of the processing component in contact with the tray.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of processing components are placed in the depression of the tray, and the processing component is moved by gravity in one direction of the depression of the tray by tilting the tray, whereby the positional relationship of the processing component with respect to the tray is improved. Is a positioning method in which is always constant.

Further, the present invention is a positioning method for applying a vibration to a tray on which a processing component is placed, and then attracting the tray and the processing component to a stage.

The present invention is characterized in that the alignment is mechanically aligned all at once instead of reading the alignment individually. A plurality of cells are placed on a tray, and the positional relationship of the cells with respect to the tray is always constant. A mechanism is provided. This mechanism can be instantaneously performed by using a simple mechanical alignment method. Thereby, the transfer to the stage is also performed for each tray, so that the time per cell can be reduced. This is because it is not necessary to read the alignment mark for each cell only by reading the alignment mark on the tray.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described. An embodiment of the positioning method and the positioning apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment.
It is sectional drawing of the positioning device of FIG. FIG. 2 shows the second embodiment.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged explanatory view of a convex portion of a tray lid in the positioning device of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view of a positioning device according to a third embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view of a positioning device according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 5 is an explanatory plan view of a positioning device according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory sectional view of a positioning device according to a sixth embodiment. FIG. 7 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a second modified example of the positioning device of the seventh embodiment. FIG. 8 is an explanatory sectional view of a positioning device according to an eighth embodiment.

Embodiment 1 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the positioning device of the first embodiment
And a plurality of tray lids 2. The tray 1 has a plurality of depressions 11 larger than the cell 9 as a processing component, and an alignment marker (not shown) is provided on the tray surface. The tray lid 2 has a convex portion 21 that is a pressing portion.

A positioning device and a positioning method according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The processing device will be described as a prober. The cell 9 is placed in the recess 11 of the tray by a robot or manually. Since the depression 11 is larger than the cell 9, a gap 13 is formed. The protrusion 21 of the tray lid is fitted into the gap 13, and the side surface 91 of the cell 9 is pressed against the side surface 22 of the protrusion 21, and the side surface of the depression is formed. The cell 9 is applied to 12 or a corner (hereinafter, referred to as “alignment”). Since the concave side surface 12 is uniquely determined with respect to the tray 1, the position of the cell 9 is uniquely determined with respect to the tray 1.

When the tray 1 taken out of the cassette is placed on a stage (not shown) and the marker is read, the position of the cell 9 with respect to the stage can be known. The processing accuracy of the concave side surface 12 is, for example, ± 10 μm, and the processing accuracy of the cell 9 is ± 10 μm.
If it is 10 μm, the position coordinates of the cell 9 with respect to the stage can be found within an error range of ± 15 μm. Therefore, if the size of the terminal for dropping the needle with the prober is 100 μm square, the processing can be performed without confirming the position for each cell 9.

Embodiment 2 will be described. The positioning device according to the second embodiment includes a tray and a tray lid 2b as in the first embodiment. The tray lid 2b has a protrusion 21b.
As shown in FIG. 2A, the protrusion 21b is provided with a cushioning material 22.
b, for example, made of rubber, nylon, or the like, and made into a tube-like shape so as to be deformable, or, as shown in FIG. 2B, made movable by supporting the convex portion 21b with a spring 23b.

A positioning method using the positioning device according to the second embodiment will be described. If the projection 21b of the tray lid pressed against the cell is hard, the cell may be damaged. If the size of the cell placed on the tray is slightly small, the cell may not hit the projection 21b or may not be pressed against the side surface of the depression. However, since the convex portion 21b is easily deformed, a light force is applied to the cell, and the cell can be pressed against the side surface or the corner of the depression of the tray.

Embodiment 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the positioning device of the third embodiment includes a tray 1c and a tray lid 2
c and a spring 3c. The tray lid 2c and the tray 1c are attached by a spring 3c, which is an elastic body connected to each other.

A positioning method using the positioning device of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When the cell 9c is placed in the depression of the tray, as shown in FIG. 3A, a force is applied to the tray lid 2c and the spring 3c from the outside to shift the cell 9c to the right. When all the cells 9c have been placed and the external force is removed, the tray lid 2c is returned to the left by the spring 3c as shown in FIG.
c can be pressed against the side surface or the corner 12c of the depression. This state is maintained unless a force is intentionally applied to the tray lid from the outside, so that the tray 1c loaded with the cells 9c can be handled freely.

Embodiment 4 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the positioning device of this embodiment includes a tray 1 d and a tray lid 2.
d and a stage 4d. The tray 1d has a processing component suction opening 14d, a tray lid suction opening 15d, and a tray groove 16d. The stage 4d has a groove 41d for vacuum suction, and places the tray 1d thereon. The processing component suction opening 14d and the tray lid suction opening 15d allow the tray 1 on the stage 4d, the processing component 9d, and the tray lid 2d.
Is adsorbed and fixed by vacuum. The processing component 9d and the tray lid 2d can be used as the processing component suction opening 14d and the tray lid suction opening 15d.

In this embodiment, the tray 1d has an opening 14d,
15d, and the stage 4d has the groove 41d for vacuum suction, so that the cell 9d is fixed to the tray 1d. The cell 9d to be placed on the tray 1d has a different size or a different number of cells depending on the model. Then, in order to enable suction, an opening 14 provided in the tray 1d is provided.
It is necessary that d, 15d and the vacuum suction groove 41d of the stage overlap. However, as described above, the locations of the openings 14d and 15d vary depending on the type of the tray 1d. For this reason, as shown in FIG.
A tray groove 16d connected to 15d is provided, and the tray groove 16d and the vacuum suction groove 41d of the stage overlap. It is sufficient if this overlap occurs only partially. By doing so, the tray 1d and the cell 9 are sucked on the stage 4d by vacuum suction from the lower part of the stage 4d.
d and tray lid 2d can be fixed by suction, and stage 4d
It is possible to securely fix even vibrations such as movement of the robot. Adsorption also has the following important advantages: For the stage 4d, the height of the cell 9d is important and generally required to be always constant. This cannot be achieved if the tray 1d remains deformed. If the tray 1d is strengthened in order to prevent the deformation of the tray 1d, its weight increases, which is not practical. When the tray lid 2d is deformed,
For example, a trouble such as contact with the needle of the blow bar occurs, and if the trouble is avoided, a problem similar to that of the tray 1d occurs. Further, there is a possibility that the cell 9d may be lifted from the recess 11d of the tray. In order to avoid these, it is important that the tray 1d and the tray lid 2d are brought into close contact with the stage 4d by suction. Tray 1d
Deflection itself does not cause a problem by providing the suction mechanism, and a light and thin tray 1d and tray lid 2d can be used.

Embodiment 5 will be described. In the first to fourth embodiments, the trays 1 to 1d have been described as viewed from the cross section. In the present embodiment, the positional relationship in a plan view (top view) will be described with reference to FIG. In order to prevent the protrusion 21e of the tray lid from hindering when the cell 9e is placed in the recess 11e of the tray, the recess 11e of the tray is provided with a place 17e as a shelter for the protrusion 21e. Then, the protrusion 21e is connected to the cell 9
By pressing in the diagonal direction of e, the cell 9e contacts the corner 12e of the depression of the tray. Thereby, the coordinates of the cell 9e on the horizontal x and y coordinates of the tray 1e can be determined.

Embodiment 6 will be described. In Examples 1 to 5,
Although the trays 1 to 1e and the tray lids 2 to 2e are connected, an alignment member 5f having the function of a tray lid is used here. The place where the cell 9f is placed in the recess 11f of the tray is as follows.
Same as before. Pressing the cell 9f against the side surface 12f of the depression is basically the same method, but the alignment member 5f is completely independent of the tray 1f as shown in FIG. That is, the trays 1f,
When the cell 9f is adsorbed on a stage (not shown), the alignment member 5f becomes unnecessary and can be kept away from the tray 1f and the stage. In the place where the cell 9f is processed, only the tray 1f and the cell 9f are placed on the stage. Can be
For example, the tray lid becomes heavy, or the tray 1f and the tray lid rub against each other to generate dust and to perform the function with high reliability. However, according to the method here, even if the alignment member 5f becomes large, since the alignment member is removed after the alignment, there is obtained an advantage that the above restriction is completely eliminated.

A modification of the sixth embodiment will be described. A cushioning material is provided on a part of the surface of the alignment member 5f facing the cell 9f in FIG. 6 so that the cushioning material contacts the cell 9f during the alignment operation. At the time of the alignment operation, it is possible to prevent troubles such as the cells 9f floating from the tray 1f. The cushioning material is a rubber or sponge-like material, regardless of the material. However, it is preferable to select a material that does not damage the cell 9f and does not easily generate dust.

Embodiment 7 will be described. A method of performing alignment using gravity instead of the alignment member 5f of the sixth embodiment (see FIG. 6) will be described. As the simplest example, first, a cell is placed in the depression of the tray. Next, the tray is tilted to align the cells by gravity. Then, the tray is gently returned to the horizontal position, placed on the stage, and sucked.

A modification of the seventh embodiment will be described. First, a cell is placed in the recess of the tray. Next, tilt the tray and align the cells by gravity. Then, it is placed on the inclined stage and sucked. Compared to the seventh embodiment, it is not necessary to return the tray to a horizontal position at least before suction, so that misalignment is less likely to occur.

A second modification of the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. First, 9g of cells are placed in 11g of the recess of the tray.
Put. Next, the tray 1g is tilted to align the cells by gravity. Then, using the diaphragm 6g, the tray 1g
, And then adsorb onto the tilted stage 4g.
Since it does not rely only on gravity, the tray depression 11g and the cell 9
The possibility of misalignment due to static friction with g can be significantly reduced.

A third modification of the seventh embodiment will be described. First, a cell is placed in the recess of the tray. Next, the tray is tilted to align the cells by gravity. Then, the tray is placed on a vibrating plate on an inclined stage, and after applying vibration to the tray, the tray and the vibrating plate are sucked. Further, the diaphragm and the stage are sucked. Because the stage is not directly vibrated,
An advantage is obtained that does not affect the moving mechanism of the stage that requires precise moving accuracy.

Embodiment 8 will be described. In each embodiment, the processing components are slid on a tray and aligned. Therefore, even if a slight scratch occurs on one side of the processing component, it is not a problem. This is particularly problematic for LCDs, which are display devices. To avoid this, it is necessary to make the tray material softer than the material of the processing parts. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8, when the portion of the surface of the tray 1h that is in contact with the processing component 9h is a pedestal 7h made of, for example, a resin such as a Teflon sheet, the processing component 9h is not scratched and slips easily. The tray 1h can be formed.

In the description of the above embodiments, the trays 1 to 1h
Are provided with depressions 11 to 11h, but a projection is provided on a flat plate,
Even if the processing components 9 to 9h are aligned with the projections, the purpose of each embodiment is satisfied.

In general, the processing capacity of an apparatus for processing cells is determined by the total of the cell transport time, the alignment mark reading time, the stage movement time, and the original processing time. In the present invention, the conveyance and positioning are performed in units of trays, and these times are defined as Tt (tray), Ty (tray),
Assuming that Ti (tray) and Ts (cell), the time required per cell is Tt (tray) / M + Ty (tray)
/ M + Ti (tray) + Ts (cell). here,
M is the number of cells placed on one tray, and the time when processing is simply performed for each cell, Tt cell) + Ty (cell)
+ Ti (cell) + Ts (cell) can significantly reduce the time (note that Tt (cell), Tt (tray), Ti
(Cell) and Ti (tray) are basically the same. ). When a specific time is inserted, (30
/ 10 + 5/10 + 1 + 20) seconds = 25 seconds, whereas in the conventional method, (30 + 5 + 1 + 20) seconds = 56 seconds, which is more than twice as large. Moreover, according to the present invention, the above advantages can be obtained without using expensive devices and components, and this is an extremely effective technique. Also, in the present invention, the inspection is limited to the prober, but the present invention can be applied to any production site where the position is confirmed and the processing is performed. As an attendant effect of the present invention, static electricity countermeasures are automatically performed. In general,
When vacuum suction is performed, the amount of peeling charge increases (due to contact with strong force). In the prior art in which processing is performed for each chip, it is necessary to separate the processing component from the stage immediately after releasing the vacuum suction in order to shorten the processing time. For this reason, when the stage and the processing component are separated from each other in the charged state (according to Paschen's law), a spark discharge is generated, and there is a high possibility that the processing component is damaged. However, in the present invention, the vacuum suction is performed during the processing, and the vacuum suction is released after the processing. Is naturally long, and during this time the electricity is removed. (Generally, static electricity is removed by atmospheric humidity.) Therefore, the present invention has an advantage of reducing defects due to static electricity.

[0042]

According to the present invention, it is possible to obtain a technique of a positioning method and an apparatus for performing processing in a state where cells are processed for a processing component easily and in a short time.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a positioning device according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory view of a convex portion of a tray lid in the positioning device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory sectional view of a positioning device according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory sectional view of a positioning device according to a fourth embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory plan view of a positioning device according to a fifth embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory sectional view of a positioning device according to a sixth embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory sectional view of a second modification of the positioning device according to the seventh embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory sectional view of a positioning device according to an eighth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1-1h tray 11-11h recess 12-12h recess side or corner 13-13h gap 14d processing component suction opening 15d tray cover suction opening 16d tray groove 17e convex retreating recess 2-2d tray cover 21-21d convex Part 22 tray lid side surface 23b spring 3c elastic body 4d-4g stage 41d stage groove 5f alignment member 6g diaphragm 7h pedestal 9-9h processing component 91 processing component side

Claims (14)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of processing parts are placed in a depression of a tray,
Then, a positioning method in which a pressing portion of a tray lid facing the tray is pressed against the processing component to be fixed and positioned at one corner of the depression of the tray. 2. A positioning device comprising: a tray having a depression for mounting a plurality of processing components; and a tray lid having a projection opposed to the tray and fixed to one corner of the depression of the tray by pressing the processing component. . 3. The positioning device according to claim 2, wherein the protrusion is a deformable structure or a movable member. 4. The positioning device according to claim 2, further comprising an elastic body that couples the tray and the tray lid to each other. 5. The tray according to claim 2, wherein the tray has an opening, and a stage having a vacuum suction groove for sucking the tray, the processing component, and the tray lid together. The positioning device according to claim 1. 6. After placing a plurality of processing components in the recess of the tray, the tray is placed on a stage, and an alignment member is opposed to the tray, and then the processing component is moved to one corner of the depression of the tray by the alignment member. A method of sucking the tray and the processing component on the stage in a state where the tray and the processing component are sucked, removing the alignment member, and moving the stage to a necessary place with the tray and the processing component sucked. 7. A tray having a depression on which a plurality of processing components are placed, a stage for placing the tray and adsorbing the tray and the processing components, a pressing portion facing the tray and pressing the processing components, and A positioning device including: an alignment member that is removed when a processing component is sucked; and a stage moving mechanism that moves the stage. 8. The positioning device according to claim 7, wherein the alignment member has a buffer member for pressing the processing component to the pressing portion. 9. The positioning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the stage has a vacuum suction groove overlapping a groove provided on a surface of the tray facing the stage. 10. The tray according to claim 2, wherein the depression of the tray is larger than the processing component and has a size into which a pressing member for pressing the processing component is inserted.
10. The positioning device according to any one of claims 9 to 9. 11. The positioning device according to claim 5, wherein the stage is inclined by placing a tray on which a processing component is placed. 12. The positioning device according to claim 2, wherein the tray is made of a material whose surface in contact with the processing component has a lower hardness than the material of the processing component. 13. A plurality of processing components are placed in a depression of a tray, and the processing component is moved by gravity in one direction of the depression of the tray by tilting the tray so that a positional relationship of the processing component with respect to the tray is always constant. Positioning method to be performed. 14. The positioning method according to claim 13, wherein the tray and the processing component are attracted to the stage after applying vibration to the tray on which the processing component is mounted.