JP2002084061A - Method and device for supplying conductive ball - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for supplying conductive balls where conductive balls are replenished automatically for improved productivity. SOLUTION: A supply device of balls 3 is provided which replenishes a prescribed numbers of balls 3 into an aligning jig 11 of a ball supply part 10. The balls 3 come out of a hopper 4 on a chute 5, and a vibrator 8 vibrates the balls 3 on the fan-shape chute 5 for their movement, causing them to drop from the end 5a onto the aligning jig 11. During movement on the chute 5, the balls 3 are guided along a slot-like guide formed on the surface of the chute 5 to be refilled in such state as evenly spread across the entire width of the aligning jig 11. Thus, the constant numbers of balls 3 are always refilled evenly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for supplying a conductive ball, which is provided in an apparatus for transferring conductive balls and supplies the conductive ball to a container to be supplied.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A flip chip or a BGA (Ball G
2. Description of the Related Art As a method for manufacturing an electronic component with a bump such as a lid array, a method using a conductive ball such as a solder ball is known. In this method, the conductive balls stored in a container or the like are vacuum-sucked into suction holes formed on the lower surface of the suction head and picked up, and the suction head is moved above the workpiece to move the plurality of conductive balls. Are collectively transferred onto the electrodes of the work.

[0003]

By the way, the consumption of the conductive balls per unit time is increasing with the increase of the number of the conductive balls to be collectively transferred and the shortening of the transfer tact time. On the other hand, in recent years, as a ball supply method for attracting conductive balls to a suction tool, a method of supplying the balls in a state of being arranged in a predetermined arrangement on an alignment plate in advance has been adopted. It is required that the storage amount is always maintained at an appropriate amount.

Conventionally, however, the work of replenishing conductive balls has been exclusively performed manually, and in order to keep the amount of stored balls at an appropriate level, an operator frequently replenishes the conductive balls while measuring them manually. Had to do. In addition, due to the layout of the equipment and the like, the work at the time of replenishing the ball is generally inferior in workability and requires labor, and as a result, there is a problem that improvement in productivity is hindered.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a method for supplying conductive balls, which can automate the supply of the conductive balls and improve the productivity.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a conductive ball supply apparatus for supplying a predetermined amount of conductive balls to a container to be supplied. A ball container provided with an opening through which conductive balls flow out at the lower part thereof, and a plate-like ball transport member disposed in a horizontal position below the ball container while maintaining a predetermined gap with the opening. Vibration imparting means for imparting vibration to the ball transporting member, and when the conductive ball moves on the ball transporting member, advancing of the conductive ball in a direction diverging from the ball container toward the supply target container. Guide means for guiding.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for supplying a conductive ball, comprising:
Below the end on the supply target container side of the ball transport member,
A temporary storage portion for temporarily storing the conductive balls falling from the end portion; and a transfer means for transferring the conductive balls stored in the temporary storage portion to a supply target container.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of supplying a conductive ball for supplying a predetermined amount of the conductive ball to a container to be supplied, wherein the lower portion of the ball container stores the ball. A step of preventing a ball from flowing out of the opening by arranging a plate-shaped ball transport member with a predetermined gap below the conductive ball; and flowing out a conductive ball from the gap by vibrating the ball transport member. Dispersing and dropping the conductive balls flowing out by the guide member formed on the upper surface of the ball transfer member so as to spread toward the end of the ball transfer member, and supplying the conductive balls to the supply target container. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for supplying a conductive ball, comprising the steps of:
The conductive balls dropped from the end portion are temporarily stored in a temporary storage portion provided below the supply container side end of the ball transport member, and the conductive balls stored in the temporary storage portion at a predetermined timing are temporarily stored. The sex balls were transferred to the container to be supplied.

According to the present invention, the conductive balls are caused to flow out from the ball container toward the supply target container onto the ball transfer member having a divergent shape through the opening, and vibration is imparted to the ball transfer member. The conductive balls are advanced on the conveying member while being guided by the guide means in the divergent direction, and the conductive balls are dropped into the supply target container, so that a constant amount of the conductive balls is always uniformly supplied into the supply target container. can do.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view of a conductive ball supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a conductive ball supply device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial side view of a conductive ball supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the structure of a conductive ball supply device will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, a vertical bracket 2 erected on a base 1 has conductive balls 3
A hopper 4 for storing (hereinafter simply referred to as “ball 3”) is attached. The hopper 4 is a ball container that stores the balls 3 therein and has a cross section of a shape that is narrowed downward. The lower part of the hopper 4 is an opening 4a through which the balls 3 flow out.

Below the hopper 4, a chute 5 serving as a ball transport member is held with a predetermined gap h from the opening 4a.
Are arranged in a horizontal posture. A height adjusting portion 6 of the hopper 4 is provided at a mounting portion of the hopper 4 to the bracket, and by adjusting the height of the hopper 4,
The size of the gap h between the upper surface of the chute 5 and the opening 4a can be adjusted. The size of the gap h is set so that the ball 3 is prevented from flowing out of the gap when the chute 5 is stationary, and flows out when the chute 5 vibrates. By adjusting the size of the gap h within this range, the amount of the ball 3 stored in the hopper 4 flowing out onto the chute 5 can be adjusted.

A sensor 7 is arranged at an intermediate height position of the hopper 4. The sensor 7 detects the level of the ball 3 in the hopper 4. That is, when the ball 3 is gradually consumed from the full state and the upper surface level of the ball in the hopper 4 decreases and reaches the height position of the sensor 7, the sensor 7 sets the remaining amount of the ball 3 in the hopper 4 to a predetermined amount. Detect that it has decreased to That is, the sensor 7 functions as the sensor 7 for detecting the remaining amount of the ball.

As shown in FIG. 2, the chute 5 is a plate-like member provided with a combing 5b for preventing spilling at an edge thereof.
It has a divergent shape from the hopper 4 toward the end 5a in plan view. Below the end 5a, a ball supply unit 10 as a ball supply target container is arranged at a predetermined height difference. The ball supply unit 10 supplies the ball 3 to a suction head of a ball transfer device (not shown). An alignment jig 11 is arranged in the ball supply unit 10.
An alignment portion 12 for aligning and holding the balls 3 in a predetermined arrangement in advance is provided at a central portion of 1. The periphery of the alignment section 12 is a storage section 11a for storing a predetermined amount of the ball 3. Further, the alignment jig 11 is rotatable by a predetermined angle around the rotation shaft 13a by the tilt mechanism 13.

The ball 3 stored in the hopper 4 and flowing out onto the chute 5 is conveyed on the chute 5 and has an end 5a.
From the ball supply unit 10 into the alignment jig 11. Thereby, the ball 3 is supplied to the ball supply unit 10. The balls 3 stored in the ball supply unit 10 are prepared in an aligned state in the alignment unit 12 by a ball alignment operation in which the alignment jig 11 is inclined from a horizontal position by a predetermined angle. These aligned balls 3 are sucked by a suction tool of a ball transfer device (not shown) and mounted on a work.

Here, the transfer of the ball 3 on the chute 5 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a vibrator 8 as a vibration imparting means is mounted on the lower surface of the chute 5, and the chute 5 is driven by driving the vibrator 8.
Is applied with a component that causes the ball 3 to advance from the hopper 4 side to the end 5a side. That is, the vibrator 8 serves as a vibration applying unit.

A large number of linear grooves 5c are formed on the upper surface of the chute 5 along the divergent direction from the vicinity of the hopper 4 to the end 5a. By driving the vibrator 8 with the ball 3 flowing out of the hopper 4, the ball 3 advances on the chute 5 toward the end 5a as described above. At this time, since the above-described groove portion 5c is provided on the upper surface of the chute 5, the ball 3 traveling on the chute 5 is guided in the divergent direction along the groove portion 5c, and reaches the end portion 5a. In a state of being dispersed over the entire spreading width. That is, shoot 5
The groove 5c on the upper surface serves as a guiding means for guiding the ball 3 in the divergent direction when the ball 3 moves.

In the vicinity of the ball drop point of the ball supply unit 10, two sensors 14, 15 for detecting the amount of accumulated balls are provided. The sensor is disposed with the detection direction facing downward, and by detecting the height of the upper surface of the ball layer stored in the storage portion 11a of the alignment jig 11, it is determined whether or not the storage amount is an appropriate amount. To detect. The sensors 14 and 15 detect the upper limit and the lower limit of the upper surface of the ball layer in the storage portion 11a, respectively.

Next, the control system will be described. The sensors 7, 14, and 15 are connected to the control unit 16, and a detection signal of each sensor is sent to the control unit 16. The control unit 16
The control of the driving of the vibrator 8 and the notification unit 17
Drive. When the sensor 7 detects that the level of the ball 3 has dropped into the hopper 4, the control unit 16 notifies the notification unit 17 of the decrease in the remaining amount of the ball. With this notification, the operator throws the ball 3 into the hopper 4.

Next, the ball supply operation will be described. The balls are taken out from the ball supply unit 10 by a suction head of a ball transfer device (not shown), so that the alignment jig 1 is removed.
1, the amount of the balls 3 in the storage portion 11a decreases, and the upper surface level of the ball layer decreases. This level drop is caused by the sensor 15
Is detected, the control unit 16 commands the driving of the vibrator 8. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the ball 3 fed down from the opening 4 a of the hopper 4 onto the chute 5 advances on the chute 5 toward the end 5 a by vibration, and is placed on the alignment jig 11. To fall.

Thus, the supply of the ball 3 to the ball supply unit 10 is performed. With this replenishment, the alignment jig 11
When the accumulated amount of the ball inside increases and the upper surface of the ball eventually reaches the upper limit level, the sensor 14 detects this. This detection signal is sent to the control unit 16, whereby the control unit 16 stops driving the vibrator 8 and stops supplying the ball.

As described above, by adopting a configuration in which the ball 3 is conveyed by vibration on the flared chute 5, a constant amount of the ball 3 can be constantly replenished uniformly over the entire range in the alignment jig 11. . Therefore, it is possible to automate the conventionally required complicated ball replenishment operation by hand, to save labor and increase the efficiency of the ball replenishment operation, and to prevent misalignment caused by non-uniform ball replenishment. be able to.

As shown in FIG. 4, if the key type container 20 is disposed rotatably by the rotating mechanism 22 at the intermediate position between the ball drop position at the end of the chute 5 and the alignment jig 11, The ball 3 falling from the end 5a can be temporarily stored. When the predetermined amount is stored in the key-shaped container, the rotation mechanism 22 is driven to rotate and tilt the key-shaped container, whereby the temporarily stored predetermined amount of the ball 3 is stored in the alignment jig 11. Is dropped and transferred. That is, the key type container 20 is a temporary storage unit for temporarily storing the balls 3, and the rotating mechanism 22 is a transfer unit for transferring the balls 3 stored in the temporary storage unit into the alignment jig 11. Has become.

By providing such a temporary storage section, it is not necessary to interrupt the operation of taking out the fixed amount of balls from the hopper 4 even while the ball supply section 10 is performing the ball alignment operation. The ball 3 temporarily stored can be immediately replenished at the timing when the operation is completed, and the delay time caused by the interruption of the ball replenishment operation is not achieved.

[0026]

According to the present invention, the conductive balls are caused to flow out from the ball container toward the supply target container onto the ball transfer member having a divergent shape through the opening, and vibration is imparted to the ball transfer member. As a result, the conductive balls are guided on the ball conveying member in the divergent direction by the guide means so that the conductive balls are dropped into the supply target container. Can be replenished inside.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a conductive ball supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a conductive ball supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view of a conductive ball supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial side view of a conductive ball supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Ball 4 Hopper 4a Opening 5 Chute 5c Groove 7, 14, 15 Sensor 8 Vibrator 10 Ball supply

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A conductive ball supply device for replenishing a supply target container with a predetermined amount of conductive balls, wherein an opening for storing the conductive balls therein and discharging the conductive balls therein is provided at a lower portion. A ball container, a plate-shaped ball transfer member disposed in a horizontal position below the ball container while maintaining a predetermined gap with the opening, a vibration imparting means for applying vibration to the ball transfer member, and a ball transfer device. Guide means for guiding the progress of the conductive ball in a direction in which the conductive ball moves toward the supply target container from the ball container when the conductive ball moves on the member. Feeding device. 2. A temporary storage section for temporarily storing conductive balls falling from said end section below an end of said ball transport member on the side of a supply target container, and a conductive section stored in said temporary storage section. 2. The conductive ball supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer unit that transfers the ball to a supply target container. 3. A method for supplying a conductive ball for replenishing a supply container with a predetermined amount of conductive balls, comprising a ball-shaped plate having a predetermined gap below a lower opening of a ball container for storing the balls. A step of preventing a ball from flowing out of the opening by disposing a ball conveying member; and forming a conductive ball out of the gap by vibrating the ball conveying member and forming the ball on the upper surface of the ball conveying member. Dispersing and dropping the conductive balls flowing out by the guide member so as to widen toward the end of the ball conveying member and supplying the conductive balls to a supply target container. . 4. A temporary storage portion provided below an end of the ball transport member on the side of the supply target container, for temporarily storing conductive balls falling from the end portion, and temporarily storing the conductive balls at a predetermined timing. 4. The method for supplying conductive balls according to claim 3, wherein the conductive balls stored in the container are transferred to a container to be supplied.