JP2002264204A - Method for manufacturing embossed carrier tape - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape capable of efficiently manufacturing the tape without lowering accuracy and reliability. SOLUTION: The method for manufacturing the embossed carrier tape comprises the steps of forming two or more rows of embossed parts having a plurality of embossed parts aligned at an equal interval in parallel with a tape lengthwise direction by using a resin tape having a wider width than a predetermined width, and thereafter slitting the rows of the embossed parts so as to include one or more rows to a predetermined width. The method further comprises the steps of shifting the phases of the rows of the embossed parts from each other so as not to superpose thinned regions formed at peripheries of the embossed parts of the rows of the adjacent embossed parts having a longer width than the tape width after slitting in the length of the width direction of the tape of the thinned region generated at the periphery of the embossed part by forming the embossed parts, and disposing the embossed parts.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape for storing and protecting electronic components from impact and static electricity during transportation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An embossed carrier tape is a tape having an embossed portion for accommodating relatively small electronic components.
Usually, it is formed of a thermoplastic resin (polystyrene or the like) to which a conductive additive such as carbon black is added.

[0003] Electronic components housed in such an embossed carrier tape are mounted on a target board or the like by an automated component mounting apparatus or the like. At this time, unless the plurality of embossed portions provided on the embossed carrier tape are formed with high precision at equal intervals, they cannot be handled by an automated component mounting apparatus or the like. In addition, high precision in the shape and dimensions of the embossed part itself is required for protection of electronic components to be housed or handling of mounting devices.

Here, a method for manufacturing such an embossed carrier tape will be described with reference to a model diagram. FIG.
The tension of the resin tape 1 'made of a thermoplastic resin is adjusted by a roller 2', and the resin tape 1 'is supplied to a rotary mold (made of metal) 3' having a plurality of concave forming mold portions 3a 'on a cylindrical side surface. You.

[0005] The rotary mold 3 'is driven by a motor (not shown) and rotates clockwise in the figure. The resin tape 1 in contact with the rotary mold 3 'is heated by the heater 4' and softened. Next, the suction portion 5 'sucks air from a minute suction hole (not shown) provided in the concave molding die portion 3a' and sucks it into the depressurized concave molding die portion 3a '. 1a 'is formed.

[0006] The resin tape 1 'on which the plurality of embossed portions 1a' are formed is released from the rotary mold 3 ', then cooled by the cooler 6', and then wound up as required.

Here, referring to the technique of forming a plurality of embossed portions on one embossed carrier tape described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 11-35066, an embossed portion row composed of a plurality of embossed portions is tape length. When manufacturing an embossed carrier tape having one row in the width direction, in order to improve productivity, use a resin tape having a width of twice or more a predetermined width, and use a plurality of resin tapes parallel to the tape length direction. Two or more rows of embossed portions in which the embossed portions are arranged at equal intervals are formed in the tape width direction as much as possible, and are finally slit into a predetermined width by including one row of the embossed portions. A method of producing an embossed carrier tape was studied.

FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of this study situation. As described above, the resin tape 1 ′ is formed with five rows of embossed portions by using a mold having five rows of concave forming mold portions 3 a ′ provided in parallel with the lateral width direction, and then embossing each with a slitter or the like. By using an embossed carrier tape having one row each, five embossed carrier tapes can be simultaneously produced by one molding machine.

However, the obtained embossed carrier tape has a slight variation in the distance between the embossed portions (some of them are longer than a predetermined size). It is expected that this error will accumulate and cause problems in handling in automatic equipment when used in, and a slight vertical "wave" will occur in the length direction of the tape, resulting in poor flatness. However, it has been found that there is a problem in terms of accuracy and reliability required for embossed carrier tapes for electronic components, such as occurrence of troubles in handling in an actual automatic device.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape which solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, that is, can be manufactured efficiently without lowering the accuracy and reliability. The purpose is to do.

[0011]

Here, the present inventors have studied in detail the reason for the occurrence of the above problem. As a result, a row of embossed portions in which a plurality of embossed portions are arranged at equal intervals in parallel with the tape length direction is formed in the tape width direction.
When the rows are formed, the tape thickness of the “x” portion in the width direction shown in FIG. 6A, which is a portion sandwiched between the embossed portion 1a ′ and the embossed portion 1a ′, has the embossed portion 1a ′ in the width direction. It turns out that it is thinner than the "+" part, which is not present.

The cause was considered as shown in FIG. 6B, which is a model cross-sectional view in L ₁ L ₂ of FIG. 6A including the embossed portion in the tape width direction. That is, when the embossed portion is formed by the mold, “×”
Between the embossed portion 1a 'and the embossed portion 1a'
The portion is pulled in the direction of the concave molding die portion 3a ', and as a result, the thickness of the "x portion" after molding (the thickness of the portion indicated by the symbol a in FIG. 6B) is reduced.

Here, a model cross-sectional view of L ₃ L ₄ in FIG. 6A (a cross-sectional view in the tape length direction of a portion including an embossed portion) is shown in FIGS. 6C and 6A. L ₅ L ₆ model cross-sectional view at the (cross-sectional view of a tape length direction between the embossed portion row and the embossed portion array) shown as FIG. 6 (d).

The symbol b in FIG. 6C or the symbol b in FIG.
The thickness of the portion c is relatively thick because the influence of the formation of the embossed portion is small, but the thickness of the portion between the embosses of the adjacent embossed portion rows is shown in FIG.
The thickness of the portion denoted by reference numeral d in FIG. 6D (corresponding to the portion denoted by reference numeral a in FIG. 6B) is extremely thin.
And the difference between d and d is large

As a result of molding with such uneven thickness, the resin tape 1a 'is released from the mold 3a', and is further slit near the cross section shown in FIG. Although it is a carrier tape, when it is released from the mold, the thin portion of the symbol c expands and deforms, causing a variation in the distance between the embossed portions, and the thickness of the edge c between the portions c and d. It was found from the unevenness that when the slit tape was formed into an embossed carrier tape, "waves" were generated in the length direction.

To solve these problems, (a) the heating temperature of the heater is increased to promote the softening of the resin tape, (b) the vacuum pressure is increased, (c) the number of embossed section rows is reduced, or (D) Measures such as increasing the thickness of the resin tape have been considered, but each method (a) has a limit in increasing the cooling capacity of the cooler. However, when the method (b) is performed in a normal environment, there is a limit (1 atm is the highest even under ideal conditions). In the methods (c) and (d), the initial object of the present invention is that the productivity is not sufficiently improved or the cost of raw materials is increased. As a result of the study, the present invention has been reached.

That is, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method of manufacturing an embossed carrier tape according to the present invention is characterized in that a resin tape made of a thermoplastic resin is provided on a cylindrical side surface with a plurality of concave forming dies. In a method of manufacturing an embossed carrier tape in which a plurality of embossed portions are continuously vacuum-formed using a rotary mold having a portion, using a resin tape having a width wider than a predetermined width, in parallel with the tape length direction, This is a method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape in which two or more rows of embossed portions in which a plurality of embossed portions are arranged at equal intervals are formed, and then slit so as to include one row of each embossed portion and have a predetermined width. The length in the tape width direction of the region where the thickness is reduced around the embossed portion due to the formation of the embossed portion is longer than the tape width after the slit, and By shifting the phase of the embossed portion embossing column as thinned regions of the respective embossed portions thickness formed around do not overlap each other row adjacent to each other, is embossed carrier tape manufacturing method of arranging.

With such a configuration, the number of embossed portions formed on one raw material tape is not reduced, that is, while the number of embossed carrier tapes of products produced at the same time is ensured, the width of the embossed portion in the width direction of the embossed portion is reduced. Since it is possible to prevent the adjacent part from becoming extremely thin and maintain a sufficient thickness, slit the resin tape (intermediate material) after forming the embossed portion (after performing necessary processing such as perforation). In particular, when independent embossed carrier tapes are used, variations in the distance between the embossed portions in the tape length direction, and the occurrence of "waves" in the tape portion in the length direction, which are particularly problematic, are effectively suppressed. And a highly reliable and accurate product can be obtained as an embossed carrier tape for electronic components.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION In the method of manufacturing an embossed carrier tape of the present invention, a resin tape to be used is provided with a plurality of rows of embossed portions in the width direction, so that it may be wider than a predetermined width (width as a product). It is necessary, and it is usually more than twice as large as a predetermined width in consideration of a slit or the like of an ear.

The row of embossed portions is parallel to the tape length direction,
It is necessary that a plurality of embossed portions are arranged at equal intervals. The shape of the embossed portion does not need to be the same, but it is preferable that the shape is not extremely different in order to sufficiently obtain the effects of the present invention.

In the method of manufacturing an embossed carrier tape according to the present invention, the length in the tape width direction of the region where the thickness is reduced around the embossed portion due to the formation of the embossed portion is longer than the tape width after the slit. If the length of this area in the tape width direction is shorter than the tape width after slitting, that is, if there is a sufficient space between the rows of embossed portions, the productivity obtained by the present invention can be improved (as many as possible). The effect of producing an embossed carrier tape at the same time cannot be sufficiently obtained, and the resin tape as a raw material cannot be used effectively.

At this time, the phases of the emboss rows need to be shifted from each other so that the thinned areas formed around the respective emboss sections of the adjacent emboss section rows do not overlap with each other. is there. When these regions overlap each other, extremely thin portions occur, and the embossed carrier tape after the slit cannot satisfy the required accuracy, and "waves" are generated in the vertical direction. Effect cannot be obtained.

As shown in FIG. 1 (this example is an example in which the number of embossed portions is five, the best arrangement of adjacent embossed portions is usually a chessboard pattern or a staggered pattern. (The present invention is not limited to this example.) As shown in the example, the position of the embossed portion in a certain row of embossed portions in the tape length direction is the center of the intermediate portion between the embossed portion and the embossed portion in the adjacent row. That is, they are arranged so as to coincide with the position, that is, the phases of the embossed portions of the adjacent embossed portion rows are opposite to each other.

In FIG. 1, an embossed portion 1a is formed in a resin tape 1. The length α in the tape width direction of an area 7 having a reduced thickness generated around the resin tape 1 due to the formation of the embossed portion 1a is determined after the slit. It is longer than the tape width β (dotted line 8 in the figure represents a slit line (a line to be slit in the next step)), and the thickness formed around each embossed portion of the adjacent embossed portion row is reduced. The embossed rows are shifted from each other so that the areas do not overlap

The molding method of the present invention using a rotary mold in such an optimal arrangement is shown in FIG. 2 (the reference numerals in FIG. 2 correspond to the reference numerals with “′” in FIGS. 4 and 5, respectively). 4) except that a rotary mold 3 having a plurality of concave forming mold parts in a so-called staggered arrangement as exemplified in a model is used in the method described with reference to FIGS. be able to.

The resin tape 1 on which a plurality of embossed portion rows 1a are formed in which the phases of adjacent embossed portion rows are shifted from each other by the illustrated rotary mold 3 is removed with a slitter (not shown) or the like. In addition, slitting is performed so as to include one row of embossed portions to a predetermined width, and before or after the slitting step, perforation is performed as necessary, and further, cutting or winding to a predetermined size is performed. Thus, an embossed carrier tape as a product can be obtained.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show that the embossed part row
Although an example of a row (odd row) is shown, a case where six (even) rows of embossed part rows are formed as shown in FIG. 3 is naturally included in the present invention.

[0028]

The method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape according to the present invention is characterized in that a resin tape made of a thermoplastic resin is provided with a plurality of embossed carrier tapes by using a rotary mold having a plurality of concave mold parts on a cylindrical side surface. In a method of manufacturing an embossed carrier tape for continuously vacuum forming parts, using a resin tape having a width larger than a predetermined width, an embossed part in which a plurality of embossed parts are arranged at equal intervals in parallel with the tape length direction. A method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape in which two or more rows are formed and then slit so as to include one row of the embossed portions and have a predetermined width, wherein a thickness generated around the embossed portions due to the formation of the embossed portions. The length of the tapered area in the tape width direction is longer than the tape width after slitting, and the area around each embossed part of the adjacent embossed row is This is a method of manufacturing an embossed carrier tape in which the phases of the embossed rows are shifted from each other so that the thinned areas do not overlap with each other. This is a method for manufacturing an excellent embossed carrier tape that eliminates the occurrence of `` '' and variations in dimensional accuracy between embossed portions.With this method, the reliability and accuracy required for embossed carrier tapes for electronic components are not reduced. , And can be produced with extremely high productivity.

The present invention is particularly effective for so-called "deep drawing" products in which the embossing depth is large, and the embossing varies depending on the tape material, thickness, and the temperature at the time of embossing. The effect is large when the ratio of the length L to the depth D in the width direction of the resin tape on the tape surface of the portion, D / L, is larger than 0.8 (see FIG. 6 for D and L).
(A) and FIG. 6 (b)). The distance in the tape length direction of the embossed portion is determined in accordance with the use of an automated component mounting apparatus or the like actually used as the embossed carrier tape.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a model diagram showing an example of an embossed carrier tape manufactured by an embossed carrier tape manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a model diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a model diagram showing an example of an embossed carrier tape manufactured by the embossed carrier tape manufacturing method according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a model diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape using a rotary mold.

FIG. 5 is a model diagram illustrating a method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape according to a conventional technique.

FIG. 6 is a model diagram illustrating a problem of an embossed carrier tape manufactured by a method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape according to a conventional technique. (A) It is a top view. (B) It is sectional drawing.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Resin tape 2 Roller 3 Rotary mold 3a Concave mold part 6 Cooler 7 The area | region which becomes thin around the embossed part formation, and becomes thin 8 Slit line

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Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An emboss carrier tape in which a plurality of embossed portions are continuously vacuum formed on a resin tape made of a thermoplastic resin using a rotary mold having a plurality of concave forming mold portions on a cylindrical side surface. In the manufacturing method, a resin tape having a width larger than a predetermined width is used to form two or more rows of embossed portions in parallel with the tape length direction and in which a plurality of embossed portions are arranged at equal intervals. What is claimed is: 1. A method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape, wherein a predetermined width is obtained by slitting each of the rows so as to include one row, and a length in a tape width direction of a region where a thickness is reduced around the embossed section due to the formation of the embossed section. Are thinner than the width of the tape after slitting, and the thinner areas formed around the embossed portions of adjacent embossed rows overlap each other. A method for manufacturing an embossed carrier tape, wherein the phases of embossed rows are shifted from each other so that they are not arranged.