JP2005066910A - Laminator and work tray therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain high-degree quality and homogeneity with respect to lamination treatment and to exclude the waste of a laminating base material to enhance a yield, mass productivity and the conservation of resources. <P>SOLUTION: In constituting a laminator M equipped with a vacuum suction process S1 for evacuating the hermetically closed space K of a work tray 1 housing the laminating base material W, a thermocompression bonding process S2 for heating and pressing the work tray 1 passed through the vacuum suction process S1 and a cooling process S3 for cooling the work tray 1 passed through the thermocompression bonding process S2, a vacuum pressure monitor means 3 for detecting the vacuum pressure Pv of the hermetically closed space K of the fed work tray 1 to decide whether the vacuum pressure Pv is normal and an error processing means 4 for setting the work tray 1 as a defective tray when the vacuum pressure Pv is not normal to perform error processing are provided to one of or two or more of the processes S1, S2 and S3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a laminating apparatus and a work tray for laminating apparatus, which are provided with a vacuum suction process, a thermocompression bonding process, and a cooling process and laminate a laminated base material to manufacture an IC card or the like.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a laminating apparatus for manufacturing a thin IC card incorporating an electronic component such as an IC chip is known. The present applicant has already proposed an IC card manufacturing apparatus (laminating apparatus) suitable for use in this type of laminating apparatus. Was proposed by Japanese Patent No. 3381027.

This IC card manufacturing apparatus manufactures an IC card by thermocompression bonding a laminated base material formed by sandwiching electronic components such as IC chips between sheet fabric materials, and seals the laminated base material from both sides. A laminated base material sandwiching part composed of an upper sandwiched part and a lower sandwiched part, a deaeration part for degassing the inside of the laminated base material sandwiched part, and a laminated base material sandwiched part deaerated across the laminated base material The preheating press part that raises the temperature at a preheating temperature lower than the normal heating temperature, and the laminated base material sandwiching part that is sent from the preheating press part and degassed with the laminated base material sandwiched by the normal heating temperature. A thermocompression press part for thermocompression bonding, and a cooling press part for cooling the laminated base material sandwiching part sent from the thermocompression press part and deaerated with the laminated base material interposed therebetween are provided. As a result, heating control and pressurization control for the laminated base material are performed independently by different preheating press units, thermocompression pressing units, and cooling press units, thereby reducing productivity and mass productivity. Improvement, energy saving and economic efficiency are improved, and the laminated base material is housed inside the laminated and degassed laminated base material sandwiching portion, so that the continuity of the heated state and the pressurized state is increased. Is ensured, that is, the heat retaining property and pressure retaining property for the laminated base material are ensured, and the merchantability is improved by improving the quality and homogeneity.
Japanese Patent No. 3381027

  However, the above-described IC card manufacturing apparatus (laminating apparatus) has the following problems to be solved.

  First, in order to remove bubbles contained in the laminated base material, the laminated base material is housed in the laminated base material sandwiching portion (work tray) and deaerated by a predetermined vacuum pressure. When the tray is degassed, air bubbles are sufficiently removed, but the size of the vacuum pressure greatly affects the quality of the laminate, and high quality and homogeneity can be achieved only by degassing with the specified vacuum pressure. There was a limit to getting.

  Second, the quality of the laminate varies depending on the size of the vacuum pressure, and the occurrence of poor lamination causes a decrease in yield and a decrease in mass productivity. In addition, since a defective laminate cannot be regenerated, it is not desirable from the viewpoint of resource saving.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a laminating apparatus and a work tray for the laminating apparatus that solve the problems existing in the conventional technology.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention heats the work tray 1 that has undergone the vacuum suction step S1, the vacuum suction step S1 that vacuum-sucks the sealed space K inside the work tray 1 that houses the laminated base material W, and When the laminating apparatus M is provided with the thermocompression bonding step S2 for pressurization and the cooling step S3 for cooling the work tray 1 that has undergone the thermocompression bonding step S2, the workpiece transferred to one or more of the steps S1, S2, and S3. The vacuum pressure monitoring means 3 that detects the vacuum pressure Pv in the sealed space K of the tray 1 and determines whether the vacuum pressure Pv is normal, and error processing that performs error processing as a defective tray when the vacuum pressure Pv is not normal Means 4 is provided.

  Thereby, the laminating apparatus M according to the present invention detects the vacuum pressure Pv in the sealed space K of the conveyed work tray 1 by the vacuum pressure monitoring means 3, and determines whether or not the vacuum pressure Pv is normal. To do. When the vacuum pressure Pv is not normal, the error processing means 4 performs error processing as a defective tray, for example, error processing for stopping processing in subsequent steps S1 ... for the defective tray.

  In the present invention, when forming the laminating apparatus work tray 1 in which the sealed space K containing the laminated substrate W is vacuum-sucked, when the vacuum pressure Pv of the sealed space K is not normal, It is characterized in that a detected part 5 is provided which can be detected to be a defective tray by an external detecting part 6.

  Therefore, the laminating apparatus M and the laminating apparatus work tray 1 according to the present invention have the following remarkable effects.

  (1) Since error processing is performed on defective trays whose vacuum pressure Pv is not normal, and only normal work trays 1 are always laminated through a series of processes, high quality and homogeneity with respect to lamination processing Can be obtained.

  (2) Since it is possible to perform error processing on the defective tray, for example, error processing for stopping processing in each subsequent process on the defective tray, the laminated base material W can be formed without performing the lamination processing on the laminated base material W. It can be returned as it is. Therefore, waste of the laminated base material W is eliminated, it is possible to contribute to improvement of yield and mass productivity, and resource saving can be improved.

  According to the laminating apparatus M and the laminating apparatus work tray 1 according to the present invention, according to the best mode, the error processing means 4 switches the detected portion 5 provided on the work tray 1 to the error side (Xn). In this case, the detected portion 5o is used as the detected portion 5 and is selectively displaced to the detection position Xd indicating that the vacuum pressure Pv is normal and the non-detection position Xn indicating that the vacuum pressure Pv is not normal. In step S1..., An operation unit 7 for displacing the detected element 5o to the non-detection position Xn can be provided. As a result, a detection unit such as a proximity switch that can detect the detected element 5o easily and reliably can be used, so that it can be implemented at a low cost with a simple configuration, and the highly reliable error processing means 4 can be configured. Further, the error processing means 4 is provided with a detection unit 6 for detecting the detected part 5 switched to the error side (Xn) in the step S1..., And the detected part 5 is switched to the error side (Xn). The processing of each step S1... For the defective tray is stopped.

  Next, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be given and described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  First, the structure of the laminating apparatus M according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the work tray 1 and the laminated base material W used in the laminating apparatus M will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of a laminated base material W for manufacturing an IC card. In FIG. 7, E is a component sheet, and a plurality of electronic components having IC chips Ei and antennas Ea are mounted on the component sheet E in a state of being arranged vertically and horizontally. The component sheet E is sandwiched between a pair of upper and lower sheet fabric materials Ca and Cb. Each sheet material Ca, Cb has, for example, an outer resin sheet (polyethylene terephthalate or the like) and an inner nonwoven fabric, and an adhesive is applied to the inner surface of each sheet material Ca, Cb. Such a laminated base material W is manufactured in a separate process, and a plurality of positions of the laminated component sheet E and the sheet base materials Ca and Cb are temporarily fixed by spot welding or the like.

  On the other hand, FIGS. 2-6 shows the work tray 1 which accommodates this laminated base material W. FIG. The work tray 1 includes a lower tray portion 1t and an upper cover portion 1c that overlaps the upper surface of the tray portion 1t. As shown in FIG. 2, the tray part 1t includes a support frame part 11 made of a rectangular frame made of an aluminum material or the like, and a rectangular tray body part 12 made of a flat plate. Therefore, the support frame portion 11 is composed of a combination of the front and rear frame members 11f and 11r and the left and right frame members 11p and 11q. The tray body 12 has a plurality of engagement pieces 12 s protruding from the four sides, and the engagement pieces 12 s engage with the support frame portion 11. In this case, by providing a plurality of engagement recesses at predetermined positions on the upper surface of the support frame portion 11 and accommodating the engagement pieces 12s in each engagement recess, and covering each engagement recess with the cover plate 11c, Each of the engagement pieces 12s can be engaged with the support frame portion 11. As a result, the tray body 12 is supported inside the support frame 11. The cover portion 1c is formed of a flat plate and is formed in a rectangular shape having substantially the same size as the tray main body portion 12, and a rectangular frame-shaped seal portion 13 having a certain thickness along the four sides is fixed to the lower surface. To do. The thickness of the seal portion 13 takes into account the thickness of the laminated base material W. The tray portion 1t and the cover portion 1c can be formed of a stainless material having a certain thickness, and the thickness is preferably within 3 [mm], preferably about 1 [mm]. Thereby, if the laminated base material W is placed on the upper surface of the tray main body 12 and the cover portion 1c is overlapped from above, a sealed space K containing the laminated base material W is formed between the tray main body portion 12 and the cover portion 1c. Will be formed.

  On the other hand, the vacuum connection part 15 shown in FIG.4 and FIG.5 is provided in the corner of the right side in the conveyance direction of the support frame part 11. FIG. The vacuum connection portion 15 includes a connection body portion 16 having a suction surface 16f on an upper surface, and a connection passage portion 17 that connects the connection body portion 16 and an intake hole 12o formed in the tray main body portion 12, and includes a suction surface. The vacuum connection port 16fo included in 16f and the intake hole 12o opened on the lower surface side of the tray main body 12 are connected to each other through a ventilation path. In this case, the connecting body portion 16 includes a check valve 18 connected to the ventilation path and a release operation portion 19 that releases the function of the check valve 18.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the check valve 18 is configured by sequentially stacking a seat valve 20 s and an upper body portion 20 u having a predetermined thickness on a rectangular parallelepiped lower body portion 20 d and fixing them with fixing screws. In this case, an air passage Aa is formed inside the lower body portion 20d, and the air passage Aa opens to the approximate center, rear side surface, lower surface, and right side surface of the upper surface of the lower body portion 20d, and to the upper body portion 20u. A vacuum connection port 16fo is formed on the upper surface of the lower body portion 20d so as to face the air passage Aa. Thereby, while the upper surface of the upper body part 20u becomes the to-be-adsorbed surface 16f, the upper surface of the lower body part 20d becomes a flat valve seat. The seat valve 20s is formed of an elastic material such as rubber, and is provided with four vent holes 20sc ... whose positions are different from the opening of the vent path Aa facing the vacuum connection port 16fo, and on the other hand, the upper body portion 20u. A valve receiving recess 20ui is formed on the lower surface of the housing so that all the vent holes 20sc. And in this valve-receiving recessed part 20ui, the sheet-like adhesion prevention net | network 20n shown in FIG. 6 is accommodated. FIG. 6 shows the seat valve 20s, the adhesion preventing net 20n, and the upper body portion 20u in a perspective view from below for easy understanding. With such a structure, it is possible to obtain a check valve 18 that is extremely thin and has a good sealing property. In particular, this type of check valve 18 can be easily incorporated even in a portion where the thickness is limited. Can be made. Further, by using the adhesion preventing net 20n, the adhesion of the seat valve 20s to the valve receiving recess 20ui can be prevented.

  On the other hand, the release operation part 19 engages the operation body 19c displaceably on the outside of the operation body support part 20df protruding from the front side surface of the lower body part 20d, and operates the ventilation path Aa provided inside the lower body part 20d. It opens to the lower surface of the body support portion 20df. Then, the seat valve 19s facing the opening of the air passage Aa is fixed to the inner surface of the operation body 19c, and the operation body 19c is attached in a direction in which the seat valve 19s contacts the opening of the air passage Aa by a spring (not shown). To force. Accordingly, in the natural state, the opening of the air passage Aa is closed by the seat valve 19s, and if the seat valve 19s is displaced in a direction away from the opening of the air passage Aa by operating the operating body 19c, the air passage The function of the check valve 18 can be released by communicating the opening of the path Aa with the atmosphere.

  On the other hand, the connection passage portion 17 includes a lead-out plate 17 d that is overlapped and fixed on the lower surface of the tray main body portion 12. Inside the lead-out plate 17d, one end communicates with the air intake hole 12o, and the other end has a vent passage Ab that opens on the top surface of the lead-out plate 17d protruding from the tray body 12, and the top surface of the lead-out plate 17d The opened air passage Ab and the air passage Aa opened on the right side surface of the lower body portion 20d are connected to each other by an air supply pipe 17p. Thereby, a ventilation path from the suction hole 12o to the vacuum connection port 16fo is formed.

  Cylindrical vacuum tanks 25p and 25q are installed on the left and right frame members 11p and 11q in the support frame portion 11, respectively. In this case, the connection convex part 20dj is integrally formed on the front side surface of the lower body part 20d, and the connection convex part 20dj is connected by fitting one end opening of one vacuum tank 25q. Reference numeral 21 denotes an O-ring mounted on the outer periphery of the connection convex portion 20dj. Since the ventilation path Aa is opened in the connection convex part 20dj, the vacuum tank 25q can be directly connected to the ventilation path Aa of the connection body part 16. The other vacuum tank 25 p is connected to the sealed space K of the work tray 1 via a vacuum connection portion 22 provided at the left corner of the support frame portion 11. This vacuum connection portion 22 has a connecting body portion 23 and a connection passage portion 24 similar to the vacuum connection portion 15, but does not include the attracted surface 16 f and the like, and only connects the sealed space K and the vacuum tank 25 p. is there. By providing such vacuum tanks 25p and 25q, it is possible to reduce the impact during suction and to maintain a stable vacuum pressure Pv.

  Further, a detected element 5 o constituting the detected part 5 is provided on the upper surface of the connection body part 23. This detected element 5o has a shaft portion 5os inserted through the connecting body portion 23 and a head portion 5oh provided at the upper end of the shaft portion 5os and detected by the detecting portion 6 described later. On the other hand, it can be selectively displaced to the detection position Xd (see FIG. 11) drawn upward and the non-detection position Xn (see FIG. 12) pushed downward. Thereby, when the detected element 5o is at the detection position Xd, it is detected by the detection unit 6, and when it is at the non-detection position Xn, it is not detected by the detection unit 6. Further, a total of four positioning holes 26 are formed in the left and right frame members 11f and 11r in the support frame portion 11 respectively.

  In such a work tray 1, the connecting body portion 16 having the suction surface 16 f on the upper surface and the vacuum tanks 25 p and 25 q are provided on the upper surface of the support frame portion 11 constituted by a rectangular frame. Unnecessary protrusions are eliminated, and the storage, handling and safety can be improved.

  Next, the configuration of the main body side of the laminating apparatus M will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 8 to 14.

  FIG. 8 shows the overall configuration of the laminating apparatus M. As shown in the figure, the laminating apparatus M has a conveyance path R that is entirely rectangular frame-shaped (b-shaped) when viewed from the plane direction. The transport path R includes a processing transport unit Rp and a return transport unit Rr arranged in parallel on a horizontal plane, and an introduction transport unit Ri disposed between one end sides of the processing transport unit Rp and the return transport unit Rr, and a processing transport. A discharge conveyance portion Ro disposed between the other end side of the portion Rp and the return conveyance portion Rr is provided, whereby the whole becomes a rectangular frame-shaped conveyance path R.

  The return conveyance unit Rr includes a pair of left and right guide rails 31p and 31q and a plurality of conveyance roller mechanisms 32 arranged inside the guide rails 31p and 31q in the conveyance direction. The processing transport unit Rp includes a pair of left and right transport carriers 33p and 33q with respect to the transport direction, and the transport carriers 33p and 33q are moved to two positions in the front and rear direction (arrow Dm direction) in the transport direction by the drive unit 33d. In FIG. 8, the solid line carrier carriers 33p and 33q are in the retreat position, and the virtual line carrier carriers 33ps and 33qs are in the forward position. The left and right ends of the work tray 1, that is, the left and right frame members 11 p and 11 q in the support frame portion 11 can be placed on the transport carriers 33 p and 33 q.

  On the other hand, the introduction transport unit Ri includes a transport mechanism 34 having a plurality of transport roller mechanisms 34r disposed between the guide rails 31p and 31q and the transport carriers 33p and 33q. It can be lifted and lowered selectively to a position. Further, the discharge transport unit Ro includes a transport mechanism 35 having a plurality of transport roller mechanisms 35r disposed between the guide rails 31p and 31q and the transport carriers 33p and 33q. The transport mechanism 35 includes two transport mechanisms 35 in the vertical direction. It can be lifted and lowered selectively to a position.

  In addition, a loading unit 36 for loading the laminated base material W on the work tray 1 is disposed at the corner of the conveyance path R that is the starting point of the introduction conveyance unit Ri. The loading unit 36 includes a cover attaching / detaching portion 37 that attaches / detaches the upper cover portion 1c of the work tray 1 to / from the lower tray portion 1t. The cover attaching / detaching portion 37 includes an attaching / detaching arm 38 having a suction portion at the tip. The rotary drive unit 39 rotates the rear end of the detachable arm 38 by a predetermined angle. Further, a standby unit 40 of the work tray 1 is provided at the next corner in the transport path R that is the starting point of the processing transport unit Rp, and at the next corner in the transport path R that is the starting point of the discharge transport unit Ro. A discharge unit 41 for the work tray 1 is provided. Further, a vacuum suction step S1, a thermocompression bonding step S2, and a cooling step S3 are sequentially arranged between the standby unit 40 and the discharge unit 41. The vacuum suction step S1, the thermocompression bonding step S2, and the cooling step S3 include a vacuum press unit U1, a heating press unit U2, and a cooling press unit U3, respectively.

  Next, the structure of each press unit U1-U3 is demonstrated concretely. 1 and 9 to 12 show the configuration of the heating press unit U2. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the heating press unit U <b> 2 includes an upper support plate 51 and a lower support plate 52 that are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction, and are connected by connecting shafts 53. And on the lower surface of the upper support board 51, the upper pressurization board (upper heat board) U2x which incorporates a heater is fixed. The lower surface of the upper pressure plate U2x is a flat surface, and a cushion sheet 54u is adhered thereto. On the other hand, an opposing lower pressure plate (lower heat plate) U2y is disposed below the upper pressure plate U2x. And this lower pressurization board U2y is supported by the pressurization mechanism 55 so that raising / lowering is possible. Similarly to the upper pressure plate U2x, the lower pressure plate U2y has a built-in heater, a top surface is a flat surface, and a cushion sheet 54d is attached. The pressure mechanism 55 includes six pressure cylinders 56a, 56b, 56c, 56d... Fixed to the lower surface of the lower support plate 52, and each pressure cylinder 56a. To arrange. The cylinder rods 56ar of each pressurizing cylinder 56a pass through the inside of the lower support plate 52, protrude upward from the upper surface, and corresponding contact plates whose front end surface is fixed to the lower surface of the lower pressurization plate U2y. 57... Reference numeral 58 denotes an auxiliary cylinder attached to the lower surface of the lower support board 52, and the piston rod 58r of the auxiliary cylinder 58 is coupled to the lower pressure board U2y via the link mechanism 59. As a result, the auxiliary cylinder 58 assists the pressure applied by the pressure cylinders 56a, 56b... During pressurization, and lowers the lower pressure plate U2y when pressure is released.

  On the other hand, four lifters 61 using air cylinders are installed on the lower support plate 52 in correspondence with the four positioning holes 26 provided in the work tray 1. Accordingly, the lifters 61 have a function of raising the work tray 1 to a predetermined height by supporting the front and rear end portions of the work tray 1, that is, the frame members 11f and 11r before and after the support frame portion 11. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 12, positioning projections 62 provided at the upper ends of the piston rods 61r engage with the positioning holes 26 of the work tray 1 to position the lower pressure plate U2y and the work tray 1. It also has a function to perform.

  The heating press unit U2 includes a vacuum processing unit 60 including the vacuum pressure monitoring unit 3. As shown in FIG. 10, the vacuum processing unit 60 includes a suction cylinder (air cylinder) 63 fixed to the right side with respect to the transport direction of the upper support plate 51, and at the tip of the piston rod 63 r in the suction plate cylinder 63, A suction cup 64 is provided that sucks against a suction surface 16 f provided on the work tray 1. The suction cup 64 is connected to a vacuum device 66 using a vacuum pump via a control valve 65, and a vacuum pressure gauge 67 is connected to a vacuum line 64 </ b> L connected to the suction cup 64. On the other hand, the suction cylinder 63 is connected to the air pressure source 101 via the control valve 68. Reference numeral 102 denotes a control unit that controls the control valves 65 and 68, and the detection result detected by the vacuum pressure gauge 67 is input to the control unit 102. Each lifter 61... Is also connected to the air pressure source 101 via the control valve 69. This control valve 69 is also controlled by the control unit 102.

  Furthermore, the heating press unit U2 includes an error processing unit 70 including the error processing means 4. As shown in FIG. 11, the error processing unit 70 includes an operation cylinder (air cylinder) 71 that is fixed to the left side with respect to the conveying direction of the upper support plate 51 and constitutes the operation unit 7. At the tip of the rod 71r, there is a pusher 72 for pushing the head portion 5oh of the detected child 5o provided on the work tray 1 downward. Further, in the vicinity of the operation cylinder 71, a detection unit 6 using a proximity switch or the like for detecting the head unit 5oh is disposed. The operation cylinder 71 is connected to the air pressure source 101 via the control valve 74. Reference numeral 102 denotes a control unit that controls the control valve 74 and inputs a detection result detected by the detection unit 6 to the control unit 102. Thus, as shown in FIG. 11, when the detected element 5o of the work tray 1 is at the detection position Xd drawn upward relative to the connecting body part 23, the head part 5oh is close to the detection part 6, When detected by the detection unit 6 and as shown in FIG. 12, the pusher 72 is moved down to the position indicated by the phantom line by the operation cylinder 71 and the detected element 5 o is pushed downward with respect to the connecting body part 23. In other words, the detected element 5o is displaced to the non-detection position Xn shown in FIG. 12, and the head part 5oh is separated from the detection part 6, so that it is not detected by the detection part 6.

  In this way, by using a simple detection element 5o, a proximity switch that can be easily and reliably detected can be used for the detection unit 6, so that it can be implemented at a low cost with a simple configuration and has high reliability. The error processing means 4 can be configured.

  On the other hand, FIG.13 and FIG.14 shows the structure of the vacuum press unit U1. The vacuum press unit U1 includes an upper support plate 81 and a lower support plate 82 that are spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction, and are connected by connecting shafts 83. Then, the upper pressure plate U1x is fixed to the lower surface of the upper support plate 81. The lower surface of the upper pressure plate U1x is a flat surface, and a cushion sheet 84u is attached thereto. Further, an opposing lower pressure plate U1y is disposed below the upper pressure plate U1x, and the lower pressure plate U1y is supported by a pressure cylinder 85 fixed to the upper surface of the lower support plate 82 so as to be movable up and down. Similarly to the upper pressure plate U1x, the lower pressure plate U1y has a flat upper surface and a cushion sheet 84d attached thereto. In addition, similarly to the heating press unit U2 described above, four lifters 61, a vacuum processing unit 86 (vacuum pressure monitoring unit 3) and an error processing unit 87 (error processing unit 4) are provided.

  The configuration of the cooling press unit U3 is basically the same as that of the heating press unit U2, but an upper pressurizing plate (upper heating plate) U2x and a lower pressurizing plate (lower heating plate) incorporating a heater in the heating press unit U2. ) A difference is that instead of U2y, an upper pressurizing plate U3x and a lower heating plate U3y are provided which incorporate cooling means (water jacket for water cooling or the like).

  The vacuum press unit U1, the heating press unit U2, and the cooling press unit U3 are configured as independent units. Accordingly, when the press units U1 to U3 are installed on the base 91 as shown in FIG. 8, the press units U1 to U3 are sequentially mounted at fixed positions on the base 91, and thereafter, the carrier carrier 33p and 33q are assembled. In this case, rail support portions 92p, 92q,... Are attached to the lower support plates 52, 82,... In the press units U1-U3, and the upper ends of the rail support portions 92p, 92q,. Each carrier 33p, 33q is supported. For this reason, each conveyance carrier 33p and 33q uses one rail member straddling each press unit U1-U3, respectively. Further, the heights of the transport carriers 33p and 33q support the work trays 1 positioned above the lower pressure plates U1y, U2y, U3y when the lower pressure plates U1y, U2y, U3y are lowered, and When the pressure plates U1y, U2y, U3y are raised, the pressure plates U1y, U2y, U3y are set to be positioned below the work trays 1 supported by the lower pressure plates U1y, U2y, U3y. The drive units 33d can form a straight drive mechanism using a servo motor. In addition, in FIG. 8, 95 indicates a safety wall arranged around the transport path R.

  As described above, the vacuum press unit U1, the heating press unit U2, and the cooling press unit U3 are configured as independent units, and the vacuum press unit U1 (vacuum suction) is provided on one side of the conveyance path R provided in a rectangular frame shape. Step S1), heating press unit U2 (thermocompression bonding step S2) and cooling press unit U3 (cooling step S3) are arranged in order, so that each processing step S1 to S3 is changed or other processing steps (preheating step, second The addition of a thermocompression bonding process or the like) can be easily handled by a design change such as a change in the length of the conveyance path R, and an arbitrary number of additions can be made, resulting in excellent development. In addition, the size of the laminated base material W, in particular, the size in the transport direction can be set arbitrarily, so that a high degree of design freedom can be obtained and the productivity can be improved. Furthermore, it is possible to easily and efficiently monitor the entire process, such as monitoring all processing steps (S1 to S3) at a fixed position, and the movement distance (work flow line) of the operator accompanying monitoring, maintenance, etc. It can be shortened. On the other hand, since the transport carriers 33p and 33q are merely reciprocated in the horizontal direction, the configuration can be simplified, the size can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced, and the vacuum press unit U1, the heating press unit U2, and the cooling can be performed. It can be easily installed between the press units U3. In addition, the laminated base material W (work tray 1) can be conveyed with high accuracy to the fixed positions of the press units U1, U2, U3.

  Next, operation | movement of the laminating apparatus M which concerns on a present Example is demonstrated with reference to FIGS.

  As an overall schematic operation, the work tray 1 is circulated and conveyed along the conveyance path R, and the laminated base material W is loaded (accommodated) in the work tray 1 in the loading section 36, and the vacuum press unit U1 (vacuum suction) Lamination is performed through step S1), heating press unit U2 (thermocompression bonding step S2), and cooling press unit U3 (cooling step S3). In FIG. 8, arrows F1, F2, F3, and F4 indicate the conveyance direction of the work tray 1.

  Now, it is assumed that the work tray 1 is returned to the loading unit 36 via the return conveyance unit Rr. As a result, the detachable arm 38 of the cover loading unit 37 is rotationally displaced to the suction position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 8 by the rotation driving unit 39, and the upper surface of the cover part 1c of the work tray 1 is sucked by the tip suction part. Thereafter, the detachable arm 38 is rotated and displaced by a predetermined angle in the reverse direction, and stands by at a standby position indicated by a virtual line in FIG. As a result, the cover portion 1c is detached from the tray portion 1t. In addition, while the work tray 1 is returned from the discharge unit 41 to the loading unit 36, the release operation unit 19 provided in the work tray 1 is operated, and the function of the check valve 18 is released. As a result, the vacuum state of the sealed space K is released and returned to atmospheric pressure. When the detected element 5o of the work tray 1 returns as a defective tray displaced to the non-detection position Xn, the work tray 1 is replaced and a defect check is performed.

  On the other hand, if the cover portion 1c is detached from the tray portion 1t, the laminated base material W that has been laminated is taken out, and the pre-prepared laminated base material W is set on the upper surface of the tray portion 1t. The setting direction is indicated by an arrow Dw in FIG. In this case, it may be set automatically or manually. When set manually, by pressing a start button (not shown), the detachable arm 38 is rotationally displaced to the suction position, and the cover portion 1c is placed on the tray portion 1t. 38 is returned to the standby position. Thereby, the lamination | stacking base material W is accommodated between the tray part 1t and the cover part 1c. Thus, by storing the laminated base material W in the work tray 1, the heat retaining property and the pressure retaining property during the movement between the press units U1 to U3 are ensured.

  Next, the conveyance mechanism 34 in the introduction conveyance unit Ri is raised, and the work tray 1 is conveyed to the standby unit 40 by the rotation operation of the conveyance roller mechanism 34r. At this time, the work tray 1 passes across the guide rail 31p and the transport carrier 33q. FIG. 15A shows a state in which all the processes in the vacuum press unit U1, the heating press unit U2, and the cooling press unit U3 are completed, and the lower pressurization panels U1y, U2y, U3y are lowered. In this case, the transport carriers 33p and 33q are in the retracted position, and the work tray 1 transported through the introduction transport unit Ri is placed on the transport carriers 33p and 33q in the standby unit 40. The work trays 1 that have been processed in the vacuum press unit U1, the heating press unit U2, and the cooling press unit U3 are also placed on the transport carriers 33p and 33q because the lower pressurizing panels U1y, U2y, and U3y are lowered. Placed.

  Accordingly, if the drive units 33d are driven and controlled to move the transport carriers 33p and 33q by one tact to the positions (forward positions) of the transport carriers 33ps and 33qs indicated by phantom lines in FIG. The tray 1 is set in the vacuum press unit U1, the work tray 1 of the vacuum press unit U1 is set in the heating press unit U2, the work tray 1 of the heating press unit U2 is set in the cooling press unit U3, and the cooling press unit U3 The work tray 1 is set in the discharge unit 41. This state is shown in FIG. Thus, the transport operation of the transport carriers 33p and 33q is only a reciprocal movement in the horizontal direction, and the movement stroke (for one tact) at this time is accurately set in advance.

  If each work tray 1 is set in each unit U1 to U3 which is the next process, first, the vacuum pressure monitoring means 3 performs the determination process of the vacuum pressure Pv. In this case, in the heating press unit U2 shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the work tray 1 is once raised to a predetermined height by the lifters 61. Similarly, in the vacuum press unit U1 and the cooling press unit U3, the work trays 1 are once raised to a predetermined height by the lifters 61. This state is shown in FIG. At this time, the detection unit 6 detects the detected element 5o in the work tray 1, and when the detected element 5o is at the detection position Xd, it can be confirmed that the vacuum suction is normally performed in the previous step. When the determination process of the vacuum pressure Pv is performed and the detected element 5o is at the non-detection position Xn, the determination process of the vacuum pressure Pv is not performed because it is already determined as a defective tray in the previous process.

  In the determination process, the suction cup 64 is lowered by the suction cylinder 63 and is attracted to the attracted surface 16 f provided on the work tray 1. Since the suction cup 64 is connected to the vacuum device 66, the sealed space K of the work tray 1 is vacuumed by the vacuum device 66. Then, during vacuum suction, a determination (inspection) is made as to whether or not the work tray 1 has an abnormality such as leakage. In this case, the vacuum pressure Pv is detected by the vacuum pressure gauge 67 connected to the vacuum line 64L, and it is determined whether or not the normal value is satisfied. For example, when the normal value of the vacuum pressure Pv of the heating press unit U2 is set to −96 [kPa], if it is less than −96 [kPa], it is determined as a defective tray. If it is determined that the tray is defective, the error processing means 4 performs error processing. That is, the pusher 72 is lowered by the operating cylinder 71 shown in FIG. 11 and the detected member 5o of the work tray 1 is pushed downward to be displaced to the non-detection position Xn shown in FIG. Therefore, in the next cooling process, it is no longer detected by the detection part (6), and all the cooling processes including the determination process of the vacuum pressure Pv are not performed.

  Although the determination process of the vacuum pressure Pv in the heating press unit U2 has been described above, the same process is performed in the vacuum press unit U1 and the cooling press unit U3. In this case, the normal value (for example, −75 [kPa]) of the vacuum pressure Pv in the cooling press unit U3 is set lower than the vacuum pressure Pv in the heating press unit U2. Moreover, the vacuum apparatus connected to the vacuum press unit U1 uses a vacuum apparatus common to the cooling press unit U3. Therefore, the normal value of the vacuum pressure Pv is the same as the normal value of the vacuum pressure Pv in the cooling press unit U3. In the vacuum press unit U1, since the vacuum suction process is performed on the sealed space K from the atmospheric pressure state, if the set time elapses after starting the vacuum suction, the defective tray is not reached. Is determined.

  When the determination process of the vacuum pressure Pv is completed, the lower pressurizing panels U1y, U2y, U3y are raised. As a result, each work tray 1 is sandwiched between the upper pressure plates U1x, U2x, U3x and the lower pressure plates U1y, U2y, U3y to perform the pressure treatment. This state is shown in FIG. At this time, when the vacuum pressure Pv of the work tray 1 does not satisfy the normal value, that is, when it is determined to be a defective tray, the corresponding lower pressure plate U1y... Does not rise. And in the vacuum press unit U1, a vacuum suction process is performed and the airtight space K of the work tray 1 is vacuum-sucked, whereby the bubbles contained in the laminated substrate W are completely removed. Further, the hot press unit U2 performs a thermocompression bonding process, which will be described in detail later, and the cooling press unit U3 performs a cooling process.

  On the other hand, the work tray 1 of the discharge section 41 is transported onto the return transport section Rr by the transport mechanism 35 in the discharge transport section Ro being raised and rotated by the transport roller mechanism 35r. At this time, the work tray 1 passes across the transport carrier 33q and the guide rail 31p. In this state, the work trays 1... Are lifted together with the lower pressurizing plates U1y, U2y, U3y and separated from the transport carriers 33p and 33q, and the defective tray is supported by the lifters 61. Since they are separated from the carriers 33p and 33q, as shown in FIG. 15E, the drive units 33d are driven and controlled to move the transport carriers 33p and 33q to the retracted positions indicated by solid lines in FIG.

  Thereafter, when all the processes in the vacuum press unit U1, the heating press unit U2, and the cooling press unit U3 are completed, the lower pressurizing panels U1y, U2y, U3y are lowered, and the lifter 61 of the defective tray is lowered. This state is shown in FIG. In this state, the next work tray 1 is transported from the introduction transport unit Ri to the standby unit 40 onto the transport carriers 33p and 33q. This state is the same as the state shown in FIG. Therefore, the same operation is repeated thereafter.

  Thus, the laminating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment detects the vacuum pressure Pv of the sealed space K of the conveyed work tray 1 by the vacuum pressure monitoring unit 3 and determines whether the vacuum pressure Pv is normal. Determine. When the vacuum pressure Pv is not normal, the error processing means 4 performs error processing to stop processing in subsequent steps S1... For the defective tray, so that only the normal work tray 1 always performs a series of steps. After that, it is laminated, and a high quality and homogeneity with respect to the lamination process can be obtained. In addition, since the laminated base material W of the defective tray can be returned as it is without being laminated, waste of the laminated base material W is eliminated, and it is possible to contribute to the improvement of yield and mass productivity, and the improvement of resource saving. be able to.

  Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to such embodiments, and the details, configurations, shapes, materials, quantities, numerical values and the like do not depart from the spirit of the present invention. It can be changed, added, or deleted arbitrarily. For example, other processing steps such as a preheating step and a second thermocompression bonding step can be provided as necessary, and one or more of the illustrated steps S1 to S3 can be selected and applied. Further, although the detected element 5o is illustrated as the detected part 5, the point is that the detected part 5 can be switched to the error side. For example, an IC tag is provided and rewritten to the error side without contact. In addition, a means such as providing a detection unit 6 for reading information of the IC tag is also included. In addition, although the detection part 6 of the Example illustrated the proximity switch, it can be replaced with a limit switch, an optical sensor, or the like. Further, the laminated base material W is suitable for use in an IC card, but can be applied to other arbitrary cards.

A partially sectional rear view of a heating press unit provided in a laminating apparatus according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Plan view of work tray (tray part) in the laminating apparatus, Rear view of work tray in the laminating device, A cross-sectional rear view of the vacuum connection part in the work tray, Partial cross-sectional plan view of the vacuum connection part in the work tray, An exploded perspective view of components used for the check valve of the work tray, A partially exploded perspective view of a laminated base material laminated by the laminating apparatus, A plan view showing the overall configuration of the laminating apparatus, Side view of a heating press unit provided in the laminating apparatus, Configuration diagram of a vacuum processing unit provided in the heating press unit, Configuration diagram of an error processing unit provided in the heating press unit, Configuration diagram of the state where the detected element is pushed in by the error processing unit, Rear view of the vacuum press unit provided in the laminating apparatus, Side view of the vacuum press unit, Operation explanatory diagram of the laminating apparatus,

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Work tray 3 Vacuum pressure monitoring means 4 Error processing means 5 Detected part 5o Detected element 6 Detecting part 7 Operation part W Laminated substrate K Sealed space S1 Vacuum suction process S2 Thermocompression bonding process S3 Cooling process M Laminating device Xd Detection position Xn non-detection position

Claims (6)

  Vacuum suction process for vacuum suction of the sealed space inside the work tray containing the laminated base material, thermocompression process for heating and pressurizing the work tray that has undergone this vacuum suction process, and cooling the work tray that has undergone this thermocompression process In a laminating apparatus comprising a cooling step, a vacuum pressure monitoring means for detecting the vacuum pressure of the sealed space of the conveyed work tray and determining whether the vacuum pressure is normal in one or more of the steps, A laminating apparatus comprising an error processing means for performing error processing as a defective tray when the vacuum pressure is not normal.   The laminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the error processing means switches a detected portion provided on the work tray to an error side.   The error processing means uses, in the detected portion, a detection element that selectively displaces a detection position indicating that the vacuum pressure is normal and a non-detection position indicating that the vacuum pressure is not normal, The laminating apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an operation unit that displaces the detected element to a non-detection position in the step.   The error processing means is provided with a detection unit for detecting the detected portion switched to the error side in the step, and stops the processing of each step for the defective tray in which the detected portion is switched to the error side. The laminating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein:   In a laminating apparatus work tray in which the internal sealed space containing the laminated base material is vacuum-sucked, it indicates that it is a defective tray when the vacuum pressure in the sealed space is not normal, and the external detection unit detects a defective tray. A work tray for a laminating apparatus, characterized in that a detected part capable of detecting that is provided.   The detection target is a detection element that is selectively displaced to a detection position indicating that the vacuum pressure is normal and a non-detection position indicating that the vacuum pressure is not normal. 5. Work tray for laminating apparatus according to 5.

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