JP2005157326A - Image recording apparatus and method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image recording apparatus and method for correcting a shift in recording position of an image occurring when a recording medium deforms into an arbitrary shape while suppressing a shift in recording position from an ideal position of the image. <P>SOLUTION: When a wiring pattern is recorded on a PWB (printed wiring board) 150 by using raster data, deformation information showing the deformation state of the PW B 150 is acquired beforehand, the raster data are converted on the basis of the deformation information so that a wiring pattern recorded on the PWB 150 after deformation is in the same shape with the wiring pattern indicated by the raster data, and the wiring pattern is recorded on the PWB 50 before deformation based upon the converted raster data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus and an image recording method, and more particularly, to an image recording apparatus and an image recording method for deforming and recording the image on the recording medium according to deformation of the recording medium on which an image indicated by image information is recorded. About.

  As a device for recording a predetermined pattern on a substrate of a printed wiring board (hereinafter referred to as “PWB”) or a flat panel display (hereinafter referred to as “FPD”), a pattern can be directly recorded on the substrate. Laser scanning image recording devices are known.

  In this type of image recording apparatus, the pattern must be recorded at a predetermined position and size.

  However, the pattern (wiring pattern) recorded on the PWB has increased in definition with the increase in the density of component mounting, and the problem of the recording position shift accompanying the expansion and contraction of the substrate that occurs mainly in the press process performed in a heated state. Has become apparent. For example, in the case of a multilayer printed wiring board, it is impossible to highly accurately align PWBs with holes such as through-holes provided in the substrate and the patterns of the respective layers. .

  Also in the FPD, the size of the substrate is increased for the purpose of high productivity, and the problem of misalignment of the drawing due to an increase in the amount of expansion / contraction of the substrate before and after the heat treatment has become apparent. For example, when a color filter pattern is recorded, a recording position shift of each color of R (red), G (green), and B (blue) becomes a problem.

In order to solve such a problem, Patent Document 1 discloses that the PWB is moved to the PWB by moving the PWB in the sub-scanning direction while scanning the light beam in the main scanning direction, and modulating the light beam based on the drawing data. This is a technique for recording a plurality of imposition patterns. When measuring imposition positioning information of PWB and converting from vector data to bitmap data, the recording position deviation is determined based on the imposition positioning information. Techniques for correcting are disclosed.
JP 2000-122303 A

  However, in the technique of the above-mentioned patent document 1, although the positional displacement of the pattern between the layers does not occur, when the deformation amount of the PWB is large, the deformation amount of the drawing pattern also increases, and the drawing pattern in the finally manufactured PWB There is a problem that the positional deviation from the predetermined absolute dimension position (hereinafter referred to as “ideal position”) becomes large.

  When the positional deviation becomes large, the mounting position of the electronic component to be attached to the PWB is largely deviated from the original position, so that it is difficult to automate the mounting of the electronic component on the PWB. Even if the electronic component can be mounted, it may be difficult to assemble the PWB into the apparatus housing.

  That is, an apparatus for assembling a PWB is provided with an electronic component corresponding to the electronic component (for example, a female connector) on the assumption that the amount of deviation of the mounting position of the electronic component in the PWB is within a predetermined allowable deviation amount. In many cases, a male connector, a light receiving element corresponding to the light emitting element, etc.) and an opening are provided. In this case, when the deviation amount of the mounting position of the electronic component exceeds the allowable deviation amount, it is extremely difficult to assemble the PWB to the apparatus housing.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and corrects an image recording position shift when the recording medium is deformed into an arbitrary shape while suppressing a recording position shift from an ideal position of the image. An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording apparatus and an image recording method.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image is recorded on the recording medium by deforming the image according to deformation of the recording medium on which the image indicated by the image information is recorded. An acquisition unit that acquires in advance deformation information indicating a deformation state of the recording medium, and an image recorded on the recording medium after the deformation is based on the deformation information acquired by the acquisition unit. Conversion means for converting the image information so as to have the same shape as the image indicated by the information, recording means for recording an image on the recording medium before deformation based on the image information converted by the conversion means, It has.

  According to the image recording apparatus of the first aspect, the deformation information indicating the deformation state of the recording medium is acquired in advance by the acquisition unit, and is recorded on the recording medium after the deformation by the conversion unit based on the deformation information. The image information is converted so that the image has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information to be recorded on the recording medium, that is, the image when recorded on the recording medium before the transformation, and the converted Based on the image information, an image is recorded on the recording medium before deformation by the recording means. Note that the recording medium includes a PWB and an FPD substrate.

  That is, in the present invention, the deformation state of the recording medium is grasped in advance, and the image recorded on the recording medium after deformation of the recording medium has the same shape as the image when recorded on the recording medium before deformation. The image information is converted as follows. Therefore, the image indicated by the converted image information is deformed in a state opposite to the deformation state of the recording medium, but since this image is recorded on the recording medium before deformation in the present invention, The image after the recording medium is deformed has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information before conversion. As a result, it is possible to correct the image recording position deviation when the recording medium is deformed into an arbitrary shape while suppressing the recording position deviation from the ideal position of the image.

  Thus, according to the image recording apparatus of claim 1, the recording is performed when the image is deformed and recorded on the recording medium in accordance with the deformation of the recording medium on which the image indicated by the image information is recorded. The deformation information indicating the deformation state of the medium is acquired in advance, and based on the deformation information, the image recorded on the recording medium after the deformation has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information. Since the information is converted and the image is recorded on the recording medium before the deformation based on the converted image information, the recording medium is deformed into an arbitrary shape while suppressing the recording position deviation from the ideal position of the image. In this case, the recording position shift of the image can be corrected.

  In the present invention, as in the invention described in claim 2, when a final recording medium is created by laminating a plurality of the recording media, and recording is performed after each recording medium is laminated. In the case where the medium is deformed, the acquisition unit acquires in advance the deformation information of the recording medium after lamination for each lamination of the recording medium, and the conversion unit records the information on the plurality of recording media. For each target image information, an image recorded on the final recording medium is indicated by the image information based on the deformation information for each stack of the recording medium acquired by the acquiring unit. The recording unit converts the image information so as to have the same shape as the recording medium, and the recording unit applies the information to the recording medium before deformation based on the corresponding image information converted by the converting unit for each stack of the recording media. Write image It can be assumed to be.

  According to the present invention, even when a final recording medium is created by laminating a plurality of the recording media, and even when the recording medium after lamination is deformed each time the recording medium is laminated, the ideal position of the image is The recording position deviation of the image when the recording medium is deformed into an arbitrary shape can be corrected while suppressing the recording position deviation.

  Further, according to the present invention, as in the third aspect of the present invention, when a final recording medium is created by laminating a plurality of the recording media, and recording is performed after each recording medium is laminated. In the case where the medium is deformed, the acquisition unit acquires the deformation information of the final recording medium in advance, and the conversion unit acquires the image information to be recorded on the first-layer recording medium. Converts the image information based on the deformation information acquired by the acquisition means so that the image recorded on the final recording medium has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information, For the image information to be recorded on the recording medium after the layer, the image information is converted so that the image to be recorded is deformed according to the deformation state of the recording medium by the previous stacking, Record Means, for each stack of the recording medium, can also be made to record an image on the recording medium based on corresponding said image information converted by said converting means.

  According to the present invention, even when a final recording medium is created by laminating a plurality of the recording media, and even when the recording medium after lamination is deformed each time the respective recording media are laminated, the ideal position of the image The recording position deviation of the image when the recording medium is deformed into an arbitrary shape can be corrected while suppressing the recording position deviation from the image.

  Note that, as in the invention described in claim 4, the acquisition means of the present invention provides a plurality of reference marks provided in advance at predetermined positions on the recording medium as the deformation information before the recording medium is deformed. And information indicating the direction and amount of misalignment between after and after deformation. Thereby, deformation information can be easily obtained.

  Note that the reference mark may include a hole, a groove, a symbol, a character, a figure, or the like indicating a reference position. The acquisition means may include a photographing device that detects the position of the reference mark by photographing, and a sensor such as a photo interrupter that detects the position of the reference mark using light.

  The reference mark is preferably provided in advance for positioning when recording an image on the recording medium, as in the fifth aspect of the invention. Thus, the present invention can be realized easily and at low cost without requiring new means for providing the reference mark.

  The reference marks are preferably provided at four or more locations on the recording medium as in the invention described in claim 6. Accordingly, it is possible to divide the image recording area in the recording medium into a plurality of divided areas with the reference mark arrangement positions as corner points, and to obtain deformation states of the recording medium, and to obtain more various recording medium deformations. It can correspond to.

  The reference mark is preferably provided in the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the recording medium, as in the seventh aspect of the invention. Thereby, it is possible to cope with the deformation of the entire image recording area in the recording medium.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the conversion means of each of the above inventions converts the image information based on an FFD (Free Form Deformation) method as in the invention described in claim 8. That is, equation (1), which will be described later by the FFD method, is a linear function by u when v is a fixed value. Therefore, if v is determined, it corresponds to an initial value (start point) and an increment (increment of u). (Increment) can also be easily obtained. By using this, the subsequent operation can be a simple addition operation, and the calculation process can be speeded up.

  According to the present invention, as in the ninth aspect of the invention, the recording medium is a printed wiring board that includes an etching process and a pressing process when recording the image, and the image information is used as the printed wiring. It is good also as what shows the wiring pattern formed in a board. Accordingly, it is possible to correct the recording position deviation of the wiring pattern when the printed wiring board is deformed into an arbitrary shape while suppressing the recording position deviation from the ideal position of the wiring pattern.

  In particular, the acquisition means of the invention according to claim 9 acquires in advance deformation information indicating the deformation state of the printed wiring board immediately after the etching process is completed, as in the invention according to claim 10. It is good. Thereby, in a series of manufacturing steps for continuously manufacturing a plurality of printed wiring boards, when obtaining deformation information for the first predetermined number of printed wiring boards, and manufacturing the remaining printed wiring boards using the deformation information In addition, it is possible to reduce the time from obtaining the deformation information to manufacturing the printed wiring board, and as a result, the printed wiring board can be manufactured in a short time.

  Further, the acquisition means of the invention according to claim 9 acquires in advance deformation information indicating the deformation state of the printed wiring board immediately after the pressing step, as in the invention according to claim 11. It is good. Thereby, in a series of manufacturing steps for continuously manufacturing a plurality of printed wiring boards, when obtaining deformation information for the first predetermined number of printed wiring boards, and manufacturing the remaining printed wiring boards using the deformation information In addition, the displacement of the recording position of the wiring pattern can be corrected in a state in which both deformation due to the etching process and deformation due to the pressing process are included, and more accurately than the invention according to claim 10. The recording position shift can be corrected.

  Incidentally, image information indicating a wiring pattern used when manufacturing a printed wiring board is usually supplied as vector data from a CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) station, and the vector data is used as the resolution of a recorded image by the image recording apparatus. It is converted into raster data and applied.

  Therefore, in the invention according to any one of claims 9 to 11, as in the invention according to claim 12, the image information may be vector data indicating the wiring pattern. As a result, vector data with higher resolution than raster data can be converted by the conversion means, and the recording position deviation can be corrected more accurately than when converting raster data. can do.

  On the other hand, in the invention according to any one of claims 9 to 11, the image information may be raster data indicating the wiring pattern as in the invention according to claim 13. As a result, raster data with a simple structure compared to vector data can be converted by the conversion means, and the recording position deviation can be corrected more easily than when converting vector data. can do.

  On the other hand, in order to achieve the above object, the image recording method according to claim 14 is an image that is recorded on the recording medium by deforming the image according to deformation of the recording medium on which the image indicated by the image information is recorded. A recording method, wherein deformation information indicating a deformation state of the recording medium is acquired in advance, and an image recorded on the recording medium after deformation based on the deformation information is an image indicated by the image information The image information is converted so as to have the same shape, and an image is recorded on the recording medium before deformation based on the converted image information.

  Therefore, according to the image recording method of the fourteenth aspect, since it operates in the same manner as the first aspect of the invention, the recording position deviation from the ideal position of the image is suppressed as in the first aspect of the invention. However, it is possible to correct an image recording position shift when the recording medium is deformed into an arbitrary shape.

  According to the image recording apparatus and the image recording method of the present invention, when the image is deformed and recorded on the recording medium in accordance with the deformation of the recording medium on which the image indicated by the image information is recorded, Deformation information indicating a deformation state is acquired in advance, and based on the deformation information, the image information is stored so that the image recorded on the recording medium after deformation has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information. Since the image is recorded on the recording medium before the deformation based on the converted image information after the conversion, the recording medium is deformed into an arbitrary shape while suppressing the recording position deviation from the ideal position of the image. The effect that the recording position shift of the image can be corrected is obtained.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 shows a flat bed type image recording apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  The image recording apparatus 100 includes a thick plate-shaped installation table 156 supported by four legs 154, and includes a flat plate-like stage 152 via two guides 158 extending along the stage moving direction. ing. The stage 152 has a function of adsorbing and holding a PWB (printed wiring board) 150 on the surface.

  The stage 152 has a longitudinal direction as a stage moving direction, is guided by a guide 158, and is supported so as to be able to reciprocate (scan). The image recording apparatus 100 is provided with a driving device (not shown) for driving the stage 152 along the guide 158 and has a moving speed (scanning speed) corresponding to a desired magnification in the scanning direction. As described above, drive control is performed by a stage control unit 112 (see also FIG. 5).

  A U-shaped gate 160 is provided at the center of the installation table 156 so as to straddle the movement path of the stage 152. Each of the ends of the U-shaped gate 160 is fixed to both side surfaces of the installation table 156. The recording head 162 is provided on one side of the gate 160, and the other side has a front end and a rear end of the PWB 150, and a plurality of circular shapes in plan view provided in advance in the PWB 150 (in this embodiment). A plurality (three in the present embodiment) of cameras 164 for detecting the positions of the four positioning holes 150A are provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3B, the recording head 162 includes a plurality of recording element units 166 arranged in an approximately matrix of m rows and n columns (for example, 2 rows and 5 columns).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image area 168 that is an area exposed by the recording element unit 166 has a rectangular shape with a short side along the scanning direction, and is inclined at a predetermined inclination angle θ with respect to the scanning direction. Yes. As the stage 152 moves, a strip-shaped exposed area 170 is formed in the PWB 150 for each recording element unit 166. As shown in FIG. 2, the scanning direction is opposite to the stage moving direction.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the recording elements in the respective rows arranged in a line so that each of the strip-shaped exposed areas 170 partially overlaps the adjacent exposed areas 170. Each of the units 166 is arranged so as to be shifted by a predetermined interval in the arrangement direction (a natural number multiple of the long side of the image area, 1 in this embodiment). Therefore, for example, the unexposed portion between the image region 168A located on the leftmost side of the first row and the image region 168C located on the right side of the image region 168A is the image located on the leftmost side of the second row. The area 168B is exposed. Similarly, a portion that cannot be exposed between the image area 168B and the image area 168D located on the right side of the image area 168B is exposed by the image area 168C.

  Each of the recording element units 166 is ON / OFF controlled in units of dots by an unillustrated digital micromirror device (DMD), which is a spatial light modulation element, and the PWB 150 is binarized. The dot pattern (black / white) is exposed, and the density of one pixel is expressed by the plurality of dot patterns.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the above-described band-shaped exposed region 170 (one recording element unit 166) is formed by 20 dots arranged in a two-dimensional array (4 × 5).

  The two-dimensional dot pattern is inclined with respect to the scanning direction so that the dots arranged in the scanning direction pass between the dots arranged in the direction intersecting the scanning direction. Can be achieved.

  Note that there may be a dot that is not used due to variations in the adjustment of the tilt angle. For example, in FIG. 4, a hatched dot is a dot that is not used, and the DMD corresponding to this dot is always off.

  By the way, the image recording apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is an apparatus for recording a wiring pattern of each layer of the PWB 150 configured as a multilayer printed wiring board. Hereinafter, an overall manufacturing process of the PWB 150 using the image recording apparatus 100 will be briefly described.

  First, a photosensitive agent is applied to the surface of the PWB 150, and the PWB 150 is placed at a predetermined position on the stage 152 in the image recording apparatus 100 (in the present embodiment, a position approximately at the center of the stage 152 as shown in FIG. 1). To do. As a result, the PWB 150 is adsorbed and held on the surface of the stage 152.

  Next, the image recording apparatus 100 forms a wiring pattern image (latent image) on the upper surface of the PWB 150 by performing scanning exposure based on image data indicating the wiring pattern on the upper surface of the PWB 150.

  Then, development (removal of an unexposed portion by the image recording apparatus 100) and etching are performed on the PWB 150 by an apparatus (not shown). Thereby, one layer in a multilayer printed wiring board can be created.

  Next, the substrate constituting the second layer is laminated on the wiring pattern forming surface of the created PWB 150 for one layer by a pressing process of pressing with a press hot plate (not shown).

  Thereafter, the above steps (application of the photosensitive agent, scanning exposure of the wiring pattern by the image recording apparatus 100, development, etching, and lamination of the substrates) are repeated for the required number of layers, and after the final layer (surface layer) etching is completed The final PWB 150 is completed through a predetermined finishing process.

  Here, as described above, a plurality of (four in the present embodiment) positioning holes 150A are provided at predetermined positions of the PWB 150, but these positions are caused by the expansion and contraction of the PWB 150 generated in the pressing step. In many cases, a deviation occurs in an arbitrary direction from the predetermined position.

  By the way, in the image recording apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the PWB 150 is manufactured in two stages of trial manufacture and mass production.

  Next, the operation of the image recording apparatus 100 when the PWB 150 is prototyped will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram for performing exposure control for the PWB 150 in the image recording apparatus 100, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing during the trial production of the image recording apparatus 100.

  First, the first PWB 150 having a surface coated with a photosensitive agent is placed at a predetermined position on the stage 152 in the image recording apparatus 100. As a result, the PWB 150 is adsorbed and held on the surface of the stage 152.

  Next, the controller 102 that controls the operation of the entire image recording apparatus 100 performs stage control by using the driving device (not shown) to move the stage 152 at a moving speed (scanning speed) corresponding to a desired magnification in the scanning direction. This is executed for the unit 112. As a result, the PWB 150 before exposure of the wiring pattern placed on the stage 152 starts to move in the stage moving direction from the most downstream position (position shown in FIG. 1).

  In response to this, image data indicating images captured by the plurality of (in the present embodiment, three) cameras 164 with respect to the PWB 150 are sequentially input to the recording position information image processing unit 110, so that the recording position information image processing unit 110 detects the position of the positioning hole 150A of the PWB 150 placed on the stage 152 based on the image data, acquires position information indicating the position, and outputs the position information to the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 (FIG. 6 step 300).

  The detection of the positioning hole 150A of the PWB 150 is obtained by photographing the image indicated by the image data input from the camera 164 and the standard PWB 150 that has not undergone the pressing process, and the recording position information image processing. It can be obtained by pattern matching with an image indicated by image data registered in a memory (not shown) provided in the unit 110.

  Information indicating the position of the positioning hole 150A in the standard PWB 150 is stored in advance in the memory (not shown), and is indicated by information indicating the position of the positioning hole 150A in the image data input from the camera 164. A method of detecting by extracting a circular image which is the shape of the positioning hole 150A from image data corresponding to a region within a predetermined range including the position can also be applied.

  The substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 to which the position information is input from the recording position information image processing unit 110 performs correction to deal with the displacement of the arrangement position on the stage 152 of the PWB 150 with respect to the position information. Then, it is stored in a storage means (not shown) (step 302). In the present embodiment, the correction of the position information is performed by scanning a movement amount that can match the center position of each of the four positioning holes 150A indicated by the position information with a predetermined reference position. This is performed by obtaining two directions, that is, a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction and the scanning direction, and correcting each position of the positioning hole 150A indicated by the position information by the amount of movement in the two directions.

  Thereafter, the controller 102 returns the PWB 150 to the most downstream position (position shown in FIG. 1) by controlling the stage control unit 112 so as to move the stage 152 in the direction opposite to the stage moving direction.

  On the other hand, the raster conversion processing unit 104 receives vector data indicating a wiring pattern to be exposed and recorded on the PWB 150 created by the data creation device 200 including a CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) station.

  Therefore, the raster conversion processing unit 104 acquires the vector data (step 304), converts it into raster data (bitmap data), and outputs it to the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 (step 306).

  In response to this, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 corrects the input raster data to deal with the displacement of the arrangement position of the PWB 150 on the stage 152, and then stores it in a storage unit (not shown). (Step 308). In the present embodiment, the raster data is corrected by moving the position of the wiring pattern indicated by the raster data with respect to the scanning direction and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction by the movement amount obtained in the processing of step 302. This is done by correcting so that

  Then, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 enlarges the wiring pattern indicated by the raster data with respect to the corrected raster data at a predetermined magnification with respect to the scanning direction and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. A scaling process is performed (step 310). Note that the magnification applied in the scaling process is empirically set according to the deformation amount of the PWB 150 finally obtained, and the deformation amount when the case where there is no deformation of the PWB 150 is “1”. Is set empirically from the past PWB creation results in the scanning direction and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction.

  On the other hand, the vector data is also input to the controller 102 from the data creation device 200.

  In response to this, the controller 102 performs control for moving the stage 152 at a moving speed (scanning speed) corresponding to a desired magnification in the scanning direction by a driving device (not shown) based on the vector data. To run against. As a result, the PWB 150 before exposure of the wiring pattern placed on the stage 152 starts to move in the stage moving direction from the most downstream position (position shown in FIG. 1).

  On the other hand, the image recording control unit 108 uses the raster data after the scaling process obtained in the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 by the process of step 310 to turn on / off each recording element unit 166 that becomes the final image data. Generate off-data. Then, using the ON / OFF data, the DMD of each recording element unit 166 of the recording head 162 is controlled in synchronization with the movement of the stage 152, and the image recording of the wiring pattern is executed. As a result, an image showing a wiring pattern is exposed on the PWB 150 (step 312).

  Thereafter, as described above, development (removal of unexposed portions by the image recording apparatus 100) and etching are performed on the PWB 150 after wiring pattern recording by an apparatus (not shown). Thereby, one layer in a multilayer printed wiring board can be created.

  Next, after laminating the substrate constituting the second layer by a pressing hot plate (not shown) on the wiring pattern forming surface of the created PWB 150 for one layer, a photosensitive agent is applied to the surface. Applied.

  Then, the PWB 150 is placed at a predetermined position on the stage 152 in the image recording apparatus 100. As a result, the PWB 150 is adsorbed and held on the surface of the stage 152.

  Thereafter, similarly to the above step 300 and step 302, the position information indicating the position of the positioning hole 150A of the PWB 150 is acquired, and the position information is corrected to cope with the displacement of the arrangement position of the PWB 150 on the stage 152. After performing, it memorize | stores in a memory means not shown (step 314 and step 316).

  Then, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 stores the storage means (not shown) by the process of step 316 for each position of the positioning hole 150A indicated by the position information stored in the storage means (not shown) by the process of step 302. The positional displacement amount (hereinafter referred to as “change amount data”) of the positioning hole 150A indicated by the position information stored in is calculated for each of the positioning holes 150A in two directions, ie, the scanning direction and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. Then, it is stored in a storage means (not shown) (step 318).

  The above steps 300 to 318 are repeated for the required number of layers (step 320). As a result, the change amount data of the number of sets smaller by one than the number of layers constituting the PWB 150 is obtained and stored in the storage means (not shown).

  Then, the amount of change data for each PWB 150 is obtained by performing the above processing on a predetermined number of PWBs 150 (step 322), and the representative value of the obtained amount of change data for each PWB 150 is set for each stack and positioning hole. Each 150A is derived and stored in a storage means (not shown) (step 324). In the present embodiment, the arithmetic mean value of the change amount data for each stack and each positioning hole 150A is calculated as the representative value of the change amount data. A weighted average value of data may be calculated, or a median value of the change amount data may be derived.

  Next, the operation during mass production of the PWB 150 in the image recording apparatus 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when the image recording apparatus 100 is in mass production.

  First, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 reads out the representative value of the deformation amount data for each stack and the positioning hole 150A stored by the processing at the time of the prototype shown in FIG. 400).

  On the other hand, the first layer PWB 150 having the surface coated with the photosensitive agent is placed at a predetermined position on the stage 152 in the image recording apparatus 100. As a result, the PWB 150 is adsorbed and held on the surface of the stage 152.

  Next, the controller 102 causes the stage control unit 112 to execute control for moving the stage 152 at a moving speed (scanning speed) corresponding to a desired magnification in the scanning direction by the driving device (not shown). As a result, the PWB 150 before exposure of the wiring pattern placed on the stage 152 starts to move in the stage moving direction from the most downstream position (position shown in FIG. 1).

  In response to this, image data indicating images captured by the plurality of (in the present embodiment, three) cameras 164 with respect to the PWB 150 are sequentially input to the recording position information image processing unit 110, so that the recording position information image processing unit 110 detects the position of the positioning hole 150A of the PWB 150 placed on the stage 152 based on the image data in the same process as in step 300 shown in FIG. 6, and acquires position information indicating the position. To the substrate distortion corrected image processing unit 106 (step 402).

  The substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 to which the position information is input derives correction data (hereinafter, referred to as “substrate arrangement deviation correction data”) for dealing with the arrangement position deviation on the stage 152 of the PWB 150. And stored in a storage means (not shown) (step 404). In the present embodiment, the derivation of the substrate displacement correction data is derived in the same manner as the movement amount derivation method applied in the correction process for dealing with the displacement of the arrangement position of the PWB 150 in step 302 of FIG. The amount of movement that can match the center position of each of the four positioning holes 150A indicated by the position information with a predetermined reference position (the same reference position applied in step 302 in FIG. 6). This is performed by obtaining the two directions of the scanning direction and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction.

  On the other hand, the raster conversion processing unit 104 receives vector data indicating a wiring pattern to be exposed and recorded on the PWB 150 created by the data creation device 200.

  Therefore, the raster conversion processing unit 104 acquires the vector data (step 406), converts it into raster data (bitmap data), and outputs it to the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 (step 408).

  In response to this, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 corrects the input raster data to deal with the displacement of the arrangement position of the PWB 150 on the stage 152, and then stores it in a storage unit (not shown). (Step 410). In the present embodiment, the correction of the raster data is read out from the storage means (not shown) stored in the processing of step 404, and the movement indicated by the substrate displacement correction data is read. The correction is performed by moving the position of the wiring pattern indicated by the raster data with respect to the scanning direction and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction by an amount.

  Then, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 uses the magnification (predetermined in FIG. 6) for the corrected raster data with respect to the scanning direction and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. A scaling process is performed so that the image is enlarged at the same magnification as that applied in step 310 (step 412).

  Further, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 has the same pattern as the wiring pattern indicated by the raster data, in which the recorded wiring pattern in the PWB 150 after the raster data after the scaling process is deformed by the press processing or the like. Inverse transformation processing is performed for conversion so as to be (step 414).

Hereinafter, the reverse deformation process will be described. Here, as an example, as shown in FIG. 8, it is assumed that the recording medium (PWB 150 in this embodiment) on which an image (wiring pattern in this embodiment) is recorded is not deformed (before deformation). The positions of a plurality of (four in the figure) reference marks (positioning holes 150A in this embodiment) on the recording medium are positions indicated by points S ₀₀ , S ₁₀ , S ₁₁ , S _01. A case where the position of the reference mark is a position indicated by the points P ₀₀ , P ₁₀ , P ₁₁ , P ₀₁ will be described.

First, an existing deformation method for transforming a quadrangle having points S ₀₀ , S ₁₀ , S ₁₁ , S ₀₁ as corner points into a quadrangle having points P ₀₀ , P ₁₀ , P ₁₁ , P ₀₁ as corner points ( Here, the FFD (Free Form Deformation) method will be described. Each point Pij (i = 0, 1, j = 0, 1) used here is called a “control point”.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the coordinates S (u, v) of the image after deformation corresponding to the coordinates (u, v) of the arbitrary point in the image before deformation (where 0 ≦ u ≦ 1, 0 ≦ v ≦ 1). v) can be obtained by the following equation (1) by the FFD method. At this time, the X coordinate and the Y coordinate in the coordinate system before the deformation are normalized with respect to the length of each side.

Here, B ₀ (u) = 1−u, B ₁ (u) = u, and the expression (1) is developed as the expression (2).

  By using such an existing deformation processing method, it is possible to convert a rectangular image in the coordinate space before the deformation into a rectangular image (deformed quadrangle) in the coordinate space after the deformation. is there.

  Specifically, the pixel data of the coordinates (u, v) in the image before the deformation may be applied as the pixel data of the coordinates S (u, v). Here, the coordinate S (u, v) has a value after the decimal point, but the nearest coordinate can be obtained by rounding off. In addition, if necessary, pixel data of the target pixel may be obtained from pixel data of a plurality of points near the target coordinate by interpolation processing such as linear interpolation processing. The pixel data derivation process as described above is called “nearest neighbor interpolation process”.

  When the above deformation processing method is applied to the reverse deformation processing according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, as an example, the coordinates (u, v) of the coordinates S (u, v) are changed. The conversion of applying the pixel data of the coordinates (u, v) in the image before the transformation as the pixel data of the coordinates S (u ′, v ′) located at the point-symmetrical position as the center point is a value of u and v. The inverse deformation process can be realized by performing the process for all the pixels by changing.

  At this time, as the value of the point Pij (i = 0, 1, j = 0, 1) serving as the control point, the representative value of the deformation amount data for each of the stacks and the positioning holes 150A read out by the processing of step 400 above. (Position displacement amount of positioning hole 150A) is integrated for each positioning hole 150A, and the position of corresponding positioning hole 150A assuming a case where PWB 150 is not deformed by the total positional displacement amount obtained thereby. A value indicating the final position of each positioning hole 150A obtained by moving each of the positioning holes 150A in the scanning direction and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction is applied.

  On the other hand, the vector data is also input to the controller 102 from the data creation device 200.

  In response to this, the controller 102 performs control for moving the stage 152 at a moving speed (scanning speed) corresponding to a desired magnification in the scanning direction by a driving device (not shown) based on the vector data. To run against. As a result, the PWB 150 before exposure of the wiring pattern placed on the stage 152 starts to move in the stage moving direction from the most downstream position (position shown in FIG. 1).

  On the other hand, the image recording control unit 108 uses the raster data after the inverse deformation processing obtained in the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 by the processing in step 414 to turn on / off each recording element unit 166 that becomes final image data. Generate off-data. Then, using the ON / OFF data, the DMD of each recording element unit 166 of the recording head 162 is controlled in synchronization with the movement of the stage 152, and the image recording of the wiring pattern is executed. As a result, an image showing a wiring pattern is exposed on the PWB 150 (step 416).

  Thereafter, as described above, development (removal of unexposed portions by the image recording apparatus 100) and etching are performed on the PWB 150 after wiring pattern recording by an apparatus (not shown). Thereby, one layer in a multilayer printed wiring board can be created.

  And the board | substrate which comprises the 2nd layer is laminated | stacked by the press process which presses with the press hot plate not shown with respect to the wiring pattern formation surface of PWB150 for 1 layer produced.

  Thereafter, the above steps (application of the photosensitive agent, scanning exposure of the wiring pattern by the image recording apparatus 100, development, etching, and lamination of the substrates) are repeated for the required number of layers, and after the etching of the final layer (surface layer) is completed. The final PWB 150 is completed through a predetermined finishing process.

  Therefore, the image recording apparatus 100 repeats the above-described processing of Step 402 to Step 416 for the required number of layers (Step 418).

  When the processes in steps 402 to 416 are repeated, in step 414, the value of the point Pij (i = 0, 1, j = 0, 1) serving as a control point is read out by the process in step 400. Among the representative values of the deformation amount data for each layer and each positioning hole 150A (the amount of displacement of the position of the positioning hole 150A), the representative value excluding up to the value of the n-th layer when the number of times of stacking is n. The value is integrated for each positioning hole 150A, and the position of the corresponding positioning hole 150A assuming the case where the PWB 150 is not deformed by the total positional shift amount obtained thereby is the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction and the scanning direction. A value indicating the position after deformation of each positioning hole 150A obtained by moving the positioning hole is applied.

  For example, when creating a PWB having a four-layer structure, as shown in FIG. 10A as an example, deformation is performed as deformation amount data after stacking the second layer by the above-described processing at the time of trial production (see FIG. 6). When the amount data f1 is obtained as deformation amount data f2 after lamination of the third layer, and deformation amount data f3 is obtained as deformation amount data after lamination of the fourth layer, respectively, FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the final deformation of the PWB 150 obtained based on all the deformation amount data (deformation amount data f1 to f3) by the above-described processing in mass production (see FIG. 7). The second-layer wiring pattern is inversely deformed according to the deformation amount of the PWB 150 obtained based on the deformation amount data (deformation amount data f2, f3) excluding the deformation amount data f1. Recorded The wiring pattern of the third layer is recorded by being reversely deformed according to the deformation amount of the PWB 150 obtained based on the deformation amount data (deformation amount data f3) excluding the deformation amount data f1 and the deformation amount data f2. The eye wiring pattern is recorded without being deformed.

  At this time, the deformation of the PWB 150 is repeated each time the layers are stacked. As a result, the wiring pattern recorded in each layer is deformed into an arbitrary shape while suppressing the recording position deviation from the ideal position. It is possible to eliminate the recording position shift between the layers.

  As described above, in this embodiment, the image information (here, the wiring pattern) indicated by the image information (here, the raster data) is recorded according to the deformation of the recording medium (here, the PWB 150). When the image is deformed and recorded on the recording medium, deformation information (in this case, deformation amount data) indicating the deformation state of the recording medium is acquired in advance, and the recording after deformation is performed based on the deformation information. The image information is converted so that the image recorded on the medium has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information, and the image is recorded on the recording medium before deformation based on the converted image information. Therefore, it is possible to correct the recording position shift of the image when the recording medium is deformed into an arbitrary shape while suppressing the recording position shift from the ideal position of the image.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the deformation information of the recording medium after being stacked is acquired in advance for each stack of the recording media, and acquired for each image information to be recorded on a plurality of recording media. The image information is converted based on the deformation information for each stack of the recording media so that the image recorded on the finally obtained recording medium has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information. In addition, since the image is recorded on the recording medium before deformation based on the converted corresponding image information for each stack of the recording media, the final recording is performed by stacking a plurality of the recording media. Even when creating a medium and when the recording medium after lamination is deformed each time the recording medium is laminated, the recording medium is deformed into an arbitrary shape while suppressing the deviation of the recording position from the ideal position of the image. Picture in case It is possible to correct the recording position deviation.

  In the present embodiment, as the deformation information, a plurality of reference marks (here, positioning holes 150A) provided in advance at predetermined positions of the recording medium, before and after the recording medium is deformed, and Since the information indicating the direction and amount of misalignment is acquired, deformation information can be acquired easily.

  In the present embodiment, since a reference mark provided in advance for positioning at the time of image recording is applied to the recording medium as the reference mark of the present invention, new means for providing the reference mark The present invention can be realized simply and at low cost.

  In this embodiment, since the positioning hole 150A provided in the vicinity of the outer peripheral portion of the recording medium is applied as the reference mark of the present invention, it is possible to cope with the deformation of the entire image recording area in the recording medium. Can do.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, since the image information is converted based on the FFD method, the conversion process can be speeded up. That is, since the equation (1) by the FFD method is a linear function by u when v is a fixed value, the initial value (start point) and increment (increment corresponding to the increment of u) are determined when v is determined. Can also be easily obtained. By using this, the subsequent operation can be a simple addition operation, and the calculation process can be speeded up.

  In particular, in this embodiment, the recording medium is a printed wiring board with an etching process and a pressing process when recording the image, and shows a wiring pattern for forming the image information on the printed wiring board. Therefore, the recording position deviation of the wiring pattern when the printed wiring board is deformed into an arbitrary shape can be corrected while suppressing the recording position deviation from the ideal position of the wiring pattern.

  In this embodiment, since the inverse deformation process is performed on raster data having a simple structure as compared with vector data, it is simpler than the case where the inverse deformation process is performed on vector data. In addition, the recording position deviation can be corrected.

[Second Embodiment]
In the second embodiment, the present invention is applied to a first predetermined number of PWBs in a series of manufacturing steps for manufacturing a plurality of PWBs in succession (here, a manufacturing step for one lot of PWB). A description will be given of an example in which the present invention is applied to the case where data is acquired and the remaining PWB is manufactured using the deformation data. The configuration of the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment is the same as that of the image recording apparatus 100 (see FIGS. 1 to 5) according to the first embodiment, and will be described here. Is omitted.

  Hereinafter, the operation at the time of manufacturing the PWB 150 for one lot in the image recording apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 12. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when manufacturing the PWB 150 for one lot of the image recording apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  At this time, in the image recording apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, first, deformation amount data deriving processing is executed (step 500).

  Here, the deformation amount data deriving process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the image recording apparatus 100 when the deformation amount data deriving process is executed. Here, since the deformation amount data deriving process is substantially the same as the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 6, the steps of performing the same process as FIG. 6 in FIG. 13 are the same as those in FIG. A step number is assigned and description thereof is omitted as much as possible.

  When the image indicating the wiring pattern is exposed on the PWB 150 by the processing of step 312 in FIG. 13, the PWB 150 after the wiring pattern recording is developed (removal of an unexposed portion by the image recording apparatus 100) and an unillustrated device. Etching is performed. Thereby, one layer in a multilayer printed wiring board can be created.

  Next, the created PWB 150 for one layer is placed at a predetermined position on the stage 152 in the image recording apparatus 100. As a result, the PWB 150 is adsorbed and held on the surface of the stage 152.

  After that, as in step 300 and step 302, position information indicating the position of the positioning hole 150A of the PWB 150 is acquired, and correction is performed on the position information in order to deal with the displacement of the arrangement position of the PWB 150 on the stage 152. After that, it is stored in a storage means (not shown) (step 314 ′ and step 316).

  Then, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 stores in the storage unit (not shown) by the process of step 316 for each position of the positioning hole 150A indicated by the position information stored in the storage unit (not shown) by the process of step 302. A displacement amount (hereinafter referred to as “change amount data”) of the positioning hole 150A indicated by the stored position information is calculated for each of the positioning holes 150A in two directions, ie, the scanning direction and the direction orthogonal to the scanning direction. (Step 318).

  By performing the above processing for a predetermined number (here, 5) of PWBs 150, change amount data for each PWB 150 is acquired (step 322 '), and a representative value of the acquired change amount data for each PWB 150 is positioned. Each hole 150A is derived and stored in a storage means (not shown) (step 324 '). In this embodiment, the arithmetic mean value of the change amount data for each positioning hole 150A is calculated as the representative value of the change amount data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the weighted average value of the change amount data is calculated. Or a median value of the change amount data may be derived.

  When the amount of change data indicating the deformation state of the PWB 150 immediately after the etching process is completed is derived by the above process, the image recording apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment performs a substrate manufacturing process (step 502 in FIG. 12).

  Here, the substrate manufacturing process will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing a process flow of the image recording apparatus 100 when the substrate manufacturing process is executed. Here, since the substrate manufacturing process performs substantially the same process as the process of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, the steps for performing the same process as FIG. 7 in FIG. 14 are the same step numbers as in FIG. The description is omitted as much as possible.

  First, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 reads out a representative value of deformation amount data for each positioning hole 150A stored by the deformation amount data deriving process shown in FIG. 13 from a storage unit (not shown) (step 400 ').

  Thereafter, the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 has the same wiring pattern as the wiring pattern indicated by the raster data recorded in the PWB 150 after the raster data after the scaling process in step 412 is deformed by pressing or the like. Inverse deformation processing for converting the shape into a shape is performed (step 414 ′).

  Note that the inverse deformation processing method performed here is the same as the method (inverse deformation processing method using the FFD method) applied in the image recording apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, but the control point is the same. As a value of the point Pij (i = 0, 1, j = 0, 1), the representative value of the deformation amount data for each positioning hole 150A read out by the processing of step 400 ′ (the displacement amount of the positioning hole 150A) The final position of each positioning hole 150A obtained by moving the position of the corresponding positioning hole 150A in the scanning direction and the direction perpendicular to the scanning direction assuming that the PWB 150 is not deformed by the amount of displacement indicated by The difference is that a value indicating the position after deformation is applied.

  When the above-described substrate manufacturing process is completed, whether or not the image recording apparatus 100 according to this embodiment has completed the manufacture of the PWB 150 by the substrate manufacturing process by a predetermined number (here, the number corresponding to one lot). If the determination is negative, the process returns to step 502 to manufacture the PWB 150 again, and when the determination is affirmative, this processing is terminated (step 504 in FIG. 12).

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the deformation information indicating the deformation state of the printed wiring board immediately after the completion of the etching process can be obtained as well as the same effect as the first embodiment. In a series of manufacturing processes for continuously manufacturing a plurality of printed wiring boards, the deformation information is acquired for the first predetermined number of printed wiring boards, and the remaining information is used using the deformation information. When manufacturing a printed wiring board, it is possible to shorten the time from when deformation information is acquired until the printed wiring board is manufactured. As a result, the printed wiring board can be manufactured in a short time.

  In the second embodiment, the case where the deformation amount data after the completion of the etching process is acquired based on the image captured by the camera 164 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, The data acquired by the AOI (Automated Optical Inspection) function by the automatic optical inspection apparatus may be applied as the deformation amount data. Also in this case, the same effects as those of the second embodiment can be obtained.

  In the second embodiment, in a series of manufacturing steps for manufacturing a plurality of PWBs in succession (here, a manufacturing step for one lot of PWB), the etching step is completed for the first predetermined number of PWBs. In the above description, the deformation amount data indicating the deformation state of the PWB is acquired and the remaining PWB is manufactured using the deformation amount data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a plurality of PWBs are manufactured. In a series of manufacturing processes for continuously manufacturing, the deformation amount data indicating the deformation state of the printed wiring board immediately after the pressing process is completed for the first predetermined number of PWBs is acquired, and the remaining amount is obtained using the deformation amount data. It can also be set as the form which manufactures PWB.

  In this case, as a specific form example, instead of the deformation amount data derivation process (see FIG. 13) according to the second embodiment, the board prototype process according to the first embodiment (see FIG. 13). A mode to apply FIG. 6) can be illustrated.

  In this case, in a series of manufacturing steps for continuously manufacturing a plurality of printed wiring boards, the deformation information is acquired for the first predetermined number of printed wiring boards, and the remaining printed wiring boards are manufactured using the deformation information. In addition, it is possible to correct the recording position deviation of the wiring pattern in a state in which both of the deformation by the etching process and the deformation by the pressing process are included, and more accurately than the second embodiment. The recording position shift can be corrected.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the inverse deformation process is performed on the raster data has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the form in which the inverse deformation process is performed on the vector data. You can also

  FIG. 15 is a functional block diagram for performing exposure control for the PWB 150 in the image recording apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. In addition, the same code | symbol as FIG. 5 is attached | subjected to the component which performs the process same as FIG. 5 in the same figure.

  As shown in the figure, in this case, the substrate distortion correction interposed between the raster conversion processing unit 104 and the image recording control unit 108 is compared with the image recording apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. A difference is that a substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 ′ interposed between the data creation device 200 and the raster conversion processing unit 104 is applied instead of the image processing unit 106. Note that the substrate distortion correction image processing unit 106 ′ preliminarily performs vector prototype processing (see FIG. 6), deformation amount data derivation processing (see FIG. 13), and the like on the vector data input from the data creation device 200. Inverse deformation processing based on the obtained deformation amount data is performed.

  As a result, it is possible to perform reverse deformation processing on vector data having a higher resolution than that of raster data, and to correct the recording position displacement with higher accuracy than in the case of converting raster data. be able to.

  In each of the above embodiments, the recording element unit 166 having the DMD as the spatial light modulation element has been described. However, in addition to such a reflective spatial light modulation element, a transmissive spatial light modulation element (LCD) is used. You can also For example, a liquid crystal shutter such as a MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) type spatial light modulator (SLM), an optical element (PLZT element) that modulates transmitted light by an electro-optic effect, or a liquid crystal light shutter (FLC). It is also possible to use a spatial light modulation element other than the MEMS type, such as an array. Note that MEMS is a general term for a micro system that integrates micro-sized sensors, actuators, and control circuits based on a micro-machining technology based on an IC manufacturing process. A MEMS-type spatial light modulator is an electrostatic force. It means a spatial light modulation element driven by an electromechanical operation using Further, a plurality of Grafting Light Valves (GLVs) arranged in a two-dimensional shape can be used. In the configuration using these reflective spatial light modulator (GLV) and transmissive spatial light modulator (LCD), a lamp or the like can be used as a light source in addition to the laser described above.

  In addition, as the light source in each of the above embodiments, a fiber array light source including a plurality of combined laser light sources, one optical fiber that emits laser light incident from a single semiconductor laser having one light emitting point A fiber array light source obtained by arraying fiber light sources provided with a light source (for example, an LD array, an organic EL array, etc.) in which a plurality of light emitting points are arranged in a two-dimensional manner can be applied.

  Further, the image recording apparatus 100 according to each of the above embodiments is used in the manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device (LCD) in addition to the exposure of the dry film resist (DFR) in the manufacturing process of the printed wiring board described above. It can be suitably used for applications such as color filter formation, DFR exposure in TFT manufacturing processes, and DFR exposure in plasma display panel (PDP) manufacturing processes.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where four positioning holes 150A are applied as the reference marks of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and five or more positioning holes are applied. It can also be set as the form to do.

  In particular, as shown in FIG. 11 as an example, positioning holes 150A are provided at eight locations in the peripheral part of PWB 150, and these positioning holes 150A can be applied as a reference mark of the present invention to cope with barrel deformation. This makes it possible to perform deformation processing with higher accuracy. In this case, a positioning hole 150A is virtually provided in the center of each positioning hole 150A, and is divided into four deformed quadrangular areas by a total of nine positioning holes 150A, and each divided area is the same as in the present embodiment. Process.

  In the first embodiment, the case where the reverse deformation process is performed for each stack in the process (see FIG. 7) at the time of mass production of the PWB 150 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the reverse deformation process is performed only for the first layer, and for the second and subsequent layers, the position of the positioning hole 150A is detected every time, and the formula (2) is applied using the position information indicating the position as a control point. Thus, the raster data can be converted so that the wiring pattern recorded according to the deformation state of the PWB by the previous stacking is deformed.

  In this case, for raster data to be recorded on the PWB in the second and subsequent layers, as shown in FIG. 8 as an example, an image in the coordinate space before deformation is converted into an image in the coordinate space after deformation. . Specifically, the pixel data of the coordinates (u, v) in the image before the deformation may be applied as the pixel data of the coordinates S (u, v).

  As described above, the deformation information of the final recording medium is acquired in advance, and the image information to be recorded on the first-layer recording medium is determined based on the acquired deformation information. The image information is converted so that the image recorded on a typical recording medium has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information, and the image information to be recorded on the second and subsequent recording media is According to the deformation state of the recording medium by the previous stack, the image information is converted so that the recorded image is deformed, and for each stack of the recording medium, the corresponding conversion converted by the conversion means. Even when an image is recorded on the recording medium based on the image information, a final recording medium is created by laminating a plurality of the recording media, and each recording medium is stacked. In the case where the recording medium after lamination is deformed while suppressing the recording position deviation from the ideal position of the image can be corrected print position shift of an image when the recording medium is deformed into any shape.

  In each of the above embodiments, the case where the positioning hole 150A is applied as the reference mark of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a groove, a symbol, a character indicating the reference position In addition, another mark such as a graphic may be applied. Also in this case, the same effects as those of the above embodiments can be obtained.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, a case has been described in which correction is performed to deal with the displacement of the arrangement position of the PWB 150 on the stage 152, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the displacement of the arrangement position is not limited to this. In the case of being within a predetermined allowable range, the correction processing may not be performed. In this case, the calculation load for performing the correction process can be reduced.

  Further, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the inverse deformation process is performed using the FFD method has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, for example, a conventionally known affine transformation or bilinear transformation. It is also possible to adopt a form in which reverse deformation processing is performed using. Also in this case, the same effects as those of the above embodiments can be obtained.

  The configuration of the image recording apparatus 100 described in each of the above embodiments (see FIGS. 1 to 5) is merely an example, and it is needless to say that the configuration can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

  Furthermore, the flow of processing at the time of prototyping of the image recording apparatus 100 described in each of the above embodiments and the flow of processing at the time of mass production, the flow of substrate 1 lot manufacturing processing, deformation data derivation processing, and substrate manufacturing processing (FIG. 6, 7 and 12 to 14 are also examples, and it goes without saying that they can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a recording head of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment. (A) is a top view which shows the exposed area | region formed in PWB, (B) is a figure which shows the arrangement | sequence of the exposure area by each exposure head. FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a dot arrangement state of a recording element unit. It is a functional block diagram for performing exposure control for PWB in the image recording apparatus according to the embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when a PWB is prototyped in the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing during mass production of PWB in the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the reverse deformation process which concerns on embodiment. It is another explanatory drawing used for description of the reverse deformation process which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the effect | action of the image recording apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is explanatory drawing with which it uses for description of the modification of embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing when manufacturing one lot of PWB in the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing at the time of execution of deformation amount derivation processing of the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart showing a flow of processing at the time of execution of substrate manufacturing processing of the image recording apparatus according to the second embodiment. It is a modification of the functional block diagram for performing exposure control with respect to PWB in the image recording apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

100 Image Recording Device 106 Substrate Distortion Correction Image Processing Unit (Acquisition Unit, Conversion Unit)
150 PWB (recording medium)
150A Positioning hole (reference mark)
162 Recording head (recording means)
164 camera

Claims (14)

An image recording apparatus that records an image on the recording medium by deforming the image according to deformation of the recording medium on which an image indicated by image information is recorded,
Acquisition means for acquiring in advance deformation information indicating a deformation state of the recording medium;
Conversion means for converting the image information based on the deformation information acquired by the acquisition means so that the image recorded on the recording medium after the deformation has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information;
Recording means for recording an image on the recording medium before deformation based on the image information converted by the converting means;
An image recording apparatus comprising: When creating a final recording medium by laminating a plurality of the recording medium, and when the recording medium after lamination is deformed for each lamination of the recording medium,
The acquisition means acquires in advance the deformation information of the recording medium after lamination for each lamination of the recording medium,
The conversion unit is configured to determine the final recording medium based on the deformation information for each stack of the recording media acquired by the acquiring unit for each piece of image information to be recorded on the plurality of recording media. The image information is converted so that the image recorded in the image has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit records an image on the recording medium before deformation based on the corresponding image information converted by the conversion unit for each stack of the recording media. When creating a final recording medium by laminating a plurality of the recording medium, and when the recording medium after lamination is deformed for each lamination of the recording medium,
The acquisition means acquires the deformation information of the final recording medium in advance,
The converting unit is configured to obtain an image recorded on the final recording medium based on the deformation information acquired by the acquiring unit for the image information to be recorded on the first-layer recording medium. The image information is converted so as to have the same shape as the image indicated by the image information, and for the image information to be recorded on the second and subsequent recording media, the deformation state of the recording medium due to the previous stacking In response to this, the image information is converted so that the recorded image is deformed,
The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording unit records an image on the recording medium based on the corresponding image information converted by the converting unit for each stack of the recording media. The acquisition means indicates, as the deformation information, the direction and amount of positional deviation between a plurality of reference marks provided in advance at predetermined positions on the recording medium before and after the recording medium is deformed. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein information is acquired. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reference mark is provided in advance for positioning with respect to the recording medium during image recording. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reference marks are provided at four or more locations on the recording medium. The image recording apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the reference mark is provided near an outer peripheral portion of the recording medium. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conversion unit converts the image information based on an FFD method. The wiring medium for forming the image information on the printed wiring board is shown while the recording medium is a printed wiring board with an etching process and a pressing process when recording the image. 9. The image recording apparatus according to any one of items 8. The image recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the acquisition unit acquires in advance deformation information indicating a deformation state of the printed wiring board immediately after the etching process is completed. The image recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the acquisition unit acquires in advance deformation information indicating a deformation state of the printed wiring board immediately after the pressing process is completed. The image recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the image information is vector data indicating the wiring pattern. The image recording apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the image information is raster data indicating the wiring pattern. An image recording method for deforming and recording on the recording medium the image according to deformation of the recording medium on which the image indicated by the image information is recorded,
Obtaining in advance deformation information indicating the deformation state of the recording medium,
Based on the deformation information, the image information is converted so that the image recorded on the recording medium after the deformation has the same shape as the image indicated by the image information,
An image recording method for recording an image on the recording medium before deformation based on the converted image information.

Images