JP2006339238A - Substrate conveyance device, visual inspection device, manufacturing method of electronic device, and visual inspection method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate conveyance device capable of easy programming work, management and the like, as well as shortening of a cycle time of a manufacturing line. <P>SOLUTION: In the manufacturing line of an electronic device, the substrate conveyance device for conveying a printed circuit board comprises a conveyor for work 21 which positions and holds a printed circuit board carried in from the upper line side and carried out to the lower line side after the end of a predetermined work by this conveyor for work; and a conveyor for feed 22 for feeding other printed circuit boards carried in from the upper line upper side to the lower line side, while carrying out the predetermined work to the line lower stream side. It is preferable that a multistage conveyor 20 may be provided with at least one conveyor for work 21 and one conveyor for feed 22 arranged in parallel side by side and up and down. Accordingly, the conveyor for work 21 and the conveyor for feed 22 can be made to continue selectively with conveying means allocated in the upper line side or the lower line side by rising or falling the multistage conveyor 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a board transport device for transporting a printed circuit board in an electronic equipment manufacturing line, an appearance inspection device for inspecting the appearance of the printed circuit board with a camera, and an electronic device using the circuit board transport device or the appearance inspection device. The present invention relates to a manufacturing method and an appearance inspection method.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are production lines in which a large number of chip-shaped electronic components such as ICs, resistors, and capacitors are automatically mounted on a printed circuit board, and electronic devices are manufactured by soldering the mounted electronic components. FIG. 10 is a front view showing an example of a production line for a conventional electronic device.

  In the figure, a conventional production line 100 includes a solder printing device 110, an appearance inspection device 120, a component mounting device 130, an appearance inspection device 140, a reflow furnace 150, and an appearance inspection device 160. It was the structure connected via conveyance means 170,170,170 ..., such as a belt conveyor.

  In such a production line 100, first, the solder printing apparatus 110 prints cream solder at a predetermined position on the loaded printed circuit board, and the appearance inspection apparatus 120 determines whether the cream solder printing state is acceptable. Next, the component mounting apparatus 130 mounts electronic components on the printed circuit board, and the appearance inspection apparatus 140 determines whether the electronic components are mounted. Thereafter, the reflow furnace 150 heats and melts the cream solder to fix the electronic components mounted on the printed circuit board. Finally, the appearance inspection device 160 performs an appearance inspection of the final printed circuit board.

Here, the appearance inspection apparatus photographs the appearance of the printed circuit board with a camera and makes a pass / fail judgment by comparing it with an image of a good reference model acquired in advance. Conventional visual inspection apparatuses use an area camera system (for example, refer to Patent Document 1) in which the camera is moved in the X and Y directions to perform shooting, or the camera is fixed and the optical system such as a mirror and illumination is scanned to perform shooting. Some employ a line scan method (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-140087 JP 2004-301574 A

  In recent years, the demand for IT-related equipment has increased, and in order to further shorten the tact time of the production line, the mounting process by the component mounting apparatus has been accelerated. However, the above-described conventional area camera type visual inspection apparatus has the merit that the captured image has high image quality and high inspection accuracy, but the camera is moved in the XY directions so that the entire printed circuit board is sequentially arranged for each area. There was a problem that it was necessary to take a picture and time was required for the inspection. For this reason, when a conventional area camera type appearance inspection apparatus is employed, there is a certain limit to shortening the tact time of the entire production line even if the speed of the component mounting apparatus is increased.

  On the other hand, in the above-described conventional line scan type appearance inspection apparatus, the entire printed circuit board can be continuously photographed by scanning the optical system. Has a problem that inspection accuracy is low.

  Accordingly, the present inventors have arranged a plurality of area camera type appearance inspection apparatuses in parallel on the production line, and tried to make each appearance inspection apparatus share inspections of different areas in the same printed circuit board.

  However, each visual inspection device must first photograph the entire printed circuit board in order to identify the area to which each visual inspection device is assigned, and it is possible to have multiple visual inspection devices share the photographing of different areas. It was difficult. Even if multiple visual inspection devices can share the shooting of different areas, inspection parameters corresponding to the different areas must be set for each visual inspection device. There is a problem that a lot of labor is required for the programming work and management.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can reduce the tact time of the production line, and can easily perform programming operations and management, etc. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic device manufacturing method and an electronic device appearance inspection method.

  In order to achieve the above object, the substrate transport apparatus of the present invention is a substrate transport apparatus that transports a printed circuit board in an electronic equipment production line, and positions and holds one printed circuit board that is carried in from the upstream side of the line, After the completion of the predetermined work by one work machine, a work transport unit for bringing out the one printed circuit board to the downstream side of the line, and another printed circuit board carried in from the upstream side of the line during the execution of the predetermined work. It is the structure provided with the conveyance part for sending carried out to a line downstream side.

  According to such a configuration, for example, when one working machine such as a solder printing device, a component mounting device, or an appearance inspection device is performing a predetermined work on one printed circuit board, from the upstream side of the line Even when another printed circuit board that has completed the previous process has been transported, the other printed circuit board can be carried out to the downstream side of the line, and a predetermined work can be performed by another working machine. That is, it is possible to sort the printed boards that have been transported in order to perform predetermined operations such as solder printing, component mounting, or appearance inspection on a plurality of the same type or the same working machine in parallel.

  Preferably, the apparatus includes a multi-stage transport unit in which at least one of the work transport unit and the feed transport unit are arranged in parallel up and down, and the multi-stage transport unit is moved up and down so that the work transport unit and the feed The conveyance unit is configured to be selectively continuous with conveyance means disposed on the upstream side or downstream side of the line.

  According to such a configuration, the work transport unit and the feed transport unit are arranged side by side in the vertical direction, so that space can be saved, and the work transport unit and the feed transport unit are moved up and down. Thus, the printed circuit board can be quickly and efficiently distributed to one or another working machine, and the configuration can be simplified as a whole.

  Preferably, two or more multi-stage transport units are arranged in parallel on the upstream side and the downstream side of the line, and by raising and lowering each multi-stage transport unit, the work transport unit and the feed transport unit, the work transport unit, Or it is set as the structure which makes the said conveyance part for conveyance selectively continue.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to carry in a plurality of printed circuit boards, perform a predetermined work, and carry out in one and other work machines by combining the work transport unit and the transport transport unit of each multi-stage transport unit. It is possible to perform it quickly and efficiently.

Preferably, the multi-stage transport unit is arranged in two or more of the same type or the same working machine arranged in parallel on the upstream side and the downstream side of the line.
According to such a configuration, the same kind or the same work such as solder printing, component mounting or appearance inspection can be performed by being shared by a plurality of the same kind or the same work machine, and the number of work machines to be shared. By increasing the number, the processing speed (throughput) per unit time in various processes can be increased regardless of the work content. Thereby, the tact time of the production line can be shortened. In addition, since the same type or the same work is shared by a plurality of the same type or the same work machine, the operation program of each work machine is also the same or the same, and programming work and management can be easily performed.

Preferably, simplification of the configuration is achieved by adopting a configuration in which each of the work transport unit and the feed transport unit is a belt conveyor.
In order to achieve the above object, an appearance inspection apparatus according to the present invention is an appearance inspection apparatus that performs inspection by photographing the appearance of a printed circuit board with a camera in an electronic equipment production line, and includes the above-described substrate transfer apparatus according to the present invention. It is set as the structure provided with.

  According to such a configuration, it is possible to speed up the throughput of the appearance inspection process that required time during the manufacturing process in the manufacturing line, and to greatly reduce the tact time of the manufacturing line. Become. In addition, since each visual inspection apparatus shares the same or the same inspection, the inspection parameters and operation programs of the respective visual inspection apparatuses are the same or the same, and programming work and management can be easily performed.

  Preferably, an area camera system is employed in which the camera is moved in the X and Y directions to photograph the printed circuit board. According to such a configuration, as described above, it is possible to speed up the throughput of the appearance inspection process and greatly reduce the tact time of the production line, and at the same time, based on high-quality images of the area camera system. Accurate inspection can be performed. That is, a high-speed and high-precision appearance inspection apparatus is realized.

  In order to achieve the above object, a method for manufacturing an electronic device according to the present invention is a method for manufacturing an electronic device using the above-described substrate transfer device according to the present invention. Positioning and holding one printed circuit board carried in from the upstream side, after the multi-stage transport unit is raised, the step in which the one working machine performs a predetermined work, and the feeding transport unit of the one working machine, The process of carrying out another printed circuit board carried in from the upstream side of the line to the work transport part of another work machine, and the work transport part of the other work machine positioning and holding the other printed circuit board carried in Then, after the multi-stage transport unit is raised, the other work machine performs a predetermined work, and after completion of the predetermined work by the one work machine, the multi-stage transport part is lowered, and the one work machine The work transport section of the first printed circuit board A step of unloading to the transporting unit of the working machine, a step of unloading the one printed circuit board loaded to the downstream of the line by the transporting unit of the other working machine, and the other working machine. After the completion of the predetermined work, the multi-stage transport unit is lowered, and the work transport unit of the other work machine includes a step of unloading the other printed circuit board to the downstream side of the line.

  According to such a method, since the same kind or the same work such as solder printing, component mounting or appearance inspection is performed by being shared by a plurality of the same kind or the same work machine, the number of work machines to be shared is reduced. By increasing the number, it is possible to increase the throughput regardless of the work contents. Thereby, the tact time of the production line can be shortened. In addition, since the same type or the same work is shared by a plurality of the same type or the same work machine, the operation program of each work machine is also the same or the same, and programming work and management can be easily performed.

  In order to achieve the above object, an electronic device visual inspection method of the present invention is an electronic device visual inspection method using the visual inspection device provided with the above-described substrate transfer device of the present invention. A step of carrying out inspection by the one appearance inspection apparatus after the multi-stage conveyance unit is raised after the work conveyance unit of the apparatus positions and holds the one printed board carried from the upstream side of the line; A step of conveying a printed circuit board carried in from the upstream side of the line to a work conveyance unit of another visual inspection apparatus, and a work conveyance unit of the other visual inspection apparatus. Positioning and holding the other printed circuit board carried in, after the multi-stage transport unit has been raised, the step of performing the inspection by the other appearance inspection device, and after the completion of the predetermined work by the one appearance inspection device, The multi-stage transport unit is lowered The work conveying section of the one appearance inspection apparatus carries out the step of carrying out the one printed circuit board to the feeding conveyance section of the other appearance inspection apparatus, and the feeding conveyance section of the other appearance inspection apparatus, After the step of carrying out the one printed circuit board carried in to the downstream side of the line and the inspection by the other visual inspection apparatus, the multi-stage transport part is lowered, and the work transport part of the other visual inspection apparatus is And a step of unloading the other printed circuit board to the downstream side of the line.

  According to such a method, it is possible to speed up the throughput of the appearance inspection process that required time during the manufacturing process in the manufacturing line, and to greatly reduce the tact time of the manufacturing line. Become. In addition, since each visual inspection apparatus shares the same or the same inspection, the inspection parameters and operation programs of the respective visual inspection apparatuses are the same or the same, and programming work and management can be easily performed.

  According to the substrate transfer device, the appearance inspection apparatus, the electronic device manufacturing method, and the electronic device appearance inspection method of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the tact time of the manufacturing line and easily perform programming work and management. be able to. In particular, according to the visual inspection apparatus and the visual inspection method for electronic equipment of the present invention, it is possible to increase the throughput of the visual inspection process and greatly reduce the tact time of the production line, and to improve the area camera method. A highly accurate inspection can be performed based on the image quality image.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a substrate transfer device, an appearance inspection device, an electronic device manufacturing method, and an electronic device appearance inspection method of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the board | substrate conveyance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention, the external appearance inspection apparatus, the manufacturing method of an electronic device, and the external appearance inspection method of an electronic device are demonstrated.

  FIG. 1 is a front view showing a production line according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an essential part of the appearance inspection apparatus including the substrate transfer apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view of the appearance inspection apparatus, and FIG. 4 is a side view of the appearance inspection apparatus. FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which the two appearance inspection apparatuses are arranged side by side.

  In FIG. 1, the production line 1 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which a plurality of work machines that execute each process for producing an electronic device are arranged in a line. Specifically, a solder printing device 2, an appearance inspection device 3, a component mounting device 4, an appearance inspection device 5, a reflow furnace 6, and an appearance inspection device 7 are provided. It is set as the structure connected via 8, 8, 8 ....

  Here, the solder printing device 2, the component mounting device 4 and the reflow furnace 6 have the same configuration as the conventional one shown in FIG. 10, and detailed description of these working machines will be omitted. Each of the visual inspection devices 3, 5 and 7 is composed of first and second visual inspection devices (one and other working machines) 3A and 3B, 5A and 5B, 7A and 7B, respectively. Since the appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B, 5A and 5B, 7A and 7B all have the same configuration, only the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A will be described in detail.

  2 to 4, the first appearance inspection apparatus 3 </ b> A mainly includes a gantry 10, a multistage transport unit (substrate transport apparatus) 20, an elevating means 30, and four Z-axis shafts 41, 41, 41, 41. And two Y-axis rails 42, 42, one X-axis rail 43, and a camera 50. In the present embodiment, an area camera system is employed in which the camera 50 is moved in the X and Y directions and the printed circuit board is photographed.

  The multi-stage transport unit 20 is disposed at the center of the gantry 10 and has a pair of work transport units (belt conveyors) 21 and 21 extending in the X-axis direction and a pair of feed transport units (in the same manner extending in the X-axis direction). Belt conveyors) 22 and 22 are arranged vertically on the mounting plates 23 and 23 at predetermined intervals, respectively. Each mounting plate 23 is disposed opposite to both sides of the elevating board 24 with an interval corresponding to the width of the printed board to be conveyed.

  Each work transport unit 21 and each transport transport unit 22 have substantially the same configuration except for the presence or absence of a substrate set sensor 21b described later. Mainly, belts 211 and 221 and pulleys 212 and 222 for transporting a printed circuit board, The belts 211 and 221 are independently driven by motors 214 and 224 attached to the insides of the board guide rails 213 and 223 for guiding both ends of the printed board and connected to the pulleys 212 and 222, respectively. Yes. In addition, the pair of work conveyance units 21 and 21 and the conveyance units 22 and 22 facing each other are interlocked with each other by a single motor 214 and 224, respectively.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the work transport unit 21 is provided with a printed board carry-in sensor 21a, the board set sensor 21b, and a carry-out sensor 21c in order from the upstream side of the line. In addition, the location enclosed with the dashed-two dotted line in the figure is the inspection position P of a printed circuit board. On the other hand, the feed conveyance unit 22 is provided with a carry-in sensor 22a and a carry-out sensor 22c on the upstream side and the downstream side of the line, respectively.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical Z-axis shafts 41, 41, 41, 41 are erected at four positions on the upper surface of the gantry 10 so as to surround the multistage transport unit 20. Cylindrical sliders 41 a, 41 a, 41 a, 41 a fixed to the four corners of the multistage transport unit 20 are slidably inserted into each Z-axis shaft 41. The pair of Z-axis shafts 41, 41 and 41, 41 opposed in the Y-axis direction are provided with the Y-axis rails 42, 42, respectively. The X-axis rail 43 is slidably mounted on the Y-axis rails 42 and 42 via a pair of sliders 42a and 42a. A camera 50 is slidably suspended on the X-axis rail 43 via a slider 43. With such a configuration, it is possible to photograph the printed circuit board by moving the camera 50 in the XY directions.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the lifting means 30 including an air cylinder 31 and a link means 32 is provided in the hollow portion of the gantry 10. The link means 32 is connected to the lifting / lowering substrate 24 of the multi-stage transport unit 20, and by extending the piston rod of the air cylinder 31, the entire multi-stage transport unit 20 rises along each Z-axis shaft 41, and each work The printed circuit board positioned at the inspection position P of the transporting units 21 and 21 is photographed and inspected by the camera 50. Further, the entire multi-stage transport unit 20 is lowered along each Z-axis shaft 41 by contracting the piston rod of the air cylinder 31.

  Thus, when the multi-stage transport unit 20 is raised, each transport unit 22 is the same height as the transport means (belt conveyor) 8 shown in FIG. 1, and when the multi-stage transport unit 20 is lowered, Each work transport unit 21 has the same height as the transport unit 8 shown in FIG. 1 and forms a continuous printed circuit board transport path.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, in the present embodiment, the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B (5A, 5B or 7A and 7B) are arranged in parallel on the upstream side and downstream side of the line. When each of the steps of solder printing, component mounting, and reflow soldering is performed, the printed circuit board is distributed to the first or second appearance inspection apparatus 3A, 3B, and the inspection is performed by any one of the appearance inspection apparatuses 3A, 3B. It is.

  Then, by moving up and down the multi-stage transport units 20 and 60 of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B, the work transport units 21 and 61, the transport units 22 and 62, or the work The transport units 21 and 61 and the transport units 62 and 22 for feeding are selectively made continuous.

  With such a configuration, when the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A is inspecting the printed board, the next printed board can be inspected by the second inspection apparatus 3B, and conversely, the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B is When the printed circuit board is being inspected, the next printed circuit board can be inspected by the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A.

  For convenience of explanation, reference numerals 60, 61, and 62 are assigned to the multi-stage transport unit, the work transport unit, and the feed transport unit of the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B, respectively. The multi-stage transport unit 20, the work transport unit 21, and the feed transport unit 22 have the same configuration.

Next, an embodiment of an electronic device manufacturing method and an electronic device appearance inspection method using the above-described substrate transfer device and appearance inspection device will be described with reference to the drawings.
[Operation control]
First, the flow of operation control of the first or second appearance inspection apparatus alone will be described with reference to FIG. 3 and FIGS. Since the first or second appearance inspection apparatus performs similar operation control by a control unit (not shown) built in these apparatuses, only the operation control flow of the first appearance inspection apparatus will be described below.

  6A to 6C are flowcharts showing the flow of the operation of the first appearance inspection apparatus alone. FIG. 6A is a process from the first loading of the printed circuit board to the raising of the multistage transport unit, and FIG. The process from the inspection to the unloading of the second printed circuit board, FIG. 5C shows the process from the lowering of the multistage transport unit to the unloading of the first printed circuit board.

  In FIG. 3, the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A stands by in an initial state in which the multistage transport unit 20 is lowered (the multistage transport unit 20 in FIG. 3 is raised). In this initial state, the work conveyance unit 21 of the multistage conveyance unit 20 is at the same height as the conveyance means 8 on the upstream side of the line shown in FIG. 1, and forms a continuous printed board conveyance path.

  In such an initial state of the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A, the control unit can carry the printed circuit board into the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A in the solder printing apparatus 2 (see FIG. 1) in the previous process. A ready signal is output (see step 1 of FIG. 6A).

  At this time, the control unit monitors the presence or absence of a detection signal from the carry-in sensor 21a provided in the work transport unit 21 (see step 2 in FIG. 6A). When the first printed circuit board is transported from the solder printing apparatus 2 to the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A, a detection signal is input from the carry-in sensor 21a of the work transport section 21 to the control section.

  Then, the said control part stops the output of a ready signal, and prevents a printed circuit board from being conveyed from the solder printing apparatus 2 to the 1st external appearance inspection apparatus 3A (refer step 3 of FIG. 6A). At the same time, the control unit drives the motor 214 of the work transport unit 21 to load the first printed circuit board into the work transport unit 21 (see step 4 in FIG. 6A).

  Next, when the first printed circuit board is positioned at the inspection position P of the work transport unit 21, the substrate set sensor 21b outputs a detection signal (see step 5 in FIG. 6A), and the control unit that has input the detection signal Then, the motor 214 of the working transport unit 21 is stopped (see step 6 in FIG. 6A).

  Next, the control unit operates a substrate clamp (not shown) of the working transport unit 21 to position and hold the first printed circuit board at the inspection position P (see step 7 in FIG. 6A). Thereafter, the control unit drives the elevating means 30 shown in FIG. 4 to raise the multi-stage transport unit 20 (see step 8 in FIG. 6A).

  Accordingly, the work transport unit 21 is positioned at a height suitable for the appearance inspection of the first printed circuit board, and the feed transport unit 22 includes the transport unit 8 (see FIG. 1) on the upstream side of the line, and the second It is located at the same height as the work conveyance unit 61 of the appearance inspection apparatus 3B (see FIG. 5).

  Next, the control unit outputs a ready signal to the solder printing apparatus 2 to notify that the second printed board can be carried in (see step 9 in FIG. 6B). On the other hand, an appearance inspection of the first printed circuit board is performed by the camera 50 (see step 16 in FIG. 6B).

  Thereafter, the control unit monitors the end of the appearance inspection of the first printed circuit board (see Step 10 in FIG. 6B) and also monitors the presence or absence of a detection signal from the carry-in sensor 22a provided in the transporting unit 22 for sending ( (See step 11 in FIG. 6B). When the second printed circuit board is transported from the solder printing apparatus 2 to the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A, a detection signal is input from the carry-in sensor 22a of the transporting section 22 to the control section.

  Then, the control unit stops the output of the ready signal so that a new printed board is not conveyed from the solder printing apparatus 2 to the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A (see step 12 in FIG. 6B). At the same time, the control unit drives the motor 224 of the feeding conveyance unit 22 to load the second printed circuit board into the feeding conveyance unit 22 (see step 13 in FIG. 6B).

  The transporting part 22 sends the second printed circuit board as it is to the work transporting part 61 of the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B (the sending of the printed circuit board by such a transporting part is referred to as “pass-through”). When the second printed circuit board passes through the carry-out sensor 22c of the feed conveyance unit 22, the carry-out sensor 22c outputs a detection signal (see step 14 in FIG. 6B), and the control unit that has input the detection signal sends the detection signal. The motor 224 of the transfer section 22 is stopped (see step 15 in FIG. 6B). When the second printed circuit board is carried into the work transport unit 61 of the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B, the multistage transport unit 60 is raised by the same operation control as described above, and the appearance inspection is executed.

  On the other hand, when the appearance inspection of the first printed circuit board by the camera 50 is completed (see step 10 in FIG. 6B), the control unit that detects this stops the output of the ready signal, and the first external appearance is output from the solder printer 2. The inspection apparatus 3A is prevented from transporting a new printed board (see step 17 in FIG. 6C).

  Next, the controller drives the lifting / lowering means 30 shown in FIG. 4 to lower the multi-stage transport unit 20 (see step 18 in FIG. 6C). Thereby, the work conveyance unit 21 is positioned at the same height as the conveyance unit 8 (see FIG. 1) on the upstream side of the line and the conveyance unit 62 for feeding of the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B (see FIG. 5).

  Thereafter, the control unit operates a substrate clamp (not shown) of the working transport unit 21 to release the holding of the first printed circuit board (see step 19 in FIG. 6C). Then, the control unit drives the motor 214 of the work transport unit 21 and causes the work transport unit 21 to carry out the first printed board (see step 20 in FIG. 6C). The unloaded first printed circuit board is passed through to the component mounting apparatus 4 (see FIG. 1) in the next process by the transport section 62 for feeding in the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B.

When the first printed circuit board passes through the unloading sensor 21c of the work transport unit 21, the unloading sensor 21c outputs a detection signal (see step 21 in FIG. 6C), and the control unit that has input the detection signal The motor 214 of the transfer section 21 is stopped (see step 22 in FIG. 6C). Thereby, the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A returns to the initial state, and the operation control after step 1 in FIG. 6A is repeated.
[Operation timing control]
Next, the flow of operation timing control of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 7A and 7B. FIG. 7A is a timing chart for explaining the flow of operation timing control according to an embodiment of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses. FIG. 7B is a timing chart for explaining the flow of operation timing control according to another embodiment of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses.

  The operation control of the first or second appearance inspection apparatus 3A, 3B alone is performed as described above. The operation of both the first or second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A, 3B is, for example, as shown in FIG. 7A. It can be controlled by timing. In the figure, the operation times of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B are represented as a carry-in time Ti, a rising time Tu, an inspection time Te, a falling time Td, a carry-out time To, and a pass-through time Tp. Also, the time interval for loading printed circuit boards for visual inspection is represented as a substrate tact time TT.

  In the example shown in the figure, the operation timings of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B are controlled so that the condition of TT> (Ti + Tu + Te + Td + To) / 2 is satisfied. In this case, the operation timing of the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A and the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B has a phase difference of about ½ period, and the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A is inspecting the first printed circuit board. The second printed circuit board is passed through to the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B. In addition, while the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B inspects the second printed circuit board, the inspection of the first printed circuit board by the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A is completed, and the first appearance inspection apparatus 3B is carried out to the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B. The printed circuit board is passed through to the component mounting apparatus 4 (see FIG. 1) in the next process.

  As described above, when the operation timings of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B are controlled so as to satisfy the condition of TT> (Ti + Tu + Te + Td + To) / 2, the appearance inspection of the printed circuit board is executed without delay.

On the other hand, in the example shown in FIG. 7B, the operation timings of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B are controlled so that the condition of TT≈Ti + Tu + Te + Td + To is satisfied. In this case, after the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A continuously inspects the appearance of two printed boards, the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B has an operation timing for inspecting the appearance of one printed board, which is compared with the case of FIG. 7A. Thus, although the equipment efficiency of the appearance inspection apparatus 3 is lowered, the tact time of the entire production line 1 shown in FIG. 1 is not affected.
[Cooperation]
Next, the cooperative operation of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses based on the operation timing control shown in FIG. 7A will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8F are side views of each multi-stage transport unit for explaining the cooperative operation of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses.

  In FIG. 8A, the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B are both in an initial state in which the multistage transport units 20 and 60 are lowered. When the first printed circuit board P1 is conveyed from the solder printing apparatus 2 (see FIG. 1) in the previous process via the conveying means 8, the first printed circuit board P1 is transferred to the work conveying section of the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A. 21 and is positioned and held at the inspection position P (see FIG. 3).

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 8B, the multistage transport unit 20 of the first appearance inspection apparatus 3 </ b> A is raised, and the appearance inspection of the first printed circuit board P <b> 1 is performed by the camera 50. As shown in FIG. 8C, during the appearance inspection of the first printed circuit board P1 in the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A, when the second printed circuit board P2 is conveyed from the solder printing apparatus 2, the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A sends it. The conveyance section 22 passes through the second printed circuit board P2 to the work conveyance section 61 of the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B. The second printed circuit board P2 is carried into the work conveyance unit 61 of the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B, and is positioned and held at the inspection position P (see FIG. 3).

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8D, the appearance inspection of the first printed circuit board P1 in the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A is finished, and the second appearance inspection apparatus is simultaneously lowered with the multistage transport unit 20 of the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A. The 3B multi-stage transport unit 60 moves up. Next, the work transport unit 21 of the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A unloads the first printed circuit board P1 whose appearance inspection has been completed to the transport part 62 for feeding of the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B, and the transport part for feeding. 62 passes through the first printed circuit board P1 to the component mounting apparatus 4 (see FIG. 1) in the next process. At the same time, the appearance inspection of the second printed circuit board P2 by the camera 50 is performed in the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8E, the third printed circuit board P3 is carried from the solder printing device 2 to the work conveyance unit 21 of the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A, and the third printed circuit board P3 is transferred to the work conveyance unit 21. It is positioned and held at the inspection position P (see FIG. 3). Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8F, the multi-stage transport unit 20 of the first appearance inspection apparatus 3A is raised to perform the appearance inspection of the third printed circuit board P3, and the multi-stage transport unit 60 of the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B is The second printed circuit board P <b> 2 that has been lowered and has undergone appearance inspection is carried out to the component mounting apparatus 4. Thereafter, the cooperative operation from FIG. 8C is repeated.

  As described above, according to the substrate transfer device, the appearance inspection device, the electronic device manufacturing method, and the electronic device appearance inspection method according to the first embodiment of the present invention, the first appearance inspection device 3A is the first printed circuit board. Even when the second printed circuit board P2 is transported from the previous process when the visual inspection is performed on P1, the second printed circuit board P2 can be carried out to the second visual inspection apparatus 3B. The same or the same appearance inspection can be performed by the second appearance inspection apparatus 3B.

  That is, the appearance inspection of a large number of printed boards conveyed at a high speed from the previous process can be performed in parallel by sharing the two first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B. As a result, it is possible to speed up the throughput of the appearance inspection process, which is particularly time-consuming during the manufacturing process in the manufacturing line, and to significantly reduce the tact time of the manufacturing line. Further, since the throughput of the appearance inspection process can be increased in proportion to the number of appearance inspection apparatuses 3A, 3B,... 3n, the tact time of the production line can be greatly shortened.

  Furthermore, since the same or the same appearance inspection is shared by the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B having the same configuration, the operation programs of the first and second appearance inspection apparatuses 3A and 3B are also the same or the same. Thus, programming work and management can be easily performed.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the work transport unit 21 and the feed transport unit 22 that constitute the multi-stage transport unit 20 are arranged side by side in the vertical direction, so that space saving can be achieved. The printed circuit board can be quickly and efficiently distributed to the first or second visual inspection apparatus 3A, 3B by raising and lowering the part 21 and the transporting part 22 for feeding, and the configuration as a whole can be simplified.

  In addition to these, the appearance inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment employs an area camera system, and as described above, the throughput of the appearance inspection process can be increased and the tact time of the production line can be significantly reduced. At the same time, it is possible to perform a highly accurate inspection based on an area camera type high-quality image. That is, a high-speed and high-precision appearance inspection apparatus is realized.

  Next, a substrate transfer device, an appearance inspection apparatus, an electronic device manufacturing method, and an electronic device appearance inspection method according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 9A is a conceptual plan view for explaining the configuration of the substrate transport apparatus and the appearance inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  In the figure, reference numeral 9 denotes an appearance inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment, which includes a substrate transfer device 70 and first and second substrate inspection devices 9A and 9B. The substrate transfer device 70 includes a transfer transfer unit 71 and first and second work transfer units 72 and 73.

  The feeding conveyance unit 71 is a long belt conveyor that operates in one direction, and both ends thereof are continuously arranged with conveyance means 8 and 8 (see FIG. 1) on the upstream side and downstream side of the line (not shown). The printed circuit boards P1 to Pn carried in from the side are carried out to the downstream side of the line.

  The first and second work transport units 72 and 73 are short belt conveyors that reciprocate, respectively. One end side is overlapped with the feed transport unit 71, and the other end side is the first or second appearance inspection device 9A, 9B. The first and second work transport sections 72 and 73 change the course of the printed circuit boards P1 to Pn transported by the transport section 71, and the printed circuit boards P1 to Pn are subjected to the first or second appearance inspection. It is positioned and held at the inspection position P in the devices 9A and 9B. The printed circuit boards P1 to Pn positioned and held at the inspection position P are inspected by the first or second appearance inspection devices 9A and 9B, respectively.

  Next, the appearance inspection operation of the appearance inspection apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 9B to 9G are schematic plan views for explaining the appearance inspection operation of the substrate transport apparatus and the appearance inspection apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

  First, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the first printed circuit board P1 is carried into the feeding transport section 71 from the upstream side of the line, the first work transport section 72 is driven to transport the first printed circuit board P1. Then, it is positioned and held at the inspection position P of the first appearance inspection apparatus 9A. Thereby, the appearance inspection of the first printed circuit board P1 is executed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9C, when the second printed circuit board P2 is loaded from the upstream side of the line to the transporting section 71, the second working transport section 73 is driven to transport the second printed circuit board P2. Then, it is positioned and held at the inspection position P of the second appearance inspection apparatus 9B. Thereby, the appearance inspection of the second printed circuit board P2 is executed.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9D, the appearance inspection of the first printed circuit board P1 by the first appearance inspection apparatus 9A is completed, and the first work transport section 72 is driven to transfer the first printed circuit board P1 to the transport section for feeding. Unload to 71. The first printed circuit board P <b> 1 is carried out to the work machine in the next process by the feeding conveyance unit 71.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9E, the third printed circuit board P3 is carried into the feeding conveyance unit 71 from the upstream side of the line, and the first work conveyance unit 72 is driven to convey the third printed circuit board P3. 1 Positioned and held at the inspection position P of the appearance inspection apparatus 9A. Thereby, the appearance inspection of the third printed circuit board P3 is executed.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 9F, the appearance inspection of the second printed circuit board P2 by the second appearance inspection apparatus 9B is completed, and the second work conveyance unit 73 is driven to transfer the second printed circuit board P2 to the conveyance unit for feeding. Unload to 71. The second printed circuit board P <b> 2 is carried out to the working machine in the next process by the feeding conveyance unit 71.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 9G, the fourth printed circuit board P4 is carried into the feeding transport section 71 from the upstream side of the line, the second work transport section 73 is driven to transport the fourth printed circuit board P4, 1 Positioned and held at the inspection position P of the appearance inspection apparatus 9B. Thereby, the appearance inspection of the fourth printed circuit board P4 is executed.

  In this way, the printed circuit boards P1 to Pn carried into the feeding conveyance unit 71 can be distributed to the first or second appearance inspection devices 9A and 9B by the first and second work conveyance units 72 and 73. As in the first embodiment described above, it is possible to speed up the throughput of the appearance inspection process that required time during the manufacturing process in the manufacturing line. As a result, the tact time of the production line can be greatly shortened.

  In addition, the board | substrate conveyance apparatus of this invention, an external appearance inspection apparatus, the manufacturing method of an electronic device, and the external appearance inspection method of an electronic device are not limited to 1st and 2nd embodiment mentioned above. For example, the working machine to which the substrate transfer apparatus of the present invention is applied is not limited to the appearance inspection apparatus, but is applied to various working machines such as a solder printing apparatus, a component mounting apparatus, a reflow furnace, etc. constituting the production line. Can do.

  Further, as described above, the number of work machines such as the appearance inspection apparatus is not limited to two. If the number of work machines provided with the substrate transfer apparatus is increased, the work process is proportionally increased. Throughput can be increased.

  Furthermore, in the appearance inspection apparatus according to the above-described embodiment, the area camera method is adopted in order to improve the inspection accuracy based on the high-quality image. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a line scan method may be adopted. Is possible.

It is a front view which shows the manufacturing line which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part perspective view of the external appearance inspection apparatus containing the board | substrate conveyance apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a front view of the said external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a side view of the said external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a front view which shows the state which arranged two said external appearance inspection apparatuses side by side. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of the said 1st external appearance inspection apparatus single-piece | unit, and shows the process from carrying in the first printed circuit board to the raise of a multistage conveyance part. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of the said 1st external appearance inspection apparatus single-piece | unit, and shows the process from the test | inspection of a 1st printed circuit board to carrying out of a 2nd printed circuit board. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of operation | movement of the said 1st external appearance inspection apparatus single-piece | unit, The same figure C shows the process from the fall of a multistage conveyance part to carrying out of a 1st printed circuit board. It is a timing chart for demonstrating the flow of the operation timing control which concerns on one Embodiment of the said 1st and 2nd external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a timing chart for demonstrating the flow of the operation timing control which concerns on other embodiment of the said 1st and 2nd external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a side view of each multistage conveyance part for demonstrating the cooperation operation | movement of the said 1st and 2nd external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a side view of each multistage conveyance part for demonstrating the cooperation operation | movement of the said 1st and 2nd external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a side view of each multistage conveyance part for demonstrating the cooperation operation | movement of the said 1st and 2nd external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a side view of each multistage conveyance part for demonstrating the cooperation operation | movement of the said 1st and 2nd external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a side view of each multistage conveyance part for demonstrating the cooperation operation | movement of the said 1st and 2nd external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a side view of each multistage conveyance part for demonstrating the cooperation operation | movement of the said 1st and 2nd external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a plane view conceptual diagram for demonstrating the structure of the board | substrate conveyance apparatus and appearance inspection apparatus which concern on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view conceptual diagram for demonstrating the external appearance test | inspection operation | movement of the said board | substrate conveyance apparatus and an external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a top view conceptual diagram for demonstrating the external appearance test | inspection operation | movement of the said board | substrate conveyance apparatus and an external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a top view conceptual diagram for demonstrating the external appearance test | inspection operation | movement of the said board | substrate conveyance apparatus and an external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a top view conceptual diagram for demonstrating the external appearance test | inspection operation | movement of the said board | substrate conveyance apparatus and an external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a top view conceptual diagram for demonstrating the external appearance test | inspection operation | movement of the said board | substrate conveyance apparatus and an external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a top view conceptual diagram for demonstrating the external appearance test | inspection operation | movement of the said board | substrate conveyance apparatus and an external appearance inspection apparatus. It is a front view which shows an example of the manufacturing line of the conventional electronic device.

Explanation of symbols

1 Production line 2 Solder printer (work machine)
4 Component mounting equipment (work machine)
6 Reflow furnace (work machine)
8 Conveyance means 3, 5, 7 Appearance inspection device 3A First appearance inspection device (one work machine)
3B 2nd visual inspection device (other work machines)
10 Stands 20, 60 Multi-stage transport unit (substrate transport device)
21, 61 Conveying section for work (belt conveyor)
22, 62 Feeding conveyor (belt conveyor)
211, 221 Belt 212, 222 Pulley 213, 223 Substrate guide rail 214, 224 Motor 21a, 22a Carry-in sensor 21b Substrate set sensor 21c, 22c Carry-out sensor 30 Lifting means 31 Air cylinder 32 Link mechanism 41 Z-axis shaft 42 Y-axis rail 43 X-axis rail 41a, 42a, 43a Slider 50 Camera 9 Visual inspection device (work machine)
9A First visual inspection device (one work machine)
9B Second visual inspection device (other work equipment)
70 Substrate Conveying Device 71 Conveying Unit for Transfer (Belt Conveyor)
72 1st work conveyance part (belt conveyor)
73 Second transport section (belt conveyor)

Claims (9)

A board transfer device for transferring a printed circuit board in an electronic equipment production line,
Positioning and holding one printed circuit board carried in from the upstream side of the line, and after completion of a predetermined operation by one working machine, a work transport unit for bringing out the one printed circuit board to the downstream side of the line,
A substrate transport apparatus comprising: a transport unit for transporting another printed circuit board loaded from the upstream side of the line to the downstream side of the line during execution of the predetermined operation.   A multi-stage transport section in which the work transport section and the transport transport section are arranged side by side at least one by one, and by raising and lowering the multi-stage transport section, the work transport section and the transport transport section, 2. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transfer apparatus is selectively continuous with transfer means arranged on the upstream side or downstream side of the line.   Two or more multi-stage transport units are arranged in parallel on the upstream side and the downstream side of the line, and by raising and lowering each multi-stage transport unit, the work transport unit and the feed transport unit, the work transport units between each other, or 3. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transfer units for feeding are selectively made continuous.   4. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the multi-stage transfer unit is disposed in two or more of the same type or the same work machine arranged in parallel on the upstream side and the downstream side of the line.   5. The substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the work transfer unit and the transfer transfer unit are belt conveyors.   6. An appearance inspection apparatus that inspects an appearance of a printed circuit board with a camera in an electronic equipment manufacturing line, and includes the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 1.   The appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an area camera system is employed in which the camera is moved in the X and Y directions to take an image of the printed circuit board. A method for manufacturing an electronic device using the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 4,
The work transport unit of one work machine positions and holds one printed circuit board carried in from the upstream side of the line, and after the multi-stage transport unit is lifted, the one work machine performs a predetermined work; and
The step of carrying the other printed circuit board carried in from the upstream side of the line to the working conveyance unit of the other working machine, wherein the feeding conveyance unit of the one working machine is,
The work transport unit of the other work machine positions and holds the other printed circuit board that has been carried in, and after the multi-stage transport unit has moved up, the other work machine performs a predetermined work; and
After the predetermined work by the one work machine is completed, the multistage transport unit is lowered, and the work transport unit of the one work machine carries the one printed circuit board to the transport transport part of the other work machine. And a process of
A step of carrying out the one printed circuit board carried into the downstream side of the line by the conveying section for feeding of the other working machine;
After the completion of the predetermined work by the other work machine, the multi-stage transport unit is lowered, and the work transport part of the other work machine includes a step of carrying out the other printed circuit board to the downstream side of the line. A method for manufacturing an electronic device. An appearance inspection method for an electronic apparatus using the appearance inspection apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, comprising the substrate transfer apparatus according to claim 4 or 5,
A step in which the work conveyance unit of the one appearance inspection apparatus positions and holds the one printed circuit board carried in from the upstream side of the line, and the one appearance inspection apparatus performs inspection after the multistage conveyance unit is raised; ,
The step of carrying the other printed circuit board carried in from the upstream side of the line to the work carrying unit of the other visual inspection device, wherein the feeding conveyance unit of the one visual inspection device is,
The step of carrying out the inspection by the other appearance inspection apparatus after the work conveyance section of the other appearance inspection apparatus positions and holds the other printed circuit board carried in and the multi-stage conveyance section is raised, and
After the completion of the predetermined work by the one appearance inspection apparatus, the multistage conveyance section descends, and the work conveyance section of the one appearance inspection apparatus transfers the one printed circuit board to the other appearance inspection apparatus. A process of carrying it out to the department,
A step of carrying out the one printed circuit board carried into the downstream side of the line by the transporting section of the other visual inspection apparatus;
After completion of the inspection by the other visual inspection device, the multi-stage transport unit is lowered, and the work transport unit of the other visual inspection device carries the other printed circuit board to the downstream side of the line. A visual inspection method for electronic equipment.

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