JP2008184234A - Workpiece conveying mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a workpiece conveying mechanism capable of conveying workpieces (electronic parts) to a supply position without applying external force to the workpiece. <P>SOLUTION: This workpiece conveying mechanism comprises a turn table 11 having workpiece holding means arranged with a predetermined pitch along the circumferential direction on the peripheral side so as to convey electronic parts 12 respectively held by the work holding means by turning the turn table 11. The turn table 11 is stopped at a position where the electronic part 12 to be supplied to the workpiece supply position is in the state of normal posture relative to the workpiece supply position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer mechanism that transfers an electronic component (workpiece) such as a semiconductor element.

  In a semiconductor element manufacturing factory, in general, combined processing such as measurement of electrical characteristics and appearance observation of a semiconductor element is performed, and the package is shipped by taping. Here, taping packaging is an operation of storing a semiconductor element or the like on a carrier tape. The carrier tape is used for storing, transporting and storing electronic parts and ICs, and is formed by forming a pocket of a sheet of PS, PVC or the like by extrusion molding or vacuum forming. The shape is tape-like, and the embossed pockets continue continuously. After putting an electronic component or the like in the pocket, it is covered with a film-like cover tape and wound on a reel for use.

  And when storing in a carrier tape, an apparatus as shown in FIG. 5 is used. That is, the turntable 1 is provided with work holding means (for example, suction collets) arranged at a predetermined pitch along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side. Moreover, for example, a suction collet is used as the work holding means. The suction collet is provided with a head having a suction hole opened on the lower surface, and a vacuum generator is connected to the suction hole. The vacuum generator is driven to suck the air in the suction hole to suck the work.

  Next, a work conveying method using the apparatus shown in FIG. 5 will be described. That is, by rotating the turntable 1 in the direction of arrow A, for example, the rotation of the turntable 1 is stopped when the workpiece 2 held by the suction collet as the workpiece holding means comes to the workpiece supply possible position. Next, the suction collet is lowered to release the work 2 from being sucked and stored in the pocket 4 of the carrier tape 3.

  However, when storing in the pocket 4 of the carrier tape 3, if the position of the pocket 4 and the position of the work 2 coincide with each other and the posture of the work 2 does not match the shape of the pocket 4, the work 2 May be damaged or the carrier tape 3 may be damaged. For this reason, conventionally, if the work 2 is out of position or posture before being stored in the pocket 4 of the carrier tape 3, the position of the work 2 needs to be corrected (corrected). Here, the position of the pocket 4 or the work is a position on the XY coordinates, and the posture of the work 2 is the work supply position (the shape of the work supply site in a plan view, in this case, the carrier tape 3 The posture (θ) with respect to the shape of the pocket 4. The normal posture state is a state in which there is no angular displacement with respect to the workpiece supply position (the pocket 4 of the carrier tape 3).

  For correcting (correcting) the workpiece 2 before being stored in the pocket 4 of the carrier tape 3, a correction structure 6 having a correction claw 5 is generally used as shown in FIG. Reference 1). The correction structure 6 includes four correction claws 5 corresponding to each side of the work 2 and operates each correction claw 5 based on the position state of the work 2 detected by a position detector (not shown). is there.

That is, when the turntable 1 rotates in the direction of arrow A and reaches the supply position of the carrier tape 3 to the pocket 4, if the workpiece 2 and the pocket 4 are slipped in position or posture, the deviation is corrected. In order to do this, the work 2 is displaced in the XYθ direction by operating each correction claw 5 in a direction approaching or separating from the corresponding side.
JP-A-2005-51090

  However, if the correction claw as described above is used, the correction claw comes into contact with the product (electronic component), so that the product may be chipped at the corner or the like. When such chipping occurs, the subsequent product inspection is not performed because the carrier tape 3 is in the supply stage to the pocket 4, that is, the product inspection end stage. For this reason, defective products having chips are shipped.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a workpiece transfer mechanism that can transfer a workpiece to a supply position without applying an external force to the workpiece (electronic component).

  The work transport mechanism of the present invention includes a turntable having work holding means arranged at a predetermined pitch along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side, and sequentially rotates the electronic parts held by the work holding means by rotating the turntable. A workpiece transfer mechanism for transferring, wherein the turntable is stopped at a position where an electronic component to be supplied to the workpiece supply position is in a normal posture with respect to the workpiece supply position. Here, the posture is a posture with respect to the workpiece supply position (the shape of the workpiece supply portion) in plan view, and the normal posture state is a state in which there is no angular displacement with respect to the workpiece supply position, and this normal posture. The posture is such that the workpiece can be stored in the workpiece supply position by descending as it is in a state where the workpiece in the state is located immediately above the workpiece supply position.

  According to the work transport mechanism of the present invention, the turntable stops at a position where the electronic component to be supplied to the work supply position is in a normal posture with respect to the work supply position. There is no need to correct the posture.

  There are provided posture detecting means for detecting the posture of the electronic component held by the work holding means, and control means for stopping the rotation of the turntable in a normal posture state with respect to the workpiece supply position. For this reason, the attitude | position detection means can detect the attitude | position of an electronic component, and based on this detection data, a control means can stop a turntable and a workpiece | work in a normal attitude | position state.

  The transfer position side can move in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction, and the control means can supply the work from the work holding means to the work supply position when the turntable is stopped. When the position is not the position, the work supply position side is moved to the work supply possible position. When the turntable stops, when the workpiece is not in a position where the workpiece can be supplied (when the workpiece is displaced from the workpiece supply position), the workpiece is brought into a normal posture by moving the transfer position side in the XY directions. The workpiece can be moved to a position where it can be supplied while maintaining it.

  An example of the work supply position is a pocket of a carrier tape.

  In the present invention, since it is not necessary to correct the posture when supplying the workpiece to the workpiece supply position, it is not necessary to apply an external force to the workpiece in order to correct the posture of the workpiece. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the workpiece from being chipped by the correction claw and from being damaged on the workpiece supply position side by the workpiece, and defective products are not formed when the workpiece is supplied to the workpiece supply position, and a good product can be supplied to the supply position.

  The posture detection means detects the posture of the electronic component, and based on this detection data, the control means can stop the turntable in the normal posture state, and thus the workpiece, so that the workpiece is in the normal posture state with high accuracy. The workpiece supply at the workpiece supply position is stabilized.

  By moving only the workpiece supply position side in the XY-axis direction while maintaining the workpiece in the normal posture, the workpiece can be positioned at a workpiece supplyable position, and supply to the workpiece supply position can be improved. .

  If the carrier supply pocket is used as the workpiece supply position, it is possible to prevent the workpiece from being chipped by the correction claw and the carrier tape from being damaged by the workpiece. For this reason, a non-defective workpiece (electronic component) having no chip can be stored in the pocket, and the chip (foreign matter) of the carrier tape does not enter the pocket. For this reason, the electronic components housed in the carrier tape can be shipped and transported as good products having no chipping or the like, and the product taken out from the carrier tape maintains a good product state.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the workpiece transfer mechanism according to the present invention includes a turntable (rotary table) 11 in which workpiece holding means 15 (see FIG. 4) are arranged at a predetermined pitch along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side. The electronic parts 12 such as semiconductor elements held by the work holding means 15 are sequentially conveyed (supplied) to the pockets 17 of the carrier tape 16 by rotating 11.

  The turntable 11 rotates around the axis of its rotating shaft (center axis) by driving of driving means 21 (see FIG. 2) such as a motor. Further, the work holding means 15 is composed of a suction collet 15a as shown in FIG. 4, for example. The suction collet 15a has a head 19 having a suction hole 18 opened on its lower surface, and the work 12 is vacuum-sucked through the suction hole 18, and the work 12 is sucked to the lower end surface (tip surface) of the head 19. . When the vacuum suction (evacuation) is released, the work 12 is detached from the head 19. Each suction collet 15a can be moved up and down via a vertical movement mechanism such as a cylinder mechanism, a ball screw mechanism, or a linear motor mechanism.

  The carrier tape 16 is used for storing, transporting, and storing electronic parts and ICs, and is formed by forming a pocket 17 by extruding or vacuum forming a sheet of PS or PVC. After putting an electronic component or the like in the pocket 17, the film is covered with a cover tape 20 and wound on a reel for use.

  The carrier tape 16 is fed from a tape supply unit (not shown) in the direction of arrow B, and is stored in the pocket 17 in a state where the work 12 is stored in each pocket 17. The carrier tape 16 can be moved in the XY directions by the driving means 22 (see FIG. 2) as shown in FIG. This drive means 22 can be constituted by an XY stage or the like which is a publicly known / public transport means.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the workpiece transport mechanism includes a posture detection unit 23 that detects the posture of the electronic component (work) 12 held by the workpiece holding unit 15 and a normal posture with respect to the workpiece supply position. And a control means 24 for stopping the rotation of the turntable 11 in the state. Here, the posture of the workpiece 12 is a posture with respect to a workpiece supply position (the shape of the workpiece supply portion and the shape of the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16) in plan view.

  The posture detection means 23 includes a camera such as a CCD camera, and the camera 12 images the workpiece 12, and the captured image is subjected to arithmetic processing to detect the position and posture (angle) of the workpiece at the detection position of the workpiece 12. Then, the data is sent to the control means 24. The control means 24 can be constituted by a microcomputer, for example.

  Next, a method for conveying a workpiece by the workpiece conveyance mechanism will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The work 12 to be stored in the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16 (the work for which electrical characteristic measurement and appearance observation have been completed) is held by the work holding means 15, and the turntable 11 is driven in the direction of arrow A. When the workpiece 12 reaches the inspection position, the posture of the workpiece 12 is inspected by the posture detection means 23 (step S1).

  Then, when the posture of the workpiece 12 becomes a normal posture, the rotation of the turntable 11 is stopped (step S2). Here, the normal posture is to move the workpiece 12 in the XY direction without rotating the posture of the workpiece 12 or to position the workpiece 12 above the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16 without moving in the XY direction. If it can be lowered as it is, the workpiece 12 can be stored in the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16. Therefore, based on the position detected by the posture detection means 23, the calculation means of the control means 24 calculates the control means 24 so that it stops when the normal posture is reached. Send a stop signal to

  The workpiece position in this state is stored in the control means 24. If the workpiece 12 is stored in the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16 by lowering the suction collet 15a at this stop position, the carrier tape 16 side is moved. Without moving, the suction collet 15 a is lowered and the work 12 is stored in the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16. That is, as in step S3, it is determined whether or not the workpiece 12 is displaced in the XY direction. If not shifted, the process proceeds to step S 4 to supply the work 12 to the pocket 17.

  If the work position is shifted in the XY direction with respect to the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16, the process proceeds to step S5, and the control unit 24 controls the shift amount to move the carrier tape 16 side in the XY direction. Let As a result, the workpiece 12 is positioned directly above the pocket 17, the suction collet 15 a is lowered, and the workpiece 12 is stored in the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S6, and if the supply work is finished, the process is finished. If the work is continued, the process returns to step S1. When correcting (moving) the position, there are cases where only the X direction, only the Y direction, and X and Y directions.

  By the way, when the traveling direction on the carrier tape 16 side is a tangent to the turntable 11, the position where the workpiece 12 is in the normal posture state corresponds to this contact point, or on the rotational direction side from the contact point. It may be on the side opposite to the rotation direction.

  In this manner, the workpiece 12 conveyed to the carrier tape 16 side can be sequentially supplied to each pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16 that moves intermittently in the arrow B direction. When the work 12 is stored in each pocket 17, the carrier tape 16 is covered with the cover tape 20 with respect to the pocket 17 and stored in the storage unit.

  According to the present invention, the turntable 11 stops at a position where the work 12 which is an electronic component to be supplied to the work supply position is in a normal posture with respect to the work supply position. In addition, there is no need to correct the posture. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the workpiece 12 from being chipped by the correction claw and the workpiece 12 from being damaged on the workpiece supply position side, and there is no defective product formation when supplying the workpiece supply position, and a non-defective product can be supplied to the supply position.

  Since the turntable 11 and thus the workpiece 12 can be stopped in the posture state, the workpiece 12 can be stopped in the normal posture state with high accuracy, and the supply of the workpiece 12 at the workpiece supply position is stabilized.

  By moving only the workpiece supply position side in the X and Y directions while maintaining the workpiece 12 in the normal posture, the workpiece 12 can be positioned at the workpiece supplyable position, and the supply to the workpiece supply position can be improved. it can.

  If the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16 is used as the workpiece supply position, it is possible to prevent the workpiece 12 from being chipped by the correction claw and the workpiece 12 from being damaged on the carrier tape side. Therefore, a non-defective workpiece (electronic component) 12 having no chip can be stored in the pocket, and the chip (foreign matter) of the carrier tape 16 does not enter the pocket. For this reason, the electronic components housed in the carrier tape 16 can be shipped and transported as good products having no chipping or the like, and the product taken out from the carrier tape 16 is maintained in a good product state.

  As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications are possible. For example, when the turntable 11 is stopped by the control unit 24, the observation is performed. When the workpiece 12 is in a normal posture, the workpiece 12 may be stopped. Further, the workpiece 12 is observed at a predetermined position, and the subsequent rotation amount of the table 11 is controlled based on the posture at the observed position. Thus, the stop position may be determined. Further, the number of suction collets 15a constituting the holding means 15 is arbitrary. Further, the workpiece supply position is the pocket 17 of the carrier tape 16 in the above-described embodiment, but is different from the pocket 17 in other parts such as a part for inspecting electrical characteristics. Also good.

It is a simplified top view of the workpiece conveyance mechanism which shows embodiment of this invention. It is a simplified block diagram of the said workpiece conveyance mechanism. It is a flowchart figure which shows the operation | work by the said workpiece conveyance mechanism. It is a simplification figure which shows the workpiece | work holding means of the said workpiece conveyance mechanism. It is a simplified top view of the conventional workpiece conveyance mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Turntable 12 Electronic component 15 Work holding means 16 Carrier tape 17 Pocket 23 Attitude detection means 24 Control means

Claims (4)

A work transport mechanism that includes a turntable having work holding means arranged at a predetermined pitch along the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral side, and that sequentially rotates the electronic parts held by each work holding means by rotating the turntable. ,
A workpiece transfer mechanism, wherein the turntable is stopped at a position where an electronic component to be supplied to a workpiece supply position is in a normal posture with respect to the workpiece supply position.   An attitude detecting means for detecting the attitude of the electronic component held by the work holding means, and a control means for stopping the rotation of the turntable in a normal attitude state with respect to the work supply position. Item 1. The workpiece transfer mechanism according to Item 1.   The transfer position side can move in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction, and the control means can supply the work from the work holding means to the work supply position when the turntable is stopped. 3. The workpiece transfer mechanism according to claim 2, wherein when the workpiece is not in a position, the workpiece supply position is moved to the workpiece supply available position.   The work transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the work supply position is a pocket of a carrier tape.

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