JP2008253876A - Device and method for discharging material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a liquid material-discharging method and a liquid material-discharging device which very precisely control the amounts of materials to be discharged to prescribed amounts even if the viscosity of the materials changes with time. <P>SOLUTION: The liquid material-discharging device includes; a scheduling part 9 which plans and executes timing for measuring discharging amounts; a discharging amount-measuring part 7 which measures relations between pressure force and the discharging amounts according to the timing from the scheduling part 9; an information storage part 8 which writes additionally and stores the measurement information; and a pressure force-controlling part 6 which computes the pressure force to an electropneumatic regulator 5 from the information from the information storage part 8 and updates it every time a liquid material is discharged. The pressure force-controlling part 6 computes the pressure force, which is a prescribed discharging amount, from the measurement information stored in the information storage part 8, every time the liquid material 2 is discharged, and controls the electropneumatic regulator 5 according to the results of the computations. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a material ejection method for ejecting a liquid material or the like stored in a container such as an adhesive, a paste-like or cream-like electronic material by a predetermined amount by a pressure applied to the container.

  As a conventional liquid material discharging method, there are generally two types, a mechanical type and an air type, which are selectively used depending on required performance such as accuracy. Generally, when the required discharge amount accuracy is high, a mechanical type is used, and when high accuracy is not required, an air type is used.

  In the case of the mechanical type, a piston or the like is pushed into a container containing a liquid material, and an amount of liquid proportional to the pushed-in amount of the piston is discharged. In the case of this mechanical type, since it is difficult to be influenced by the state of the material to be discharged, it is possible to discharge the liquid material for high-precision discharge. However, in the case of the mechanical type, compared with the air type, there is a problem that the overall configuration of the apparatus is complicated and the apparatus cost is high.

  On the other hand, in the case of the air type, the device can be constructed at a low cost, but since the piston is driven by air pressure, it is affected by the expansion and contraction of the air and the remaining amount of the material and changes in the viscosity. It is not possible to control the discharge amount at this point.

  Here, the discharge accuracy is sufficient with the air type, but the liquid discharge amount per unit time satisfies the specifications even if the pressure applied to the material is constant due to changes in the viscosity of the material itself. If not, or due to a difference in characteristics between lots of materials, it is practically difficult to improve the accuracy of quantitative discharge. For this reason, in order to maintain the quantitative discharge accuracy, a trial and error test is performed every time the setup is changed to determine the pressure applied to the material. In addition, in the case of a material whose characteristics change greatly with respect to the usage environment, it is necessary to frequently perform tests in order to maintain accuracy, and it is unavoidable that the production efficiency is reduced.

  That is, a material to be discharged, for example, an adhesive, and a paste-like or cream-like electronic material are more or less likely to change over time such as a viscosity change in a use environment. When a mechanical discharge means is used, it is possible to maintain the accuracy of the discharge amount without being affected by changes in viscosity or the like. However, the system is more expensive than the air type, and a long work man-hour such as cleaning every setup is required. When an air-type discharge means is used, a system can be constructed at a lower cost than a mechanical type, and no cleaning work or the like is required, so that the setup can be changed in a short time. However, since the discharge drive source is air, it is affected by the remaining amount of material, changes in viscosity, and the like, so the accuracy of the discharge amount is low. In addition, even when discharging is performed with the same applied pressure due to a change in material over time, the discharge amount changes (in many cases, decreases), and it is difficult to maintain accuracy. For this reason, it is possible to respond mechanically at the expense of price and workability, or periodically perform trial and error tests to determine the pressurizing force that provides the required discharge amount. Alternatively, the proportional relationship between the pressurizing force and the discharge amount is measured, the required pressurizing force is calculated, and the correction of the pressurizing force is periodically performed. For this reason, in the prior art, it has been difficult to maintain the discharge amount with high accuracy against changes with time at low cost and high workability.

  The conventional discharge method described in Patent Document 1 measures the discharge amount at two types of pressurizing forces, thereby obtaining a proportional relationship between the material pressing force and the discharge amount at the time of measurement, and based on this proportional relationship. The pressing force corresponding to the required discharge amount is determined. In this method, the production efficiency can be improved as compared with a case where a trial and error test is performed. Further, by periodically obtaining this proportional relationship, it is intended to effectively remove the influence of viscosity change and maintain the discharge amount with high accuracy.

  In the conventional discharge device described in Patent Document 2, correction data such as discharge pressure and discharge time obtained in advance by experiments are stored in a memory, and are sequentially stored according to the number of discharges and elapsed time during actual discharge. The discharge pressure and discharge time are corrected according to the data in the memory, and quantitative discharge is automatically performed.

JP 2001-79472 A Japanese Patent Publication No. 8-24870

  However, in the conventional liquid ejection method described in Patent Document 1, when the accuracy of the ejection amount is to be maintained, the period for obtaining the proportional relationship is largely caused by the characteristics of the material. That is, when a material having a large amount of change in characteristics is used, it is necessary to frequently obtain a proportional relationship, and there is a problem that improvement in production efficiency cannot be expected in practice.

  In addition, in the conventional liquid discharge device described in Patent Document 2, correction of discharge conditions such as discharge pressure conforms to the data in the memory, and therefore it is necessary to perform an experiment again when discharging under conditions different from the previously tested conditions. There is. Moreover, when the same material is used but a material with a large variation in characteristics between lots is handled, it is difficult to perform the expected quantitative discharge.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and is a material discharge device capable of controlling the discharge amount to a predetermined amount with high accuracy even if the viscosity of the material itself accompanying a change with time or the like occurs. It aims to provide a method.

  The material discharge device according to the present invention includes a pressurizing unit that pressurizes and discharges a material in a container with a predetermined pressurizing force, measures a discharge amount corresponding to the pressurizing force at a predetermined update timing, and Discharge amount storage means for storing the relationship with the discharge amount and pressurizing force setting means for calculating and setting a pressurizing force for obtaining a desired discharge amount from the relationship.

  Another material discharge device according to the present invention is a container that stores material and discharges the material from a nozzle by a pressure, a pressure setting unit that sets a pressure in the container, and a gas discharged from the nozzle A discharge amount measuring unit that measures the discharge amount of the material, a scheduling unit that determines the measurement timing of the discharge amount, and a storage unit that stores the relationship between the discharge amount measurement value and the applied pressure each time the discharge amount is measured, A pressurizing force control unit that changes the pressurizing force and measures the discharge amount by the discharge amount measuring unit when the measured value of the discharge amount is not within a specified range.

  Further, the material discharge method according to the present invention includes a step of pressurizing and discharging the material in the container with a predetermined pressurizing force, and measuring a discharge amount corresponding to the pressurizing force at a predetermined update timing. Storing the relationship between the discharge amount and the discharge amount, and calculating and setting a pressing force for obtaining a desired discharge amount from the relationship.

  According to another material discharge method according to the present invention, in the material discharge method for discharging the material in the container by the applied pressure supplied in the container, the discharge amount of the material is measured at a predetermined update timing. If the measured value of the discharge amount is within the specified range, the relationship between the applied pressure and the discharged amount is stored, and if the measured value of the discharged amount is not within the specified range, the applied pressure is changed after changing the applied pressure. The relationship is stored, and the material is discharged by setting the pressing force based on the relationship between the stored pressing force and the discharge amount.

  The material is, for example, a liquid, a gel substance, or a fluid.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a liquid ejection method according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the liquid material discharge method of the present embodiment, a liquid material 2 is stored in the syringe 1, and the liquid material 2 is discharged from a nozzle 3 provided at the tip of the syringe 1. Inside the syringe 1, air whose pressure is controlled by the electropneumatic regulator 5 is supplied from the pressure source 4, and this pressure is applied to the liquid material in the syringe 1.

  Further, the scheduling unit 9 that plans and executes the timing for measuring the discharge amount, the discharge amount measuring unit 7 that measures the relationship between the applied pressure and the discharge amount at the timing from the scheduling unit 9, and the discharge amount measuring unit 7 An information storage unit 8 for additionally storing information at the time of measurement, and a pressure control unit 6 for calculating and updating the pressure applied to the electropneumatic regulator 5 from the information in the information storage unit 8 each time the liquid material is discharged. Consists of including.

  Air or the like as a driving source for discharge is supplied from the pressurizing source 4, and the liquid material 2 in the syringe 1 is pressurized with a pressurizing force controlled by the electropneumatic regulator 5. Discharged. The pressurizing control unit 6 calculates the pressurizing force that becomes a predetermined discharge amount from the information stored in the information storage unit 8 every time the liquid material 2 is discharged, and controls the electropneumatic regulator 5 according to the calculation result. The information in the information storage unit 8 stores information from the discharge amount measuring unit 7 that measures the discharge amount of the liquid material 2 at every measurement. The timing of measurement is determined by the scheduling unit 9. For example, the schedule is configured to collect information that can realize a predetermined discharge amount in accordance with the viscosity change characteristics of the material, such as measuring at a short cycle at the start of use of the material and gradually increasing the cycle. It is possible to maintain a required discharge amount by determining a measurement timing in consideration of a change with time such as a viscosity change of a material and calculating a pressurizing force that becomes a predetermined discharge amount for each discharge from the accumulated measurement information.

  Next, the operation of the liquid material discharging method of the present embodiment will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In FIG. 2, in step A <b> 1, it is determined whether or not the discharge amount measurement can be performed based on the timing from the scheduling unit 9. In the case of performing the measurement, the pressurizing force control unit 6 calculates the pressurizing force based on the information in the information storage unit 8 and sets the pressurizing force in the electropneumatic regenerator 5. The discharge amount at that time is measured by the discharge amount measuring unit 7 (step A2). Next, in step A3, if the measured discharge amount is within the standard range of the predetermined discharge amount, discharge information including the discharge amount measured in step A5 is added to the information storage unit 8. If the measured discharge amount is outside the standard range, the pressure is changed in step A4, and the discharge amount is measured again in step A2. If measurement is not performed in step A1, step A6 for correcting the applied pressure is executed.

  Here, in step A <b> 6, the applied pressure is calculated by the applied pressure control unit 6 based on the information stored in the information storage unit 8. Next, in step A7, the applied pressure calculated in step A6 is set in the electropneumatic regulator 5, and application to the product is executed. After the application to the product, in step A8, it is determined whether or not the application is finished. If it is determined that the process is finished, the process is finished. If it is not determined that the process is finished, the process returns to step A1 to determine whether or not the measurement of the discharge amount can be performed. In step A8, until it is determined that the application to the product has been completed, the discharge amount is measured, and the execution of the application to the product is repeated while correcting the applied pressure.

  Next, the effect of this embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, the discharge amount of the target material is measured at a necessary timing, and the applied pressure is calculated for each discharge based on the measurement information. A predetermined discharge amount can be maintained with high accuracy even for a changing material. Further, since the discharge amount measuring means is provided, it is not necessary to obtain the characteristics of the target material in advance, so that the setup is easy and a trial and error test is unnecessary.

  In the above-described embodiment, the pressure correction method can be an n-order equation related to time. Further, as the data sample of the information storage unit 8 used at the time of correcting the pressing force, all of the pressing force data when the discharge amount falls within the standard range from the beginning of the processing may be handled as a sample, or n pieces of new data are stored. It may be handled as a sample. In addition, the calculation of the applied pressure can be performed using a general statistical method, such as when the sample data is weighted or not.

  The discharge material is generally a liquid material, but other gel-like substances or fluids are also effective as discharge targets of the present invention.

  Next, the results of testing the effect of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. This test was conducted with the apparatus of the embodiment shown in FIG. A nozzle 3 is attached to the tip of the syringe 1, and a liquid material 2 to be discharged is contained in the syringe 1. The liquid material 2 is discharged from the nozzle 3 by the pressurizing force controlled by the electropneumatic regulator 5 from the pressurizing source 4. In this test, a pressurizing force is set on the electropneumatic regulator 5 from the pressurizing pressure control unit 6 to perform discharge for a predetermined time, and the discharge amount of the material 2 discharged from the nozzle 3 at that time is supplied to the discharge amount measuring unit 7. To measure. The applied pressure and the discharge amount at this time are recorded. The ejection was performed at intervals of about 20 seconds.

  FIG. 3 shows the result of recording within the specification of the discharge amount only at the first discharge start, and recording the discharge amount at a constant pressure. FIG. 4 is a result of recording the discharge amount when the pressure correction is performed in the flow shown in FIG. 2, and it is determined whether the pressure is within the standard range at intervals of about 20 minutes. Used the information that became the standard range, and corrected the pressure by linear approximation using the least squares method. Here, A (center value) mg ± B (allowable range) mg was set as the standard for the required discharge amount, and the initial pressure was determined from the discharge amount measurement result at the start of the test. From FIG. 3, when the pressure is constant, there is a high possibility that it will be out of specification from an early stage, and after the fixed time has passed, it is completely out of specification. However, by calculating the applied pressure based on the measurement result of the discharge amount from the results shown in FIG. 4, the discharge amount within the standard can be maintained even when the amount of change in the viscosity of the material changes or even after a long time has passed. It is.

  Examples of utilization of the present invention include a manufacturing apparatus that requires a function of discharging a liquid resin, such as paste application in a die mounting process in a semiconductor assembly, resin application in an underfill process, paste application in a heat sink application process, and adhesive application. It is done.

1 is a basic configuration diagram of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the basic operation | movement flow of this invention. It is a graph which shows the change of the discharge amount when a pressurizing force is constant. It is a graph which shows the change of the discharge amount at the time of a pressurization pressure correction update.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Syringe 2 Material 3 Nozzle 4 Pressurization source 5 Electropneumatic regulator 6 Pressure control part 7 Discharge amount measurement part 8 Information storage part 9 Scheduling part

Claims (6)

A pressurizing unit that pressurizes and discharges the material in the container with a predetermined pressurizing force, and a discharge that measures the discharge amount corresponding to the pressurizing force at a predetermined update timing and stores the relationship between the pressurizing force and the discharge amount A material discharge apparatus comprising: a quantity storage means; and a pressure setting means for calculating and setting a pressure to obtain a desired discharge amount from the relationship. A container for storing the material and discharging the material from the nozzle by the applied pressure; a pressure setting unit for setting the applied pressure in the container; and a discharge amount measuring unit for measuring the discharge amount of the material discharged from the nozzle; A scheduling unit that determines the measurement timing of the discharge amount, a storage unit that stores the relationship between the discharge amount measurement value and the applied pressure each time the discharge amount is measured, and the discharge amount measurement value that is not within a specified range. A material discharge apparatus comprising: a pressure control unit that changes the pressure and causes the discharge amount measurement unit to measure a discharge amount. The material discharge apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the material is a liquid, a gel-like substance, or a fluid. A step of pressurizing and discharging the material in the container with a predetermined pressing force, a step of measuring a discharging amount corresponding to the pressing force at a predetermined update timing, and storing a relationship between the pressing force and the discharging amount; And a step of calculating and setting a pressing force for obtaining a desired discharge amount from the above relationship. In the material discharge method for discharging the material in the container by the applied pressure supplied into the container, the discharge amount of the material is measured at a predetermined update timing, and the measured value of the discharge amount is within a specified range. The relationship between the applied pressure and the discharge amount is stored, and if the measured value of the discharge amount is not within the specified range, the relationship between the applied pressure and the discharge amount is stored after changing the applied force, and the stored applied pressure and A material discharge method, wherein a pressure is set based on a relationship with a discharge amount to discharge the material. The material discharge method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the material is a liquid, a gel-like substance, or a fluid.

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