JP2009121899A - Leak test system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable an accurate tracer gas leak test by shortening an elapsed time until start of the test. <P>SOLUTION: A tray on which many workpieces are placed receives tracer gas supply in the stored state in a sealed container 42 in a gas bombing device 40. A tray conveyance means 70 takes out a tray after bombing finish from the container 42 in the gas bombing device 40, and inputs a tray before bombing on which many workpieces are placed into the container 42. A leak test device 50 having a plurality of workpiece capsules 52, and a tracer gas detector connected to the workpiece capsules performs a fine leak test of workpieces in the workpiece capsules 52. The second workpiece input means 80 sucks simultaneously a plurality of workpieces from the tray taken out from the container 42 in the gas bombing device 40, and inputs them into the workpiece capsules 52. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a leak test system using a tracer gas such as helium.

It is well known to perform an air leak test using pressurized air in order to inspect the work for pinholes and the like. However, when a pinhole or the like of a small work such as an electronic component is inspected, the air leak test cannot be detected due to low sensitivity.
Therefore, when inspecting a small workpiece, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is common to perform a helium leak test in combination with an air leak test.

  In the helium leak test, a large number of workpieces (for example, several hundred to several thousand pieces) are accommodated in a container in advance, and pressurized helium gas is supplied to the container and maintained for 1 to 2 hours (bombing). If there is a pinhole in the workpiece, helium gas enters the minute space of the workpiece.

After the helium gas bombing step, the workpieces are hermetically sealed and accommodated one by one in a plurality of workpiece capsules, and helium detection is performed with helium detectors connected to these workpiece capsules. If helium is not detected, it is determined that there is no minute pinhole. If helium is detected, it is determined that there is a minute pinhole in the workpiece.
JP 2000-121481 A

  In the helium leak test, a predetermined number (for example, four) is taken out from the bombed workpiece and tested, but the time spent from the end of bombing to the start of the helium leak test varies greatly depending on the workpiece. Therefore, for workpieces that are tested early, micro leaks can be inspected without any problem. However, for workpieces that are tested late, helium that has entered the micro space inside the workpiece escapes, and micro leaks can be inspected. It will disappear.

  The above problem becomes more prominent as the workpiece becomes smaller. In order to solve this problem, a large number of trays are prepared, the work is subdivided and placed on the tray, bombing is performed, the work is taken out in order from the tray after the bombing is finished, and a helium leak test is performed.

  When the work is subdivided as described above, the time spent from the end of the bombing to the start of the helium leak test is greatly reduced, but the work is put into a plurality of work capsules one by one from the tray where the bombing is completed. There was room for improvement.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a leak test system,
(A) a tray formed on the top surface with a large number of receiving recesses that are independent of each other and are arranged vertically and horizontally to form a matrix;
(A) a parts feeder that discharges many workpieces one by one;
(C) first work loading means for loading the workpieces discharged from the parts feeder into a large number of receiving recesses of the tray and storing each one in each receiving recess;
(D) a gas bombing device for supplying a tracer gas in a state where a tray on which a large number of workpieces are placed is housed in a sealed container;
(E) a tray conveying means for taking out the tray after completion of bombing from the container of the gas bombing apparatus and putting the tray before bombing on which a large number of workpieces are placed into the container;
(F) A leak test apparatus having a plurality of work capsules and a tracer gas detector connected to these work capsules, and performing a minute leak inspection of the work in the work capsules;
(G) Second workpiece loading means for simultaneously sucking a plurality of workpieces from the tray taken out from the container of the bombing device and loading them into the plurality of workpiece capsules of the leak test device one by one. When,
It is provided with.

  According to the above configuration, the workpieces are accommodated in the receiving recesses that are independent from each other on the tray and bombed in the aligned state, so that it is not necessary to align the workpieces after the completion of the bombing. The time required for loading into the work capsule can be shortened. Thereby, the time from the completion of bombing to the start of the tracer gas leak test can be shortened, and an accurate minute leak inspection can be performed.

Preferably, the apparatus further includes alignment means, and the alignment means includes a receiving member that linearly reciprocates in the vicinity of the discharge end of the parts feeder, and the receiving members are arranged in a row at a plurality of equal intervals. It has a receiving recess, and while intermittently moving, it receives workpieces from the discharge end of the parts feeder in order into the receiving recess, and the first workpiece loading means has a plurality of suction portions, The suction part sucks the workpieces accommodated in the plurality of receiving recesses of the receiving member and puts them into the receiving recesses of the tray.
According to the above configuration, by using the alignment means having a plurality of receiving recesses and the first work input means having a plurality of suction portions, it is possible to smoothly input the work to the tray.

Preferably, a tray transfer turntable is further provided, and the tray is placed on the turntable at predetermined angular intervals, and the first work input means is at a first position on the transfer turntable. The work is put into a tray, and the tray transfer turntable moves the tray on which a large number of works are placed from a first position to a second position by rotating the predetermined angle, and the tray transfer means includes the gas bombing The tray that has been bombed from the container of the apparatus is unloaded and moved to the second position of the transfer table, and the tray at the second position is loaded into the container, and the tray transfer turntable rotates at the predetermined angle. To move the tray in the second position where the bombing has been completed to the third position, and the second work loading means The tray of the workpiece in a position to put the work capsule of the leak testing apparatus.
According to the above configuration, by using the tray transfer turntable, it is possible to smoothly carry out the tray transfer by the tray transfer unit and the workpiece input by the first and second workpiece input units.

Preferably, the bombing device and the leak test device each have a turntable disposed adjacent to the tray transfer turntable, and the container is separated from the turntable of the bombing device by an equal angular interval. In a container provided in a large number and at a predetermined angular position, a tray that has been bombed is unloaded and a tray that has not been bombed is loaded, and a tracer gas is supplied to a container at another angular position. The turntable moves the work capsule from the carry-in stage that receives the work from the second work input means to the stage that receives the tracer gas leak test by rotating at a predetermined angle.
According to the above configuration, the three turntables can smoothly perform the tray conveyance by the tray conveyance unit, the workpiece loading operation by the first and second workpiece loading units, the bombing, and the leak test.

  According to the present invention, the consumption time from the end of bombing to the start of the helium leak test can be shortened, and an accurate minute leak can be detected.

Hereinafter, a leak test system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, this system has a large number of rectangular trays 1.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the tray 1 has a large number of square receiving recesses 1 a that are independent of each other on the top surface. These accommodating recesses 1a are for accommodating the workpieces W one by one, and are arranged in a matrix in a vertical and horizontal arrangement when viewed from above. In this embodiment, there are 10 rows and 12 rows, and a total of 120 accommodating recesses 1a are formed.
As shown in FIG. 3, the tray 1 has protrusions 1b at the four corners of its lower surface.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the leak test system includes a parts feeder 10, an alignment means 20, a tray transfer turntable 30, a gas bombing device 40, and a leak test device 50.

  The gas bombing device 40 and the leak test device 50 are arranged substantially linearly adjacent to the transfer turntable 30 so as to sandwich the turntable 30, and the parts feeder 10 is arranged at a position outside the arrangement. An alignment means 20 is arranged between the turntable 30 and the parts feeder 10.

  The parts feeder 10 has a well-known configuration and will not be described in detail. However, the parts feeder 10 is arranged in a predetermined posture while applying vibration to a large number of workpieces (for example, 1,000 or more), and discharged one by one from the linear discharge unit 11. It is supposed to be.

  The alignment means 20 has an elongated receiving member 21 extending in a direction orthogonal to the discharge portion 11 and means (not shown) for moving the receiving member 21 in the longitudinal direction. On the upper surface of the receiving member 21, four (plural) receiving recesses 21a arranged in a line at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction are formed.

  The receiving member 21 is stopped every time when the receiving recess 21a reaches the end (discharge end) of the discharge portion 11 of the parts feeder 10, and after receiving the workpiece from the discharge portion 11 at the recess 21a, the pitch of the receiving recess 21a is increased. It is moved by the corresponding distance. Thus, the receiving member 21 is moved intermittently, and after all the receiving recesses 21a receive the workpiece W, they are further moved to the standby position in FIG.

  A total of four trays 1 are positioned on the turntable 30 at 90 ° intervals (predetermined angular intervals). The positioning of the tray 1 may be performed by fitting the protrusion 1b of the tray 1 and the concave portion formed on the upper surface of the turntable 20, or the tray 1 is fitted to the square annular protrusion formed on the upper surface of the turntable 30. It may be done by indenting.

  The turntable 30 is rotated intermittently by 90 °, so that the tray 1 is moved from the first position close to the receiving member 21 in the standby position, the second position close to the bombing device 40, and the bombing position. They are sequentially positioned at a third position 90 ° apart and a fourth position close to the leak test apparatus 50.

  The four workpieces W placed on the receiving member 21 at the standby position are conveyed to the tray 1 at the first position of the turntable 30 by the first workpiece input means 60. As shown in FIG. 3, the first work input 60 has, for example, four (plural) suction portions 61. These suction portions 61 are linearly arranged at the same pitch as the four receiving recesses 21 a of the receiving member 21, and the four workpieces W in the receiving recesses 21 a are sucked at a time and carried to the tray 1.

  The empty receiving member 21 returns to the discharge unit 11 of the parts feeder 10 again, repeats the reception of the workpiece W, and returns to the standby position again.

  The arrangement pitch of the receiving recesses 1a of the tray 1 is smaller than the arrangement pitch of the receiving recesses 21a. The four adsorbing portions 61 that adsorb the workpiece W by the receiving member 21 reach the upper portion of the tray 1 with the interval between them narrowed, and here, for example, every two workpieces W are put into the accommodation recess 1a of the tray 1 ( (See FIG. 3). Therefore, the work loading into the horizontal recesses 1a is completed in three transports. By repeating this, the workpieces W are put into all the accommodating recesses 1a of the tray 1.

  When the turntable 30 rotates 90 °, the tray 1 at the first position on which the workpiece W is placed moves to the second position close to the gas bombing device 40.

The gas bombing apparatus 40 includes a turntable 41 and a number of containers 42 arranged on the turntable 41 at equal intervals (for example, at intervals of 10 °).
As shown in FIG. 4, the container 42 has a container body 42a and a lid 42b. The container main body 42a is fixed to the turntable 41, and has an accommodation recess 42x (accommodation space) on the upper surface. The lid 42b opens and closes the housing recess 42x of the container body 42a by an opening / closing mechanism 43.

  The container 42 is opened only when it is at an angular position Θa (position closest to the turntable 30). The tray 1 after completion of bombing accommodated in the container 42 and the transport table as described above. The tray 1 before bombing at the second position 30 is exchanged by the tray conveying means 70.

  The tray conveying means 70 has two pairs of chuck claws, and lowers the chuck claws to grasp the two trays 1 from both sides, raises them, rotates them 180 °, and further lowers them. Perform the above exchange. After the replacement, the container 42 is closed.

  A connection port 44 is formed on the container main body 42a of each container 42 so as to protrude radially outward. As shown in FIG. 4, the connection port 44 is connected to the accommodation recess 42x via a check valve 45 and a communication passage 42y formed in the container body 42a.

  As shown in FIG. 1, when the container 42 is at the angular position indicated by the symbol Θb in FIG. 1, a connector 46 is detachably connected to the connection port 44 of the container 42. A vacuum pump 47, a helium gas cylinder 48 (tracer gas source), and a nitrogen gas cylinder 49 are connected to the connector 46 via on-off valves 46a, 46b, 46c.

  By rotating the turntable 41, the container 42 at the angular position Θa containing the tray 1 before bombing is sent to the angular position Θb. Here, the valves 46a and 46b are opened and closed sequentially, and vacuum suction by the vacuum pump 47 and subsequent Pressurized helium gas (tracer gas) is supplied from the helium gas cylinder 38. As a result, the sealed recess 42x (storing space) of the container 42 is filled with pressurized helium gas, and this gas-filled state is maintained by the check valve 45.

  The container 42 filled with the helium gas is conveyed to an angular position other than Θa and Θb by the rotation of the turntable 41. In the container 42, among the many workpieces W placed on the tray 1, in the workpiece W having a defect such as a pinhole, helium gas enters the minute internal space through the pinhole or the like.

  The container 42 exceeding the predetermined bombing time is returned to the angular position Θb again. Here, with the connector 46 connected to the connection port 44, the valves 46a and 46c are sequentially opened and closed, whereby the inside of the container 42 is vacuumed, and then pressurized nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas cylinder 49 for a short time. Is done. Thereby, helium adhering to the outer surface of the workpiece W is removed.

  The container 42 that has been bombed as described above is sent to the angular position Θa again immediately after receiving vacuum suction and supply of nitrogen gas. Here, as described above, the tray transport means 70 causes the second turntable 30 to be transported. Returned to position 2. In this gas bombing device 40, the time is managed for each container 42, and the turntable 41 is rotated forward and backward to feed the container 42.

  The tray 1 after completion of bombing returned to the second position is sent to the third position by the 90 ° rotation of the transfer turntable 30. In the third position, the workpiece W is loaded from the tray 1 to the leak test apparatus 50 by the second workpiece loading means 80.

  The leak test apparatus 50 has a turntable 51, and a plurality of, for example, eight capsule bodies 52a, for example, eight work capsules 52 are supported on the turntable 51 at four intervals every 90 °.

As shown in FIG. 5, a housing recess 52x is formed on the upper surface of the capsule body 52a.
As shown in FIG. 1, the eight capsule main bodies 52a are sequentially sent from the work carry-in stage S1 to the air leak test stage S2, the helium leak test stage S3, and the work carry-out stage S4 as the turntable 51 rotates by 90 °. It is supposed to be.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the second workpiece loading means 80 has four suction portions 81 as in the first workpiece loading means 60, and simultaneously sucks four workpieces W from the tray 1 at the third position. The four capsule bodies 52a out of the eight capsule bodies 52a in the workpiece carry-in stage S1 are put into the accommodating recesses 52x.

  The arrangement pitch of the accommodating recesses 1a of the tray 1 is smaller than the arrangement pitch of the capsule main bodies 52a. Therefore, the four suction portions 81 of the second workpiece loading means 80 are lifted by sucking the workpieces W accommodated in every second accommodation recess 1a of the tray 1 in a state where the interval between them is narrowed. Heading toward the capsule body 52a of the stage S1, the space W is widened and positioned right above the four capsules 52a, and then descends, and the workpieces W are put into the receiving recesses 52x of each capsule body 52a one by one.

  Accordingly, the loading of the workpieces W into the eight capsule main bodies 52a is completed in two transports. Note that, on the tray 1 side, the work W delivery to the horizontal recesses 1a is completed in three conveyances.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the eight capsule main bodies 52a on which the workpiece W is placed are sent from the workpiece carry-in stage S1 to the air leak test stage S2 by the 90 ° rotation of the turntable 51. In the stage S2, in the vicinity of the turntable 51, the capsule main bodies 53a of the eight master capsules 53 are provided on the fixed base 54 so as to be movable up and down. These capsule main bodies 53a have the same shape as the capsule main body 52a of the work capsule 52, and a work that has been confirmed to have no leakage, that is, a master work, is housed in the housing recess.

  At the stage S2, the capsule main bodies 52a of the eight work capsules 52 are arranged in pairs with the capsule main bodies 53a of the eight master capsules 53, respectively. In this state, the capsule bodies 52a and 53a are pushed up by operating the push-up mechanisms respectively disposed below the turntable 51 and the fixing base 54, so that the capsule bodies 52a and 53a are in the fixed positions directly above the capsule bodies 52a and 53a. Adhere to each plate. The capsule bodies 52a and 53a constitute a work capsule 52 and a master capsule 53 in cooperation with the lid plate, respectively.

  In the above state, the air leak test means 100 performs an air leak test (gross leak test). The air leak test means 100 is well known and will be described in brief. Pressurized air is supplied to the eight work capsules 52 and the eight master capsules 53 in a sealed state, and each capsule is paired in a state where each is closed by a valve. The differential pressure between 52 and 53 is detected, and the presence or absence of air leak for each workpiece W is determined based on this differential pressure.

  When the air leak test is completed, the capsule main bodies 52a and 53a are released from being pushed up by the push-up mechanism, returned to their original positions, and separated from the lid.

  As the turntable 51 is rotated by 90 °, the eight capsule bodies 52a after the air leak test are carried from the stage S2 to the helium leak test stage S3. Here, the capsule main body 52a is pushed up by the push-up mechanism in the same manner as the air leak stage, and is in close contact with the lid plate. In this state, the helium leak test means 200 receives a helium leak test (fine leak test).

The helium leak test means 200 is also well known and will be described briefly. As shown in FIG. 6, the sealed work capsule 52 is provided with a vacuum suction pump 202 and a helium detector 203 (tracer gas detection) via a valve 201, respectively. Connected).
If there is a pinhole or the like in the work W of the work capsule 52 and helium has entered the minute space, helium is released from the work W and detected by the helium detector 203.

  As the turntable 51 rotates by 90 °, the capsule bodies 52a of the eight capsules 52 are sent from the stage S3 to the workpiece carry-out stage S4, where they are separated into non-defective products and defective products by the carry-out means 90.

  As described above, the bombing apparatus 40 can bomb thousands of workpieces W, and although it can be bombed for a sufficient time, it is subdivided by the tray 1, so the helium leak test starts after the bombing is completed. Can be shortened.

  Moreover, since the workpieces W are bombarded while being arranged in a matrix on the tray 1, a plurality of workpieces W can be simultaneously loaded into the plurality of workpiece capsules 52 of the leak test apparatus by the second workpiece loading means 80. The time for aligning the workpieces W can be saved. From this point as well, the time from the completion of the bombing to the start of the helium leak test can be shortened. As a result, minute leaks can be accurately detected.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various aspects can be adopted. For example, instead of accommodating and traying a large number of trays in individual containers, they may be accommodated in a common container for bombing. In this case, it is preferable to isolate the tray from other trays when the tray is carried in and out.
In the above embodiment, the tray transfer turntable 30 is rotated every 90 ° and does not perform any action at the fourth position, but is rotated every 120 ° and the fourth position is omitted. Also good.

In the leak test apparatus, the air leak test is executed before the helium leak test, but may be executed later.
You may make the receiving recessed part of a receiving member into the integral multiple of the adsorption | suction part of a 1st workpiece | work insertion means. In this case, the suction portion reciprocates between the receiving member and the tray a plurality of times.
The number of work capsules at each angular position of the turntable of the leak test apparatus may be the same as the number of suction portions of the second work loading means. In this case, the work input into the work capsule is completed in one time.

1 is a schematic plan view of a leak test system that constitutes an embodiment of the present invention. It is an enlarged plan view of a tray used in the embodiment. It is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the adsorption | suction part of the tray and 1st workpiece | work insertion means in the same embodiment. It is a principal part enlarged side view of the gas bombing apparatus of the embodiment. It is an expanded longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the adsorption | suction part of the work capsule in the same embodiment and a 2nd workpiece | work insertion means. It is a circuit diagram of the helium leak test means in the same embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

W Work 1 Tray 1a Accommodating recess 10 Parts feeder 11 Discharge unit 20 Alignment means 21 Receiving member 21a Receiving recess 30 Tray transfer turntable 40 Gas bombing device 41 Turntable 42 Container 50 Leak test device 52 Work capsule 60 First work input means 61 Adsorbing part 70 Tray conveying means 80 Second work loading means 81 Adsorbing part 203 Helium detector (tracer gas detector)

Claims (4)

(A) a tray formed on the top surface with a large number of receiving recesses that are independent of each other and are arranged vertically and horizontally to form a matrix;
(A) a parts feeder that discharges many workpieces one by one;
(C) first work loading means for loading the workpieces discharged from the parts feeder into a large number of receiving recesses of the tray and storing the workpieces one by one in each receiving recess;
(D) a gas bombing device for supplying a tracer gas in a state where a tray on which a large number of workpieces are placed is housed in a sealed container;
(E) a tray conveying means for taking out the tray after completion of bombing from the container of the gas bombing apparatus and putting the tray before bombing on which a large number of workpieces are placed into the container;
(F) A leak test apparatus having a plurality of work capsules and a tracer gas detector connected to these work capsules, and performing a minute leak inspection of the work in the work capsules;
(G) Second workpiece loading means for simultaneously sucking a plurality of workpieces from the tray taken out from the container of the bombing device and loading them into the plurality of workpiece capsules of the leak test device one by one. When,
A leak test system characterized by comprising: Further, it comprises alignment means, and the alignment means includes a receiving member that reciprocates linearly in the vicinity of the discharge end of the parts feeder, and the receiving member has a plurality of receiving recesses formed at regular intervals in a row. And receiving workpieces from the discharge end of the parts feeder in order in this receiving recess while moving intermittently,
The first workpiece loading means has a plurality of suction portions, and these suction portions suck the workpieces accommodated in the plurality of receiving recesses of the receiving member and put them into the receiving recesses of the tray. The leak test system according to claim 1. Furthermore, a tray transfer turntable is provided, and the tray is placed on the turntable at predetermined angular intervals. The first work input means is placed on the tray at the first position placed on the transfer turntable. Load the workpiece,
The tray transfer turntable moves the tray on which a number of workpieces are placed from the first position to the second position by the predetermined angle rotation,
The tray conveying means carries out the bombed tray from the container of the gas bombing apparatus and moves it to the second position of the conveying table, and carries the tray at the second position into the container.
The tray transfer turntable moves the tray at the second position where the bombing has been completed to the third position by the predetermined angle rotation, and the second workpiece loading means moves the tray workpiece at the third position to the third position. The leak test system according to claim 1, wherein the leak test system is put into a work capsule of a leak test apparatus. The bombing device and the leak test device each have a turntable disposed adjacent to the tray transfer turntable,
On the turntable of the bombing device, a number of the containers are provided at equal angular intervals, and in a container at a predetermined angular position, a tray that has been bombed and a tray that has not been bombed are carried in at other angles. Supplying tracer gas to the container at the position,
The turntable of the leak test apparatus moves the work capsule from a loading stage for receiving a work from the second work loading means to a stage for receiving a tracer gas leak test by rotating at a predetermined angle. Item 4. The leak test system according to Item 3.

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