JP2010032405A - Substrate fixing mechanism and substrate fixing method by this - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate fixing mechanism which enables reduction of the price of equipment, since it dispenses with a supporting base, while being capable of corresponding to substrates of different sizes, and a substrate fixing method which enables shortening of time for fixing and also prolongation of the service life. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate fixing mechanism is equipped with a chuck 2 having contact walls 11 and support pawls 12, a chuck 3 having setting pawls 13, a clamp piece 4 which is driven to move back and forth on the chuck 3 by a pneumatic cylinder 6 and a tension spring 7 so as to press and fix the substrate 20, and a threaded rod 5 which is screwed in and inserted through arm parts 2a and 3a of the chucks 2 and 3 and has screwing portions 5a and 5b of which the screws are formed in reverse directions to each other. As for the substrate fixing method, the substrate 20 is lowered to a position where the underside thereof is located between the upper and lower ends of the contact walls 11, and is held in a state of being lifted from the pawls 12 and 13, by being pressed by the clamp piece 4. Then the substrate is released from suction and made to fall onto the pawls 12 and 13 by moving the clamp piece 4 backward and is fixed by pressing by the clamp piece 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate fixing mechanism for sandwiching and fixing a substrate in a substrate inspection apparatus, a substrate moving apparatus, and the like, and a substrate fixing method using this mechanism.

  In a board inspection apparatus for inspecting a printed wiring board or a board mounted with components, it is necessary to fix the position of the board in advance. Such a substrate fixing mechanism is described in Patent Document 1, for example. In the position fixing mechanism for a substrate to be inspected described in Patent Document 1, a chuck on one side and a chuck on the other side are urged toward each other on a base, and the substrate to be inspected is arranged. It is pinched and fixed.

  Each of the chuck portions is provided with a corner support piece for tightly supporting the opposite two corners of the substrate. Each corner support piece is formed with a receiving portion protruding in a narrow bowl shape that supports two sides of the substrate.

  With this configuration, the substrate can be fixed even when the size of the substrate is changed, and the center position of the substrate can be fixed regardless of the size.

  As an example of a fixing method for fixing a substrate with such a substrate fixing mechanism, an auxiliary base is pushed up from below the base between both chuck portions. A substrate suction device that vacuum-sucks the substrate there lowers the substrate from above and opens the vacuum to the atmosphere to place the substrate. The corner support pieces of both chucks are sandwiched and fixed on the substrate on the auxiliary table.

  However, since the corner support piece is formed with a bowl-shaped receiving portion that supports the substrate, the auxiliary base is pushed up slightly higher than the receiving portion in order to prevent a collision between the receiving portion and the substrate. There is a need. Therefore, the substrate is held by the corner support pieces in a state where the substrate is not supported by the receiving portion.

  In order to support the substrate by the receiving portion, that is, in order for the substrate to be in close contact with the receiving portion, as an example, the substrate is pushed down from above with a substrate suction device or the like, and pushed down to the receiving portion.

JP 2006-30049 A

  Thus, in order to use the conventional board | substrate fixing mechanism, the auxiliary | assistant base of a board | substrate is required. Further, a process for moving the auxiliary table up and down and a process for pushing the substrate down to the receiving part are required. Furthermore, since the substrate is pushed down to the receiving portion, there is a problem that the fixing mechanism is worn by friction with the substrate.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve these problems, and can support substrates of different sizes, but does not require an auxiliary board for the substrate, so that the cost of the apparatus can be reduced and the time required for fixing the substrate can be reduced. It is an object to provide a substrate fixing mechanism that can be shortened. It is another object of the present invention to provide a substrate fixing method capable of shortening the time required for fixing a substrate by using this substrate fixing mechanism and further extending the service life.

  The substrate fixing mechanism according to claim 1, which has been made to achieve the above object, supports a contact wall that contacts two adjacent sides of a flat substrate and the two adjacent sides. One chuck having a support claw, the other chuck having a mounting claw for supporting the other two adjacent sides of the substrate, and a drive means that is disposed on the other chuck so as to be capable of moving forward and backward. The advancement and retraction are driven, and the clamp piece that presses and fixes the substrate in contact with the other two adjacent sides and the female screw formed in each of the chucks are screwed and inserted. And a screw rod that is formed in opposite directions to each other and screwed to move both chucks by rotation of the male screw.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate fixing method comprising: one chuck having an abutting wall that abuts two adjacent sides of a flat substrate and a support claw that supports the two adjacent sides; The substrate suction device up to the position of the lower surface of the substrate lower than the upper end of the corresponding contact wall and higher than the lower end of the corresponding contact wall above both the claws of the other chuck having the mounting claws supporting the two sides. The substrate adsorbed by the lowering is lowered, and the other adjacent two sides are pressed by a clamp piece which is disposed on the other chuck so as to be able to advance and retreat in the direction of the substrate. The substrate is held in a state where it is lifted from both claws, the substrate suction device releases the substrate, the clamp piece is moved in the opposite direction of the corresponding wall, and the substrate is moved to the support claw and the mounting claw. Drop it on the top and press the other two adjacent sides with the clamp piece. Characterized by fixing the.

  The substrate fixing method according to claim 3 is the substrate fixing method according to claim 2, wherein a hole is formed in each of the chucks as a preparation adjustment before the substrate is lowered by the substrate suction device. A screw rod that is threaded into and inserted into the female screw and is formed in a direction opposite to the spiral direction of the male screw of the portion to be screwed into each of the chucks is rotated around the axis, and the interval between the chucks is increased. The spacing between the two claws is such that the substrate can be supported.

  According to the substrate fixing mechanism of the present invention, it is possible to cope with substrates of different sizes by configuring as described above, and the substrate is supported by raising from the lower side, which was necessary for using the conventional fixing mechanism. No need for an auxiliary stand to perform. For this reason, the cost of an auxiliary stand and its drive mechanism can be reduced, and an apparatus price can be reduced. In addition, since the time for moving the auxiliary base up and down is unnecessary, the time for fixing the substrate can be shortened.

  According to the substrate fixing method of the present invention, the step of pushing the substrate to the nail that supports the substrate in a fixed state as in the case of fixing the substrate by the conventional fixing mechanism becomes unnecessary. For this reason, the time for fixing a board | substrate can be shortened. Furthermore, since wear of the abutting wall and the clamp piece is prevented, the service life of the device can be extended.

  In addition, according to the substrate fixing method of the present invention, it is possible to deal with substrates of different sizes, and when a large number of substrates of the same type are sequentially fixed, it is only necessary to first perform preliminary adjustment to match the size.

Preferred form for carrying out the invention

  Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below, but the scope of the present invention is not limited to these examples.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the substrate fixing mechanism according to the present invention observed from above. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. Further, in FIG. 2, the use state of the substrate fixing mechanism is shown in FIGS. 2 (a) to 2 (e). In FIG. 2, the main parts of the invention are exaggerated for easy understanding of the invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate fixing mechanism 1 includes a chuck 2, a chuck 3, a clamp piece 4, and a screw rod 5, which are arranged on a base (not shown) to clamp and fix the substrate 20. . As an example, the board 20 to be fixed is a printed wiring board on which electrical components are mounted, and is formed in a flat square shape.

  The chuck 2 is an example of one chuck according to the present invention, and is formed having a contact wall 11 that contacts two adjacent sides 20a of the substrate 20 and a support claw 12 that supports the two adjacent sides 20a. .

  Specifically, the chuck 2 is made of a resin having a required thickness, and the substrate 20 side (the left side in the figure) is opened in a right-angled V shape, and the contact wall 11 is formed on the opening end surface. Has been. Furthermore, the V-shaped top of the opening is cut out in a substantially U shape. Therefore, the contact wall 11 is formed so as to be separated into the V-shaped opposite sides of the V-shaped opening, and is formed so as to be able to contact a part of each of the adjacent two sides 20a. As shown in FIG. 2, the abutting wall 11 is formed vertically with substantially the same height as the thickness of the substrate 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2A, a support claw 12 having a narrow width and protruding like a bowl and having a flat top surface is formed below the contact wall 11.

  The chuck 3 is an example of the other chuck according to the present invention, and is formed with a mounting claw 13 that supports the other two adjacent sides 20b of the substrate 20.

  Specifically, the chuck 3 is formed of a resin having a required plate thickness, and the substrate 20 side (the right side in FIG. 1) is opened in a right-angled V-shape. It is cut out in a substantially U shape. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 (a), the top surface of the V-shaped opening is separated into a V-shaped opposite side, and a flat mounting claw 13 is formed on each side of the adjacent two sides 20b. It is formed so that a part can be supported.

  As shown in FIG. 2A, the chucks 2 and 3 are arranged on a base (not shown) so that the upper surface of the support claw 12 and the upper surface of the mounting claw 13 constitute the same horizontal surface. ing. As shown in FIG. 1, the chucks 2 and 3 are disposed on the base so as to freely advance and retract so that the openings of each other always form a part of a square side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the clamp piece 4 is disposed on the chuck 3 so as to be able to advance and retract in the direction of the substrate 20. The clamp piece 4 is driven to advance and retract by a pneumatic cylinder 6 and a tension spring 7 as an example of a driving unit. The substrate 20 is pressed and fixed in contact with two adjacent sides 20b.

  Specifically, the clamp piece 4 is formed of a resin having a thickness substantially the same as the thickness of the substrate 20, and the substrate 20 side (the right side in the figure) is formed in an opening shape substantially the same as the chuck 3. ing. The overall shape of the clamp piece 4 is smaller than that of the chuck 3 and is fitted to a rail (not shown) on the chuck 3 so that the shape of the opening and the shape of the opening of the chuck 3 are always in the same direction. It is arranged to be openable and retractable.

  In the pneumatic cylinder 6, a piston is pushed out by supplying compressed air, and the piston is fixed to the clamp piece 4. Further, a tension spring 7 is spanned between the clamp piece 4 and the chuck 3.

  The threaded rod 5 has a male cylindrical rod formed with a male thread, and is threaded through a female thread formed in each of the chucks 2 and 3 and is threaded into each of the chucks 2 and 3. The spiral direction of the male screw of the part to be formed is formed in the opposite direction. That is, the spiral direction of the internal thread of both chucks 2, 3 through which the threaded rod 5 is screwed is also formed in the opposite direction.

  More specifically, the chucks 2 and 3 are formed with arm portions 2a and 3a, respectively, through which female screw holes are formed. The spiral directions of the female threads of the arms 2a and 3a are formed in opposite directions. The arm portions 2 a and 3 a are formed at positions where the screw rod 5 does not interfere with the substrate 20 even when the screw rod 5 is inserted. The screw rod 5 is formed so that the spiral directions of the male screw of the screwing portion 5a screwed to the female screw of the arm portion 2a and the male screw of the screwing portion 5b screwed to the female screw of the arm portion 3a are opposite to each other. ing. The pitches of the female screw and the male screw are all the same.

  Further, the screw rod 5 is provided with a rotating means (not shown) capable of reversing in the direction around the axis. Examples of the rotating means include a manual rotating handle and an electric motor capable of controlling the amount of rotation.

  Next, the substrate fixing method of the present invention using this substrate fixing mechanism will be described.

  As an example, an operation in the case where the substrate 20 is fixed by the substrate fixing mechanism 1 in order to inspect the substrate 20 by the inspection apparatus will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, as a preparatory adjustment before the substrate inspection, the screw rod 5 is rotated by rotating means, and the substrate 20 can be supported by the claws 12 and 13 with the distance between both chucks 2 and 3 being adjusted. Adjust to the required interval. This required interval means that the adjacent two sides 20a of the substrate 20 are in contact with the contact wall 11 of the chuck 2, and the substrate lower surface edge of the other adjacent two sides 20b is narrow as the width of the support claw 12. This is the interval supported by the mounting claw 13.

  At this time, since the spiral directions of the male threads of the threaded portions 5a and 5b are opposite to each other, the chucks 2 and 3 approach each other when the screw rod is rotated in one direction, and move away from each other when the screw rod is rotated in the opposite direction. Move to. Since the chucks 2 and 3 move by the same distance, the intermediate position of the chucks 2 and 3 is always constant. Thereby, the center position of the board | substrate of a different size can be fixed uniformly.

  As a result of this preparation and adjustment, the distance between the claws 12 and 13 is narrowed in advance to a distance that can support the substrate 20, so that an auxiliary base is not required on the lower side of the substrate 20 unlike the conventional fixing mechanism.

  Usually, in the substrate inspection, a large number of the same type of substrates 20 are inspected continuously. However, this preparation adjustment described above only needs to be adjusted once in advance as long as the size of the substrate 20 does not change.

  When fixing the substrate 20 for substrate inspection, compressed air is not supplied to the pneumatic cylinder 6 at first. Thereby, the clamping piece 4 is driven and moved in the direction away from the contact wall 11 by the urging force of the tension spring 7 as shown in FIG.

  2A, the substrate adsorption device 5 that adsorbs the substrate 20 is above the claws 12 and 13, and the lower surface of the substrate 20 (the lower side in the figure) is the contact wall 11. The substrate 20 is lowered to a position lower than the upper end and higher than the lower end of the contact wall 11.

  Next, compressed air is supplied to the pneumatic cylinder 6 to drive the clamp piece 4. The clamp 4 moves in the direction of the substrate 20 while resisting the urging force of the tension spring 7 and presses the adjacent two sides 20b as shown in FIG. The substrate 20 is sandwiched between them. At this time, the substrate 20 is held in a state of being lifted from both the claws 12 and 13.

  Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2C, the substrate suction device 5 releases the vacuum that has been sucked to the atmosphere, releases the substrate 20, and moves upward. At this time, since the substrate 20 is sandwiched between the clamp piece 4 and the contact wall 11, the substrate 20 is prevented from falling out of the substrate fixing mechanism 1 due to the impact of air release.

  Subsequently, the supply of compressed air to the pneumatic cylinder 6 is stopped. As a result, the urging force of the tension spring 7 moves the clamp piece 4 in the opposite direction of the abutting wall 11 as shown in FIG. 2D, and the substrate 20 is placed on the support claws 12 and the placement claws 13. Drop by its own weight.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 2 (e), compressed air is supplied to the pneumatic cylinder 6, the adjacent two sides 20 b are pressed by the clamp pieces 4, and the substrate 20 is fixed between the contact walls 11. To do. Thereby, the board | substrate fixing mechanism 1 can fix the board | substrate 20 reliably, supporting with the both claws 12 and 13. FIG. Further, unlike the conventional method of using the fixing mechanism, it is not necessary to push the claws 12 and 13 into the state where the substrate is held.

  After completion of the inspection of the substrate 20, the supply of compressed air to the pneumatic cylinder 6 is stopped, the clamp piece 4 is moved away from the substrate 20 by the urging force of the tension spring 7, and the fixation of the substrate 20 is released.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described based on the illustrated example, and the embodiment is not limited to this. For example, the case where the substrate 20 has a square shape has been described. However, if the shape of the chucks 2 and 3 and the clamp piece 4 can be held without changing the shape of the chucks 2 and 3 and the clamp piece 4, the shape of the substrate is generally a rectangle or the like. It may be a shape or a polygonal shape.

  Moreover, although the contact wall 11 demonstrated the example which contact | abuts a part of each edge | side of the adjacent 2 sides 20a, you may form in the length which can contact | abut all the adjacent 2 sides 20a. Similarly, the clamp piece 4 may be formed to have a length that can contact all of the adjacent two sides 20b. Similarly, the lengths of the support claws 12 and the placement claws 13 may be long enough to support all of the adjacent two sides 20a and 20b.

  The height of the contact wall 11 and the plate thickness of the clamp piece 4 may be formed thicker (higher) than the plate thickness of the substrate 20.

  Moreover, although the example which comprised the drive means of the clamp piece 4 with the pneumatic cylinder 6 and the tension spring 7 was demonstrated, you may comprise only with the pneumatic cylinder which can be linearly reciprocated. Various actuators such as a hydraulic cylinder can also be used. Alternatively, the clamp piece 4 may be driven to be pressed against the substrate 20 by a tension spring, and the clamp piece 4 may be driven in a direction away from the contact wall 11 by a pneumatic cylinder.

It is a schematic diagram of the board | substrate fixing mechanism to which this invention is applied. It is sectional drawing which shows the usage method of the board | substrate fixing mechanism to which this invention is applied.

Explanation of symbols

  1 is a substrate fixing mechanism, 2 and 3 are chucks, 2a and 3a are arm portions, 4 is a clamp piece, 5 is a screw rod, 5a and 5b are screwed portions, 6 is a pneumatic cylinder, 7 is a tension spring, and 11 is a contact The contact wall, 12 is a support claw, 13 is a placement claw, 20 is a substrate, 20a is two adjacent sides, and 20b is another two adjacent sides.

Claims (3)

  One chuck having an abutting wall that contacts two adjacent sides of a flat substrate and a support claw that supports the two adjacent sides, and another chuck having a mounting claw that supports the other two adjacent sides of the substrate And a clamp piece which is arranged on the other chuck so as to be able to advance and retreat in the direction of the substrate and which is driven to advance and retreat by the driving means, and abuts against the other adjacent two sides to press and fix the substrate, Screws are inserted into the internal threads formed in the holes of the chucks, and the spiral directions of the male threads of the portions to be engaged with the chucks are formed in opposite directions to each other. A board fixing mechanism comprising: a screw rod to be moved. One chuck having an abutting wall that contacts two adjacent sides of a flat substrate and a supporting claw that supports the two adjacent sides, and the other having a mounting claw that supports the other two adjacent sides of the substrate Lowering the substrate adsorbed by the substrate adsorption device to a position above the both claws of the chuck to a position where the lower surface of the substrate is lower than the upper end of the corresponding contact wall and higher than the lower end of the corresponding contact wall;
The other two sides are pressed on the other chuck with a clamp piece arranged so as to be able to advance and retreat in the direction of the substrate, and the substrate is lifted from the claws between the clamp piece and the contact wall. Pinch
The substrate suction device releases the substrate;
The clamp piece is moved in the opposite direction of the corresponding wall, and the substrate is dropped onto the support claw and the mounting claw,
A substrate fixing method comprising pressing the other two adjacent sides with the clamp piece to fix the substrate between the corresponding contact walls.   As a preparatory adjustment before the substrate is lowered by the substrate suction device, a screw of a male screw is inserted into a female screw formed in a hole in each of the chucks and is screwed into each of the chucks. The screw rod formed in directions opposite to each other is rotated around an axis, and the interval between the chucks is adjusted to an interval at which the substrate can be supported by the claws. Board fixing method.

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