JP2798803B2 - Method of aligning a plurality of members and recording head manufactured using the method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a first member having a first plane on which a first portion is provided and a second plane orthogonal to the first plane. And a third plane parallel to the first plane, a fourth plane orthogonal to the third plane, and a second part formed parallel to and spaced from the fourth plane by a predetermined distance. The second member having the fifth plane is brought into close contact with the first and second planes, and the second and fourth planes are brought into close contact with each other, and the fifth surface is positioned outward. The present invention relates to a method of positioning a plurality of members and a recording head manufactured by using the method.

[Related Art] In recent years, when ink is ejected and printed on paper, a print head that heats the ink to form a bubble and prints in a so-called bubble jet method is advantageous in improving the printing accuracy. As such, it has been developed and put into practical use.

In an assembling apparatus for assembling such a bubble jet type print head, a heater for heating ink, and a discharge port for discharging foamed ink heated and boiled by this heater toward a sheet of paper are provided. It must be accurately positioned on the order of microns. For example, in order to achieve a high printing accuracy of about 360 dpi (dotts per inch), 64 ejection holes must be arranged at equal intervals within a range of about 4.5 mm. The pitch is a fine value of about 70 microns.

Here, the formation of the discharge holes at such an extremely small interval is performed, for example, by using an ultra-precision processing device such as a laser processing machine so that the orifice plate attached to the front surface of the top plate member has a predetermined height. The discharge hole can be formed with high accuracy. Also, when forming the heater, by using the ultra-precision etching technology, similarly,
The heater can be formed on the heater board with an allowable predetermined high precision.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Here, in a conventional assembling apparatus, a heater as a first portion on a heater board as a first member and a heater attached to a front surface of a top plate as a second member. In order for the top plate to be placed on the heater board, with the discharge hole as the second portion formed in the orifice plate being aligned with its axis exactly, The heater board and the top plate are each set using a dedicated jig, and the alignment is manually performed while alternately observing the heater and the discharge hole with a metallographic microscope.

However, in such manual alignment, the positional adjustment accuracy varies due to a variation in work, and there is a problem in the reliability of a finished product.

For this reason, the heater and the discharge hole are each photographed with a camera,
It is conceivable to perform the position detection based on the information of the captured image. By using such position detection based on image information, the detection accuracy is dramatically improved, and there is no problem in terms of reliability.

Here, in order to accurately perform position detection based on such image information, it is required that the image be accurately focused. However, when trying to perform high-precision focusing, the depth of focus becomes shallow, so if the camera is located outside the range of the predetermined depth of focus, the focusing operation for focusing on the target is repeatedly executed indefinitely. However, the positioning operation is substantially stopped.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to use a method of positioning a plurality of members that can perform a more accurate and faster positioning operation and a method thereof. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a recording head which is manufactured by using the following method.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a method for aligning a plurality of members according to the present invention has the following features. That is, a first member having a first plane on which the first portion is disposed and a second plane orthogonal to the first plane, a third plane parallel to the first plane, A fourth plane orthogonal to the third plane and a second member having a fifth plane parallel to the fourth plane at a predetermined distance and having a second portion formed thereon, And a second member that is in close contact with the second surface, and in which the second and fourth surfaces are in close contact with each other, and is positioned such that the fifth surface is positioned outward. A first detecting step of photographing a first plane of one member and detecting an arrangement position of a first part based on the photographed image information; and photographing a second plane of the first member A focusing step of focusing the focused image, and moving the first member away from the focused position by the predetermined distance. An offset step, a moving step of moving the second member above the offset first member, and dropping the first member onto the second member, thereby performing the first and third steps.
A step of bringing the second plane into close contact with the second plane, a step of attracting the fourth plane of the second member so that the fourth plane of the first member comes into close contact with the second plane of the first member, In the state of close contact,
The fifth plane is photographed, and based on the photographed image information,
A second detection step of detecting an arrangement position of the second part, and first and second detection steps detected in the first and second detection steps.
A moving step of relatively moving the first and second members based on the arrangement position of the first member and the second member so that the two arrangement positions coincide with each other.

Preferably, the method further includes a second focusing step which is executed between the attraction step and the second detection step, takes a fifth plane, and focuses the image of the fifth plane. .

Further, a recording head manufactured by using the method for aligning a plurality of members according to the present invention has the following features. That is, in an ink jet recording head that performs recording by discharging ink, a first member having a first plane provided with a first portion and a second plane orthogonal to the first plane; A third plane parallel to the first plane, a fourth plane orthogonal to the third plane, a fifth plane parallel to the fourth plane at a predetermined distance, and having a second portion formed therein. And a second member having a flat surface, the first and second planes are brought into close contact with each other, and the second and fourth planes are brought into close contact with each other.
A recording head manufactured by aligning a fifth surface so as to be located outward, wherein a first plane of the first member is photographed, and a first plane is formed based on the photographed image information. A first detection step of detecting an arrangement position of a part; a focusing step of focusing an image obtained by photographing a second plane of the first member; An offset step of moving the first member away, a moving step of moving a second member above the offset first member, dropping the first member onto the second member, 1st and 3rd
A step of bringing the second plane into close contact with the second plane, a step of attracting the fourth plane of the second member so that the fourth plane of the first member comes into close contact with the second plane of the first member, In the state of close contact,
The fifth plane is photographed, and based on the photographed image information,
A second detection step of detecting an arrangement position of the second part, and first and second detection steps detected in the first and second detection steps.
And a moving step of relatively moving the first and second members based on the arrangement position of the plurality of members.

[Embodiment] A configuration of a print head nozzle assembly apparatus 10 to which an embodiment of a method for aligning a plurality of members according to the present invention is applied will be described below.

(Description of Head Nozzle 100) First, a schematic configuration of a head nozzle 100 assembled by an assembling apparatus 10 in which an alignment method according to the present invention is carried out, and an ink jet cartridge 200 equipped with the head nozzle 100 are shown in FIGS. This will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ink jet cartridge 200 is generally constituted by an ink tank 202 and a head nozzle 100. Also, this head nozzle 100 is
As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 3, a heater board 102 on which an ink heating heater 112 is formed, a partition wall positioned on the heater board 102, and a plurality of ink flow paths for partitioning a plurality of ink flow paths, respectively. A top plate 104 having a common liquid chamber for distributing ink to the passage and a cylindrical ink receiving port 118 for supplying ink to the common liquid chamber; and a top plate 104 integrally mounted on a front surface of the top plate 104. And an orifice plate 108 having a plurality of ejection ports 106 respectively corresponding to the respective ink flow paths.

In this embodiment, these discharge ports 106
Are arranged at equal intervals over a length of about 4.5 mm, and the arrangement of the intervals allows the print density of the head nozzle 100 to be as high as about 360 dpi (dotts per inch).

(Description of Assembling Apparatus 10) Hereinafter, an assembling apparatus 10 for assembling the head nozzle 100, that is, an assembling apparatus 10 for assembling the grooved top plate 104 on the heater board 102 in an accurately positioned state, and an assembling method. Will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

<Description of Overall Configuration of Assembling Apparatus 10> As shown in FIG. 4, the assembling apparatus 10 includes a surface plate 12 whose mounting posture is accurately positioned horizontally on a base (not shown). On the surface plate 12, this assembly device
A grooved top plate 104 (hereinafter simply referred to as a top plate) to which an orifice plate 108 is attached in advance, which is one of the components of the head nozzle 100 assembled in 10, is provided so as to adjust the attachment position thereof. 1 position adjustment mechanism 14
And a second position adjusting mechanism that regulates the mounting position of the heater board 102, which is the other component part, which is previously fixed to the upper surface of the distal end portion of the base member 208 in an accurately positioned manner. 16 are provided.

The first position adjustment mechanism 14 is mounted directly on the surface plate 12 and is movable with respect to the surface plate 12 along the x-axis direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface). A first z-axis stage 20 mounted on the first x-axis stage 18 and movable with respect to the first x-axis stage 18 along the z-axis direction (vertical direction in the figure); A first y-axis stage 22 mounted on the first z-axis stage 20 and movable with respect to the first z-axis stage 20 along the y-axis direction (left-right direction in the figure); The base end is placed on the first y-axis stage 22 via a spacer 24, and the top plate 104
And a first positioning mechanism for executing the positioning of the grooved top plate 104 removed from the mounting mechanism 26 and placed on the heater board 102 with respect to the heater board 102. It consists of 27. The mounting mechanism 26 and the first positioning mechanism
The configuration with 27 will be described in detail later.

On the other hand, the second position adjustment mechanism 16 is directly mounted on the surface plate 12 in a state adjacent to the above-described first position adjustment mechanism 14,
A second x-axis stage 28 movable along the above-described x-axis direction with respect to the surface plate 12, and mounted on the second x-axis stage 28; A second z-axis stage 30 movable along the above-described z-axis direction, and a second z-axis stage 30 mounted on the second z-axis stage 30; A second y-axis stage 32 movable along the first y-axis stage 32 and a base member 208 mounted on the second y-axis stage 32 and to which the heater board 102 is attached and fixed are attached to the second y-axis stage 32. Second positioning mechanism for fixing in a state accurately positioned with respect to
33, and a bonding force generating mechanism 34 for bonding the top plate 104 to the heater board 102 with a predetermined bonding force. The configurations of the second positioning mechanism 33 and the joining force generating mechanism 34 will be described later in detail.

Here, although not shown, each axis stage 18, 20, 22; 28, 30, 32 includes a drive motor, and these drive motors correspond to the corresponding drivers 36a, 36b, 36c, 36d, 36e, 36
Each is connected to a control unit 38 for controlling the entire system via the respective terminals f. Under the control of the control unit 38, these drive motors are controlled so that the top plate 104 comes to a predetermined position above the heater board 102 in the first position adjustment mechanism 14, and the second position In the adjusting mechanism 16,
The heater boards 102 are respectively driven and controlled so as to be positioned so as to be at predetermined positions with respect to the surface plate 12.

On the other hand, the control unit 38 needs to accurately detect the position of the top plate 104 in order to accurately position the top plate 104. However, based on an image obtained by capturing the top plate 104, the first control unit 38 accurately detects the position. In order to accurately position the heater board 102, it is necessary for the position detecting mechanism 40 to accurately detect the position. However, based on an image obtained by capturing the heater board 102, the second position detecting mechanism 40 detects the position accurately. The two position detection mechanisms 42 are both connected to the control unit 38 via the image processing device 44.

Here, the first position detection mechanism 40 is disposed in front of the orifice plate 108 of the grooved top plate 104 accurately grasped at the tip thereof by the attachment mechanism 26 described in detail later. A first objective lens 40a, a first objective lens holder 40b that holds the first objective lens 40a,
A first epi-illumination device 40c and a first epi-illumination device 40c
A first light source 40d, a first optical system 40e for determining an in-focus state, and a first lens barrel 40f for housing these optical devices.
And a first ITV camera 40g that projects an image of the orifice plate 108 observed through the first objective lens 40a.

The image information of the first ITV camera 40g is sent to the above-described image processing device 44 via the first signal converter 46. The first focusing optical system 40e is provided with a first focusing optical system 40e.
Is connected to the control unit 38 via the in-focus state detector 48. Here, the first position detection mechanism 40 is mounted and fixed on the surface plate 12 via a first support (not shown).

The above-described second position detection mechanism 42 is disposed above a heater board 102 accurately placed on the second y-axis stage 32 by a second positioning mechanism 33 described in detail later. A second objective lens 42a and a second objective lens holder 42b for holding the second objective lens 42a.
A second epi-illumination device 42c, a second light source 42d for the second epi-illumination device 42c, a second optical system 42e for judging a focused state, and a second optical device for accommodating these optical devices. 2 barrels 4
2f, and a second ITV camera 42g that projects an image of the heater board 102 observed through the second objective lens 42a.

The image information of the second ITV camera 42g is sent to the above-described image processing device 44 via the second signal converter 50. The second focus determination optical system 42e is
Is connected to the control unit 38 via the in-focus state detector 52. Here, the second position detection mechanism 42 is mounted and fixed on the surface plate 12 via a second support (not shown).

Here, in this embodiment, the position where the optical axis of the first objective lens 40a in the first position detection mechanism 40 intersects the optical axis of the second objective lens 42a in the second position detection mechanism 42 , The assembly work position α is defined. At the assembly work position α, it is preferable that the two optical axes described above intersect correctly. However, even if the two optical axes do not actually intersect, it is substantially possible to execute the calibration operation described later. There is no problem. In practice, the operation of aligning the two optical axes so as to intersect the two optical axes correctly is extremely difficult, and as in this embodiment,
Assuming that they do not intersect, the shift amount Δx is calculated by a calibration operation, and the calculated shift amount Δx is numerically considered in the position adjustment operation in the first and second position adjustment mechanisms 14 and 16. As a result, the deviation amount Δx can be substantially ignored. In addition, this deviation amount Δ
The calibration operation for calculating x will be described later in detail.

On the other hand, the assembling apparatus 10 includes the heater board 102 after the discharge port 106 and the corresponding discharge heater 112 are matched with each other.
The top plate 104 and the top plate 104 are bonded to each other via an ultraviolet curable adhesive so that the relative positional relationship between the two does not change, in other words, to temporarily fix the two,
A temporary attachment mechanism 54 is provided. The temporary attachment mechanism 54 is located on both sides of the distal end of the mounting mechanism 26, and each distal end is connected to a pair of light guides 56 directed to the adhesive disposing portion and the base ends of both light guides 56. And an ultraviolet light source 58 that emits ultraviolet light.

Then, the above-described image processing device 44 is connected to the first and second ITV cameras 40g, 40g via the first and second signal converters 46 and 50.
Based on the image information obtained from 42g, the formation position of the discharge port 106 formed in the orifice plate 108 and the arrangement position of the discharge heater 112 arranged on the heater board 102 are calculated, and the calculation results Is sent to the control unit 38. The image processing device 44 includes an ITV monitor 64 for confirming a measured image, a keyboard 62 for inputting a device adjustment program and data, and a CRT monitor 66 for displaying data.
Is connected, and a man-machine interface is established.

The control unit 38 calculates the data input from the first and second focus state detectors 48 and 52 and the image processing device 44 by a predetermined algorithm, and based on the calculation result, The respective axis stages 18, 20, 22, 28, 30, and 32 are appropriately driven and controlled via each of the stage drivers 36a to 36f to adjust the relative position between the top plate 104 and the heater board 102, and discharge. To make the outlet 106 and the corresponding discharge heater 112 coincide with each other, and after this coincidence, the temporary attachment mechanism 54 is activated, the ultraviolet light source 58 is operated, and the space between the heater board 102 and the top plate 104 is It is configured to execute a control operation of curing the adhesive interposed in the fin.

Here, the control unit 38 includes an operation panel 66 for operating the assembling apparatus 10, a keyboard 68 for setting and changing an operation program, a CRT monitor 70 for displaying data, a printer 72 for recording data, Data disk 74 for data storage
And the program disk 76 storing the operation program
Are connected to each other, and a man-machine interface is established.

<Description of Mounting Mechanism 26> Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the configuration of the mounting mechanism 26 to which the top plate 104 is mounted will be described in detail.

The mounting mechanism 26 is provided with the first y-axis stage described above.
Main body 26a mounted and fixed on spacer 22 via spacer 24
It has. A pair of suction members 26b and 26c are attached to the distal end of the main body 26a in a state of projecting forward (along the y-axis direction) parallel to each other at a predetermined interval, and protruding forward. The suction members 26b and 26c are each formed of an ultraviolet-transmissive material, specifically, a transparent plate glass.

On the lower surfaces of these suction members 26b, 26c, suction holes 26d, 26e are opened, respectively, and these suction holes 26d, 26e are connected to end portions of communication pipes 26f, 26g penetrating through the corresponding suction members 26b, 26c. The communication pipes 26f and 26g are selectively connected to a negative pressure generating mechanism and a positive pressure generating mechanism (not shown) via respective switching valves (not shown).

Then, in a state where the switching valve is connected to the negative pressure generating mechanism, the top plate 104 is suction-held on the lower surfaces of the suction members 26b and 26c via the suction force generated in the suction holes 26d and 26e. I have. On the other hand, in a state where the switching valve is connected to the positive pressure generating mechanism, the air blown out (reversely blown) from these suction holes 26d, 26e causes the suction members 26b, 26
The top plate 104 sucked and held by c is forcibly sucked.
It will be pulled down from 26b and 26c.

In this manner, in the state where the top plate 104 is sucked and held on the lower surfaces of the pair of suction members 26b and 26c, the top plate 104 is positioned such that its cylindrical ink receiving port 118 just enters between the suction members 26b and 26c. In addition, the orifice plate 108 is set in a posture facing forward.

<Description of First Positioning Mechanism 27> The attachment mechanism 26 is released from here,
The heater board 10 of the top plate 104 that has fallen on the heater board 102
A first positioning mechanism 27 for accurately positioning the position with respect to 2 is provided.

The first positioning mechanism 27 performs positioning along the x-axis direction of the top plate 104 on the heater board 102, that is, along the arrangement direction such that the discharge ports 106 and the discharge heaters 112 corresponding to each other match. X-axis positioning unit 27A
And a y-axis positioning portion 27B for positioning such that the rear surface of the orifice plate 108 is in close contact with the front end surface of the heater board 102 along the y-axis direction.

<< Description of x-axis positioning unit 27A >> First, in the x-axis positioning unit 27A, in this embodiment, the suction member 26b on the near side in the drawing is defined as a reference side, and suction on the reference side is performed. The member 26b is fixed to the main body 26a. On the other hand, the suction member 26c on the other side in the figure is supported movably along the x-axis direction with respect to the main body 26a. In the x-axis positioning portion 27A, the mutually opposed end surfaces of the pair of suction members 26b and 26c, that is, the mutually opposed end surfaces that define a space between which the cylindrical ink receiving port 118 enters are positioned. Each is regulated as a regulatory aspect.

In addition, a continuous member 26h extending to a middle portion of the main body 26a is integrally connected to a rear portion of the movable suction member 26c. On the other hand, a guide shaft 26i extending along the x-axis direction is attached to the main body 26a. The connecting member 26h is supported by a guide shaft 26i via a slide guide 26j so as to be movable along the x-axis direction.

On the other hand, a first drive cylinder (not shown) is provided on the main body 26a in a state facing the intermediate portion of the connecting member 26h.
Is attached. The piston rod of the first drive cylinder projects so as to be driven forward and backward along the x-axis direction, and the tip thereof is connected to the above-mentioned connecting member 26h.

In this way, the first drive cylinder reciprocates the corresponding piston rod at a high speed, so that the connecting member
The suction member 26c connected continuously via the hole 26h is reciprocally driven, that is, vibrated at a high speed along the x-axis direction.

<< Description of y-axis positioning portion 27B >> Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the y-axis positioning portion 27B can be engaged with the front surface of the orifice plate 108 of the top plate 104 placed on the heater board 102. A pair of engaging pieces 26m and 26n are provided in parallel with a space therebetween while standing down. The engagement pieces 26m and 26n are provided corresponding to the pair of suction members 26b and 26c, respectively, and are disposed so as to be located outside the corresponding position regulating end faces. In addition, these engagement pieces 26m, 26n are formed in the connection pieces 26p, 26q extending further outward than their outer ends along the upper edge of the front end surfaces of the corresponding suction members 26b, 26c. The upper end is connected to one end. Outer ends of the connection pieces 26p and 26q are attached to front ends of connection members 26r and 26s extending along the y-axis direction.

On the other hand, second drive cylinders 26t extending along the y-axis direction are provided at both ends of the main body 26a. Each piston rod 26u of the second drive cylinder 26t is
The tips protrude in the y-axis direction so as to be driven forward and backward, and their tips are connected to the rear ends of the connecting members 26r and 26s, respectively.

In this way, the second driving cylinder 26t reciprocates the corresponding piston rod 26u at a high speed, whereby the engaging pieces 26m, 2 connected via the connecting pieces 26p, 26q, respectively.
6n is reciprocally driven at high speed along the y-axis direction, that is, vibrated, and the orienting plate 108 is positioned along the y-axis direction so that the orifice plate 108 is in close contact with the front end surface of the heater board 102 Will be.

Since the mounting mechanism 26 is configured in this manner, the top plate 104 sucked and held by the pair of suction members 26b and 26c moves the first position adjusting mechanism 1 to a predetermined position above the heater board 102.
The top plate 104 is dropped on the heater board 102 by being moved based on the drive control of 4 and the suction is released, and at the position where the top plate 104 is dropped, the top plate 104 is heated by the operation of the x-axis positioning unit 26A. A position along the x-axis with respect to the board 102 is defined, and a position along the y-axis with respect to the heater board 102 is defined by the operation of the y-axis positioning unit 26B. The position adjusting operation of the mounting mechanism 26 will be described later in detail.

<Description of Second Positioning Mechanism 33> Next, the second positioning mechanism 33 for mounting the base member 208 to which the heater board 102 is mounted in advance on the second y-axis stage 32 in an accurately positioned state. The configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C.

The second positioning mechanism 33 includes an x-axis positioning section 33A that positions the base member 208 on the second y-axis stage 32 along the x-axis direction, similarly to the first positioning mechanism 27 described above, and y A y-axis positioning portion 33B for positioning along the axial direction, and further, a z-axis along the z-axis direction.
The shaft positioning section 33C is provided.

Here, the base member 208 to be positioned by the second positioning mechanism 33 is, as is apparent from FIG. 6A, a rectangular main body part 208a and a front part from the front end central part of the main body part 208a. A heater board mounting portion 208 which protrudes and has the heater board 102 mounted and fixed on its upper surface.
It is formed integrally with b.

The heater board 102 is attached and fixed in advance to the heater board attaching section 208b with a predetermined accuracy. Therefore, by positioning the base member 208 to which the heater board 102 is attached with respect to the second y-axis stage 32, the heater board 102 is positioned with respect to the second y-axis stage 32. .

In detail, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the second positioning mechanism 33 is mounted on the second y-axis stage 32 and has a mounting body 33a formed in a substantially L-shaped side surface. ,
A positioning table 33c is provided on the inner surface of the main body 33a, which stands upright via a slide guide 33b.

<< Description of x-axis positioning section 33A >> As shown in FIG. 6A, a pair of x-axis positioning projections 33d and 33e projecting upward are provided on the positioning table 33c as x-axis positioning sections 33A. Are integrally formed in a state of being arranged along the y-axis direction. These x-axis positioning projections 33d and 33e are attached to the main body portion 208a of the base member 208 by y.
By contacting one side edge along the axis, the position of the base member 208 along the x-axis is uniquely defined, that is, the x-axis direction is positioned.

On the other hand, in this way, these x-axis positioning projections 33d, 33e
In order to force the state in which one side edge along the y-axis of the main body portion 208a of the base member 208 abuts, the side opposite to the one side edge of the base member 208 abutting on these x-axis positioning projections 33d, 33e An x-axis regulating lever 33f is provided so as to be able to abut on the other side edge. The x-axis regulating lever 33f is rotatably supported at its base end around a first support shaft 33g, and is rotated counterclockwise in the figure by a first torsion spring 33h. Is receiving. The tip, which is the contact end of the x-axis regulating lever 33f, is set so as to contact the substantially central portion of the other side edge of the base member 208.

<< Description of y-axis positioning section 33B >> Also, the y-axis positioning section 33B is provided on the positioning table 33c.
As one, one y-axis positioning projection 33i protruding upward is integrally formed in a state close to one x-axis positioning projection 33e. This y-axis positioning projection 33i
The position along the y-axis of the base member 208 is uniquely defined by abutting the leading edge along the x-axis of the main body portion 208a of the base member 208 whose x-axis direction position is predetermined.
That is, the y-axis direction is positioned.

On the other hand, in order to force the state in which the leading edge along the x-axis of the main body portion 208a of the base member 208 abuts on the y-axis positioning projection 33i, the y-axis positioning projection 33i is pressed.
A substantially L-shaped y-axis regulating lever 33j is provided so as to be able to abut on a rear end edge of the base member 208 opposite to the front end edge of the base member 208. The y-axis regulating lever 33j is located at the middle (ie,
The L-shaped bent portion is rotatably supported around a second support shaft 33k, and receives a rotational biasing force in the counterclockwise direction in the figure by a second torsion spring 33l. ing.
The rear end, which is the contact end of the y-axis regulating lever 33j, is set so as to contact the substantially central portion of the rear end edge of the base member 208.

Here, when attaching and detaching the base member 208 to and from the positioning table 33c, the urging force by the x-axis and y-axis regulating levers 33f and 33j must be released. Therefore, in this embodiment, a release mechanism 33D is provided.

As shown in FIG. 6C, the release mechanism 33D
A release cylinder 33m attached to one side edge of 3c, a piston rod 33n projecting from the release cylinder 33m so as to be able to advance and retreat along the x-axis direction and penetrating through the positioning table 33c;
The pair of piston rods 33n are provided in a standing state, and slightly protrude from the upper surface of the positioning table 33c through through holes 33p and 33q formed in the positioning table 33c so as to extend along the x-axis direction. Release pins 33r and 33s which are taken out in a state and can be brought into contact with the x-axis restriction lever 33f and the y-axis restriction lever 33j from the clockwise side, respectively.

Here, in this release mechanism 33D, the release cylinder 33m
Urges the piston rod 33n to be retracted in the non-released state. As a result, a pair of release pins 33r, 33s
Are separated from the corresponding x-axis regulating lever 33f and y-axis regulating lever 33j, respectively. In this manner, in the non-release state, the x-axis restriction lever 33f and the y-axis restriction lever 33j
By the biasing force of the corresponding torsion springs 33h, 33l, the torsion springs 33 are rotated counterclockwise to position and hold the base member 208.

On the other hand, in the release state, the release cylinder 33m urges the piston rod 33n to the projected state. As a result,
The pair of release pins 33r, 33s abut against the corresponding x-axis restricting lever 33f and the corresponding y-axis restricting lever 33j, respectively, and oppose the biasing force of the corresponding torsion springs 33h, 33l in a clockwise direction. Rotate. Accordingly, the contact ends of the x-axis regulating lever 33f and the y-axis regulating lever 33j are connected to the base member 208.
The base member 208 is released from the other side edge and the rear edge, and the positioning and holding of the base member 208 are released.

<< Description of z-axis positioning section 33C >> On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, the z-axis positioning section 33C is protruded downward from the lower surface of the distal end portion of the base member 208 in the x-axis direction. A pair of first and second projections 33t, 33u arranged side by side (FIG. 6B shows only the first projection 33t, but FIG. 6A shows the first and second projections 33t, 33t). , 33u are indicated by broken lines.)
A third protrusion 33v is formed at the center of the upper surface of the rear end of the positioning table 33c so as to protrude upward.

Here, the projection lengths of the first to third projections 33t to 33v are precisely defined in advance so as to be identical to each other. As a result, the first and second protrusions 33t and 33u abut on the upper surface of the positioning base 33c, and the third protrusion 33v abuts on the lower surface of the base member 208, thereby causing the upper surface of the positioning base 33c of the base member 208 to be mounted. Will be precisely defined along the z-axis direction.

In this embodiment, in order to reliably achieve the above-mentioned contact state, the base member 208 is attached to the positioning table 33c.
There is provided a suction mechanism 33E for sucking toward. As shown in FIG. 6B, the suction mechanism 33E is provided on a positioning table 33c, and has a ring-shaped suction pad 33w having an open upper surface.
And a connection pipe 33x formed to penetrate through the positioning table 33c to connect the suction pad 33w and a suction source (not shown).

Here, the height of the suction pad 33w is set slightly higher than the height of each of the three protrusions 33t, 33u, 33v described above. As a result, in a state where the base member 208 is placed on the positioning table 33c, the open edge of the suction pad 33w comes into close contact with the lower surface of the base member 208 over the entire circumference. When the suction source (not shown) is activated, the base member 208 is forcibly attracted toward the positioning table 33c, and as a result, the first and second projections 33t and 33u are securely positioned on the upper surface of the positioning table 33c. , And the state in which the third protrusion 33v reliably contacts the lower surface of the base member 208 is forcibly set.

As described above, by configuring the second positioning mechanism 33, the position of the base member 208 on the positioning table 33c along the x-axis direction, the y-axis direction, and the z-axis direction is accurately positioned. Will be. As a result, in this embodiment, when the top plate 104 is attached to the heater board 102, only the relative position of the top plate 104 with respect to the heater board 102 is defined via the first positioning mechanism 27. It would be good.

<Description of Bonding Force Generating Mechanism 34> Next, when the top plate 104 is positioned and placed on the heater board 102, the bonding force generating mechanism 34 that generates a bonding force between the two is shown in FIG. 6B. I will explain.

The joining force generating mechanism 34 includes a guide shaft 34a attached to a tip of the main body 33a described above so as to be vertically movably penetrated, and an upper end of the guide shaft 34a is
It is fixed to the lower surface of the positioning table 33c. A washer 34b for adjusting the joining force is screwed onto the upper end of the guide shaft 34a. By rotating the washer 34b, the axial position of the washer 34b with respect to the guide shaft 34a changes. .

On the other hand, a coil spring 34c for generating a joining force is wound around the outer circumference of the guide shaft 34a, and the upper end of the coil spring 34c is engaged with the lower surface of the washer 34b, and the lower end of the body 33a. Locked on top. Here, the coil spring 34c is
3c and the weights of the components on it have contracted to some extent, but from the initial setting state, which has shrunk to some extent, by further contracting by a predetermined amount, a predetermined elastic repulsive force is generated. The repulsive force is limited as the joining force.

Since the bonding force generating mechanism 34 is configured in this manner, when the top plate 104 is mounted on the heater board 102, the positioning table 33c on which the heater board 102 is positioned and mounted is lowered by the predetermined amount described above. As described above, by pressing the top plate 104 against the heater board 102, the above-described predetermined bonding force is generated between the top plate 104 and the heater board 102.

The change in the joining force is achieved by rotating the washer 34b and displacing it along the axial direction of the guide shaft 34a, thereby changing the initial set length of the coil spring 34c. .

<Description of Calibration Chart 78> Here, the positioning table of the second positioning mechanism 33 described above is used.
As shown in FIG. 7A, a calibration chart 78 used in a calibration operation described in detail later is fixed on 33c. This calibration chart 78 is used for the second positioning mechanism 33.
Base member 20 accurately positioned at a predetermined position by
It is accurately arranged at a position separated from the heater board 102 on the upper side by a predetermined distance along the x-axis, and is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

In particular, the formation state is such that a first calibration surface 78a is defined from the front end surface of the rectangular parallelepiped calibration chart 78, and the first calibration surface 78a extends vertically exactly along the x-axis direction. At the same time, it is set so as to extend in the same vertical plane as the front end face of the heater board 102. A second calibration surface 78b is defined from the upper surface of the rectangular parallelepiped calibration chart 78. The second calibration surface 78b extends horizontally exactly along the z-axis direction, and the heater board 102 It is set to extend in the same horizontal plane as the upper surface. Further, a third calibration surface 78c is defined from the side of the rectangular parallelepiped calibration chart 78 on the side where the heater board 102 is provided, and the third calibration surface 78c is exactly perpendicular to the y-axis direction. It is set to extend to.

Here, the calibration reference point 78d is defined by the intersection of the first to third calibration surfaces 78a to 78c. As a result, the first
When the calibration chart 78 is photographed by the position detection mechanism 40, only the first calibration surface 78a is photographed as shown in FIG. 7B, and the calibration reference point 78d is located at the upper right of the screen 40A. In the case where the image is taken as the intersection of the corners to be photographed and the image is taken with the second position detecting mechanism 42, as shown in FIG.
Only the calibration surface 78b is photographed, and the calibration reference point 78d is photographed as the intersection of the corner located at the lower right of the screen 42A.

In FIG. 7A illustrating the calibration chart 78, reference numerals are used.
Reference numerals 80a and 80b denote adhesives for temporarily attaching the top plate 104 and the heater board 102 to each other. These adhesives 80a, 80
b is formed so as to have an ultraviolet curability that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet light, and is set so as to be attached in advance to both ends of the rear end edge of the heater board 102 as shown in the figure. .

(Explanation of a method of assembling the head nozzle 10 in the assembling apparatus 10) A method of aligning a plurality of members under the control of the control unit 38 in the assembling apparatus 10 described above with reference to FIG. A method of assembling the head nozzle 10 to which the method is applied will be described.

<Schematic Procedure of Assembly Method> First, a schematic procedure of this assembly method will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when an assembling operation is instructed, a variable N indicating the number of assembling is set to "1" in step S10. Then, in step S12, each axis stage 18, 20, 22, 28, 3
Initialization of the drive motors 0, 32 is executed, and subsequently, in step S14, the origins of the drive motors of the respective axis stages 18, 20, 22, 28, 30, 32 are executed. By executing these steps S12 and S14, each axis stage 18, 2
0, 22, 28, 30, and 32 can be accurately moved to an arbitrary position defined with respect to the surface plate 12.

Thereafter, in step S16, the calibration operation using the above-described calibration chart 78 for previously calculating the amount of deviation between the detection positions of the first and second position detection mechanisms 40 and 42 as the calibration amount Δx. And calibrate the deviation between the detection positions of the first and second position detection mechanisms 40 and 42. This calibration operation constitutes one of the features of the present invention, and will be described later in detail as a subroutine. This step S1
When the calibration operation in step 6 is completed, the variable N is reset to "1" in step S18, and the process proceeds to step S20.

In this step S20, the base member 208 to which the heater board 102 has been attached in advance is moved from the supply position to the second position adjusting mechanism 16 via the supply robot (not shown).
Is supplied on the positioning mechanism 33. Then, in the subsequent step S22, the supplied base member 208 is accurately positioned.

Here, in this positioning operation, the second
Of the main body 33a based on the operation of the positioning mechanism 33 of FIG.
Along with the operation to execute axial positioning, the heater board
Among the discharge heaters 112a to 112e on the discharge nozzle 112c, the discharge heater 112a
The operation of accurately measuring the amount of deviation (x _h ) from the assembly work position α in the x-axis direction, which is the arrangement direction of 112e, and an image obtained by measuring the amount of deviation with the second ITV camera 42g In order to accurately focus the image, the assembling work position α on the upper surface of the heater board 102
And an accurate alignment operation in the z-axis direction with respect to.

The supply operation and positioning operation of the base member 208, that is, the heater board 102, will be described later in detail as a subroutine.

Subsequent to the supply and positioning operation of the heater board 102, the top plate 104 is supplied from the storage position to the first positioning mechanism 27 of the first position adjusting mechanism 14 via a supply robot (not shown) in step S24. Then, in the subsequent step S26, the supplied top plate 104 is
In step S22, the heater board 102 is temporarily placed on the heater board 102 on the base member 208 which has been previously positioned via the second positioning mechanism 33. The operation of supplying and temporarily placing the top plate 104 will be described later in detail as a subroutine.

Thus, the heater board 102 and the top plate 1 to be assembled are
When the top plate 104 is temporarily placed on the positioned heater board 102 in step S28, the top plate 104 is placed in step S30 in a state where the relative positional relationship along the x-axis direction is accurately defined in step S28. Thus, the bonding operation of the two is performed. When the bonding operation is completed, in step S32, the assembly as a finished product is discharged to a finished product discharging position via a robot (not shown). The details of these x-axis positioning operations will be described later as a subroutine.

Then, in step S34, it is determined whether or not all the assembling operations have been completed, and whether or not all of the completed product discharging operations have been completed.If the determination in step S34 is NO, that is, the assembling operation is still completed. If it is determined that the assembling operation is being performed, the process proceeds to step S36, where the variable N is incremented by "1", and the process proceeds to step S38.
, It is determined whether or not the variable N has reached a predetermined number.
In this step S38, if it is determined as NO, that is, if it is determined that the number N of executions of the assembly is less than the predetermined number of times, in detail, after the earliest calibration operation is performed, the number of times of the execution is less than the predetermined number of times. If it is determined that there is, the reliability of the previously calculated calibration amount Δx is still determined to be maintained, and the above-described operation is performed to perform the assembly operation without newly performing the calibration operation. Returning to step S20, the following assembly control procedure is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, if YES is determined in step S38, that is, if it is determined that the number N of times of execution of assembly is a predetermined number of times after executing the first calibration operation, the environmental change corresponding to the temperature change is performed. Based on the above, there is a possibility that the above-mentioned calibration amount Δx has changed, so that the calibration operation is performed again, and the process returns to the above-described step S16 in order to newly calculate the calibration amount Δx. Is repeatedly executed.

That is, when the assembly accuracy is on the order of millimeters, the above-described calibration operation is first performed, and the obtained calibration amount Δx
Does not cause any problem even if it is used throughout the entire working period of one day. However, when assembling accuracy of a micron order is required, as in this embodiment, the above-described temperature change is required. The change in the calibration amount Δx greatly affects the assembly accuracy. On the other hand, in consideration of the above-described circumstances, it is preferable that the calibration operation is performed for each assembly operation. However, if the calibration operation is performed for each assembly operation as described above, the assembling time is increased, the assembling efficiency is reduced, and the cost of the product is adversely affected. In this way, in this embodiment, the calibration operation is set to be re-executed every predetermined number of assembly operations in order to achieve both the maintenance of the assembly system and the assembly efficiency.

Here, after the calibration operation is performed in step S16, the variable N is reset to "1" in step S18.
It is counted as the first time, and in the subsequent assembling operation, the number of times of assembling is incremented by "1".

If YES is determined in the above-described step S34, that is, if it is determined that all the assembling operations have been completed and all the completed product discharging operations have been completed, the assembling control procedure is performed at this time. To end.

In the following, individual control procedures outlined in the above-described assembly control procedure will be described in detail as a subroutine, but in actuality, as already described above, in order to achieve high printing accuracy of 360 dpi, An orifice plate 1 in which a number of discharge ports 106 are formed at equal intervals over a length of about 4.5 mm
08 with the same arrangement pitch
On the heater board 102 on which the discharge heaters 112 are formed,
At least 64 discharge ports 106 and discharge heaters 112 are assembled so as to correspond to each other, and an extremely accurate positioning operation and an operation of adding a delicate bonding force are required.

However, in the following description of the assembly control procedure,
As shown in the figures, if the 68 discharge ports 106 and the large number of discharge heaters 112 are illustrated and described, the description becomes rather unclear and the description becomes complicated. Therefore, in the following description, the orifice plate 108 will be described. As shown in FIG. 9, five discharge ports 106, specifically, first to fifth discharge ports 106a to 106e are formed in the heater board 102.
Above, five discharge heaters 112, specifically, first to fifth discharge heaters 112a to 112e are formed;
The description will be made in a simplified state.

<Detailed Description of Each Subroutine> Hereinafter, various subroutines in the assembly control procedure schematically described with reference to FIG. 8 will be described in detail.

<< Description of Calibration Operation in Step S16 >> First, a control procedure of the calibration operation in the above-described step S16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11, and FIGS. 7B and 7C described above.

That is, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10, when this calibration operation is started, the second operation is performed in step S16A.
Drive the second x-axis stage 28 of the position adjustment mechanism 16 of
As shown in FIG. 11, the calibration chart 78 is
The first and second position detecting mechanisms 40 and 42 are moved until they coincide with the assembly operation position α defined by the intersection of the optical axes of the objective lenses 40a and 42a.

Then, in step S16B, the first position detecting mechanism
Using the 40 first ITV camera 40g, this calibration chart 78
Is photographed from the front. In step S16C, the calibration chart 78 is photographed from above using the second ITV camera 42g of the second position detection mechanism 42. As a result, the first
The image taken using the ITV camera 40g of the above-mentioned 7B
As shown in the figure, an image captured using the second ITV camera 42g is displayed as shown in FIG. 7C described above.
Therefore, in step S16D, the image photographed in step S16B is processed by the image processing device via the first signal converter 46.
Then, in step S16E, the image captured in step S16C is transmitted to the image processing device 44 via the second signal converter 50.

Then, in step S16F, the first ITV camera 40g
Based on the captured image through the electrically measure the distance x ₁ from the left end of the screen to the calibration reference point 78d, in step S16G, based on the image photographed through the second ITV camera 42 g, from the left end of the screen electrically measuring the distance x ₂ to the calibration reference point 78d. Thereafter, in step S16H, x ₁ −x ₂
Is calculated, and the result is referred to as the deviation amount (calibration amount) Δx described above.
It is prescribed.

Then, in step S16I, the deviation amount Δx as the calculation result is stored in the memory and the data disk 78 in the control unit 38, and in step S16J, the positioning table 33c on which the calibration chart 78 is mounted is moved to the position table 33c. A second x-axis stage so that the heater board 102 is returned to a supply position where the base member 208 to which the heater board 102 is previously fixed is supplied.
28 is drive-controlled. In this way, a series of calibration operations is completed, and the process returns to the original main routine.

Here, in this calibration operation, the first and second IT
V cameras 40g and 42g have the same calibration reference point on calibration chart 78.
Since the distance x ₁ and x ₂ from the left end of the screen to the same calibration reference point 78 d are measured, respectively,
_1, the Δx is defined as the difference x _2, first and second objective lenses 40a, will be the amount of deviation of the optical axis of each of 42a are obtained.

<< Explanation of Heater Board Supply Operation in Step S20 >> Next, a control procedure of the heater board supply operation in the above-described step S20 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. 12 and FIG.

The heater board 102 is positioned and fixed in advance on the heater board mounting portion 208b of the base member 208 with a predetermined accuracy, as already described many times. Therefore, supplying the heater board 102
That is, this means that the base member 208 is supplied onto the second positioning mechanism 33.

First, when the heater board supply operation is started, in step S20A, a supply robot (not shown) is set, a base member 208 to which the heater board 102 is previously attached is gripped and removed from a storage position, and an adhesive application treatment (not shown) is performed. Conveyed on the tool. Then, in step S20B, a predetermined position of the heater board 102 on the base member 208 placed on the adhesive application jig, specifically, as shown in FIG.
Adhesives 80a and 80b are applied to both sides of the rear edge of the heater board 102 via an adhesive applying mechanism (not shown).

As described above, the adhesives 80a and 80b are made of an ultraviolet-curable adhesive that cures when irradiated with ultraviolet rays, that is, exhibits an adhesive force. In other words, at the time of this application, these adhesives 80a and 80b do not exhibit any adhesiveness and function only as a mere liquid.

Thereafter, in step S20C, the adhesives 80a, 80b
The base member 208 to which the heater board 102 coated with is attached is moved to the second positioning mechanism 33 located at the standby position.
Then, in step S20D, the gripping of the base member 208 by the transfer robot is released, and the base member 208 is released.
Is placed on the second positioning mechanism 33. The standby position of the second positioning mechanism 33 is defined by a position shown in FIG. 13 that is separated from the assembly work position α by a predetermined distance in the x-axis direction, as shown in FIG. .

In this way, a series of heater board supply operations ends, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

<< Description of positioning operation of heater board in step S22 >> Next, referring to the flowchart shown in FIG. 14, FIG. 15, and FIGS. 6A to 6C described above, the heater board 102 in step S22 will be described. Will be described.

First, the second positioning mechanism 33 for positioning the heater board 102 has a release mechanism 33D shown in FIG. 6C activated in a standby state before the heater board 102 is conveyed. Since the release cylinder 33m is driven so as to push out the corresponding piston rod 33n, the release pins 33r and 33s on the piston rod 33n engage with the x-axis restriction lever 33f and the y-axis restriction lever 33j, respectively. A position far away from the base member 208, that is,
It has moved to the separated position.

When the positioning operation is started in a state where the second positioning mechanism 33 is set in the standby state, the step S2 is started.
In 2A, the driving of the release cylinder 33m is released. As a result, the corresponding piston rod 33n moves so as to be drawn inward by the biasing force of the built-in return spring (not shown). Therefore, this piston rod 33n
The upper release pins 33r and 33s are separated from the x-axis restriction lever 33f and the y-axis restriction lever 33j, respectively.

In this way, the base member 208 is
3f is rotated in the counterclockwise direction by the biasing force of the first torsion spring 33h, and is pushed in the x-axis direction from the separated position to form a pair of x-axes forming the x-axis positioning portion 33A. It comes into contact with the positioning projections 33d and 33e, and its position in the x-axis direction is defined. Meanwhile, this base member
Reference numeral 208 denotes a y-axis regulating lever 33j which is a second torsion spring 33l.
Is biased in the counterclockwise direction by the urging force, and is pushed out from the separated position along the y-axis direction to abut on the y-axis positioning projection 33i constituting the y-axis positioning portion 33B, and the y-axis The position of the direction will be defined. That is,
By releasing the driving force of the release cylinder 33m,
The base member 208 is accurately positioned at positions along the x-axis and y-axis directions.

After execution of step S22A in this manner, step S2
In 2B, the driving of the suction mechanism 33E is started. Along with this start, a suction source (not shown) is activated, and a suction force from the suction source acts on the suction pad 33w via the connection pipe 33x. As a result, the base member 208 is attracted downward, and the z-axis is pulled. First and second projections 3 that constitute the positioning portion 33C
3t, 33u surely contacts the upper surface of the positioning 33c,
The third protrusion 33v will surely abut the lower surface of the base member 208. That is, by driving the suction mechanism 33E,
The base member 208 is accurately positioned at a position along the z-axis direction.

In this manner, the positioning of the base member 208 in the three-axis direction with respect to the main body 33a is accurately performed by the positioning operation of the second positioning mechanism 33.
Further, by the operation of the suction mechanism 33E, the base member 208 is reliably held at the position accurately positioned by the second positioning mechanism 33 even if the main body 33a is moved.

When this step S22B is completed, next, step S22C
Then, the second position adjustment mechanism 16 is activated to move the base member 208 positioned and held by the second position detection mechanism 33 from its standby position to the assembly work position α. And
In step S22D, the image of the upper surface of the heater board 102 on the base member 208 brought to the assembling work position α is detected through the second optical system 42e for focus determination to detect the second focus state. To the device 52.

Then, in step S22E, in the second in-focus state detector 52, the defocus amount .DELTA.z in the z-axis direction from the in-focus position, that is, the in-focus position is a designed position in the z-axis direction. Therefore, the assembly work position α of the heater board 102
The defocus amount .DELTA.z in the z-axis direction is measured, and the measured defocus amount .DELTA.z is transmitted to the control unit 38 in step S22F. Thereafter, in step S22G, the control unit 38 internally stores the defocus amount Δz
, The amount of movement Z ₂ of the second z-axis stage 30 is calculated,
In step S22H, based on the moving amount Z ₂ which is the calculated, by moving drive the second z-axis stage 30, to accurately define the position of the z-axis direction in the assembling operation position of the upper surface α of the heater board 102.

Next, in step S22I, the second position detecting mechanism 42
The upper surface of the heater board 102 is photographed by the second ITV camera 42g, and the photographed image information is transmitted to the image processing device 44 via the second signal converter 50 in step S22J. FIG. 15 shows an image of the heater board taken by the second ITV camera 42g. This second ITV camera 4
2g, the position in the z-axis direction at the assembly work position α on the upper surface of the heater board 102 is precisely defined in steps S22D to S22H, so that the focus is accurate and clear. It is an image.

Here, as shown in FIG. 15, the discharge heaters 112a to 112a
2e is formed on the heater board 102 in advance with a predetermined forming accuracy, and if the above-described second positioning mechanism 33 has performed a predetermined positioning operation, the discharge heater 112c located in the middle is projected in the image. Will be. As long as the discharge heater 112c located in the middle is displayed, the following assembling operation is set to be possible.

For this reason, in step S22K, it is determined whether or not the discharge heater 112c located in the middle is projected, and if it is determined in step S22K that the discharge heater 112c is not projected, the following assembling operation becomes impossible. So
In step S22L, an alarm is issued, and the subsequent control procedure ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the discharge heater 112c is located in the middle in step S22K are projected, the process proceeds to step S22m, the shift amount x _h along the x-axis direction from the assembling operation position of the discharge heater 112c alpha Measure.

Incidentally, for the measurement of the deviation amount x _h along the x-axis direction, when the discharge heater 112c located at the center is shifted on the right side of the screen to the center line, denoted by the sign (+), it is shifted to the left In such a case, it is set so as to add the sign (-).

Here, on this one implementation side, five discharge heaters
As means for distinguishing the discharge heater 112c located in the middle from the others among the heaters 112a to 112e, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 15, an identification mark 82 is provided at a position adjacent to the discharge heater 112c.
Is drawn. That is, in the above-described step S22K, when the identification mark 82 is recognized in the image, it is determined that the discharge heater 112c located in the middle is being projected, and the identification mark 82 cannot be recognized. In such a case, the setting is made so as to determine that the discharge heater 112c is not projected.

Incidentally, the deviation amount x _h along the x-axis direction described above is intended to be defined as the distance from the center position of the image to the central position of the discharge heater 112c in the middle, and α the center position and the assembling operation position of the image Are set in advance to match.

Thus after measuring the shift amount x _h in the x-axis direction, in step S22N, propagates the shift amount x _h to control Yunitsuto 38, in step S22O, the shift amount x _h in the memory of the control Yunitsuto 38 Remember.

Thereafter, in step S22P, the first position detecting mechanism
The image of the front end face of the heater board 102 on the base member 208 brought to this assembly work position α via the first optical system 40e for focusing determination of 40 is used as a first focusing state detector. Transmit to 48. Then, in step S22Q, the first focus state detector 48 moves the heater board 102 along the y-axis direction so that the focus state is achieved, that is, the focus state is achieved. The second y-axis stage 32 is moved and driven. When the focusing operation in this step S22Q completed, in step S22r, by the thickness t ₁ minute orifice plate 108 as described above, further, moved by driving the second y-axis stage 32, further from the focus position Make it far away.

Thus By offset the position of the front end surface of the heater board 102 about the thickness t ₁ minute only advance y-axis direction of the orifice plate 108, top plate 104 is assembled to the heater board 102, the top plate 104 The orifice plate 108 fixed to the front end surface in advance
When the first position detecting mechanism 40 is brought into close contact with the front end surface of the orifice plate 108, the first position detecting mechanism 40 accurately focuses on the surface without performing any focus detecting operation.

In this way, a series of positioning operations of the heater board 102 is completed, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

<< Description of Supply Operation of Top Plate 104 in Step S24 >> Next, the flow chart shown in FIG.
The supply operation of the top plate 104 in step S24 will be described with reference to FIG. 8, FIG. 8B, and FIG.

First, when the supply operation of the top plate 104 is started, step S
At 24A, the top plate 1 is connected via a supply port bot (not shown).
04 transports from the storage position to the mounting mechanism 26 at the standby position. Specifically, the ink is conveyed from below into a gap defined between the pair of suction members 26b and 26c constituting the attachment mechanism 26 so that the cylindrical ink receiving port 118 of the top plate 104 enters. Then, in step S24B, the first drive cylinder 26i of the first positioning mechanism 27 is driven,
The second suction member 26c on the movable side is connected to the first suction member 2 on the fixed side.
The ink suction port 118 is driven so as to approach toward 6b so that the ink receiving port 118 is sandwiched between the first and second suction members 26b and 26c with a small force as shown in FIG. In this manner, the ink receiving port 118 lightly contacts the inner side surface defined as the reference surface of the first suction member 26b on the fixed side, and as a result,
The mounting mechanism 26 of the ink receiving port 118 and thus the top plate 104
Is precisely defined in the x-axis direction.

Here, since the holding force of the ink receiving port 118 is set to be weak as described above, the deformation of the ink receiving port 118 due to the holding force can be almost ignored, and in this holding state, the ink receiving port 118 is not held. Hold it,
The top plate 104 cannot be held.

Thereafter, the top plate body 116 of the top plate 104 whose position in the x-axis direction has been positioned in step S24B is moved to the first and second suction members 26.
b, through the suction holes 26d, 26e formed on the lower surface of 26c, respectively,
The lower and upper surfaces of the first and second suction members 26b and 26c
Will be retained.

In this way, a series of supply operations of the top plate 104 are completed, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

<< Description of Temporary Placement Operation of Top Plate 104 in Step S26 >> Next, the temporary placement operation of the top plate 104 on the heater board 102 in Step S26 will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.

Here, as already described, since the top plate 104 and the heater board 102 are actually micro-machined components, there is a possibility that the top plate 104 and the heater board 102 will be damaged when an excessive force acts. Therefore, prior to the x-axis direction alignment operation of step S28, the temporary placing operation of the top plate 104 on the heater board 102 is performed.

First, when the temporary placing operation is started, as shown in step S26A, the first position adjusting mechanism 14 is driven to maintain a sufficient gap between the top plate 104 and the heater board 102, and 104
Is moved directly above the heater board 102. Thereafter, in step S26B, the top plate 104 is moved downward along the z-axis direction to reduce the gap between the top plate 104 and the heater board 102. Then, in step S26C, the top plate 104 is dropped onto the heater board 102.

In this state, the top plate 104 is placed on the heater board 102,
It is placed in a state where its placement position is not precisely defined.
For this reason, in step S26D, the first positioning mechanism
Move the engaging pieces 26m and 26n of the 27
Is applied to the front end face of the heater board 102. Furthermore,
In step S26E, as a preparation for the x-axis direction alignment operation, the thickness of the top plate 104 is calibrated, and the top plate 104 and the first
The positional relationship between the positioning mechanism 27 and the suction members 26b and 26c is set to an optimal state.

In this manner, a series of temporary placing operations of the top plate 104 on the heater board 102 is completed, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

<< Description of the operation of aligning the top plate 104 with the heater board 102 in the x-axis direction in step S28 >> Next, the flow chart shown in FIG.
Referring to FIG. 21, the steps which characterize the present invention
The operation of aligning the top plate 104 on the heater board 102 in the x-axis direction in S28 will be described.

In the above-described temporary placing operation of the top plate 104, the mounting mechanism 26 is moved to the designed mounting position by the first position adjusting mechanism 14.
The temporary placement operation is performed by driving the device to move it, and then dropping the top plate 104 from the attachment mechanism 26 onto the heater board 102 and positioning the top plate 104 at the design attachment position described above. .

Here, as described above, the discharge port 106 and the heater board formed in the orifice plate 108 of the top plate 104 are used.
Since the arrangement pitch of the discharge heaters 112 formed on the substrate 102 is on the order of microns, not only the absolute positioning in design but also the relative positioning of the discharge ports 106 with respect to the discharge heaters 112 is performed. Actually, the positioning operation must be performed so that the discharge heaters 112 and the discharge ports 106 corresponding to each other are combined with each other within a predetermined positional accuracy. Since the direction in which the discharge port 106 and the discharge heater 112 are disposed is set in the x-axis direction, the top plate 104
The final alignment of the heater board 102 with respect to
It is stipulated that the processing is performed only through the image processing along the axial direction.

First, when this x-axis alignment operation is started, the step
In S28A, the offset operation of the top panel 104 is performed. That is, in the offset operation, as shown in FIG. 19A, the cylindrical ink receiving port 118 of the top plate 104 is moved from the state where it is positioned between the two suction members 26b and 26c, as shown in FIG. 19B. Side suction member 2
6c is moved toward the suction member 26b on the fixed side, and the ink receiving port 118 is brought into contact with the suction member 26b on the fixed side. Then, as shown in FIG. 19C, the movable side suction member 26c is returned to the original position, and as shown in FIG. 19D, the two suction members 26b and 26c are integrated, To move the top plate 104 to a predetermined position,
Is completed.

When the offset operation of the top plate 104 is completed, next, in step S28B, as shown in FIG. 20, the heater is passed through the first optical system 40e for focus determination of the first position detection mechanism 40. An image on the front surface of the orifice plate 108 mounted in front of the top plate 104 temporarily placed on the board 102 is transmitted to the first focus state detector 48. In step S28C, the heater board 102 and the top plate 104 are integrated along the y-axis direction so that the first focused state detector 48 achieves a focused state, that is, focuses. The second y-axis stage 32 is moved and driven in order to move it in a horizontal direction.

Here, in this focusing operation, steps S22P to S22 of the positioning operation of the heater board 102 described above.
On 22R, the focus of the first ITV camera 40g has already been
Since the focusing operation is substantially performed on the front surface of the orifice plate 108, this focusing operation can be performed in a very short time, and the focusing operation cannot be performed because the front surface of the orifice plate 108 is out of the focusing range. Is surely prevented.

Then, when the focusing operation is completed in step S28C, in step S28D, the first ITV camera 40g of the first position detection mechanism 40 is fixed to the front side of the top plate 104 temporarily placed on the heater board 102. The front of the orifice plate 108 is photographed. This first ITV camera
Since the image of the orifice plate 108 taken at 40 g has been subjected to the focusing operation as described above, it is a clear image that is accurately focused as shown in FIG.

Thereafter, in step S28E, the image photographed in step S28C is transmitted to the image processing device 44 via the first signal converter 46, and in step S28F, the image photographed via the first ITV camera 40g. the basis, to electrically measure the distance x _H from the center of the screen to the center position of the discharge hole 106 is determined to be close most to the discharge heater 112c of the center described above. Here, the heater board 102 in step S22 is used.
In the same manner as described in the positioning operation, the center line of the screen correspond to the assembling operation position alpha, this distance x _H is
This indicates the amount of displacement along the x-axis direction from the assembly work position α to the discharge hole 106 to be combined with the central discharge heater 112c.

Discharge port 106 corresponding to the above-described central discharge heater 112c
When the finished measuring the shift amount x _H from the center line, step S2
In 8G, the orifice plate 108 in which the discharge port 106 is formed in order to accurately align the discharge heater 112c located at the center with the corresponding discharge port 106 vertically.
The top plate 104 comprising the moving amount x _T required for to along connexion moved in the x-axis direction is calculated from the arithmetic formula shown below.

_{x T = x h -x H +} Δx Next, in step S28H, adjusting the standard range C whether the difference is less than the x-direction alignment this movement amount x _T is previously stored in the data disk is determined. If YES is determined in this step S28H, that is, the movement amount x
If it is determined that _T is smaller than the adjustment standard range C, the control unit 38
It is determined that the positions of the discharge hole 106 formed in the orifice plate 108 of the top plate 104 and the discharge hole 106 of the top plate 104 match each other in the x-axis direction. Return to

On the other hand, in step S28H described above, when it is determined that NO, that is, when the amount of movement x _T is determined to be greater than the adjusted standard range C, in step S28I, the first x-axis driving stage 18 driven to move the amount by top plate 104 corresponding to the moving amount x _T, to return to the aforementioned step S28D.

By positioning the top plate 104 with respect to the heater board 102 in this manner, the discharge heater 112c located at the center of the heater board 102 and the discharge heater 112c of the orifice plate 108 of the top plate 104 which is closest to the discharge heater 112c. The center lines of the outlet 106 and the outlet 106 coincide with each other in the x-axis direction.

Thus, the operation of aligning the top board 104 and the heater board 102 in the x-axis direction is completed, and the control procedure returns to the original main routine.

As described in detail above, by executing the assembling apparatus 10 of this embodiment and the assembling method in the assembling apparatus 10, the heater board 102 and the top plate 104, which are the microfabricated parts, are subjected to excessive assembling force. Without causing damage
Discharge heater 112 of heater board 102 and discharge port 106 of top plate 104
And are accurately combined with each other with a predetermined accuracy,
You will be able to bond each other.

In particular, in the above-described embodiment, this assembling apparatus 10
Accordingly, a manual operation can be eliminated from the entire assembling operation, and a fully automatic assembling operation can be achieved. Here, in the assembling operation of the assembling apparatus 10, the heater board 102 as the first member and the top plate 104 as the second member are placed on the front surface of the top plate 104 when the positioning operation of both is performed. The discharge port 106 as a second part is attached and fixed.
Of orifice plate 108 on which is formed (t ₁ )
Is known.

For this reason, the top plate 104 falls on the heater board 102 such that the lower surface of the top plate 104 as the third plane abuts on the upper surface of the heater board 102 as the first plane, and thereafter the heater On the front end face of the board 102 as a second plane,
The orifice plate 108 is attached to the heater board 102 so that the rear surface of the orifice plate 108 as the fourth plane is in close contact with the heater board 102.
In a state where the discharge port 106 is attracted to the orifice plate 108, the discharge port 106 formed on the front surface of the orifice plate 108 as a fifth plane is photographed. The focal point of the first ITV camera 40g for photographing the exit 106 performs a focusing operation for focusing an image of the front end face as the second plane of the heater board 102 in advance, and from this focusing position, The offset operation of activating the second position adjusting mechanism 16 by the known thickness (t ₁ ) of the orifice plate 108 and moving the heater board 102 away from the first ITV camera 40g along the y-axis direction. Since the execution is being performed, the focusing operation has already been substantially ended when the above-described first ITV camera 40g attempts to photograph the discharge port 106.

Therefore, in this embodiment, x in step S28
It is possible to eliminate the need for the focusing operation in steps S28A and S28B in the axis alignment operation, and when performing this focusing operation, the time required for this focusing operation is very short. Time suffices, and a high-speed positioning operation is thus achieved.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above in detail, the method for aligning a plurality of members according to the present invention includes the first plane on which the first portion is provided and the second plane orthogonal to the first plane. A first member having a third plane parallel to the first plane, a fourth plane orthogonal to the third plane, and parallel to the fourth plane at a predetermined distance from each other; and A second member having a fifth plane on which the second part is formed is brought into close contact with the first and second planes, and the second and fourth planes are brought into close contact with each other. A method of positioning a plurality of members to be positioned so as to be located outside, wherein a first plane of the first member is photographed, and based on the photographed image information,
A first detecting step of detecting an arrangement position of the first portion, a focusing step of focusing an image obtained by photographing a second plane of the first member, and the predetermined distance from the focusing position. Only minutes
An offset step of moving the first member away, a moving step of moving a second member above the offset first member, dropping the first member on the second member, A dropping step of bringing the first and third planes into close contact with each other;
An attracting step of attracting the fourth plane of the member so that the fourth plane of the member is in close contact with the second plane of the first member;
A second detection step of photographing a fifth plane in a state where the planes are in close contact with each other and detecting an arrangement position of a second part based on the photographed image information; Based on the first and second arrangement positions detected in the detection step of
A moving step of relatively moving the first and second members so that the two disposition positions coincide with each other.

Further, the method further includes a second focusing step which is executed between the attraction step and the second detection step, takes a fifth plane, and focuses the image of the fifth plane. And

Further, a recording head manufactured by using the method for aligning a plurality of members according to the present invention is an ink jet recording head which performs recording by discharging ink, wherein a first plane on which a first portion is provided and A first member having a second plane perpendicular to the first plane, a third plane parallel to the first plane, a fourth plane perpendicular to the third plane, and a fourth plane perpendicular to the third plane; Parallel at predetermined intervals and second
The second member having the fifth plane on which the part is formed is in close contact with the first and second planes, and the second and fourth planes are in close contact with each other, and the fifth surface is outside. A recording head that is manufactured by being positioned so as to be positioned in the first direction, wherein a first plane of the first member is photographed, and an arrangement position of the first part is determined based on the photographed image information. A first detection step of detecting, a focusing step of focusing an image obtained by photographing a second plane of the first member, and a focusing position,
An offset step of moving the first member away from the first member by the predetermined interval; a moving step of moving a second member above the offset first member; and moving the first member to the second member A dropping step of dropping the first and third planes onto each other, an attraction step of attracting the fourth plane of the second member so as to be in close contact with the second plane of the first member, A second detection step of photographing a fifth plane in a state where the planes of the fourth and fourth planes are in close contact with each other, and detecting an arrangement position of a second part based on the photographed image information; On the basis of the first and second arrangement positions detected in the first and second detection steps, so that both arrangement positions match,
The method is characterized by being manufactured by using a method of aligning a plurality of members including a moving step of relatively moving the first and second members.

Therefore, according to the present invention, there is provided a method of aligning a plurality of members which can perform an accurate and faster alignment operation, and a recording head manufactured by using the method.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the structure of an ink jet cartridge detachably mounted on an ink jet recording apparatus incorporating a head nozzle assembled by an assembling apparatus in which a method for aligning a plurality of members according to the present invention is carried out. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a head nozzle as an object to be assembled in an assembling apparatus; FIG. 3 is a top view showing a configuration of a heater board which defines one component requirement of the head nozzle; FIG. FIG. 5 schematically shows a configuration of a head nozzle assembling apparatus to which an embodiment of a method for positioning a plurality of members according to the present invention is applied; FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a mounting mechanism and a first positioning mechanism in a first position adjusting mechanism; FIG. 6A is a top view showing a configuration of a second positioning mechanism in the second position adjusting mechanism; FIG. 6B is a second positioning mechanism. FIG. 6C is a top view showing the configuration of the release mechanism in the second positioning mechanism; FIG. 7A is a perspective view showing the mounting state of the calibration chart; FIG. FIG. 7C shows an image of the calibration chart taken by the first ITV camera in the first position detection mechanism; FIG. 7C shows an image of the calibration chart taken by the second ITV camera in the second position detection mechanism; FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of an assembling method to which one embodiment of a method of aligning a plurality of members according to the present invention is applied; FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an assembling method; FIG. 10 is a simplified perspective view showing a heater board and a top plate constituting a head nozzle; FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a calibration operation as a subroutine; FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a state during the calibration operation; FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of a heater board supply operation as a subroutine; FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a standby position of the first and second positioning mechanisms, and an assembly work position; FIG. 15 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of the positioning operation as a subroutine; FIG. 15 is a view showing an image of a heater board taken by a second ITV camera; FIG. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing a subroutine of a control procedure of a top board temporary placing operation; FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing a control procedure of an x-axis direction alignment operation of the top board with respect to the heater board; FIG. 19D is a view sequentially showing the procedure of the offset operation of the top plate; FIG. Perspective view showing an imaging state of; and FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an image of the discharge port of the orifice plate taken by the first ITV camera. In the drawing, 10: an assembling apparatus, 12: a platen, 14: a first position adjusting mechanism, 16: a second position adjusting mechanism, 18: a first x
Axis stage, 20 first z-axis stage, 22 first y-axis stage, 24 spacer, 26 mounting mechanism,
27: first positioning mechanism, 27A: x-axis positioning unit, 2
7B: y-axis positioning unit, 28: second x-axis stage, 30
... A second z-axis stage, 32... A second y-axis stage,
33 ... second positioning mechanism, 33A ... x-axis positioning part, 3
3B: y-axis positioning unit, 33C: z-axis positioning unit, 33D:
... release mechanism, 33E ... suction mechanism, 34 ... joining force generation mechanism, 36a-36f ... driver, 38 ... control unit, 40 ...
... First position detecting mechanism, 42 ... Second position detecting mechanism, 44
... Image processing device, 46 first signal converter, 48 first focus state detector 50 second signal converter 52
Second focus state detector, 54 temporary attachment mechanism, 56 light guide, 58 ultraviolet light source, 60 CRT monitor, 62
Keyboard, 64 ITV monitor, 66 Operation panel, 68
Keyboard, 70 CRT monitor, 72 Printer, 74
… Data disk, 76 …… Program disk, 78 ……
Calibration chart, 80a; 80b… adhesive, 100… head nozzle, 102… heater board, 104…
Top plate with groove, 106: Discharge port, 108: Orifice plate, 110: Substrate, 112: Discharge heater, 114: Electric wiring, 116: Top plate body, 118: Ink port, 200 ... Ink cartridge 202, an ink tank.

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Orikasa 3- 30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Takashi Oba 3- 30-2, Shimomaruko 3-chome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (56) References JP-A-2-174300 (JP, A) JP-A-61-187115 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B23P 19/00

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A first member having a first plane on which a first portion is disposed, a second plane orthogonal to the first plane, and a third plane parallel to the first plane. And a fourth plane orthogonal to the third plane and a second member having a fifth plane in which the second plane is formed in parallel with the fourth plane at a predetermined interval. The first and second planes are brought into close contact with each other, and the second and fourth planes are brought into close contact with each other.
A method of positioning a plurality of members for positioning such that a fifth surface is located outward, wherein a first plane of the first member is photographed, and a first plane is formed based on the photographed image information. First to detect the location of the parts
A focusing step of focusing an image of a second plane of the first member, and an offset for moving the first member away from the focusing position by the predetermined distance. Moving the second member over the offset first member; and dropping the first member onto the second member, thereby bringing the first and third planes into close contact with each other. A step of attracting the fourth plane of the second member so as to be in close contact with the second plane of the first member; and a step of attracting the second plane in a state in which the fourth plane is in close contact with the second plane. 5, a second detection step of detecting an arrangement position of a second part based on the image information of the captured image, and a first and a second detection steps of the first and second detection steps. The first position is determined based on the position of
And a moving step of relatively moving the second member. 2. A second focusing step, which is executed between the attraction step and the second detection step, captures a fifth plane, and focuses the image of the fifth plane. The method for positioning a plurality of members according to claim 1, wherein: 3. An ink jet recording head for performing recording by discharging ink, a first member having a first plane provided with a first portion and a second plane orthogonal to the first plane. And a third plane parallel to the first plane, a fourth plane orthogonal to the third plane, and a second part formed parallel to and spaced from the fourth plane by a predetermined distance. The second member having the fifth plane is brought into close contact with the first and second planes, and the second and fourth planes are brought into close contact with each other, and the fifth surface is positioned outward. A recording head manufactured by positioning the first member, wherein a first plane of the first member is photographed, and an arrangement position of the first part is detected based on the photographed image information.
A focusing step of focusing an image of a second plane of the first member, and an offset for moving the first member away from the focusing position by the predetermined distance. Moving the second member over the offset first member; and dropping the first member onto the second member, thereby bringing the first and third planes into close contact with each other. A step of attracting the fourth plane of the second member so as to be in close contact with the second plane of the first member; and a step of attracting the second plane in a state in which the fourth plane is in close contact with the second plane. 5, a second detection step of detecting an arrangement position of a second part based on the image information of the captured image, and a first and a second detection steps of the first and second detection steps. The first position is determined based on the position of
And a moving step of relatively moving the second member. The recording head is manufactured using a method of aligning a plurality of members.