JP2948748B2 - Lead frame transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, a lead frame transport device used in a plating apparatus for performing solder plating on an exterior part of a semiconductor lead frame.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a solder plating is applied to an exterior part of a semiconductor lead frame, a cleaning tank, an etching tank, a plating tank,
A neutralization tank, a drying furnace, and the like are arranged along the transport path, and the lead frame is sequentially moved to these devices to perform these processes continuously. As an apparatus for transporting a lead frame, there is an apparatus as shown in FIG. FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b) show a case where a wire or a metal belt is run on a plating tank and a lead frame is conveyed while being suspended therefrom. FIGS. 8 (c) and 8 (d)
Is a method in which a plurality of rollers are arranged below the liquid level in a plating tank, and the rollers are conveyed.

[0003]

However, each of the above methods has the following problems to be solved. In other words, in the case of FIGS. 8A and 8B, the work of attaching the lead frame to the wire is complicated, the entire length is increased because the lead frame is hung from the wire, and the equipment cost is increased. There is also a drawback that the lead frame becomes large, and the transport line goes up and down, and the lead frame is easily dropped or caught on the way.

In the case of FIGS. 8 (c) and 8 (d), since the driven roller is installed in the plating tank, the structure of the tank becomes complicated, and the movement between the tanks is different. Means must be used. In addition, when the transport between rollers is relatively unstable, and when the short side of the lead frame is transported in the direction of travel in order to increase plating efficiency, dropping should be completely prevented even if the roller pitch is narrowed. Can not. Further, there is a problem that it is difficult to make an electrical contact with the electrode reliably.

According to the present invention, a lead frame can be stably supported and transported in a tank with a relatively simple structure, the lead frames can be arranged in parallel and plated efficiently, and a contact with an electrode can be made. It is an object of the present invention to provide a semiconductor lead frame transfer device that can reliably perform plating processing at high speed and can transfer the same through a plurality of tanks using the same transfer device.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a chain which travels in a processing tank in a horizontal direction, and a plurality of trays attached to the chain and for accommodating a lead frame in a horizontal state. The tray is a lead frame transfer device characterized in that at least a part of the tray is formed so as to allow a fluid to flow therethrough, and a side wall is provided. According to the present invention, the lead frame is accommodated in the tray, and is transported while being stably supported in the tank with a constant posture.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the lead according to the first aspect, wherein the chain runs by passing through an opening formed in a tank wall of the processing tank. This is a frame transport device. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, a conveyance apparatus can maintain height low as a whole, and can reduce equipment cost. According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the lead frame transfer device according to the first or second aspect, wherein a gap through which the electrode rod can pass is formed at the bottom of the tray. The structure allows reliable contact with the electrodes, so that the plating process can be speeded up. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the short side of the tray is parallel to the traveling direction.
4. The lead frame transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The invention according to claim 5 is the lead frame transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a fall prevention member is provided above the tray in the processing tank.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A lead frame transport device according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 show a lead frame transfer device according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a transfer tray, which is provided on a pair of left and right endless conveyor chains 3, 3 running in processing tanks 2a to 2e. Installed. The conveyor chain 3 is wound around sprockets 4 installed on both sides of the processing tanks 2a to 2e, and is circulated by an electric motor 5.

The transport tray 1 has a side wall 6 as shown in FIG.
And a shallow dish shape from the bottom 7. The side wall 6 is a plate-like enclosure, and a pin 8 for attaching to the conveyor chain 3 is provided on the short side wall 6, and a guide bar (fall prevention member) 9 is inserted into the long side wall. There is formed a notch 10 for making the cut. The bottom 7 is formed of a thin wire or a wire mesh stretched between the side walls 6 so as not to obstruct the flow of the processing solution or gas and the flow of the plating current. The transport tray 1 is large enough to accommodate one lead frame L (one to which several IC elements are connected). A gap 1 that is partially parallel to the short side is formed at a predetermined position in the width direction of the wire or the wire mesh of the bottom 7, and is provided for passing an electrode rod described later.

A plurality of the transport trays 1 are arranged at predetermined intervals so that the short sides thereof are parallel to the traveling direction, and are connected to a pair of left and right endless conveyor chains 3 so as to sandwich both ends of the tray. Have been. Guide bar 9
Is to prevent the tank wall and the lead frame L from being caught between the processing tanks, and to prevent the lead frame from being lifted and dropped in the case of spraying the processing liquid on the lead frame with a spray or the like in the etching tank, or in the case of blowing or drying. It is provided in the processing tank for the purpose of preventing the occurrence of the above.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 2a and 2b denote plating pretreatment tanks such as a cleaning tank and an etching tank, reference numeral 2c denotes a plating tank, and reference numerals 2d and 2e denote post-plating processing tanks such as a neutralization tank and a drying furnace. . As shown in FIG. 4, an opening 13 is formed in the wall 12 between the front and rear and between the tanks, and the chain 3 and the transport tray 1 enter and exit through the opening.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show the plating tank 2c and its attachments. The electrode rod 14 is placed above the plating tank 2c from one end to the other end of the plating tank 2c.
An electrode moving device 16 that circulates and conveys from one end to the other end is provided. Above the plating tank 2c and the peeling tank 15, an electrode bar leading to a power source for plating and peeling,
A cam 17 for controlling the attitude of the electrode rod 14 is provided.

Since the conveyor chain 3 travels from one end of the plating tank 2c to the other end thereof through the orifice 19 formed in the wall 18, the plating solution always flows from the orifice 19 as shown in FIG. Is flowing out, and the flowing out plating solution is circulated and supplied to the plating tank 2c. With this configuration, it is not necessary to move the transport line up and down in the transport apparatus even when entering and exiting the plating tank 2c, so that the transport apparatus is simplified and the transport speed is increased.

Next, the operation of the lead frame transport device configured as described above will be described. Lead frame L
First, in the loading section, the loading device 2
It is placed on the tray 1 by hand or by hand. As the conveyor chain 3 travels, the tray 1 passes through the pretreatment tanks 2a and 2b required for the plating treatment and moves to the plating tank 2c.

The moving device 16 for the plating electrode 14 runs in synchronization with the conveyor chain 3 of the lead frame L.
As the electrode rod 14 advances, the electrode rod 14 rotates by the action of a cam 17 and a coil spring (not shown), and the lower end is immersed in the tray 1 in the liquid. Go behind one. Electrode rod 1
The lower end of 4 moves in the gap 11 of the bottom 7 and contacts the lead frame L, and the lead frame L is energized via the electrode rod 14 and plating proceeds. As described above, in this plating apparatus, the electrode rod 14 passes through the gap at the bottom of the tray 1 and reliably contacts the lead frame L by the bias of the coil spring, so that high-speed plating can be performed stably.

The lead frame L carried out from the wall of the plating tank 2c is further subjected to post-processing in post-processing tanks 2d and 2e, and is taken out of the tray 1 at the unloading section via the unloading device 21 or manually.
The tray 1 from which the lead frame has been taken out returns to the loading section again above, below or beside the processing line. The operation cycle may be continuous without stopping, or each process may be performed while stopping after feeding a certain number of sheets.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the lead frame is conveyed while being stably supported in the tank. Therefore, the lead frames are arranged in parallel at a high density to perform plating utilizing the tank area effectively. be able to. Also, the work of attaching and detaching the lead frame is easy and the work efficiency is high. It is also easy to transfer a plurality of tanks including a tank for processing before and after plating by the same transfer device. Further, the height of the transfer device as a whole can be kept low, and the equipment cost can be reduced. Further, by forming a gap at the bottom of the tray through which the electrode rod can pass, the contact with the electrode can be reliably performed with a simple structure.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a structure of a tray which is a main part of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of a tray and a conveyor chain.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a processing tank.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a plating tank.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a plating tank.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a plating tank.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a conventional transport device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 tray 2a, 2b pretreatment tank 2c plating tank 2d, 2e posttreatment tank 3 conveyor chain 4 sprocket 6 side wall 7 bottom 9 guide bar (fall prevention member) 11 gap 13 opening 14 electrode rod L lead frame

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code FI H01L 21/68 H01L 21/68 U (72) Inventor Naoko Ozawa 1-114 Kurobeoka, Hiratsuka-shi, Kanagawa Pref. (56) References JP-A-53-83936 (JP, A) JP-A-58-125857 (JP, A) JP-A-3-173793 (JP, A) JP-A-9-53199 (JP, A) 53-94913 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) C25D 7/12 C25D 17/08

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A chain running in a processing tank in a horizontal direction, and a plurality of trays attached to the chain and accommodating a lead frame in a horizontal state are provided. A lead frame transport device, which is formed so as to enable the following, and is provided with an enclosure on a side portion. 2. The lead frame transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the chain runs through an opening formed in a tank wall of the processing tank. 3. The lead frame transfer device according to claim 1, wherein a gap through which an electrode rod can pass is formed at the bottom of the tray. 4. The lead frame transfer device according to claim 1, wherein a short side of the tray is parallel to a traveling direction. 5. The lead frame transfer device according to claim 1, wherein a prevention member that covers an upper portion of the tray is provided in the processing tank.