JP3120534B2 - Recording head chip positioning device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for positioning a recording head chip used when a recording head chip for recording and reproducing signals on a video tape or the like as a recording medium of a VTR is mounted on a base. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A video head is an element component that records a signal on a video tape, which is a recording medium of a VTR, or reproduces a signal recorded on the video tape. At the time of recording, the electric signal is changed into a magnetic field to magnetize the tape to record the signal on the tape, while at the time of reproduction, the magnetic flux change caused by the magnetized tape passing through the gap of the video head Performs the function of a transducer that converts the light into an electric signal.

In a conventional video head, as shown in FIG. 10A, a head chip 2 is bonded to a head base 1, and a core of a head chip used in a home VTR or the like is made of single crystal ferrite. It is common that it is. However, the maximum magnetic flux density (B
m) is about 0.5 WB / m ^2. Therefore, when a ferrite head is used as a head for a metal tape having a large coercive force (Hc), the vicinity of the gap is saturated during recording, and a sharp magnetic field is generated. There was a problem that I could not write. Therefore, a metal head having a high saturation magnetic flux density, such as Sendust or an amorphous microcrystalline alloy, has been used as a material for the head chip. According to the metal head, since sliding noise hardly occurs as compared with the ferrite head, even if the output level is slightly lower, the SN ratio is more advantageous than the ferrite head.

As described above, metal heads have attracted attention due to the appearance of metal tapes and narrower tracks. However, MIG heads (metal-in-gap type) and TSS (metal-in-gap type) utilizing characteristics of both ferrite and metal materials have been attracting attention. Inclined sputter sendusts), metal thin film laminated heads, and the like have also been put to practical use. For example, since a video head is required to have abrasion resistance and workability, as shown in FIG. 10B, a hard ferrite 4 surrounds a sendust 3 or the like made of a relatively soft material having excellent recording characteristics. A video head using sendust or the like only in the gap portion 5 directly involved in recording and reproduction is known. In particular, the inclined sputter sendust shown in the same figure gives the azimuth effect by providing the magnetic gap 5 at the boundary between the ferrite 4 and the metal sputter 3 at an angle to the track width, and spurious noise generated from the boundary. The effect of this is to reduce. Note that reference numeral “6” in FIG. 10B indicates glass that is a nonmagnetic material for reinforcing the gap 5.

By the way, such a head chip 2 is attached to a metal base called a head base 1 and mounted and mounted on a video head. The adhesion accuracy of the head chip 2 to the head base 1 is determined by a tape. In order to directly affect the contact state between the head chip and the video head, a head chip positioning device is used in the head chip bonding step.

The conventional recording head chip positioning device employs an adhesive surface 11 while adsorbing and holding the head chip 2.
The gripping state of the head chip 2 such as the X-axis coordinate and the Y-axis coordinate orthogonal to the plane group parallel to and the rotation angle θ about the Z-axis orthogonal to the XY plane group is measured, and based on the measurement result, This is a configuration for correcting the grip state. That is, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, first, a head chip 2 is vacuum-adsorbed by an adsorption nozzle 7 and is conveyed to a position above a head base 1 previously brought into a fixed position. Next, a gap position 5 formed in front of the head chip 2 while being held by the suction nozzle 7 is detected by the CCD camera 8, and the gap position 5 is detected.
As shown in FIG. 12A, the dimensions ΔR and ΔL at the right and left equidistant distance d are measured by another CCD camera 9. Based on the measurement result, the suction nozzle 7 is rotated about the Z axis so that ΔR = ΔL, and the X-axis coordinate and the Y-axis coordinate are calculated. After the head chip 2 is aligned at an appropriate mounting position, the head chip 2 is attached to the head base 1 with an adhesive or the like.

[0007]

However, in the conventional head chip positioning device, the image information obtained by the CCD camera is binarized into black and white and the change point is measured. Even if the head chip is chipped or the like is missing, dust or the like cannot be identified, and accurate measurement cannot be performed. For example, as shown in FIG. 12B, even when dust 10 adheres to the front of the head chip 2, the object measured by the CCD camera 9 that captures a planar image is a predetermined distance d from the center. Since only the dimensions of ΔR and ΔL at each of the left and right one points apart from each other, even if the head chip 2 is held by the suction nozzle 7 in an inclined state, as long as the condition of ΔR = ΔL is satisfied, the head chip is correctly held As a result, there is a problem that the head chip 2 is adhered to the head base 1 in an inclined state. To solve this problem, the head chip 2
Although a method of scanning the entire circumference with a CCD camera or the like has been considered, it takes a lot of time for scanning, and it has not been practical to apply the method to a recording head positioning device that requires mass productivity.

When a gap position 5 formed in front of the head chip 2 is scanned by a CCD camera 8 for capturing a front image, epi-illumination is applied to the front of the head chip 2 from the direction of the CCD camera. Depending on the gripping state of the head chip, the reflected light of the epi-illumination changes the light amount in the area other than the gap, and the area other than the gap is recognized as the gap. There was also a problem of doing it.

For example, in the conventional scanning method, FIG.
As shown in (B), the gap position 5 is detected by performing image processing on the front image 11 operated by the CCD camera 8, and in this case, the light amount in the front image is the largest as the scanning condition in the image processing. It is programmed in advance so that the portion is recognized as the gap position 5. However, depending on the type and shape of the head chip 2 or the gripping state, for example, the upper part 2a of the gap position 5 becomes brightest or the front face 1a of the head base becomes brightest due to the influence of the reflected light of the epi-illumination 12. There were many things.

As a result, the displacement angle θ about the Z-axis is to be measured in the next step around the misrecognized gap position 5, but the measurement condition to be extracted cannot be scanned and error processing is performed. In some cases, the head chip 2 is adhered to the head base 1 while erroneously recognizing it, and is ejected as a defective product in a later process. Such misrecognition of the gap position significantly reduces the productivity of the recording head assembling process.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. Even when a foreign matter such as dust adheres to a head chip, the present invention is also applicable to a lighting system used for position detection. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording head chip positioning device capable of detecting an accurate position of a head chip without being affected and mounting the head chip on a head base with high accuracy.

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, a recording head chip positioning apparatus according to the present invention, when bonding a recording head chip to a head base, positions the recording head chip with respect to the head base. A suction nozzle that grips the recording head chip, and the suction nozzle that is orthogonal to a plane group parallel to an adhesive surface between the head base and the recording head chip. X-coordinate adjusting means and Y-coordinate adjusting means for moving in the X-axis and Y-axis directions respectively, θ-angle adjusting means for rotating the suction nozzle about a Z-axis orthogonal to the bonding surface, and the recording head chip Front image capturing means for capturing a front image including a gap position formed at the front of the front end of the recording head chip; Plane image capturing means for capturing the image from the Z-axis direction, image processing means for scanning and performing arithmetic processing on the image information captured from the front image capturing means and the planar image capturing means, and Control means for outputting a signal to said X coordinate adjustment means, Y coordinate adjustment means and θ angle adjustment means based on the calculated result to move said recording head chip relative to a head base in a predetermined posture. When the image processing unit scans the image of the tip shape of the recording head chip captured by the planar image capturing unit, the image processing unit scans a plurality of points in the vicinity of a position equidistant from the gap position to the right and left, and scans the actual position. The shape data is obtained by calculation, and this shape data is used as a condition of the shape data corresponding to the measurement portion of the recording head chip which is input in advance. Whether match is characterized by determining in the control unit.

[0013] It is preferable that the image processing means calculates only the vicinity of the gap position in the image captured by the front image capturing means.

[0014]

First, a recording head chip to be mounted on a head base is gripped by a suction nozzle, and a front image of the recording head chip is taken into image processing means by a front image taking means, and is formed on the front of the recording head chip. The gap position is scanned. The gap position obtained as a result of this scanning is based on the coordinate reference of the X axis and the Y axis orthogonal to the plane group parallel to the bonding surface between the head base and the recording head chip, that is, the coordinate alignment between the front image and the plane image. Become a reference. At this time, if the image processing unit scans only the vicinity of the gap position in the image captured by the front image capturing unit, erroneous detection of the gap position due to light reflected from the front end surface of the recording head chip is prevented. be able to.

Then, based on the calculation result of the gap position obtained by the scanning by the front image capturing means, the leading end shape of the recording head chip is scanned on a plane parallel to the adhesive surface by the flat image capturing means, and Correct the deviation angle about the orthogonal Z axis. At this time, the image processing means of the present invention scans a plurality of points equidistantly right and left around the gap position to calculate and obtain actual shape data. A comparison operation is performed with the shape data condition corresponding to the measured portion of the recording head chip, and it is determined whether or not the shape matches the original tip shape. If the result of the calculation does not match the original tip shape of the recording head chip, it is determined that a foreign substance or the like is attached to the tip surface of the recording head chip, and the ejection is performed without performing the subsequent bonding process. .

When the deviation angle about the Z axis is calculated in this way, a signal is output from the control means to the X coordinate adjusting means, the Y coordinate adjusting means, and the θ angle adjusting means, and these adjusting means are operated. To attach the recording head chip to the head base.

[0017]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a recording head chip positioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 4 and FIG. 4 are views showing a front view monitor of the embodiment, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a reference positioning operation of the embodiment, FIG. 6 is a view showing an image obtained by the operation of FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the measurement operation of the embodiment, FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an image obtained by the operation of FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a monitor diagram for explaining a procedure for obtaining an appropriate position from the image obtained by the operation of FIG. It is. In this embodiment, a configuration common to the conventional recording head chip positioning apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the configuration of the recording head chip positioning device of the present embodiment will be described. This positioning device
It has a suction nozzle 7 for gripping the recording head chip 2, and the suction nozzle 7 grips the recording head chip 2 placed on the carry-in table (glass table) 17 and moves it to the bonding table 18. At the same time, in the bonding table 18, the X coordinate adjusting means 12 and the Y coordinate
The coordinate adjustment means 13 causes X orthogonal to a group of planes parallel to the bonding surface 11 between the head base 1 and the recording head chip 2.
It is movable in the axis and Y-axis directions, respectively. In the present embodiment, the suction nozzle side 7 is operated to move the recording head chip 2 from the carry-in table 17 to the bonding table 18, but the present invention is limited to this specific example only. Alternatively, the glass table side 17 on which the recording head chip 2 is placed may be moved without being moved.

As shown in FIG. 11, the suction nozzle 7 vacuum-adheres the back surface of the adhesive surface 11 of the recording head chip 2, and has a flat suction surface 7a formed at the tip thereof. Is provided with a through hole 19 for evacuation and is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown). The holding means of the recording head chip is not limited to vacuum suction as in this embodiment, but may be other known means.

The X-coordinate adjusting means 12 and the Y-coordinate adjusting means 13 provided on the suction nozzle 7 comprise, for example, a slide table and servo motors for moving the slide table in the X-axis and Y-axis directions, respectively. In response to a command signal from the controller 16, it moves by a desired distance on the XY plane. Also, the suction nozzle 7 has
Bonding surface 11 between recording head chip 2 and head base 1;
That is, the θ angle adjusting means 14 for rotating the suction nozzle 7 around the Z axis orthogonal to the XY plane is provided. This θ-angle adjusting means 14 also has the X
Like the coordinate adjusting means 12 and 13, it can be constituted by a servomotor attached to the suction nozzle via a gear mechanism.

The specific constructions of the X coordinate adjusting means 12, the Y coordinate adjusting means 13, and the θ angle adjusting means 14 are not limited to the present embodiment only. Can be moved to a desired position in the XY plane and can be rotated by a desired angle around the Z axis. Further, in order to press the recording head chip 2 held by the suction nozzle 7 against the head base 1,
The suction nozzle 7 can be moved up and down on the bonding table 18 in the Z-axis direction. However, in the present invention, the suction nozzle 7 is not configured to be vertically movable, and the side of the bonding table on which the head base 1 is mounted is not configured. 18 can be moved up and down, or the suction nozzle side 7
Alternatively, both the bonding table side 18 may be configured to be vertically movable.

In the step where the bonding table 18 is provided, a CCD camera 8 (front image capturing means) for capturing an image of the front end of the recording head chip 2 held by the suction nozzle 7 is provided. The gap position 5 (see FIG. 7) formed in front of the front end of the head chip 2 is scanned, and this image is output to the image processing means 15. The image processing means 15 scans the gap position 5 based on the information from the CCD camera 8 and
Calculate to Y coordinate. Specifically, an image is captured by the CCD camera 8 while illuminating the front end of the recording head chip 2 by irradiating epi-illumination from behind the CCD camera 8. The image processing means 15 recognizes the brightest part of the input signal from the CCD camera 8 as the gap position 5 of the recording head chip, and sets X as a plane group parallel to the bonding surface 11.
The gap position 5 is represented by XY coordinates on the Y plane.

Particularly, in this embodiment, the following configuration is adopted in order to prevent erroneous detection of a gap position due to reflected light of incident illumination. That is, of the images captured by the image processing means 15 by the CCD camera 8, only the image (indicated by a in FIG. 4) near the front end of the recording head chip where the gap 5 is located is scanned, and other parts, for example, The ranges “b” and “c” shown in FIG. 4 are programmed in the image processing means 15 so as to be masked by window processing in the scanning step of image processing. In addition to the masking by the window processing in the image processing operation, it is also possible to conceal mechanically, for example, by attaching a masking material to the CCD camera 8.

At this time, when the front image of the recording head chip 2 is captured from the CCD camera 8 while being held by the suction nozzle 7, if the position of the recording head chip is extremely shifted, the gap position 5 is set. Since there is a possibility that erroneous detection may be performed or a position matching the program condition may not be found, it is necessary to cause the suction nozzle 7 to grip the recording head chip 2 in a state where it is positioned to some extent. In the present embodiment, in order to prevent such a problem, in a state where the recording head chip 2 is placed on the carry-in table 17,
A CCD camera 20 for recognizing the rough gap position 5 and an image processing means 21 for calculating XY coordinates of the gap position 5 based on image information captured by the CCD camera 20 are provided. The CCD camera 20 and the image processing means 21 are provided before the gripping operation of the recording head chip 7 by the suction nozzle 7 described above, and when the recording head chip 2 is placed on the bonding table 18, a front image is captured. The gap 5 is located in the image captured by the means 8.

In the positioning device of the present embodiment, another CCD camera 9 (planar image capturing means) for capturing an image of the tip shape of the recording head chip 2 from the Z-axis direction is provided on the bonding table 18. CCD camera 9
Is output to the image processing means 15, where the shift angle of the recording head chip 2 around the Z axis is calculated. As the CCD camera 9 of the present embodiment, it is preferable to use a single-lens three-view flat-plane camera.

Here, the plane image capturing means 9 (CCD
The procedure for calculating the positional shift of the recording head chip 2 around the Z axis by the camera and the image processing means 15 is as follows.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. First, calibration (graduation setting) by the master gauge 22 is performed. This calibration is performed by the front image capturing means 8 (CCD camera) and the plane image capturing means 9 (CCD).
11) for relative positioning with the camera).
Instead of the head base 1 shown in FIG. 5, a master gauge 22 as shown in FIG. 5 is fixed, and a front image and a plane image of the master gauge 22 are taken into the image processing means 15 from both CCD cameras 8 and 9. The master gauge 22 has a tip surface 22
a is flattened with high precision, and a recess 22b is formed at the center and at a position equidistant to the left and right with respect to the center. In FIG. 6, (A), (B), (C), and (D) are images captured from the CCD cameras A, B, C, and D, respectively. And the X coordinate of the fixed point D is read, and the standard coordinates of one of the CCD cameras 8 and 9 are finely adjusted so that the X coordinates read from each of the X coordinates become equal. Let x _ref .

Next, the CC among the single-lens three-view flat-plane cameras
The coordinates of the fixed point A and the fixed point C of the master gauge are read by the D cameras A and C, and these coordinates are stored as the fixed point A (x _ref + d) and the fixed point C (x _ref -d) on the monitor screen. When the calibration by the master gauge 22 is completed in this way, the relative positions of the front image capturing means 8 and the plane image capturing means 9 match.

Then, the recording head chip 2 to be positioned is gripped by the suction nozzle 7, and the two CCD cameras 8 and 9 send the recording head chip 2 to the image processing means 15.
The front image and the plane image are captured. FIG. 8 is a monitor diagram showing an image captured in this manner, and FIG.
(B), (C) and (D) are CCD cameras A, B,
The images captured from C and D are shown. First, the coordinates of a fixed point D on the screen in this image are read. Next, the coordinates are compared with the standard coordinates of the calibration by the master gauge described above. If the measured coordinates are shifted by Δx from the standard coordinates as shown in FIG. A position shifted by Δx in the same direction is set as an actual gap position 5. Reads the Y-coordinate y _b of the gap position 5, also, the camera A, the position deviated by Δx from Similarly standard coordinate also C Y coordinate y _a, reads the y _c. From this calculation result, (y _b -y _a ) and (y _b -y _c ) are calculated, and the rotation angle of the suction nozzle 7 around the Z axis, where y _b -y _a = y _b -y _c , is calculated. Then, a signal is output to the θ angle adjusting means 14 based on the result of the calculation.

In the present embodiment, in particular, in the image captured by the image processing means 15 by the plane image capturing means 9, when the camera A and the camera C are operated, a fixed point located at an equal distance d from the gap position 5 to the left and right. A plurality of points near A and C are scanned and calculated. Then, based on the calculation result, the control means 16 determines whether or not the tip shape of the recording head chip 2 matches the tip shape of the recording head chip 2 input in advance. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, when the tip planar shape of the recording head chip 2 is curved, the value of the Y coordinate read as the distance from the gap position 5 to both sides gradually decreases, so that Such information is input to the control means 16 in advance. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, when foreign matter 10 such as dust adheres to the front end of the recording head chip 2, the value of the Y coordinate obtained by scanning the vicinity of the fixed point A does not decrease sequentially. The portion 10 indicates an irregular Y coordinate value different from the original Y coordinate value input to the control means 16 in advance. In such a state, it is determined that some foreign matter is attached to the front surface of the leading end of the recording head chip 2, and the recording head chip is ejected as an abnormal state.

The control means 16 of the present embodiment controls the X coordinate adjustment means 12, the Y coordinate adjustment means 13 and the θ angle adjustment means 14 based on the calculation results calculated by the image processing means 15 and 21 described above. A signal is output to move the suction nozzle 7 to a normal position with respect to the head base 1. In FIG. 1, “23” denotes a print head chip feeder that conveys the print head chip 2 to be bonded to the bonding step 18, and “17” mounts the print head chip 2 when capturing an image with the CCD camera 20. A glass table “24” is an illumination lamp for capturing an image by the CCD camera 20.

Next, the operation will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The calibration by the master gauge 22 is performed in advance according to the procedure described above. First, the recording head chip 2 conveyed by the recording head chip feeder 23 is placed on the glass table 17, and the CCD camera 20 is irradiated with illumination light from below.
Scans the approximate position of the gap. CCD camera 2
0 is output to the image processing means 21, where it is scanned and calculated, and then the control means 16.
The stop position of the glass table 17 is corrected (steps 1 to 3). By the rough position confirmation operation of the gap 5, the capture range of the front image by the CCD camera 8, which is the next step, is such that the gap position 5 is properly positioned within the image scanning range.

The recording head chip 2 carried in by the glass table 17 is sucked and gripped by the suction nozzle 7 and moves onto the bonding table 18 (step 4). At this position, the CCD camera 8 as the front image capturing means
A front image of the recording head chip 2 by the image processing means 1
5 and scans the gap position 5 formed in front of the recording head chip 2 (step 5). If the gap position 5 cannot be found, it is ejected out of the process as a defective recording chip (steps 6 and 22). .

Gap position 5 obtained as a result of this scan
Is the coordinate reference of the X-axis and the Y-axis orthogonal to each other on the plane group parallel to the bonding surface 11 between the head base 1 and the recording head chip 2 as described above. Since the image processing means 15 scans only the vicinity of the gap position in the image captured by the means 8, the reflected light from the tip end face of the recording head chip is C
Without being captured by the CD camera 8,
Erroneous detection of the gap position due to the reflected light can be prevented.

Next, based on the calculation result of the gap position 5 obtained by the scanning by the front image capturing means 8, the tip shape of the recording head chip 2 is scanned on a plane parallel to the bonding surface 11 by the flat image capturing means 9. Then, the deviation angle around the Z axis orthogonal to the bonding surface 11 is corrected by the above-described procedure (Steps 6, 7, 8, 9, 19).

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the image processing means 15 of this embodiment scans a plurality of points at the same distance d to the left and right with the gap position 5 as a center, and calculates the result. A comparison operation is performed with the tip shape of the recording head chip 2 which is taken into the means 16 and input in advance, and it is determined whether or not the tip shape matches the original tip shape. If the result of the calculation does not match the original tip shape of the print head chip 2, it is determined that a foreign substance or the like has adhered to the tip end surface of the print head chip 2 and ejected without performing the subsequent bonding process. (Steps 8 and 22). If the captured image conforms to the original tip shape of the recording head chip, but the recording head chip deviates around the Z-axis by a reference value or more, the deviation angle is calculated and control is performed. A signal is output from the means 16 to the θ angle adjusting means 14 to adjust the gripping posture of the recording head chip 2 (steps 9 and 19), and the operation from step 5 is performed again. The operation of correcting the gripping posture of the recording head chip 2 and reconfirming the operation is as follows.
The process is performed a maximum of n times, but if it exceeds this, the recording head chip is discharged out of the process without performing the subsequent bonding process as a defect (steps 2, 20, 21, 22).

When the deviation angle about the Z axis is calculated in this way, a signal is output from the control means 16 to the X coordinate adjustment means 12, the Y coordinate adjustment means 13, and the θ angle adjustment means 14, and these signals are adjusted. Operating the recording head chip 2
Is set on the head base 1 and the position of the recording head chip is confirmed again (steps 10 to 12). At this time, if the above-described positioning operation occurs and the attitude of the recording head chip is out of the range of the reference value, the suction nozzle 7 is moved again to correct the attitude of the recording head chip 2 (step 12, 19). When it is determined that the attitude of the recording head chip is within the reference range, the suction nozzle 7 is moved to the head base 1.
Then, the recording head chip is adhered to the head base (step 13). Adhesion between the recording head chip 2 and the head base 1 may be performed by applying an adhesive to one or both of the adhesion surfaces in advance. In this embodiment, after the recording head chip 2 is bonded to the head base 1, the position of the recording head chip is confirmed again (steps 14 and 15). They are carried out as defective products (steps 15 and 17).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified. For example, the recording head chip to be positioned can be applied to other than the above-described metal head chip. Also, V
In addition to the TR video tape, for example, the present invention can be applied to a storage head chip for a digital audio tape recorder system (DAT) that digitizes a sound waveform into binary numbers of 1 and 0 and records and reproduces it on a recording tape. it can. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the image processing means scans a plurality of points at equal distances to the left and right from the gap position by the plane image capturing means to calculate and obtain actual shape data. Although it is configured to judge whether or not the condition of the shape data corresponding to the measurement part of the recording head chip which is input in advance is matched, a plurality of points equidistant left and right from the gap position are determined by the image processing means. The actual shape data is calculated and obtained by scanning by the plane image capturing means, and whether or not the shape data matches the condition of the previously input shape data corresponding to the measurement portion of the recording head chip. And the control unit may control only the X coordinate adjustment unit, the Y coordinate adjustment unit, and the θ angle adjustment unit based on the determination result.

[0038]

As described above, according to the present invention, when scanning the tip shape of a recording head chip, the image processing means scans a plurality of points equidistant from the gap position to the left and right by the plane image capturing means. The actual shape data is calculated by calculation, and the control means determines whether or not the shape data matches the condition of the shape data corresponding to the measurement portion of the recording head chip which is inputted in advance. Therefore, even if foreign matter such as dust adheres to the front surface of the leading end of the recording head chip, the foreign matter such as dust can be identified and prevented from being erroneously recognized, thereby improving the productivity. Further, if the image processing unit is configured to scan only the vicinity of the gap position in the image obtained by the front image capturing unit, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection of the gap position due to reflected light of illumination light, etc. This can also increase productivity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a recording head chip positioning device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a method of scanning a plane image in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a monitor of a front view of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a reference position adjusting operation of the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image obtained by the operation of FIG. 5, wherein (A), (B), (C) and (D) show images obtained from CCD cameras A, B, C and D, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a measurement operation of the embodiment.

8 is a diagram showing an image obtained by the operation of FIG. 7, wherein (A), (B), (C), and (D) show images obtained from CCD cameras A, B, C, and D, respectively.

9 is a monitor diagram illustrating a procedure for obtaining an appropriate position from an image obtained by the operation of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10A is a perspective view showing a conventional recording head chip and a base, and FIG. 10B is a perspective view showing a conventional head chip.

FIG. 11 is a side view illustrating an arrangement of a conventional positioning device.

FIG. 12A is a front view showing a conventional method for positioning a print head chip, and FIG. 12B is a front view for explaining an erroneous scanning state when a foreign substance adheres to the print head chip.

FIG. 13A is a front view of a print head chip obtained based on a conventional print head chip positioning method, and FIG. 13B is a side view showing the head chip and the head base in a measurement state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Head base 2 ... Recording head chip 7 ... Suction nozzle 8 ... CCD camera (front image taking means) 9 ... CCD camera (plane image taking means) 11 ... Adhesion surface 12 ... X coordinate adjusting means 13 ... Y coordinate adjusting means 14 .... theta. Angle adjusting means 15 ... image processing means 16 ... control means

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-1-251305 (JP, A) JP-A-63-262510 (JP, A) JP-A-61-202103 (JP, A) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01B 11/00-11/30 102 G06T 1/00 G11B 5/127-5/17 G11B 5/48-5/53 104

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A recording head chip positioning device for positioning a recording head chip at a predetermined position with respect to the head base when bonding the recording head chip to a head base, wherein the suction head grips the recording head chip. A nozzle, and an X-axis and a Y-axis that are orthogonal to each other on a group of planes parallel to a bonding surface between the head base and the recording head chip.
X coordinate adjusting means and Y coordinate adjusting means for moving in the axial direction, θ angle adjusting means for rotating the suction nozzle about a Z axis orthogonal to the bonding surface, and formed at the front end of the front end of the recording head chip. A front image capturing means for capturing a front image including the set gap position, a flat image capturing means for capturing an image of the tip shape of the recording head chip in the Z-axis direction, and capturing from the front image capturing means and the flat image capturing means. Image processing means for scanning the obtained image information and performing arithmetic processing, and outputting a signal to the X coordinate adjusting means, Y coordinate adjusting means and θ angle adjusting means based on the arithmetic result obtained by the image processing means. Control means for moving the recording head chip with respect to a head base in a predetermined posture, wherein the image processing means When scanning the image of the tip shape of the recording head chip captured by the planar image capturing means, a plurality of points near the left and right equidistant positions from the gap position are scanned to calculate actual shape data. ,
The control device determines whether or not the shape data satisfies the condition of the previously input shape data corresponding to the measurement portion of the recording head chip. 2. The image processing device according to claim 1, wherein the image processing means scans only the vicinity of the gap position in the image captured by the front image capturing means to calculate.
4. The recording head chip positioning device according to claim 1.