JP3173471B2 - Solder ball transfer device and transfer method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a solder ball transfer apparatus and method for transferring solder balls to a work (an electronic component such as a substrate or a ball grid array).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been proposed a solder ball transfer apparatus for transferring a plurality of solder balls to a work such as an electronic component or a board at one time. FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view of a conventional solder ball transfer device.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a ball pool for accommodating a large number of solder balls 2, and an upper portion thereof is opened so that a suction head 3 can enter and exit. Here, the suction head 3 picks up the plurality of solder balls 2 by vacuum suction at a time, and then releases the vacuum suction state above the work so that a plurality of suction balls can be transferred to the work. The holes 4 are formed in a matrix. Here, one suction hole 4 is designed on the assumption that one solder ball 2 is vacuum-sucked.

[0004]

However, as shown in FIG. 5, actually, in addition to one solder ball (indicated by the symbol "a"), the suction hole 4 has an extra In some cases, unnecessary solder balls (denoted by symbol B) 2 may be unnecessarily vacuum-sucked, or extra solder balls (denoted by symbol C) 2 may adhere to the bottom surface of the suction head 3. In this state, extra solder balls (b, c) are transferred to unnecessary portions of the work.

During the movement of the suction head 3, the solder balls 2
It is desirable to increase the suction pressure of the suction head 3 in order to prevent the solder balls 2 from dropping. However, if the suction pressure is increased in the conventional solder ball transfer device, the solder balls 2 Even when the vacuum suction state is released during transfer to the work, the solder ball 2 does not fall off from the suction head 3, and as a result, a transfer error to the work may occur. As described above, the conventional solder ball transfer apparatus has a problem that the reliability of the pick-up operation of the solder balls from the solder pool and the transfer operation to the work is low.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a solder ball transfer apparatus and a transfer method capable of eliminating solder ball pick-up errors and transfer errors and reliably transferring solder balls to a work.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a solder ball transfer device, comprising: a positioning table for positioning a work;
A ball reservoir for accommodating a large number of solder balls, a suction head having a plurality of suction holes for vacuum suction of the solder balls, a moving means for moving the suction head between the ball reservoir and the work, and a vertically moving suction head. An up / down moving means for performing an operation, wherein the suction head is composed of a head body and a suction pad elastically attached to a lower portion of the head body via a vibration-proof rubber, and the suction hole is formed in the suction pad. And a vibration applying means for applying vibration to the suction pad.

Preferably, a gas supply means for fluidizing the solder balls by supplying gas to the ball reservoir is provided.

Further, the present invention provides a suction head composed of a head main body and a suction pad elastically attached to a lower portion of the head main body via a vibration isolating rubber by vertically moving the suction head. Vacuum suction of the solder balls into a plurality of suction holes formed on the lower surface of the suction head to pick up the suction ball, and then relatively moving the suction head to above the work, where the suction head is again moved up and down. A method of transferring solder balls in which a vacuum ball is released to transfer a solder ball vacuum-sucked to a suction hole to a work, wherein the suction head moves up and down to move the solder ball in a ball pool. When picking up by vacuum suction, the suction pad is vibrated by vibration applying means.

With the above structure, when the suction head picks up the solder ball in the ball pool by vacuum suction,
By operating the vibration applying means to vibrate the suction head, it is possible to prevent extra solder balls from adhering to the suction pad. In this case, since the vibration isolating rubber is interposed between the head body and the suction pad, it is possible to prevent the vibration from being transmitted to the head body and the head body from rattling.

Preferably, when the suction head vacuum-suctions and picks up the solder balls in the ball pool,
The gas is supplied to the ball reservoir by the gas supply means to cause the solder balls in the ball reservoir to float and fluidize. Then, the solder balls in the ball pool are separated, and the solder balls are easily attracted to the suction holes one by one.

When the suction head transfers the solder ball to the work, the vibration applying means is operated to
All the solder balls directly and strongly vacuum-sucked to the suction holes can be forcibly dropped from the suction holes and reliably transferred to the work.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a solder ball transfer device according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are operation explanatory diagrams of the solder ball transfer device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, a positioning table A is provided on a base 11. Among them, 12 is a Y table driven by a Y motor 13, and 14 is an X motor 15
An X-table 16 driven by the X-axis is a holder provided on the X-table 14 for holding a work 17. That is, X
By operating the motor 15 and the Y motor 13, the work 17 is positioned at a predetermined position. The work 17 of the present embodiment is a substrate.

A ball pool B is provided beside the positioning table A. Among them, 18 is a ball case which has an opening at an upper part and accommodates a plurality of solder balls 19 in a multi-layered shape, and a vent hole 18a having a smaller diameter than the solder balls 19 is opened at the lower surface of the ball case 18. .
Reference numeral 20 denotes an outer cylinder that surrounds the ball case 18 from the outside, and the inner space S communicates with the ventilation hole 18a. Gas supply means E is connected to the lower part of the internal space S of the outer cylinder 20. Among them, 22 is a blower for blowing out an inert gas (for example, N2 gas) or dry air, and 21 is a valve for opening and closing the passage of the gas blown out by the blower 22.

When the blower 22 is operated and the valve 21 is opened, the gas is discharged upward through the layer of the solder ball 19 through the internal space S and the vent hole 18a. By sending the gas to the layer of the solder balls 19 in this manner, a state where the solder balls 19 are floated and fluidized can be generated, and the solder balls 19 can be prevented from aggregating. That is, the solder balls 19 can be handled in a state where they are completely separated one by one.
It is easy to make one-to-one correspondence. As a method of floating and fluidizing the solder balls, the ball case 18 for housing the solder balls may be vibrated by the vibrator 40.

Reference numeral C denotes a suction head for transferring the solder balls 19, of which 26 is a head body having a hollow inside and connected to a suction device 24 via a pipe 25. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 28 denotes a hollow box-shaped suction pad, which is elastically attached to the lower part of the head main body 26 via a vibration isolating rubber 27. On the lower surface of the suction pad 28, a plurality of suction holes 28a corresponding to the arrangement and the number of the solder balls 19 to be transferred to the work 17 are formed in a matrix (see also FIG. 2). 29 is a vibrator as a vibration applying means attached to the side of the suction pad 28, and 30 is a support block to which the head main body 26 is fixed at the lower part. That is, when the solder ball 19 is vacuum-sucked into the suction holes 28a of the suction pad 28 and the vibrator 29 is operated, one suction hole 28a
Excess solder balls 19 excluding the solder balls 19 sucked one by one can be dropped. The anti-vibration rubber 27 prevents the vibration of the vibrator 29 from being transmitted to the head main body 26 to prevent the head main body 26 from rattling.

D is a moving means for reciprocating the suction head C between the ball reservoir B and the work 17. Among them, 31 is a support frame extending in the Y direction, 32 is a feed screw mounted on the support frame 31, and 33 is a feed screw 32
Is a Y motor for rotating. Numeral 34 denotes a moving plate provided with a nut portion screwed to the feed screw 32 on the back surface, and numeral 35 denotes a vertical guide rail provided on the moving plate 34.
5 is slidably engaged. Reference numeral 36 denotes a vertical feed screw pivotally supported by the moving plate 34, 37 denotes a Z motor for rotating the feed screw 36, and 38 denotes a feed nut portion screwed to the feed screw 36 and fixed to the support block 30. That is, by driving the Z motor 37, the support block 30 is guided up and down by the guide rail 35, whereby the suction head C attached to the lower portion of the support block 30 is moved.
Can be moved up and down. The suction head C, the support block 30, the guide rail 35, the motor 37, and the like are integrally mounted on the moving plate 34. When the Y motor 33 is driven, these are integrally moved in the horizontal direction in FIG. Can be.

Next, the operation of the solder ball transfer device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, Figure 1
, The suction head C is moved above the ball pool B by driving the Y motor 33. Then, the Z motor 37 is driven to lower the suction head C toward the inside of the ball case 18, and the suction pad 2 as shown by a chain line in FIG.
The lower surface of 8 is slightly sunk into the layer of the solder balls 19 in the ball case 18, and then the Z motor 37 is rotated in the reverse direction to raise the suction head C. Then, the solder ball 19 is vacuum-sucked in the suction hole 28a of the suction pad 28 and picked up.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, an extra solder ball (indicated by reference numeral B) 19 is attracted near the suction hole 28a of the suction pad 28, or an extra solder ball is attached to the bottom surface of the suction pad 28. It may adhere to the ball (marked with C) 19. Therefore, at this time, the vibrator 29 is operated to vibrate the suction pad 28 as shown in FIG. As a result, only the solder balls (indicated by the symbol A) 19 which are strongly sucked directly into the suction holes 28a remain in a state of being vacuum-sucked, and the other solder balls (b, c) 19 have a vacuum suction force or an adhesive force. Is weak and falls and is collected in the ball pool B. In this case, since the vibration isolating rubber 27 is interposed between the head main body 26 and the suction pad 28, even if the suction pad 28 is vibrated, the vibration is transmitted to the head main body 26 and the head main body 26 becomes unnecessary. There is no rattling.

In FIG. 2, when the suction pad 28 sinks to the position indicated by the dashed line, the valve 21 is opened to blow gas into the ball case 18 and
If the solder balls 19 in the inside are floated and fluidized, the solder balls 19 in the ball case 18 will be in a separated state,
Vacuum suction is easily performed on the suction holes 28a one by one. When the suction pad 28 rises to the position shown by the solid line and picks up the solder ball 19 after sinking to the position shown by the dashed line, the Y motor 33 is driven forward and reverse to drive the suction head C
Is reciprocated slightly (about several mm) in the lateral direction N. Then, the solder ball (b, c) extraly attached to the portion other than the suction hole 28a with a weak force is shaken down (see FIG. 3), and the solder ball (a) 1 firmly vacuum-sucked directly to the suction hole 28.
Only 9 is vacuum-adsorbed to the end and picked up.

As described above, by providing the gas supply means E for floating and fluidizing the solder balls 19 in the ball case 18 and the horizontal moving means D for moving the suction head C in the horizontal direction with respect to the ball case 18. In addition, it is possible to more effectively prevent extra solder balls 19 from adhering to the lower surface of the suction head C, and to eliminate a pickup error. In the present embodiment, the feed screw 32, the Y motor 33, and the like, which are moving means D for reciprocating the suction head C between the ball reservoir B and the positioning table A, also serve as the lateral moving means D. The point is that the suction head C may be moved laterally relative to the ball pool B. For example, the ball pool B may be moved laterally with respect to the suction head C.

Next, the suction head C picking up the solder balls 19 moves above the work 17 as shown in FIG. Then, the suction head C is lowered and the solder balls 19 on the lower surface thereof are moved to the electrodes 17 on the upper surface of the work 17.
Then, the solder ball 19 is lifted up by releasing the vacuum suction state of the solder ball 19 and then lifted to transfer the solder ball 19 onto the electrode 17a. In this case, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 4, the solder ball 19 is not transferred to the electrode 17a, but remains attached to the lower surface of the suction pad 28, and a transfer error may occur. Therefore, when the transfer operation is completed and the suction head C is to be raised as indicated by an arrow N1, the vibrator 29 is operated to vibrate the suction pad 28. Then, the solder ball 19 is forcibly and securely dropped from the suction hole 28a and transferred to the electrode 17a. In addition, when the vibrator 29 is operated, the suction pad 28 vibrates.
An anti-vibration rubber 2 is provided between the head body 26 and the suction pad 28.
Since the vibrator 29 is interposed, there is no danger that even if the vibrator 29 is actuated, the head body 26 will rattle and the moving accuracy of the moving means D will be reduced.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the suction head vacuum-adsorbs and picks up the solder ball in the ball pool, the suction pad is vibrated by the vibration applying means, so that the extra suction pad is provided. Thus, it is possible to prevent the solder balls from adhering to each other, and to vacuum-adhere the solder balls one by one to each suction hole. Further, in this case, since the vibration isolating rubber is interposed between the head body and the suction pad, it is possible to prevent the vibration from being transmitted to the head body and the head body from rattling. Also, the gas is sent from the gas supply means to the ball reservoir to cause the solder balls to float and fluidize, so that 1
One solder ball is vacuum-adsorbed to one suction hole, so that it can be easily picked up. Also when the suction head transfers the solder ball to the work, the solder ball can be reliably forcibly dropped from the suction hole and transferred to the work by vibrating the suction pad.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a solder ball transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an operation explanatory view of the solder ball transfer device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of the solder ball transfer device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view of the solder ball transfer device according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a conventional solder ball transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 17 Work 19 Solder Ball 26 Head Main Body 27 Vibration Isolator Rubber 28 Suction Pad 28a Suction Hole 29 Vibrator A Positioning Table B Ball Pool C Suction Head D Moving Means E Gas Supply Means

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-368142 (JP, A) JP-A-7-226425 (JP, A) JP-A-7-153765 (JP, A) JP-A-57-136337 (JP) JP-A-5-129374 (JP, A) JP-A-5-259224 (JP, A) JP-A-61-242759 (JP, A) JP-B-64-819 (JP, B2) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B23K 3/06 H05K 3/34 505 H01L 21/60 311 H01L 21/321

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A suction table having a positioning table for positioning a work, a ball pool for accommodating a large number of solder balls, a plurality of suction holes for vacuum suction of solder balls, and the suction head being connected to the ball pool. Moving means for moving between the workpiece and up and down moving means for causing the suction head to perform an up and down operation, wherein the suction head is elastically attached to a head main body and a lower portion of the head main body via vibration isolating rubber. An apparatus for transferring solder balls, comprising a suction pad mounted on the suction pad, wherein the suction hole is formed in the suction pad, and vibration applying means for applying vibration to the suction pad is provided. 2. The solder ball transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising gas supply means for fluidizing the solder balls by supplying gas to the ball reservoir. 3. A suction head comprising a head main body and a suction pad elastically attached to a lower portion of the head main body via a vibration isolating rubber is moved up and down with respect to a ball pool, thereby making the suction head movable. Vacuum suction and pick-up of the solder ball into a plurality of suction holes formed on the lower surface, and then relatively move the suction head above the work,
Therefore, a method of transferring solder balls, in which the suction head is moved up and down again and the vacuum suction state is released, whereby the solder balls vacuum-sucked in the suction holes are transferred to the work. When the suction head moves up and down to vacuum-suck and pick up the solder balls in the ball pool, the suction pad is vibrated by a vibration imparting means. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein when the suction head picks up the solder balls in the ball pool, gas is supplied from the gas supply means to the ball pool to fluidize the solder balls. How to transfer solder balls. 5. When the suction head moves up and down above the work to transfer the solder ball to the work, the suction pad is vibrated by a vibration applying means to vacuum-suck the solder in the suction hole. 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the ball is forcibly dropped from the suction hole.