JP3396139B2 - Etching equipment - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a case where an etching product such as a shadow mask for a color picture tube, an aperture grill for a Trinitron (registered trademark) tube, and a lead frame for a semiconductor element is manufactured by using a photoetching method. 2. An etching apparatus for etching an exposed metal surface of a main surface of a metal thin plate by supplying an etching solution to a long metal thin plate having a main surface on which a resist film having a predetermined pattern is formed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Etching products such as shadow masks and aperture grills for color picture tubes and lead frames for semiconductor devices are made of long carbon thin plates such as low carbon aluminum killed steel and Invar materials using photo etching. It is manufactured by In a series of manufacturing steps of this etching product, in the etching step, a long thin metal plate having a resist film having a predetermined pattern formed on its main surface is horizontally supported and continuously conveyed in its longitudinal direction. Meanwhile, an etching solution is sprayed from the plurality of spray nozzles of the spray pipe onto the main surface of the metal thin plate to etch the exposed metal surface of the main surface of the metal thin plate. In an etching apparatus that performs such an etching process,
A spray pipe having a plurality of spray nozzles is arranged along the longitudinal direction of a long thin metal plate, and a plurality of such spray nozzles are arranged in parallel in the lateral direction of the thin metal plate. Then, each spray pipe is supported rotatably around its axis, and by the reciprocating rotation of the spray pipe,
Each spray nozzle provided on the spray pipe is configured to swing within a predetermined angle range. With such a configuration, the etching liquid is uniformly supplied over the entire main surface of the thin metal plate.

As the swing mechanism for swinging the spray nozzle of the spray pipe, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-128391, a mechanism for converting the rotational movement of the rotary drive motor into the swing movement of the spray nozzle. Has been used for a long time. As shown in the schematic view of FIG. 4, the swing mechanism generally has a central portion fixed to a rotary drive motor 1 and a rotary shaft of the rotary drive motor 1, and is rotated in one direction by the rotary drive motor 1. One end is fixed to the circular cam plate 2 and the spray pipe 3 having the spray nozzle 4, and the swing member 5 swings in a plane orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe 3 about the axis of the spray pipe 3.
And a link mechanism that connects the other end of the swinging member 5 and the connecting portion 6 on the plate surface of the circular cam plate 2 to transmit the rotational movement of the circular cam plate 2 to the swinging member 5. Has been done. The link mechanism shown in FIG. 4 is an example of the simplest configuration,
One end is rotatably pivoted to the connecting portion 6 of the circular cam plate 2 and the other end is pivotally pivoted to the other end of the swing member 5.
The link mechanism is composed of two link members 7, but normally the link mechanism is formed by sequentially connecting two or more link members. According to the swing mechanism having the configuration as shown in FIG. 4, the rotary motion of the circular cam plate 2 which is rotationally driven by the rotary drive motor 1 is transmitted to the spray pipe 3 via the link member 7 and the swing member 5. , Spray pipe 3
Reciprocally rotates and the spray nozzle 4 swings as shown by a solid line and a two-dot chain line in FIG.

[0004]

In the mechanism for converting the rotational movement of the circular cam plate 2 into the oscillating movement of the spray nozzle 4 of the spray pipe 3 like the conventional oscillating mechanism, the shadow mask to be manufactured is When the swinging angle range of the spray nozzle 4 is to be changed according to the type, the pivotal position of one end of the link member 7 with respect to the plate surface of the circular cam plate 2 is changed to change the length of the link member 7. There is a problem that it is necessary to replace it with a different one, it is troublesome to adjust the swing angle range of the spray nozzle 4 as desired, and it is difficult to adjust the swing angle range. In order to reduce this trouble, the pivoting position of one end of the link member 7 is changed to a different position in the radial direction of the circular cam plate 2 without replacing the link member 7, and the swing angle of the spray nozzle 4 is changed. A method of adjusting the range is possible, but this method
The following problems occur.

The swing angle and the swing speed of the spray nozzle 4 have a relationship having a sine wave characteristic, and the direction in which the etching solution is blown out from the spray nozzle 4 is orthogonal to the main surface of the thin metal plate 8. (When the spray nozzle 4 is at the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 4), the swing speed of the spray nozzle 4 becomes maximum, and the deflection angle of the spray nozzle 4 becomes the largest (the spray nozzle 4 becomes The swing speed of the spray nozzle 4 becomes the minimum (0) when the positions shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 are reached). In this way, when the distance that the etching liquid blown out from the spray nozzle 4 reaches the main surface of the metal thin plate 8 is small, the spray nozzle 4 moves quickly, and the etching liquid blown out from the spray nozzle 4 moves to the metal thin plate 8. Since the spray nozzle 4 moves at a slow speed when the distance to reach the main surface is large, the amount of the etching liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle 4 to the main surface of the thin metal plate 8 is at the swing angle position of the spray nozzle 4. Regardless, it becomes almost equal. However, the rocking speed of the spray nozzle 4 varies depending on the rocking direction, and as a result, the amount of the etching liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle 4 onto the main surface of the thin metal plate 8 varies depending on the rocking direction of the spray nozzle 4. There is a problem such as. In this regard,
A more detailed description will be given with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

When the circular cam plate 2 rotates clockwise and the connecting portion 6 on the circular cam plate 2 is in the position A in FIG. 5, the swinging member 5 is in the E position and the connecting portion 6 is in the B position. When the connecting portion 6 is in the C position, the swinging member 5 is in the G position, when the connecting portion 6 is in the C position, and when the connecting portion 6 is in the D position, the swinging member 5 is in the F position again. , The connecting portion 6 and the swinging member 5 respectively return to their original positions. Then, when the swinging member 5 is at the E position and G position corresponds to when the swing angle of the spray nozzle 4 of the spray pipe 3 is the largest, and when the swinging member 5 is at the F position,
This corresponds to the case where the direction in which the etching liquid is blown out from the spray nozzle 4 is the direction orthogonal to the main surface of the thin metal plate 8. Further, the rotation angle of the circular cam plate when the connecting portion 6 on the circular cam plate 2 is in the A position is 0 °, and the rotation angle when the connecting portion 6 is rotationally moved from the A position is a °. When the rocking angle of the rocking member 5 when the rocking member 6 is in the A position is 0 °, the rocking angle when the rocking member 5 rocks by the rotational movement of the connecting portion 6 from the A position is b °. When I did
The relationship between the rotation angle a ° of the circular cam plate 2 and the swing angle b ° of the swing member 5 (hence, the spray nozzle 4 of the spray pipe 3) is as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
The rotation angle a of the circular cam plate 2 when the upper connecting portion 6 of the circular cam plate 2 is rotationally moved to the C position and the swing member 5 is in the G position is:
The rotation angle is larger than 180 ° instead of 180 °. In this case, since the circular cam plate 2 is rotating at a constant angular velocity, the time during which the connecting portion 6 on the circular cam plate 2 rotationally moves from the A position to the B position to the C position, that is, the swinging member 5
From the E position to the G position, the connecting portion 6 becomes C
The time required for the rotational movement from the position to the A position through the D position, that is, the time for the swinging member 5 to return from the G position to the E position is shorter. Therefore, the rocking speed of the rocking member 5 becomes faster in the period of returning from the G position to the E position than in the period of moving from the E position to the G position, and as a result, from the spray nozzle 4 of the spray pipe 3. This causes a problem that the amount of the etching liquid sprayed onto the main surface of the thin metal plate 8 varies depending on the swing direction of the spray nozzle 4.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and the adjustment operation of the swing angle range of the spray nozzle of the spray pipe is easy and the adjustment accuracy is high,
In addition, the amount of the etching liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle to the main surface of the thin metal plate can be easily made the same regardless of the swing direction of the spray nozzle, so that the spray nozzle of the spray pipe can be accurately swung. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an etching apparatus capable of uniformly etching the surface to be etched of the main surface of the thin metal plate.

[0008]

The invention according to claim 1 is
Conveying means for conveying a long metal thin plate having a resist film having a predetermined pattern formed on its main surface in the longitudinal direction while horizontally supporting it, and a metal thin plate arranged along the longitudinal direction of the metal thin plate. Of the spray nozzle, which has a spray nozzle for spraying an etching liquid onto the main surface of the spray nozzle, and the spray nozzle is rotatably supported so as to swing in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the thin metal plate, and this spray nozzle. In an etching apparatus having a swing mechanism that swings the spray nozzle by swinging back and forth, the swing mechanism is configured as follows. That is, one end is fixed to the spray pipe and swings in a plane orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe about the axis of the spray pipe, and a swing member orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe. Drive side swing member, which is swingably supported in a plane orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe, and one end portion of the drive side swing member is fixed to the drive side swing member. Is connected to the other end of the oscillating member and the other end of the drive-side oscillating member by connecting the oscillating drive means for reciprocally oscillating about one end thereof to oscillate. It is characterized in that the swing mechanism is constituted by a link mechanism for transmitting the swing motion of the moving member to the swing member to swing the swing member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the etching apparatus according to the first aspect, the relationship between the swing angle and the swing speed of the spray nozzle of the spray pipe has a sinusoidal characteristic.
Also, a control means for controlling the swing drive means is provided so that the absolute value of the swing speed of the spray pipe becomes maximum when the etching liquid is sprayed from the spray nozzle in the direction orthogonal to the main surface of the thin metal plate. It is characterized by being provided.

In the etching apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the drive-side rocking member is driven by the rocking-driving means, and the drive-side rocking member is a surface that is orthogonal to the length direction of the spray nozzle about one end. It is reciprocally rotated inside and rocked. The oscillating motion of the drive-side oscillating member is transmitted to the oscillating member via the link mechanism, and the oscillating member oscillates in a plane orthogonal to the length direction of the spray nozzle about the axis of the spray pipe. Move. When the swing member swings about the axis of the spray pipe, the spray pipe reciprocally rotates about the axis, and the spray nozzle provided on the spray pipe is orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe. It oscillates in a direction that is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the thin metal plate. Then, the etching solution is sprayed from a spray nozzle that swings along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the thin metal plate toward the main surface of the long thin metal plate that is supported flat by the transport means and is transported in the longitudinal direction. The etched surface of the main surface of the metal thin plate is etched.

In the rocking mechanism of this etching apparatus, the rocking driving means rocks the driving-side rocking member, and the rocking motion is transmitted to the rocking member by the link mechanism to rock the rocking member. The spray nozzle is swung by reciprocally rotating the spray pipe. In this way, the swing motion of the drive-side swing member is transmitted as it is to the swing member to swing the spray nozzle of the spray pipe, so that the swing angle range of the spray nozzle is changed. At this time, it is only necessary to change the swing angle range of the drive-side swing member, the adjustment operation is easy, and the adjustment can be performed accurately. Moreover, since the swing motion is transmitted as it is as the swing motion without converting the rotary motion in one direction into the reciprocating motion, the swing speed of the spray nozzle of the spray pipe does not depend on the swing direction. In the same manner, the amount of the etching liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle to the main surface of the thin metal plate can be easily made the same regardless of the swing direction of the spray nozzle.

In the etching apparatus of the invention according to claim 2,
When the spraying direction of the etching liquid from the spray nozzle of the spray pipe is perpendicular to the main surface of the thin metal plate, the swing speed of the spray nozzle becomes maximum, and when the deflection angle of the spray nozzle becomes maximum, The swing speed of the nozzle is minimum (0), and in the intermediate period, the swing speed of the spray nozzle has a sine wave characteristic with respect to the swing angle, so that it is blown out from the spray nozzle. When the distance that the etching liquid reaches the main surface of the thin metal plate is small, the spray nozzle moves quickly,
The spray nozzle moves at a slow speed when the etching liquid blown out from the spray nozzle has a large distance to reach the main surface of the thin metal plate. Therefore, the amount of the etching liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle to the main surface of the thin metal plate is substantially uniform regardless of the swing angle position of the spray nozzle.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the present invention and is a schematic view showing a schematic structure of a swing mechanism for swinging a spray nozzle of a spray pipe of an etching apparatus. This swing mechanism includes a servo motor 10 whose drive shaft reciprocally rotates in forward and reverse directions, and one end of which is fixed to the drive shaft of the servo motor 10 and which is arranged along the longitudinal direction of a long thin metal plate 8. The spray pipe 3 is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe 3, and swings in a plane orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe 3 around one end fixed to the drive shaft of the servomotor 10. A drive-side swing member 12 supported so as to
One end is fixed to the spray pipe 3 and is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe 3 and swings in a plane orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe 3 about the axis of the spray pipe 3. Swing member 1 supported to move
4, the other end of the rocking member 14 and the driving-side rocking member 12
And a controller 18 for controlling the drive of the servo motor 10, which is connected to the other end of the drive side swing member 12 to transmit the swing motion of the drive side swing member 12 as it is to the swing member 14. Has been done. In the swing mechanism shown in FIG. 1, one end of the link mechanism is pivotally attached to the other end of the drive side swing member 12 and the other end is swingable to the other end of the swing member 14. It is composed of a single link member 16 that is freely pivoted. The link mechanism shown in FIG. 1 is an example of the simplest configuration, but the link mechanism is configured by sequentially connecting two or more link members as described later (see FIG. 3).

According to the swing mechanism having the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the drive shaft of the servomotor 10 reciprocally rotates in the forward and reverse directions, so that the drive-side swing member 12 has a solid line and two points. As indicated by the chain line, the one end portion fixed to the drive shaft of the servomotor 10 is swung, and the swinging motion is transmitted to the swinging member 14 via the link member 16, and the swinging member 14 However, from the position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 to the upper and lower sides thereof, it is swung about the axial center of the spray pipe 3 at the swing angle θ as shown by the chain double-dashed line. Then, the swinging member 14 has a swing angle θ around the axis of the spray pipe 3.
By swinging at, the spray pipe 3 reciprocally rotates about its axis, and the spray nozzle 4 provided on the spray pipe 3 is sprayed as shown by a solid line and a two-dot chain line in FIG. Deflection angle θ around the axis of the pipe 3
Will be rocking at.

As described above, when the servo motor 10 is driven to swing the spray nozzle 4 of the spray pipe 3, as shown by the solid line in FIG. The swing speed of the spray nozzle 4 is maximized when it becomes a direction orthogonal to the main surface of the thin plate 8 (when the swing angle of the spray nozzle 4 becomes 0 °), and each is shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. As described above, when the deflection angle of the spray nozzle 4 becomes the largest (when the swing angle of the spray nozzle 4 becomes θ), the swing speed of the spray nozzle 4 becomes the minimum (0), and the middle During the period, the controller 18 controls the drive of the servomotor 10 so that the swing speed of the spray nozzle 4 has a sine wave characteristic as shown in FIG. 2 with respect to the swing angle. To do so. By performing such control, the spray nozzle 4 moves faster when the distance is small, depending on the distance that the etching liquid blown out from the spray nozzle 4 reaches the main surface of the metal thin plate 8, and the distance. When is large, it will move at a slow speed. As a result, the amount of the etching liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle 4 to the main surface of the metal thin plate 8 is almost equalized regardless of the swing angle position of the spray nozzle 4.

Further, in the swing mechanism having the structure shown in FIG. 1, when it is necessary to change the swing angle range of the spray nozzle 4 of the spray pipe 3 according to the type of shadow mask to be manufactured, etc. By changing the setting of the rotation range of the drive shaft of the motor 10, the drive side swing member 12
It is sufficient to change the swing angle range of the drive side swing member 1
It is not necessary to change the connecting position between 2 and the link member 16. Therefore, the adjusting operation can be performed easily and accurately.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a more specific structural example of the swing mechanism of the spray nozzle of the spray pipe, and is a view seen from the front side in the transport direction of the long thin metal plate 8.
A spray pipe 20 having a plurality of spray nozzles (not shown) is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the metal thin plate 8 so as to face both main surfaces of the metal thin plate 8, respectively. The spray pipes 20 are arranged parallel to each other in the lateral direction of the thin metal plate 8. One end of a rectangular rocking plate 22 is fixed to the spray pipe 20, and the rocking plate 22 is swingably supported about the axis of the spray pipe 20. This swing plate 22
It corresponds to the swinging member 14 of the swinging mechanism shown in FIG. A servo motor 26 is fixedly mounted on the top plate of the etching chamber 24, and one end of a drive-side rocking plate 30 is fixed to a drive shaft 28 of the servo motor 26. Servo motor 2
6, the drive shaft 28 reciprocates in the forward and reverse directions, and the drive side swing plate 30 swings around the drive shaft 28 of the servomotor 26. This drive side swing plate 3
0 corresponds to the drive-side swing member 12 of the swing mechanism shown in FIG.

The plurality of swaying plates 22 each having one end fixed to a plurality of spray pipes 20 arranged in parallel in the lateral direction of the metal thin plate 8 have the other ends thereof aligned with the length direction of the spray pipe 20. It is rotatably pivoted to one horizontal link plate 32 which is horizontally supported along a direction orthogonal to each other. One end of the horizontal link plate 32 is fixed at one end.
A first swing link plate 3 which is rotatably attached to the shaft 4 and is arranged in parallel with the swing plate 22 and swings around a fixed support shaft 34.
The other end of 6 is rotatably pivotally attached. Further, one end of a second swing link plate 38 is rotatably attached to the fixed support shaft 34 so as to swing about the fixed support shaft 34. On the other hand, one end of the vertical link plate 40 is rotatably pivotally attached to the other end of the drive-side rocking plate 30 having one end fixed to the drive shaft 28 of the servomotor 26. The other end of the fixed support shaft 42 is rotatably pivotally attached to the fixed support shaft 42 and is disposed in parallel with the drive side swing plate 30.
It is rotatably pivotally attached to one end of a rotary link plate 44 which rotates around. The upper end of one common vertical link plate 46 is rotatably attached to the other end of the rotary link plate 44, and the upper and lower ends of the common vertical link plate 46 have a pair of upper and lower pairs. The other end of the second swing link plate 38 is rotatably attached to each other.

In the swing mechanism shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal link plate 32, the fixed support shaft 34, and the first swing link plate 3 described above are used.
6, the second swing link plate 38, the vertical link plate 40, the fixed support shaft 42, the rotary link plate 44, and the common vertical link plate 46 constitute a link mechanism. Then, when the servo motor 26 is driven, the drive-side rocking plate 30 is rocked as indicated by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 3, and the rocking motion is made up of a plurality of upper and lower parts by the link mechanism. Swing plate 2
2, the plurality of swaying plates 22 simultaneously oscillate, and the plurality of splay pipes 20 to which one end of each swaying plate 22 is fixed are reciprocally rotated at the same time. The plurality of spray nozzles thus swung will swing.

By adopting the swinging mechanism as described above, compared with the conventional swinging mechanism which converts the rotary motion into the swinging motion, the long metal thin plate is provided along the longitudinal direction. Since it becomes easy to synchronize the swing phase between the spray pipes arranged in a plurality of rows, and also it becomes easy to synchronize the swing phase of the spray pipe between several etching chambers. Thus, it is possible to effectively suppress the meandering caused by the etching liquid being sprayed during the transportation of a long thin metal plate.

[0022]

When the etching apparatus of the invention according to claim 1 is used, a spray nozzle for spraying the etching liquid while swinging to the main surface of a long thin metal plate supported horizontally and conveyed in the longitudinal direction. When it is necessary to change the swing angle range of the device according to the type of shadow mask to be manufactured, the adjustment operation is easy, and the adjustment can be performed accurately. Since it is easy to make the amount of the etching liquid sprayed on the main surface of the metal sheet the same regardless of the swing direction of the spray nozzle, it is possible to swing the spray nozzle exactly as desired and It is possible to uniformly etch the surface to be etched and improve the etching quality.

In the etching apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the amount of the etching liquid sprayed from the spray nozzle onto the main surface of the thin metal plate is substantially uniform regardless of the swing angle position of the spray nozzle, so that uniform etching is performed. It can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the invention and showing a schematic configuration of a swing mechanism for swinging a spray nozzle of a spray pipe of an etching apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a control method in the swing mechanism shown in FIG. 1, and is a diagram showing an example of a relationship between a swing angle and a swing speed of a spray nozzle.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a more specific configuration example of a swing mechanism of a spray nozzle of a spray pipe.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a schematic configuration of a conventional swing mechanism of a spray nozzle of a spray pipe.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a problem in the conventional swing mechanism, and is a schematic view of the swing mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between a rotation angle of a circular cam plate and a swing angle of a spray nozzle of a spray pipe in a conventional swing mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

3,20 spray pipe 4 spray nozzles 8 Long metal sheet 10, 26 Servo motor 12 Drive side swing member 14 Swing member 16 Link members 18 Controller 22 Swing plate 30 Drive side swing plate 32-46 link mechanism

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-125701 (JP, A) JP-A-5-9755 (JP, A) JP-A-5-59576 (JP, A) Actually open HEI 6-62533 (JP , U) Actual Kaihei 6-61964 (JP, U) Japanese Patent Publication 3-77276 (JP, B2) Actual Public Sho 63-42140 (JP, Y2) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB) Name) C23F 1/08 C23F 1/00 H01J 9/14 H01L 23/50

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A conveyance means for conveying a long metal thin plate having a resist film having a predetermined pattern formed on its main surface in the longitudinal direction while horizontally supporting it, and a conveying means arranged along the longitudinal direction of the metal thin plate. And a spray pipe rotatably supported so as to swing along a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the thin metal plate, the spray pipe being provided with a spray nozzle for spraying an etching solution onto the main surface of the thin metal plate. In an etching apparatus provided with a swinging mechanism for swinging the spray nozzle by swinging the spray nozzle back and forth, the swinging mechanism is configured such that one end is fixed to the spray pipe and an axis of the spray pipe is fixed. A swing member that swings in a plane that is orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe as a center, and is disposed so as to be orthogonal to the length direction of the spray pipe. A drive-side swing member that is swingably supported in a plane orthogonal to the length direction, and one end of this drive-side swing member is fixed, and the drive-side swing member reciprocates about that one end. A swing drive means for rotating and swinging, and the other end of the swing member and the other end of the drive side swing member are connected to swing the swing motion of the drive side swing member. An etching apparatus comprising: a link mechanism that transmits to a member to swing the swing member. 2. The relationship between the swing angle and the swing speed of the spray nozzle of the spray pipe has a sine wave characteristic, and the etching solution is directed from the spray nozzle in a direction orthogonal to the main surface of the thin metal plate. 2. The etching apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising control means for controlling the swing drive means so that the absolute value of the swing speed of the spray pipe is maximized when is sprayed.