JP4553139B2 - Capacitor element material mounting apparatus and capacitor element manufacturing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a capacitor element material mounting apparatus and a capacitor element manufacturing method, and more particularly, in a capacitor element manufacturing apparatus in which a plurality of capacitor element materials are attached to a support member and processed at once. The present invention relates to a mounting device for mounting a material for use and a method for manufacturing a capacitor element using the device.

  A solid electrolytic capacitor using a conductive polymer has a dielectric oxide film 2 formed on an anode substrate 1 and a conductive polymer formed on the dielectric oxide film 2 as shown in a sectional view in FIG. The solid electrolyte layer 4 has a basic structure (solid electrolytic capacitor element) in which a conductive paste or the like is further attached as necessary. Masking 3 is provided between the anode part (anode base part having no solid electrolyte) and the cathode part (conductor layer containing a conductive polymer) to insulate the negative and positive electrode parts.

  Here, as a method for manufacturing a capacitor element, there is known a method in which a wide metal foil is used, and the sides thereof are punched into a comb shape to form a large number of protruding portions. After these protrusions have undergone processing necessary for manufacturing a solid electrolytic capacitor, they are separated from the metal foil body to form capacitor elements (for example, JP-A-5-166681; Patent Document 1). However, with this method, it is difficult to obtain sufficient processing accuracy, and productivity is low.

  On the other hand, there is known an apparatus that uses a strip-shaped metal foil as a raw material, cuts it according to a desired length, attaches a plurality of foil pieces to a support member, and processes them collectively (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-2002). No. 203756; Patent Document 2). This manufacturing apparatus has an advantage that a capacitor element can be manufactured with high productivity because a rectangular metal foil is continuously cut out from a strip-shaped metal foil.

In the apparatus of Patent Document 2, it is necessary to attach a large amount of foil pieces to the support member. In addition, if there is a positional shift during the attachment of the foil pieces, the processing may be nonuniform for each foil piece. In the production of a multilayer capacitor, the foil pieces are removed from the support member after being processed and sequentially laminated. However, the positional deviation when the foil pieces are attached may cause the positional deviation of the foil pieces during lamination. For this reason, the technique which attaches a lot of foil pieces to a supporting member efficiently and correctly was calculated | required.
JP-A-5-166681 JP 2002-203756 A

  The present invention is intended to solve the above-described problem, and in a capacitor element manufacturing apparatus in which a plurality of capacitor element materials are attached to a support member and collectively processed, the plurality of capacitor element materials are efficiently and accurately applied to the support member. An attachment device for attaching to a capacitor and a method of manufacturing a capacitor element using the device are provided.

That is, the present invention provides a capacitor element material mounting apparatus having the following configuration.
1. A device for attaching a plurality of capacitor element materials to a support member at a predetermined interval, wherein the support member restricts movement of the support member in a predetermined direction, and the support member in a direction allowed by the guide unit. Urging means for urging the urging means, stopping means for abutting or engaging with the urging support member to stop its movement, driving means for moving the stopping means by a predetermined amount along the urging direction, and support member A capacitor element material attaching apparatus, comprising: an attachment means for attaching the capacitor element material to the support member when the movement of the capacitor element is stopped by the stop means.
2. 2. The capacitor element according to 1, wherein the urging unit includes a rotary drive unit capable of idling when receiving a predetermined deterrence force, and a torque propagation unit that propagates torque generated by the drive unit to the support member. Material attachment device.
3. 3. The capacitor element material attaching device according to 1 or 2, wherein the driving means for moving the stopping means by a predetermined amount along the urging direction includes a ball screw.
4). 4. The capacitor element material attaching device according to any one of the above items 1 to 3, wherein the capacitor element material is aluminum, tantalum, niobium, titanium, zirconium, or an alloy containing these.
5). The manufacturing method of the capacitor | condenser element which uses the capacitor | condenser element material attachment apparatus in any one of said 1-4.

  According to the capacitor element material attaching apparatus of the present invention, a large amount of capacitor element material can be efficiently and accurately attached to the support member, thereby improving the productivity and quality of the capacitor. In particular, in the production of multilayer capacitors, the problem of misalignment does not occur even if fine positioning is not performed at the time of lamination, so that the yield and quality of the multilayer capacitors are improved.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the capacitor element material attaching apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for attaching a plurality of capacitor element materials to a support member at a predetermined interval. Guide means for restricting the movement to a predetermined direction, urging means for urging the support member in a direction allowed by the guide means, and stop for abutting or engaging with the urged support member to stop its movement Means for moving the stop means by a predetermined amount along the guide direction, and attachment means for attaching the capacitor element material to the support member when the movement of the support member is stopped by the stop means. To do.

The operation of the above apparatus will be described as follows.
As a whole, the capacitor element material attaching mechanism includes a cassette that holds a plurality of support members (original plates), a feeding device that sends a predetermined number of support members from the cassette to the capacitor element material attach device, and a capacitor element material attach device ( (Invention), including a receiving device for receiving and holding the support member to which the capacitor element material is attached.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the rigid support member 8 delivered from the delivery device is guided by the guide means 11 and is sent to the attachment device 10 while being urged in a predetermined direction (in the direction of the arrow in the figure). However, as shown in FIG. 2A, the stop means 21 is located on the support surface 12, and the movement of the support member 8 is suppressed by the stop surface 22 of the stop means 21, and stops at a predetermined position. To do. In this state, the capacitor element material (70a) is attached to the support member 8 (FIGS. 2A to 2B).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2C, the stopping means 21 is moved along the guide direction by a predetermined distance d by the driving means 31. Also during this time, since the support member 8 is urged by the urging means, the support member 8 follows the movement of the stop means 21 and moves in the urging direction. The stop means 21 stops when it moves a predetermined distance, and as a result, the movement of the support member 8 also stops. In this state, the capacitor element material (70b) is attached to the support member 8. Since the support member 8 is usually rigid, the distance between the attachment positions of the capacitor element material (70a) and the capacitor element material (70b) is also d.

Similarly, the support member moves on the guide means, and the capacitor element material is attached at each stop point. As a result, n capacitor element materials (70a to 70n) are attached.
At this point, the stopping means 21 is removed from the support surface 12. Since the supporting member is urged by the driving means, when the stopping means is removed, it quickly moves in the urging direction and is removed from the attachment area. Therefore, according to the apparatus of the present invention, the capacitor element material can be mounted on the support member with high speed and accuracy.

Hereafter, each part which comprises this invention is demonstrated.
The guide means 11 is a means for guiding the support member so that the support member moves only in a predetermined direction (usually coincides with the biasing direction). Usually, the guide means comprises a substantially horizontal support surface and a structural member that is disposed on the support surface and sandwiches the support member from the side. The support surface is constituted by, for example, a plate or a plurality of cylindrical members or rollers arranged closely. As shown in FIG. 2, the structural member for sandwiching the support member may be a plurality of rollers provided perpendicular to the support surface, or a columnar member or plate is provided in a fence shape or wall shape instead of the roller. It may be a thing. In the figure, for convenience, only six rollers are illustrated, but any number of rollers useful for guiding the movement of the support member 8 on the support surface 12 may be provided at necessary positions.

  The biasing means is means for driving the support member in the space defined by the guide means. In the present invention, when the movement of the support member is restrained by the stop means, the biasing means stops without exceeding its restraining force. It is means for moving the support member following the movement of the means. Any means (for example, a spring) can be used as the urging means as long as it fulfills the above-described function. However, in the present invention, a rotary drive capable of idling when receiving a predetermined deterring force. It is preferable to use means. Such a drive means includes a drive source such as a motor, a clutch having a torque control function that outputs a constant torque when connected to the drive source, and a contact member such as a roller that transmits a constant torque obtained from the clutch to the support member. It is. As the torque control clutch, for example, a hysteresis clutch conventionally used for speed control by electromagnetic connection can be used.

  Although the urging means is not specifically shown in FIG. 1, when the above-mentioned guide means is the roller 11, the above-described constant torque may be propagated to the roller 11, or the constant-torque is driven from above in the figure. Another roller may be contacted. Further, a roller or the like driven with a constant torque may be provided on the support surface 12.

  Alternatively, an appropriate contact member (for example, a rectangular shape, a T shape, a Y shape, a U shape, etc.) that contacts the rear end surface (right end in the drawing) of the support member and pushes it leftward. A member that contacts the rear end surface of the support member) may be provided on the support surface, and the constant torque may be propagated to the support member. However, in this case, the contact member is removed from the support surface 12 after the first support member is sent out to the receiving device so as not to obstruct the entry of the support member 8 to be processed next, and the rear end surface side of the next support member To be located. Alternatively, a plurality of support members may be delivered on the support surface, the constant torque may be propagated to any one of them, and a biasing force may be indirectly applied to the leading support member.

  The stop means 21 can stop the support member 8 against the urging force applied to the support member 8 and can move the stop surface by a predetermined amount by a drive means 31 described later. The stop surface 22 may be a flat surface as shown in FIG. 1, but preferably has an outer shape for receiving it in accordance with the shape of the support member 8. The stop means 21 may have a mechanism for confirming the position of the support member end face and adjusting the distance between the reference position of the stop means and the support member end face position. For example, various photosensors can be used to check the position of the end surface of the support member.

  The drive means 31 for moving the stop means by a predetermined amount along the guide direction can be variously configured. For example, the driving force obtained from the stepping motor can be transmitted to the roller, and the movement can be performed by bringing the roller into contact with the stopping means. Alternatively, a rack gear may be provided in the stopping means, and the driving force obtained from the stepping motor may be transmitted via the gear. However, in the present invention, the stopping means is constantly urged by the support member. For this reason, in the case of adopting a system in which the roller is brought into contact with the stopping means, when the roller surface is worn or when contaminants such as oil enter between the roller and the stopping means, the stopping means 21 is biased. There is a possibility that it will lose its position. Such a problem is unlikely to occur in the system that transmits the driving force via the gear, but in order to perform fine position adjustment, the pitch of the rack gear has to be reduced, and there is a problem in management, resulting in an increase in cost. There is.

For this reason, the ball screw 31 is used in a preferred embodiment of the present invention. In this configuration, accurate positioning is performed by setting the rotation of a stepping motor (not shown) according to a desired parallel movement distance. Further, since the moving distance can be arbitrarily adjusted, the attachment position of the capacitor element material on the support member can be arbitrarily set as required. Specifically, the attachment position of the capacitor element material can be arbitrarily set by changing the number of pulses of the stepping motor.
In order to remove the stop means from the guide means, the stop means is lifted upward relative to the guide surface or moved laterally from the guide surface. When the drive means is engaged with the stop means, these may be moved together.

  As long as the above features are included, the present invention includes any capacitor element material attached to the support member. The attachment means for attaching the capacitor element material to the support member depends on the shape and form of the element material to be attached. For example, when the capacitor element material is a metal foil, as shown in FIG. The raw foil 60 is held in the vicinity of the support member, and a predetermined length of metal foil is attached to the support member by a cutting device and a joining device (not shown). The cutting device is known, and for example, the device proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-203756 can be used. In addition, for example, welding, soldering, adhesion, or the like can be used for attaching the metal foil to the support member. However, the cutting device and the joining device may adopt other configurations.

  The material for the capacitor element is not particularly limited, but is generally a metal having a valve action when applied to a method of manufacturing a solid electrolytic capacitor. The metal having a valve action that can be used in the present invention is a simple metal such as aluminum, tantalum, niobium, titanium, zirconium, magnesium, silicon, or an alloy thereof. The small piece may be a single or alloy metal plate (including ribbon, foil, etc.), a porous sintered body, a plate surface-treated with etching or the like, a wire, etc. is there. Examples of the porous form include forms of a porous molded body such as an etched product of a rolled foil and a fine powder sintered body.

  The thickness of the capacitor element material varies depending on the purpose of use, but a foil (particularly a chemical conversion foil) having a thickness of about 40 to 300 μm is used. In order to obtain a thin solid electrolytic capacitor, for example, an aluminum foil (especially a chemical conversion foil) having a thickness of 80 to 250 μm is used, and the maximum height of the element provided with the solid electrolytic capacitor is 250 μm or less. Is preferred.

The present invention includes a method for manufacturing a capacitor element using the above-described apparatus. That is, it includes a method of collectively performing various processes for manufacturing a capacitor element after attaching a plurality of capacitor element materials to a support member using the apparatus of the present invention.
Typically, such treatment includes chemical conversion treatment for forming a dielectric film, formation of a conductor layer, provision of a conductor layer for connection between the conductor layer and the electrode, and the like. The method for manufacturing the capacitor element is, for example, as follows.

  First, a dielectric oxide film is formed and / or repaired by immersing the capacitor element material in an electrolytic solution in a state of being attached to a support member and energizing it, so that a conductor layer is formed at a predetermined position on the dielectric film. For example, in the case where the conductive layer is a conductive polymer, a treatment necessary for immersion in the monomer and polymerization of the monomer (attachment of an oxidizing agent and / or energization) is performed. Furthermore, it is immersed in a conductive paste and / or applied as necessary. Other treatments such as formation of a masking layer for ensuring insulation between the conductor layer and the anode substrate (usually the capacitor element material itself) may be performed.

  After these processes are performed to form the capacitor element structure shown in FIG. 1 as an example, the capacitor element material is removed from the support member to form individual independent capacitor elements. Usually, the capacitor element material is cut along the edge of the support member, fixed onto a negative and positive electrode substrate (for example, a lead frame) by welding or soldering, and further sealed with resin to form a capacitor chip. .

  In the mounting device of the present invention, the accuracy during mounting is very high. For example, the attachment error can be increased to about ± 0.15 mm. For this reason, even when the capacitor element is detached from the support member and attached to the lead frame or the like, the capacitor element can be attached with high accuracy without using any special positioning means.

  It is also useful for the production of multilayer capacitors. In other words, when manufacturing a multilayer capacitor by stacking capacitor elements, if the position of each element in the lateral direction (direction perpendicular to the stacking direction) is shifted, the electrical characteristics, shape, and sealing may be adversely affected. However, if the capacitor element manufacturing method using the apparatus of the present invention is used, it is possible to perform lamination with high accuracy without using any special positioning means.

  As described above, the attachment device of the present invention can attach a plurality of capacitor element materials to the support member with high accuracy, and is thus useful as a method for manufacturing a capacitor having excellent electrical characteristics. In the above description of the manufacturing method, a solid electrolytic capacitor using a conductive polymer (solid electrolyte) layer has been described as an example. However, the apparatus of the present invention is not limited to a solid electrolytic capacitor, but various capacitor elements, particularly laminated layers. It can be used in the production line of capacitor elements used for various types of capacitors.

It is sectional drawing which shows the basic structure of a solid electrolytic capacitor element. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline of the apparatus for capacitor | condenser element material attachment by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Anode part area | region 2 Cathode part area | region 3 Masking material 4 Porous layer 10 Capacitor element material attachment apparatus 11 Guide means 12 Support surface 21 Stop means 22 Stop surface 31 Drive means (ball screw)
60 Raw foil 70a-70n Capacitor element material

Claims (5)

  A device for attaching a plurality of capacitor element materials to a support member at a predetermined interval, wherein the support member restricts movement of the support member in a predetermined direction, and the support member in a direction allowed by the guide unit. Urging means for urging the urging means, stopping means for abutting or engaging with the urging support member to stop its movement, driving means for moving the stopping means by a predetermined amount along the urging direction, and support member A capacitor element material attaching device, comprising: an attachment means for attaching the capacitor element material to the support member when the movement of the capacitor element is stopped by the stop means.   2. The capacitor element according to claim 1, wherein the urging unit includes a rotary drive unit that is capable of idling when receiving a predetermined deterrence force, and a torque propagation unit that propagates torque generated by the drive unit to the support member. Material mounting equipment.   3. The capacitor element material attaching device according to claim 1, wherein the driving means for moving the stopping means by a predetermined amount along the biasing direction includes a ball screw.   The capacitor element material mounting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the capacitor element material is aluminum, tantalum, niobium, titanium, zirconium, or an alloy containing these. The manufacturing method of the capacitor | condenser element which uses the capacitor | condenser element material attachment apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4.

Images