JP4755570B2 - Conveying apparatus and workpiece processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece conveying device such as a lead frame and a workpiece processing method using the conveying device. More specifically, the workpiece can be conveyed without being misaligned, and handling of workpieces can be easily changed. The present invention relates to a conveying apparatus and a workpiece processing method.

When manufacturing a lead frame by etching, a method of transporting and manufacturing a long workpiece in an etching bath, and transporting and manufacturing a workpiece formed on each large substrate in an etching bath. There is a method (single wafer method) (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
FIG. 6A is a schematic view of an apparatus for manufacturing a lead frame by an etching method while conveying a long workpiece. The workpiece 15 is carried into the processing tank 10 from the roll body 12 arranged on one side of the processing tank 10, and the product 16 etched through the processing tank 10 is wound up by the roll body 13 on the other side. ing.
FIG. 6B shows a configuration in the etching tank 10a. The nozzles 11 are arranged above and below the workpiece 15, and when the workpiece 15 is conveyed, an etching solution is sprayed toward the workpiece 15. The workpiece 15 is etched.

As a method of conveying a long workpiece, a method of conveying a workpiece while stretching the workpiece in the thickness direction by a roll is performed. In the case of a single wafer type, a large number of workpieces are arranged in parallel. The workpieces are successively supplied onto the individually arranged rollers and conveyed by being forward-fed by the rollers. Patent Documents 3 and 4 include a configuration in which a roller is brought into contact with a portion that is not used in the final product, such as a side edge portion of a workpiece when a long workpiece is conveyed, or a side edge portion of a long body. A configuration is described in which a pair of rollers is used to clamp and transport in the thickness direction.
JP-A-7-150370 JP 2001-181864 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-20986 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-20987

  In an apparatus that transports a long workpiece and performs processing such as etching, the workpiece is processed while it is continuously transported. Therefore, when replacing the leadframe (workpiece) to be processed, after the preceding workpiece, A dummy work formed to a predetermined length is connected to the end, and a new work to be replaced is connected to the rear end of the dummy work. The dummy work sets the length so that the dummy work exists in the processing tank 10 when the preceding work passes through the processing tank 10 and stops the work when the processing is completed. A workpiece to be newly replaced is connected to the end of the dummy workpiece extending from the processing tank 10, and the conveyance is newly started to process the workpiece.

The reason why the dummy workpiece is connected to the preceding workpiece to process the next workpiece is very complicated because the operation of setting the workpiece in the processing tank 10 or the transfer device is a manual operation. Therefore, usually, only when the processing apparatus is newly installed, the work is manually passed through the processing tank 10 and the transfer device, and once the work can be continuously transferred, the dummy work is used. By doing this, the next new workpiece is transported following the preceding workpiece without the operation of setting the workpiece. The reason for using a dummy workpiece is that, since chemicals are used in an etching treatment tank or the like, it is not preferable to perform an operation of manually setting the workpiece every time the product type is changed.
In the process of processing a long work in the lead frame manufacturing process, a process of attaching a photosensitive resist film to the work, a process of exposing the work, a process of developing the resist, and a process of etching the work And a step of stripping the resist. A method of conveying a long workpiece is not limited to an etching process, and is applied to various processes.

FIG. 6B illustrates a state where a dummy workpiece 17 is attached to the rear end of the workpiece 15. The dummy workpiece 17 is not related to the product at all, and preparing the dummy workpiece 17 or connecting the dummy workpiece 17 to the workpiece 15 is a waste of material costs and manufacturing work.
In addition, when workpieces are replaced, the etching conditions (work transfer speed, etchant hydraulic pressure, etc.) differ slightly depending on the product, so etching while transporting the workpiece until the specified dimensional accuracy is obtained by etching. Work to adjust by changing the conditions. FIG. 6C shows a state in which a dummy workpiece 17 is connected to the workpiece 15 and another workpiece 18 is connected and etched. For the newly connected workpiece 18, the portion of the workpiece transferred until the etching conditions are stabilized becomes a defective product 18 a, and also in this respect, the manufacturing cost is wasted.

In the conventional lead frame processing apparatus, a basic apparatus configuration includes an apparatus that continuously conveys and processes long workpieces, and an apparatus that conveys and processes workpieces one by one by a single wafer type. Because they are different, they are configured as separate devices.
In the case of a device that manufactures a lead frame using a long workpiece, there is an advantage that it can be suitably applied to mass production. On the other hand, problems such as complicated switching of products due to the circumstances described above, and a large manufacturing loss occur. There is a problem of doing. On the other hand, the single-wafer system has the advantage that it is suitable for low-volume production of many varieties, but the stability of processing dimensions is inferior to that of using long workpieces and is not suitable for mass production. There is a problem that productivity is inferior to a long workpiece.

  Therefore, conventionally, the actual situation is to select and manufacture a device that uses a long workpiece and a single-wafer type device according to the product. However, in recent years, since the tendency to produce a variety of products in small quantities has increased, there is a need for an apparatus configuration that can easily switch between types even in an apparatus that uses long workpieces and can reduce manufacturing costs. In addition, if the apparatus configuration can be used for a single wafer type, manufacturing equipment can be made more efficient.

  The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and even when a long workpiece is transported and processed, it can be processed without using a dummy workpiece. It is an object of the present invention to provide a transport device and a workpiece processing method that can suppress the waste of workpieces and can suitably cope with low-volume production of various products.

The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object.
That is, a workpiece transport device that transports a workpiece to be transported with a guide plate formed wider than the workpiece at the front end of the workpiece destination side together with the guide plate, and supports the workpiece and supports the workpiece. A feed roller that feeds forward and a clamp roller that is disposed at a position that does not interfere with the feed position of the workpiece and clamps the guide plate in the thickness direction to feed the guide plate forward. .

In addition, the clamp roller is disposed at a position passing through both side edges in the width direction of the guide plate, so that the guide plate can be reliably clamped and fed forward.
In addition, a guide roller that guides both side edges of the guide plate and regulates the position in the width direction when the guide plate is transported can be positioned more accurately. The workpiece can be conveyed while being aligned with a predetermined conveyance position.

  Also, a processing method of transporting a work in a processing apparatus by a transporting device and performing a required processing on the work, the guide plate formed wider than the work at the front end on the destination side of the work Is a transport roller that supports the work and feeds the work in a detachable manner so as to be detachably attached so as to be positioned on the outer side in the width direction from both side edges of the work, and a transport position of the work It is arranged at a position passing through both side edges of the guide plate that does not interfere, and is set in a transport device that includes a clamp roller that clamps the guide plate in the thickness direction and feeds the guide plate forward. By feeding the guide plate forward in the straight direction, the workpiece is processed by passing through the processing apparatus while aligning the workpiece with a predetermined transport position.

  In addition, the transport device includes a guide roller that guides both side edges of the guide plate and regulates a position in the width direction when the guide plate is transported, and the position of the guide plate in the width direction by the guide roller. By processing the workpiece by feeding the guide plate forward while regulating the workpiece, the workpiece can be further processed by accurately aligning and conveying the workpiece to the conveyance position. Also, a transport roller that transports the work by attaching a guide plate having a front end in the feed direction having an arc shape or a taper shape to the work, and aligning and transporting the work to a predetermined transport position by the guide plate. The guide plates can be smoothly transferred between them, and the work can be processed by smoothly transporting the work.

  According to the transport device of the present invention, the work can be transported while guiding the transport position of the work by the guide plate, and the work can be predetermined regardless of whether it is a long work or a single wafer work. The workpiece can be processed accurately by aligning and transporting the transport positions. In addition, since the work is transported as being guided by the guide plate, the work is transported by itself without attaching a dummy work, and a required process is performed.

(Conveyor configuration)
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a conveying apparatus according to the present invention, and shows an example of an apparatus for conveying a workpiece 20 formed in a strip-like long body in a treatment tank 10. FIG. 1A is a plan view showing a configuration of a transfer device in the processing tank 10 and a state in which the workpiece 20 is transferred by the transfer device, and FIG. 1B is a side view.
In the transport device of this embodiment, a guide plate 30 formed wider than the work 20 is attached to the front end of the work 20 formed in a belt shape, and the transport direction of the work 20 is positioned by the guide plate 30. It can be transported.

  The transport device includes a transport roller 40 that supports and feeds the workpiece 20 and the guide plate 30, a clamp roller 50 that clamps a side edge portion of the guide plate 30 in the thickness direction, and feeds the guide plate 30 forward, and a guide. And a guide roller 60 that guides the side surface of the plate 30 and regulates the position in the width direction of the guide plate 30 during conveyance.

In order to support and convey the workpiece 20, a plurality of the conveyance rollers 40 are arranged in parallel over the entire length of the treatment tank 10 in the conveyance direction at a predetermined interval in parallel. The conveyance roller 40 is juxtaposed on the lower surface side of the workpiece 20 and the guide plate 30, and the workpiece 20 and the guide plate 30 are supplied onto the conveyance roller 40, supported by the conveyance roller 40 and conveyed.
The transport roller 40 is provided with a drive mechanism that drives the transport roller 40 to rotate in one direction. All of the transport rollers 40 arranged in parallel can be linked to the drive mechanism, or the transport rollers 40 can be linked to the drive mechanism for every plurality of the transport rollers 40, and the transport rollers 40 not linked to the drive mechanism can be free. It can also be a roller.

The form of the roller used for the conveying roller 40 is not particularly limited. For example, a roller formed in a simple cylindrical shape can be used, or a crown-shaped roller can be used to prevent the workpiece 20 from meandering. Further, instead of supporting the workpiece 20 at the full width, a roller provided with a roller body at a predetermined position is used so as to support a portion not used in the final product, such as both side edges of the workpiece and the center position in the width direction of the workpiece. You can also.
Since the conveying apparatus of this embodiment is based on the premise that the workpiece 20 having various width dimensions is conveyed, the conveying roller 40 is configured to support the workpiece 20 over the entire width of the roller (the total length in the axial direction) like a cylinder. It is better to use one.
Further, when the processing tank 10 is an etching tank, an escape groove for allowing the etching solution to flow down is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller so that the etching solution radiated toward the workpiece 20 does not stay on the peripheral surface of the conveying roller 40. It is also effective to provide it.

The clamp roller 50 that forwards the guide plate 30 does not interfere with the workpiece 20, clamps only the guide plate 30 in the thickness direction, and forwards the guide plate 30 in conjunction with the drive mechanism.
Since the clamp roller 50 is disposed so as not to interfere with the workpiece 20, the guide plate 30 is formed wider than the workpiece 20, and the guide plates are attached to the workpiece 20 rather than the side edges of the workpiece 20 with the guide plates 30 attached. 30 so that both side edge portions are positioned outward in the width direction, and the position where the clamp roller 50 passes over the guide plate 30 is set to the position where it passes through the side edge portion of the guide plate 30 that does not interfere with the workpiece 20. To do.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the planar positional relationship between the clamp roller 50, the guide plate 30, and the workpiece 20. The guide plate 30 is formed wider than the workpiece 20, and the clamp roller 50 is provided in a position that does not interfere with the side edge of the workpiece 20 and passes over the vicinity of the side edge of the guide plate 30. The workpiece 20 is guided by the guide plate 30 and supported and conveyed by the conveyance roller 40, but the workpiece 20 is conveyed without interfering with the clamp roller 50. The guide roller 60 abuts against the side surface of the guide plate 30 by an urging means such as a spring and acts to regulate the position in the width direction when the guide plate 30 is conveyed.

  FIG. 3 shows an enlarged side arrangement of the clamp roller 50 and the guide plate 30. The clamp rollers 50 are provided one by one in the vertical direction and are urged by a spring or the like so as to be movable in the vertical direction and facing each other. In the part where the guide plate 30 passes, the guide plate 30 is sandwiched by the clamp roller 50, and the guide plate 30 is fed forward by the rotation of the clamp roller 50 being driven. The clamp rollers 50 are not limited to a configuration in which a pair of clamp rollers 50 are provided on the top and bottom, and a plurality of clamp rollers 50 may be provided on the top and bottom as long as the guide plates 30 are clamped. Alternatively, one of the upper and lower clamp rollers 50 may be connected to a drive mechanism that rotationally drives the clamp roller 50, and the other may be a free roller.

The clamp roller 50 acts to advance the guide plate 30 so as to advance straight. In order to allow the guide plate 30 to go straight with high accuracy, the direction and mounting position of the drive shaft (support shaft) of the clamp roller 50 should be adjusted with high accuracy, and the drive shaft of the clamp roller 50 may be distorted or bent. It is necessary not to be struck.
By attaching the clamp roller 50 movably in the vertical direction, it becomes possible to perform forward feeding using the guide plates 30 having different thicknesses.

In the present embodiment, the arrangement interval of the clamp rollers 50 is set so that when the guide plate 30 passes through the clamp roller 50, a maximum of two clamp rollers 50 are positioned in the front-rear direction on the guide plate 30. In the present embodiment, the guide plate 30 is conveyed while at least one clamp roller 50 is always in contact with the guide plate 30.
The guide plate 30 can also be transported by the transport roller 40. Therefore, it is possible to further increase the arrangement interval of the clamp rollers 50 and use both the operation of conveying the guide plate 30 by the conveyance roller 40 and the operation of conveying the guide plate 30 by the clamp roller 50.

Moreover, in this embodiment, it was set as the structure which arrange | positions the two conveyance rollers 40 in the middle of the clamp roller 50 adjacent in the conveyance direction. This is because the clamp roller 50 and the conveyance roller 40 are efficiently arranged in the space of the processing tank 10, and the conveyance operation of the guide plate 30 by the clamp roller 50 and the conveyance operation of the workpiece 20 by the conveyance roller 40 are made even. This is to ensure that
In order to make the arrangement interval of the conveyance rollers 40 more uniform, the arrangement interval of the clamp rollers 50 is wider than that of the embodiment, and the apparatus configuration is complicated. 40 should be arranged. Note that the clamp roller 50 and the conveyance roller 40 do not have to be arranged at equal intervals. Of course, it is possible to adopt a configuration in which the respective arrangement intervals are appropriately set in consideration of the smooth transfer of the workpiece 20 and the guide plate 30.

The guide roller 60 is provided to prevent the guide plate 30 from being displaced in the width direction by regulating the position of the side edge portion of the guide plate 30 when the guide plate 30 is conveyed.
As shown in FIG. 3, the guide roller 60 includes a guide shaft 60 a that abuts on the side surface of the guide plate 30 and restricts the position of the guide plate 30, and flange portions 60 b provided at both ends of the guide shaft 60 a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the guide rollers 60 are arranged in advance so as to be aligned with both side edge positions in the conveyance direction (traveling direction) of the guide plate 30, and the side positions of the guide plate 30 when the guide plate 30 is conveyed. To regulate. In the present embodiment, the guide roller 60 is provided by being biased inward so as to be slightly movable in the width direction of the guide plate 30 (direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the guide plate 30). As a result, the guide shaft 60a comes into contact with the side surface of the guide plate 30 to ensure the positioning of the guide plate 30 and to prevent the movement of the guide plate 30 from being hindered. Since the guide roller 60 is also arranged in accordance with the side edge position of the guide plate 30, it does not interfere with the workpiece 20 conveyed by the conveyance roller 40.

(Operation of transport device)
When supplying the workpiece 20, the conveyance device according to the present invention first attaches the guide plate 30 to the front end of the workpiece 20 on the destination side, and supplies the workpiece 20 together with the guide plate 30 to the conveyance device.
In the present embodiment, the guide plate 30 is attached to the workpiece 20 by a method of bonding the workpiece 20 to the guide plate 30 using the adhesive films 32a and 32b. When the workpiece 20 is bonded to the guide plate 30, the guide plate 30 and the workpiece 20 are accurately positioned using a jig, and the adhesive films 32a and 32b are bonded in the positioned state. As shown in FIG. 3, adhesive films 32 a and 32 b are bonded between the end of the workpiece 20 and the surface of the guide plate 30 on the front and back surfaces of the guide plate 30.

  As materials, adhesives, and pressure-sensitive adhesives for the adhesive films 32a and 32b, materials are appropriately selected according to the processing content of the workpiece 20. For example, when the processing tank 10 is an etching apparatus, an adhesive film, an adhesive, or an adhesive that is not affected by the etching solution is used. Further, the guide plate 30 may be made of a suitable material. For example, in this embodiment, a stainless steel plate that is not attacked by the etching solution is used for the guide plate 30 because it is used for an etching bath. In addition to a metal material such as stainless steel, a resin plate or the like can be used.

In FIG. 4, the example which provided the conveying apparatus mentioned above in the processing tank 10 for an etching was shown as schematic structure. In this example, the operation of the transfer device (workpiece processing method) will be described.
When the guide plate 30 is attached to the workpiece 20, the guide plate 30 is fed from the entrance of the processing tank 10 with the guide plate 30 facing forward. The guide plate 30 is clamped in the thickness direction by the clamp roller 50 and fed forward, and the workpiece 20 is introduced into the processing tank 10 together with the guide plate 30. The guide plate 30 is fed forward by the action of the clamp roller 50, and the work 20 is supported by the transport roller 40 and transported.

  The clamp roller 50 has a function of moving the guide plate 30 forward and a function of moving the guide plate 30 straight, and the work 20 is guided by the guide plate 30 so that the work 20 is conveyed without being displaced on the normal position. By restricting the position of the guide plate 30 in the width direction by the guide roller 60, the guide plate 30 is transported in a more accurately positioned state, and the workpiece 20 is transported accurately.

  According to the transport apparatus of the present embodiment, the work plate 20 is positioned at a predetermined position by moving the guide plate 30 straightly on the normal position in the processing tank 10, and the work 20 is positioned at the normal position in the processing tank 10. It can be transported. After the guide plate 30 passes through the processing tank 10 and is unloaded from the outlet, the workpiece 20 is continuously transferred by the transfer device. By aligning the workpiece 20 to the regular position by the guide plate 30, the workpiece 20 is transported thereafter while maintaining the regular position.

  According to the method of aligning and conveying the workpiece 20 in the processing tank 10 using the guide plate 30 of the present embodiment, after the processing of the previous workpiece is completed, the guide plate 30 is attached to the next workpiece, The required etching process can be performed by passing the treatment tank 10 in the same manner. In other words, the guide plate 30 serves as a lead for positioning the transfer position of the workpiece 20. When the guide plate 30 is unloaded from the processing tank 10 and is transferred by the workpiece 20 itself, the guide plate 30 guides the workpiece 20. The plate 30 can be removed and attached to another workpiece 20 for use. After the work 20 removes the guide plate 30, the end of the work 20 is attached to a roll body, and the work 20 is wound up in a roll shape sequentially.

  The guide plate 30 is forward-fed by the clamp roller 50 separately from the transport roller 40 used for transporting the workpiece 20, and the clamp roller 50 is disposed at a position where it does not interfere with the workpiece 20. Therefore, the clamp roller 50 can be configured as a dedicated action for causing the guide plate 30 to move straight forward accurately. Further, the guide roller 60 can be configured for the purpose of accurately guiding and transferring the guide plate 30 irrespective of the workpiece 20.

According to the method of conveying using the guide plate 30, even when a new workpiece is exchanged, the workpiece is self-propelled and automatically exchanged simply by attaching the guide plate 30 to the workpiece and placing it on the processing tank 10. Therefore, there is no need to reset the work manually. Further, it is not necessary to attach a dummy work to the rear end of the long work as in the prior art.
The operation of attaching and detaching the guide plate 30 to and from the work is easy, and the work for exchanging the work is also easy.

  The conveying apparatus of the present embodiment has no limitation on the length of the workpiece 20 and can be applied to a long body or a short workpiece such as a single wafer type. Since the length of the workpiece does not affect the workpiece conveyance process, the workpiece can be easily used when a small-lot product is manufactured using a workpiece having a relatively short length. That is, by selecting a workpiece to be used, it can be suitably used for manufacturing a small variety of products such as a conventional single wafer processing apparatus. In other words, the conveyance device of the present embodiment can be used for both a long workpiece and a single-wafer workpiece.

  When processing single-wafer workpieces, the workpieces should be inclined with respect to the axial direction of the transport rollers so that the workpieces do not fall from the transport rollers and can be transferred smoothly between the transport rollers. A method of supplying and conveying is common. In the case of this embodiment, by attaching the guide plate to the workpiece, it is not necessary to arrange the workpiece obliquely with respect to the axial direction of the conveying roller, and it can be arranged and conveyed in parallel to the axial direction of the conveying roller. it can.

  As described above, in the case of the etching process, it is necessary to determine the etching conditions when changing the product type. However, in the case of the transfer device of the present embodiment, the test is performed while the long workpiece is transferred as it is. There is no need, and during the test, a workpiece having a length necessary for the test can be conveyed and tested, so that the workpiece is not wasted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the guide plate 30 used in the present embodiment has a front end portion in an arc shape. Thus, when the front end portion of the guide plate 30 has an arc shape, the contact resistance with the transport roller 40 can be reduced, and the transfer between the transport rollers 40 can be performed smoothly.
FIG. 5 shows another configuration example of the guide plate 30. 5A is an example in which the front end portion of the guide plate 30 is formed in a tapered shape, and FIG. 5B is an example in which the clip portion 34 is formed in the guide plate 30. FIG. When attaching the workpiece 20 to the guide plate 30, the clip portion 34 is attached with the clip portion 34 elastically sandwiching the end portion of the workpiece 20 between the guide plate 30. Thus, as a method of attaching the guide plate 30 to the workpiece 20, other appropriate attachment methods using the adhesive films 32a and 32b can be used.

  Moreover, although the example which passes the workpiece | work 20 to an etching tank was demonstrated in the said example, it can apply also to the process of sticking a laminate film to the workpiece | work 20, the process of exposing to a workpiece | work, the process of developing a workpiece | work, etc. . In addition, as a device for processing a workpiece, a strip-shaped long body such as a TAB other than a lead frame or a carrier film substrate, or a device that transports and processes a single-wafer metal material can also be applied.

It is the top view and side view of a conveying apparatus. It is a top view of a guide plate, a clamp roller, and a conveyance roller. It is a side view of a guide plate, a clamp roller, a guide roller, and a conveyance roller. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the conveying apparatus which conveys a workpiece | work within a processing tank. It is a top view which shows the other structural example of a guide plate. It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the conventional conveying apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Processing tank 15, 18 Work 17 Dummy work 20 Work 30 Guide plate 32a, 32b Adhesive film 34 Clip part 40 Conveyance roller 50 Clamp roller 60 Guide roller

Claims (6)

A workpiece conveying device that conveys the article to be conveyed, to which the guide plate formed wider than the workpiece is attached to the front end of the workpiece destination side, together with the guide plate,
A transport roller for supporting the workpiece and feeding the workpiece forward;
A transport apparatus comprising: a clamp roller that is disposed at a position that does not interfere with a transport position of the workpiece, and clamps the guide plate in a thickness direction to feed the guide plate forward.   The conveying device according to claim 1, wherein the clamp roller is disposed at a position passing through both side edges in the width direction of the guide plate.   The transport apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a guide roller that guides both side edges of the guide plate and regulates a position in a width direction when the guide plate is transported. A processing method in which a workpiece is transported in a processing device by a transport device and a required processing is performed on the workpiece,
A transported product having a guide plate formed wider at the front side of the workpiece on the destination side of the workpiece, detachably attached so that both side edges are positioned outside in the width direction from both side edges of the workpiece. ,
A transport roller for supporting the workpiece and feeding the workpiece forward;
Set in a conveying device provided with a clamp roller that is disposed at a position passing through both side edges of the guide plate that does not interfere with the workpiece conveying position, and clamps the guide plate in the thickness direction to feed the guide plate forward. And
The workpiece is processed by passing the inside of the processing apparatus while aligning the workpiece at a predetermined transport position by feeding the guide plate in the straight direction by the clamp roller. Method. The transport device includes guide rollers that guide both side edges of the guide plate and regulate a position in a width direction when the guide plate is transported,
5. The workpiece processing method according to claim 4, wherein the workpiece is processed by feeding the guide plate forward while regulating the position in the width direction of the guide plate by the guide roller.   6. A guide plate having a front end portion in a feeding direction formed in an arc shape or a taper shape is attached to a workpiece, and the workpiece is conveyed by being aligned with a predetermined conveyance position by the guide plate. To process the workpiece.