JP4872607B2 - Screen printing apparatus and substrate conveying method in screen printing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a screen printing apparatus that prints paste such as cream solder or conductive paste on a substrate, and a substrate transport method in a screen printing apparatus that transfers a substrate received from an upstream device to the downstream device in this screen printing device. It is.

  The screen printing device that prints paste such as cream solder or conductive paste on the substrate in the electronic component mounting process transports the substrate received from the upstream substrate supply device to the printing position by the screen printing mechanism, and prints downstream A substrate transport mechanism is provided for delivery to an inspection device or the like. When installing a screen printing device having such a configuration on a mounting line, the transfer rails of the respective substrate transfer mechanisms are positioned correctly so that the substrate can be transferred between the upstream device and the downstream device without any trouble. Rail alignment work to match is performed.

In this rail alignment work, it is necessary to align the rail end face within a specified misalignment error. Generally, the rail end face of these devices is a gap between the two devices that are abutted when the device is installed at a predetermined position. Therefore, it is difficult to perform the alignment work while directly confirming the position by visually recognizing the end surface of the rail. For this reason, various measures have been conventionally used, such as using a dedicated transport alignment device for alignment work (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-142848 A

  By the way, in recent years, as a form of the substrate transport mechanism in the screen printing apparatus, a system is used in which the substrate is received from the upstream side, transported to the printing position, and delivered to the downstream side by one continuous transport rail. Yes. When such a format is adopted, both the upstream and downstream ends of the transport rail move together during the substrate positioning operation. Therefore, the cover member provided to cover such a screen printing apparatus is transported. The thing of the structure enclosed including the both ends of a rail is used.

  However, the screen printing apparatus having such a configuration has a problem that the above-described rail alignment work cannot be performed by a conventional method. That is, the transport alignment apparatus shown in the above-mentioned patent document example can be applied only when the end of the transport rail protrudes to the outside of the apparatus. Therefore, the transport rail is completely enclosed by a cover member. In this screen printing apparatus, it is substantially impossible to adopt a method for ensuring a good transfer between the rails of the substrate by aligning the rail ends.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a screen printing apparatus and a screen printing apparatus capable of satisfactorily receiving a substrate from an upstream apparatus and delivering a substrate to a downstream apparatus without performing alignment between the conveyance rail ends. An object is to provide a substrate carrying method.

In the screen printing apparatus of the present invention, the substrate is brought into contact with the mask plate provided with the pattern hole, the paste is supplied onto the mask plate, and the squeegee is slid to thereby paste the paste onto the substrate through the pattern hole. A screen printing apparatus for printing, wherein the substrate is received from an upstream conveyance rail provided in an upstream device by a printing conveyance rail, is loaded into a printing position, and the substrate is unloaded from the printing position and provided in a downstream device. A substrate transport mechanism that delivers to the downstream transport rail, and a substrate transported to the printing position is received and held from below, and the held substrate is integrated with the substrate transport mechanism. The substrate transfer direction by the mechanism, the direction perpendicular to the substrate transfer direction, and the substrate positioning unit that moves in the vertical direction, and the substrate was transferred to the printing position A screen printing mechanism that prints the paste on a board; a cover that encloses the substrate transport mechanism, the substrate positioning unit, and the screen printing mechanism without protruding the print transport rail; and the substrate transport mechanism. A control means for controlling the substrate positioning unit and the screen printing mechanism; a first transport rail position where the upstream end of the print transport rail is correctly aligned with the upstream transport rail; and a downstream side of the print transport rail Storage means for storing, as a positioning parameter of the substrate positioning unit, a second transfer rail position whose end is correctly aligned with the downstream transfer rail, and the control means transfers the substrate to the upstream transfer rail When receiving from the rail, the substrate positioning unit positions the print transport rail at the first transport rail position. Decide to, the substrate to the time to transfer to the downstream transport rail is positioned in the second transfer rail position the print transfer rail by the substrate positioning portion, and controls the board positioning portion.

  The substrate transport method in the screen printing apparatus of the present invention is such that the substrate is brought into contact with the mask plate provided with the pattern hole, the paste is supplied onto the mask plate, and the squeegee is slid to pass through the pattern hole. In a screen printing apparatus that prints a paste on a substrate, the substrate is received from an upstream conveyance rail provided in an upstream device by a conveyance rail, is loaded into a printing position, and the substrate is unloaded from the printing position to a downstream device. A substrate transport method in a screen printing apparatus that delivers to a provided downstream transport rail, wherein the screen printing apparatus receives and holds the substrate transported to the printing position from below and holds the substrate A substrate is transported together with the substrate transport mechanism by the substrate transport mechanism in a direction perpendicular to the substrate transport direction. A substrate positioning unit that moves in a vertical direction and a vertical direction, a screen printing mechanism that prints the paste on the substrate conveyed to the printing position, the substrate conveyance mechanism, the substrate positioning unit, and the screen printing mechanism, the conveyance rail And a control unit that controls the substrate transport mechanism, the substrate positioning unit, and the screen printing mechanism, and the upstream end of the transport rail is connected to the upstream transport rail. The first conveyance rail position correctly aligned and the second conveyance rail position where the downstream end of the printing conveyance rail is correctly aligned with the downstream conveyance rail are stored as positioning parameters of the substrate positioning unit. In addition, when the substrate is received from the upstream side transfer rail, the substrate positioning unit moves the front side. Positioning the printed transfer rail to the first transfer rail position, when to transfer the substrate to the downstream transport rail for positioning the printed transfer rail to the second transfer rail position by the substrate positioning portion.

  According to the present invention, the first transport rail position where the upstream end of the printing transport rail is correctly aligned with the upstream transport rail and the downstream end of the printing transport rail are correctly aligned with the downstream transport rail. The second transfer rail position is stored as a positioning parameter of the substrate positioning unit, so that the substrate can be received from the upstream apparatus without performing the rail alignment work for the alignment between the transfer rail ends. In addition, it is possible to satisfactorily deliver the substrate to the downstream apparatus.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a side view of a screen printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of the screen printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a screen printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the screen printing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a conveying rail in a component mounting line including the screen printing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a substrate conveying method in the screen printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 7 and 8 are substrate conveying methods in the screen printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG.

  First, the structure of the screen printing apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and FIG. This screen printing apparatus is a component having a configuration in which an upstream apparatus M1, such as a board supply apparatus, a screen printing apparatus M2, and a downstream apparatus M3, such as a print inspection apparatus or a component mounting apparatus, are connected by a continuous linear substrate transport system. This is used for the mounting line (see FIG. 5).

  In FIG. 1, the screen printing apparatus M <b> 2 is configured by disposing a screen printing mechanism above the substrate positioning unit 1. The substrate positioning unit 1 is configured by stacking a Y-axis table 2, an X-axis table 3, and a θ-axis table 4, and further combining a first Z-axis table 5 and a second Z-axis table 6 thereon. Yes. The configuration of the first Z-axis table 5 will be described. Similarly, on the upper surface side of the horizontal base plate 4 a provided on the upper surface of the θ-axis table 4, the horizontal base plate 5 a is held up and down by an elevating guide mechanism (not shown). The base plate 5a is moved up and down by a Z-axis lifting mechanism configured to rotationally drive a plurality of feed screws 5c via a belt 5d by a transport rail lifting motor 5b. Vertical frames 5e and 5f are erected on the base plate 5a, and two print conveyance rails 8a constituting the substrate conveyance mechanism 8 are held at the upper ends of the vertical frames 5e and 5f.

  The print conveyance rails 8a are arranged in parallel to the substrate conveyance direction (X direction--the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1), and both ends of the substrate 10 to be printed by the substrate conveyance conveyors provided on these print conveyance rails 8a. The part is supported and transported. Here, of the vertical frames 5e and 5f, one vertical frame 5f is slidable in the Y direction by a slide mechanism including a guide rail 5g and a slider 5h arranged in the Y direction on the upper surface of the base plate 5a. That is, among the two print transport rails 8a, the print transport rail 8a held by the vertical frame 5f is movable in the Y direction, and the transport width of the substrate transport mechanism 8 can be changed according to the substrate type. It is like that. By driving the first Z-axis table 5, the substrate 10 held by the substrate transport mechanism 8 can be lifted and lowered together with the print transport rail 8a with respect to a screen printing mechanism described later.

  The configuration of the second Z-axis table 6 will be described. A horizontal base plate 6a is disposed between the substrate transport mechanism 8 and the base plate 5a so as to be movable up and down along a lifting guide mechanism (not shown). The base plate 6a is lifted and lowered by a Z-axis lifting mechanism configured to rotationally drive a plurality of feed screws 6c via a belt 6d by a lower part lift motor 6b. The upper surface of the base plate 6a is a lower mounting surface 6e for mounting the substrate lower receiving portion 7 provided with a lower receiving surface for holding the substrate 10 on the upper surface. The part 7 is detachably mounted. The substrate receiving unit 7 receives and holds the substrate conveyed from below to the printing position by the screen printing mechanism.

  That is, the substrate positioning unit 1 receives and holds the substrate transported to the printing position from below, and holds the held substrate 10 integrally with the substrate transport mechanism 8 in the X direction (substrate transport by the substrate transport mechanism 8). Direction), Y direction (direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction), Z direction (up and down direction), and further θ direction (rotation direction around the vertical axis). With this function, as will be described below, when the substrate 10 is transferred between the upstream apparatus M1, the screen printing apparatus M2, and the downstream apparatus M3, the printing transport rail 8a is connected to the upstream apparatus M1 and the downstream apparatus M3. The board 10 is aligned with the board transport system to prevent the board 10 from being transferred due to poor rail alignment.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the print transport rail 8a extends to the upstream side (left side in FIGS. 2 and 3) and the downstream side. An upstream device M1 is disposed on the upstream side of the screen printing device M2, and the upstream device M1 includes an upstream conveyance rail 32 connected to the upstream end of the printing conveyance rail 8a. A downstream device M3 is disposed on the downstream side of the screen printing device M2, and the downstream device M3 includes a downstream conveyance rail 33 connected to the downstream end of the printing conveyance rail 8a. In the printing operation by the screen printing device M2, the substrate transport mechanism 8 receives the substrate 10 from the upstream transport rail 32 provided in the upstream device M1 by the print transport rail 8a, and carries the substrate 10 to the printing position by the screen printing mechanism for positioning. . Then, the substrate 10 on which printing has been performed by the screen printing mechanism is unloaded from the printing position by the print transport rail 8a, and is delivered to the downstream transport rail 33 provided in the downstream apparatus M3.

  By driving the second Z-axis table 6, the substrate receiving unit 7 moves up and down with respect to the substrate 10 held by the substrate transport mechanism 8. Then, the substrate receiving portion 7 supports the substrate 10 from the lower surface side when the lower surface of the substrate receiving portion 7 contacts the lower surface of the substrate 10. A clamp mechanism 9 is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate transport mechanism 8. The clamp mechanism 9 includes two clamp members 9a that are disposed opposite to each other on the left and right sides, and the clamp member 9a on one side is advanced and retracted by the drive mechanism 9b to clamp and fix the substrate 10 from both sides (see FIG. (See also 3).

  Next, a screen printing mechanism that is disposed above the substrate positioning unit 1 and prints paste on the substrate conveyed to the printing position will be described. 1 and 2, a mask plate 12 is extended on a mask frame 11 held by a mask holder (not shown). The shape and position of an electrode 10 a to be printed on the substrate 10 are extended on the mask plate 12. Corresponding to (see FIG. 3), pattern holes 12a are provided. A squeegee driving mechanism 13 is disposed on the mask plate 12. The squeegee driving mechanism 13 has a structure in which two squeegee raising / lowering mechanisms 15 for raising and lowering a pair of squeegee heads 16 arranged opposite to each other are arranged on a horizontal plate 14. A plate-like squeegee member 16 a is held on each squeegee head 16 coupled to the lifting shaft 15 a of each squeegee lifting mechanism 15.

  By driving the squeegee raising / lowering mechanism 15, the squeegee head 16 moves up and down, whereby the squeegee member 16 a comes into contact with the upper surface of the mask plate 12. A feed screw 18 that is rotationally driven by a squeegee moving motor 17 is screwed onto a nut 19 fixed to the lower surface of the plate 14. By driving the squeegee moving motor 17, the squeegee head 16 moves together with the plate 14 in the Y direction. Move horizontally in the direction.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a guide rail 23 is disposed in the Y direction on a bracket 22 disposed on the vertical frame 21, and a slider 24 slidably fitted on the guide rail 23 is provided on the plate 14. Connected to both ends. Thereby, the squeegee drive mechanism 13 is slidable in the Y direction. The plate 14 is horizontally moved in the Y direction by a squeegee moving means including a nut 19, a feed screw 18 and a squeegee moving motor 17 (see FIG. 1) that rotationally drives the feed screw 18.

  In FIG. 2, a guide rail 27 is disposed on the vertical frame 21 in the Y direction. A slider 28 slidably fitted to the guide rail 27 is coupled to the head X-axis table 26 via a bracket 26a. Yes. Thereby, the head X-axis table 26 is slidable in the Y direction. The head X-axis table 26 is horizontally moved in the Y direction by a head Y-axis moving mechanism 25 including a nut 30, a feed screw 29, and a head moving motor (not shown) that rotationally drives the feed screw 29.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the camera head unit 20 is mounted on the head X-axis table 26. The camera head unit 20 includes a substrate recognition camera 20a for imaging the substrate 10 from above, and a mask recognition camera 20b for imaging the mask plate 12 from the lower surface side. The head Y-axis moving mechanism 25, the head By driving the X-axis table 26 and moving the camera head unit 20, recognition of the substrate 10 and recognition of the mask plate 12 can be performed simultaneously. When the substrate 10 and the mask plate 12 are not recognized by the camera head unit 20, the camera head unit 20 is in a position retracted from the upper side of the substrate positioning unit 1 as shown in FIG.

  Next, the printing operation by the screen printing mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. First, when the substrate 10 is carried into the printing position by the substrate transport mechanism 8, the second Z-axis table 6 is driven to raise the substrate receiving portion 7 and receive the lower surface of the substrate 10. In this state, the substrate positioning unit 1 is driven to align the substrate 10 with the mask plate 12. Thereafter, the first Z-axis table 5 is driven to raise the substrate 10 together with the substrate transport mechanism 8 so as to contact the lower surface of the mask plate 12 provided with the pattern holes 12a. Clamp. Thereby, the horizontal position of the board | substrate 10 is fixed in the squeegee which moves the squeegee head 16 by the squeegee drive mechanism 13. FIG.

  Then, in this state, one of the two squeegee heads 16 is lowered corresponding to the squeegeeing direction in the squeezing operation, and the squeegee member 17 is brought into contact with the mask plate 12. Next, the cream solder is printed on the substrate 10 through the pattern holes 12a by sliding the squeegee member 17 in the squeegeeing direction (Y direction) on the mask plate 12 to which cream solder as paste is supplied. .

  Next, the cover part provided in order to ensure the safety | security of an operator in the upstream apparatus M1, the screen printing apparatus M2, and the downstream apparatus M3 is demonstrated. These apparatuses are provided with a cover portion that closes these movable parts in order to prevent an operator from accessing the movable parts unnecessarily during operation of the apparatus. As shown in FIG. 5, the upstream device M1, the screen printing device M2, and the downstream device M3 are enclosed by an upstream device cover 34, a printing device cover 31, and a downstream device cover 35, respectively. Here, in the upstream apparatus M1 and the downstream apparatus M3, the upstream conveyance rail 32 and the downstream conveyance rail 33 are fixed rails that do not move in any direction of XYZ. Both end portions of the downstream transport rail 33 are provided so as to protrude from the upstream device cover portion 34 and the downstream device cover portion 35 to the outside.

  On the other hand, in the screen printing apparatus M2, the printing transport rail 8a is movable in the XYZθ directions by the substrate positioning unit 1, so that the operator does not access the moving printing transport rail 8a. The printing apparatus cover portion 31 is configured to be enclosed including both the upstream and downstream ends of the printing transport rail 8a. As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 10 is carried in / out through a loading opening 31 a and a carrying-out opening 31 b provided in the printing apparatus cover 31. That is, the screen printing apparatus M2 is provided with a cover portion that encloses the substrate transport mechanism 8, the substrate positioning unit 1, and the screen printing mechanism without protruding the print transport rail 8a to the outside.

  Next, the configuration of the control system will be described with reference to FIG. The control unit 40 controls the operation processing of each unit described below. The mechanism drive unit 41 is controlled by the control unit 40 to drive the screen printing mechanism 44 including the substrate positioning unit 1, the substrate transport mechanism 8, the mask plate 12, and the squeegee drive mechanism 13. Therefore, the control unit 40 is a control unit that controls the substrate positioning unit 1, the substrate transport mechanism 8, and the screen printing mechanism 44.

The substrate carry-in position storage unit 42 uses the substrate carry-in position, that is, the first conveyance rail position where the upstream end of the print conveyance rail 8 a is correctly aligned with the upstream conveyance rail 32 as the positioning parameter of the substrate positioning unit 1. Remember. The substrate carry-out position storage unit 43 stores the second conveyance rail position where the downstream end of the print conveyance rail 8 a is correctly aligned with the downstream conveyance rail 33 as the positioning parameter of the substrate positioning unit 1. Accordingly, the substrate carry-in position storage unit 42 and the substrate carry-out position storage unit 43 serve as storage means for storing the above-described first transport rail position and second transport rail position as positioning parameters of the substrate positioning unit 1.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 5, the rail alignment error, the first transport rail position, and the second transport rail position of each of the upstream device M1, the screen printing device M2, and the downstream device M3 will be described. To do. In a component mounting line configured by connecting a plurality of devices, it is necessary to align transfer rails for substrate transfer provided in each device so as not to hinder board transfer. When connecting an apparatus configured such that the upstream conveyance rail 32 and the downstream conveyance rail 33 are fixed rails and end portions protrude outside from the cover portion, as in the upstream apparatus M1 and the downstream apparatus M3. Conventionally, at the time of installation of the apparatus, the end portions of the transport rails are brought into contact with each other to perform alignment by visual observation, and it is possible to perform rail alignment work while trying to transfer the substrate.

  On the other hand, when the printing conveyance rail 8a is configured to be movable like the screen printing apparatus M2, the printing conveyance rail 8a is entirely enclosed by the printing apparatus cover portion 31, and the printing conveyance rail 8a is externally connected to the printing conveyance rail 8a. The end cannot be visually recognized. Therefore, the screen printing apparatus M2 cannot perform the conventional rail alignment work for aligning the ends of the conveyance rails with each other, and in the state where the upstream apparatus M1, the screen printing apparatus M2, and the downstream apparatus M3 are installed, The conveyance rail of each apparatus is inevitably in a misalignment state as shown in FIGS. That is, a deviation of ΔY1 in the horizontal conveyance width direction and ΔZ1 in the vertical direction occurs between the upstream conveyance rail 32 and the printing conveyance rail 8a, and between the printing conveyance rail 8a and the downstream conveyance rail 33, There is a deviation of ΔY2 in the horizontal conveyance width direction and ΔZ2 in the vertical direction.

  Here, regarding the deviation in the horizontal conveyance width direction (Y direction), if the deviation amount exceeds the allowable range, a phenomenon that the substrate is caught in the middle of the transfer occurs, and the deviation in the vertical direction (Z direction) As in the example shown in FIG. 5 (b), if the downstream side is shifted to a higher position than the upstream side, the phenomenon that the substrate is caught in the middle of the transfer similarly occurs. I can't transfer.

  In order to eliminate such inconvenience, in the screen printing apparatus M2 shown in the present embodiment, the positional deviations such as (ΔY1, ΔZ1) and (ΔY2, ΔZ2) described above in a state where the print transport rail 8a is in the original position. Data is stored in the substrate carry-in position storage unit 42 and the substrate carry-out position storage unit 43 as positioning parameters for determining the substrate carry-in position (first transfer rail position) and the substrate carry-out position (second transfer rail position), respectively. I try to let them.

  (ΔY 1, ΔZ 1) and (ΔY 2, ΔZ 2) are substrate positioning in a state where the transfer is the best by performing an attempt to transfer the substrate while performing an inching operation in which the substrate transfer mechanism 8 is moved manually by small increments. It is obtained as a machine parameter of part 1. The obtained machine parameters are stored in the substrate carry-in position storage unit 42 and the substrate carry-out position storage unit 43 by the teaching operation as the above-described positional deviation data.

  When the substrate is received from the upstream device M1 by the print transport rail 8a or when the substrate is transferred from the print transport rail 8a to the downstream device M3, each time (ΔY1, ΔZ1) or (ΔY2, ΔZ2) is set. The positional deviation data is read out from the substrate carry-in position storage unit 42 and the substrate carry-out position storage unit 43, and the substrate positioning unit 1 is driven according to the positioning parameters determined based on these positional deviation data. Realize correct rail alignment.

  Note that the vertical displacement is opposite to the displacement direction in which the downstream side is higher than the upstream side, such as ΔZ1 and ΔZ2 shown in FIG. 5B, and the downstream side is upstream. It is known that the lower position can prevent the substrate from being caught due to the drooping of the front end portion of the substrate, and can obtain a good result with respect to the transfer of the substrate. For this reason, in the present embodiment, when setting the positioning parameter in the Z direction described above, the parameter setting is performed in consideration of the level difference considered to be appropriate for improving the transfer between the rails of the board. I have to. Data indicating the height difference corresponding to the level difference is also stored in the substrate carry-in position storage unit 42 and the substrate carry-out position storage unit 43 together with the above-described positional deviation data.

  That is, the position of the first transport rail is a level difference that the upstream end of the print transport rail 8a is set in advance to improve the transfer between the rails of the board (see height difference α shown in FIGS. 7 and 8). The positioning parameter is set at a position lower than the upstream conveyance rail 32, and the second conveyance rail position is higher than the downstream conveyance rail 33 by the same step at the downstream end of the printing conveyance rail 8a. Positioning parameters are set so that

  Further, in the above description, the example in which only the Y direction and the Z direction are targeted as the positioning parameters of the print transport rail 8a for rail alignment has been shown, but the substrate positioning unit 1 shown in the present embodiment has the XYZθ direction. In addition to the Y direction and the Z direction, the X direction and further the θ direction may be included in the positioning parameter.

  In other words, by including the positioning parameter in the X direction, in the case where the butt gap is larger than the proper gap for normal transfer at the butt portion of the two transport rails when the apparatus is installed. In addition, the end portion of the print conveyance rail 8a can be brought close to the target conveyance rail to maintain an appropriate gap. Further, by including the θ direction in the positioning parameters, the substrate transport mechanism 8 is rotated in the θ direction even when there is a difference between the positions of the end portions of the two print transport rails 8a in the X direction due to equipment errors. Thus, the appropriate gap can be maintained by correcting the mutual difference.

  Next, a substrate conveying method in the screen printing apparatus shown in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 in accordance with the flow of FIG. First, substrate carry-in from the upstream apparatus M1 to the screen printing apparatus M2 is started (ST1). At this time, as shown in FIG. 7A, the print transport rail 8 a is in the original position, and is in a position shift state shown in FIG. 5 with respect to the upstream transport rail 32. When the board loading is started, the printing transport rail 8a is moved in the vertical and horizontal directions in accordance with the upstream transport rail 32 (ST2). That is, the positional deviation data (ΔY1, ΔZ1) as the positioning parameter indicating the first transport rail position and the data indicating the height difference α corresponding to the above-described step are read from the substrate carry-in position storage unit 42, and these positioning parameters are used as these positioning parameters. Based on this, the substrate positioning unit 1 is driven to move the print transport rail 8a in the Y direction and the Z direction.

  That is, with respect to the horizontal direction, by correcting the position of the print transport rail 8a in the Y direction by ΔY1, the print transport rail 8a is well aligned with the upstream transport rail 32 as shown in FIG. Further, by lowering the printing conveyance rail 8a by ΔZ1 + α in the vertical direction, the upstream conveyance rail 32 is higher than the printing conveyance rail 8a by the height difference α as described above, as shown in FIG. 7C. Position. In this state, the substrate 10 is carried into the printing conveyance rail 8a (ST3), and then the printing operation is performed by the screen printing mechanism for the substrate 10 conveyed to the printing position (ST4).

Next, the printing transport rail 8a is moved in the vertical and horizontal direction in accordance with the downstream transport rail 33 (ST5). That is, the positional deviation data (ΔY2, ΔZ2) as the positioning parameters indicating the second transport rail position and the data indicating the height difference α corresponding to the above-described step are read from the substrate carry-in position storage unit 42 based on these positioning parameters. Then, the substrate positioning unit 1 is driven to move the print transport rail 8a in the Y direction and the Z direction. At this time, since the print transport rail 8a is at a position deviated from the original position by the movement for alignment in (ST2), the print transport rail 8a is located downstream of the transport rail 33 as shown in FIG. In contrast, the print transport rails 8a are aligned so as to correct these shifts in (ST5) in a state where they are shifted by ΔY1 + ΔY2 in the horizontal direction and ΔZ1 + ΔZ2 + α in the vertical direction.

  That is, with respect to the horizontal direction, the print conveyance rail 8a is aligned with the upstream conveyance rail 32 as shown in FIG. 8B by correcting the position of the print conveyance rail 8a in the Y direction by ΔY1 + ΔY2. Further, as shown in FIG. 8C, by raising the printing conveyance rail 8a by ΔZ1 + ΔZ2 + 2α in the vertical direction, the downstream conveyance rail 33 is lower than the printing conveyance rail 8a by the height difference α corresponding to the above-described step. Position. In this state, the substrate 10 is unloaded from the printing conveyance rail 8a (ST6), and the substrate 10 is delivered to the downstream conveyance rail 33.

  That is, in the above-described substrate transport method, the first transport rail position where the upstream end of the print transport rail 8a is correctly aligned with the upstream transport rail 32 and the downstream end of the print transport rail 8a are transported downstream. The second transport rail position correctly aligned with the rail 33 is stored in the substrate carry-in position storage unit 42 and the substrate carry-out position storage unit 43 as positioning parameters of the substrate positioning unit 1.

  When the substrate 10 is received from the upstream conveyance rail 32, the substrate positioning unit 1 positions the printing conveyance rail 8a at the first conveyance rail position, and when the substrate 10 is delivered to the downstream conveyance rail 33, the substrate positioning is performed. The printing conveyance rail 8a is positioned by the unit 1 at the second conveyance rail position. As a result, in the screen printing apparatus of the type in which the print conveyance rail 8a is completely enclosed by the cover portion, the substrate is received from the upstream apparatus and transferred to the downstream apparatus without positioning the conveyance rail ends. The substrate can be successfully delivered. In the present embodiment, since the movement of the print transport rail 8a is performed by the substrate positioning unit 1, the above-described movement is not provided in the substrate transport system, and a new drive mechanism is not provided. An effect can be obtained.

  The screen printing apparatus and the substrate conveying method in the screen printing apparatus according to the present invention receive the substrate from the upstream device and the substrate to the downstream device without performing the rail alignment work for the mutual alignment of the conveying rail ends. This is useful in a component mounting line in which a screen printing apparatus is incorporated.

The side view of the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention 1 is a front view of a screen printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The top view of the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention The block diagram which shows the structure of the control system of the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention Explanatory drawing of the conveyance rail alignment defect in the component mounting line containing the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention The flowchart which shows the board | substrate conveyance method in the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention Explanatory drawing of operation | movement of the board | substrate conveyance method in the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention Explanatory drawing of operation | movement of the board | substrate conveyance method in the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Board | substrate positioning part 8 Board | substrate conveyance mechanism 8a Print conveyance rail 10 Board | substrate 31 Printing apparatus cover part 32 Upstream conveyance rail 33 Downstream conveyance rail 34 Upstream apparatus cover part 35 Downstream apparatus cover part M1 Upstream apparatus M2 Screen printing apparatus M3 Downstream device

Claims (2)

A screen printing apparatus for printing a paste on a substrate through the pattern hole by bringing the substrate into contact with a mask plate provided with a pattern hole, supplying paste onto the mask plate, and sliding a squeegee. ,
The substrate is received from the upstream conveyance rail provided in the upstream device by the printing conveyance rail, is carried into the printing position, is unloaded from the printing position, and is delivered to the downstream conveyance rail provided in the downstream device. A substrate transfer mechanism;
The substrate transported to the printing position is received from below and held, and the held substrate is integrated with the substrate transport mechanism in a substrate transport direction by the substrate transport mechanism, a direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction. And a substrate positioning part that moves in the vertical direction;
A screen printing mechanism for printing the paste on the substrate conveyed to the printing position;
A cover portion that encloses the substrate transport mechanism, the substrate positioning unit, and the screen printing mechanism without projecting the print transport rail to the outside;
Control means for controlling the substrate transport mechanism, the substrate positioning unit and the screen printing mechanism;
A first transport rail position where the upstream end of the printing transport rail is correctly aligned with the upstream transport rail and a downstream end of the printing transport rail are correctly aligned with the downstream transport rail. Storage means for storing the two transport rail positions as positioning parameters of the substrate positioning unit,
When the substrate is received from the upstream conveyance rail, the control means positions the printing conveyance rail at the first conveyance rail position by the substrate positioning unit, and delivers the substrate to the downstream conveyance rail. In some cases, the substrate positioning unit is controlled so that the substrate positioning unit positions the printing transport rail at the second transport rail position . In a screen printing apparatus that prints paste on the substrate through the pattern hole by bringing the substrate into contact with the mask plate provided with the pattern hole, supplying the paste onto the mask plate, and sliding the squeegee. Screen printing that receives the substrate from the upstream conveying rail provided in the upstream device by the rail, carries it to the printing position, and unloads this substrate from the printing position and delivers it to the downstream conveying rail provided in the downstream device. A substrate transport method in an apparatus, comprising:
The screen printing apparatus includes:
The substrate transported to the printing position is received from below and held, and the held substrate together with the substrate transport mechanism is transported in the substrate transport direction by the substrate transport mechanism, in the direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction, and up and down A substrate positioning unit that moves in the direction, a screen printing mechanism that prints the paste on the substrate transported to the printing position, the substrate transporting mechanism, the substrate positioning unit, and the screen printing mechanism, and the transport rail outside. A cover unit that is closed without protruding, and a control unit that controls the substrate transport mechanism, the substrate positioning unit, and the screen printing mechanism,
A first transport rail position where the upstream end of the transport rail is correctly aligned with the upstream transport rail and a second end where the downstream end of the print transport rail is correctly aligned with the downstream transport rail Is stored as a positioning parameter of the substrate positioning unit,
When the substrate is received from the upstream conveyance rail, the printing conveyance rail is positioned at the first conveyance rail position by the substrate positioning unit,
A substrate transport method in a screen printing apparatus, wherein when the substrate is delivered to the downstream transport rail, the print transport rail is positioned at the second transport rail position by the substrate positioning unit.

Images