JP4985634B2 - Screen printing apparatus and screen printing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a screen printing apparatus and a screen printing method for printing a component bonding paste on a substrate in an electronic component mounting line for manufacturing a mounting substrate by mounting electronic components on the substrate.

  An electronic component mounting line that manufactures a mounting board by mounting electronic components on a board connects a screen printing device that prints a paste for bonding components on the board upstream of the electronic component mounting apparatus that mounts electronic components on the board. Configured. In recent years, in the electronic industry, a large variety of small-quantity production has become the mainstream, and there is a demand for a facility configuration that has both high production efficiency and flexibility that can handle various production forms.

In order to realize such a production facility, various characteristic mechanisms and configurations have been introduced into screen printing apparatuses in an electronic component mounting line. For example, in order to produce a plurality of substrates at the same time, it is necessary to increase the processing capacity of a screen printing apparatus that supplies paste for bonding components to the substrate in accordance with the number of substrates produced. For this reason, a configuration in which a plurality of screen printing devices are arranged in series in the electronic component mounting line to increase the overall processing capacity (see Patent Document 1), or by simultaneously printing two substrates with the same mask plate Various mechanisms such as a method of increasing the number of processed sheets (see Patent Document 2) and a method of increasing the number of processed sheets by arranging independent screen printing mechanisms in series in the same apparatus (see Patent Document 3) are used. Yes.
JP 2004-142299 A JP 2000-37847 A JP 2000-168040 A

  By the way, due to the diversification of mounting forms in recent years, a printing work mode in screen printing has been required to be different from the conventional one, and there is a printing process in which a plurality of printing works are repeatedly executed on the same substrate. May be required. In the case of targeting such a substrate, the configurations shown in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 3 have been conventionally used. However, the prior art disclosed in these patent documents has the following problems. That is, in each of these prior arts, since a plurality of screen printing mechanisms are arranged in series, it is unavoidable that the line length of the electronic component mounting line becomes long and the area productivity decreases. .

  Furthermore, these prior arts have difficulty in versatility in flexible production for various types of substrates. Since all of these prior arts are configured such that the substrate is conveyed by a single substrate conveyance path, the substrate conveyance order in which the printed substrate is sent to the electronic component mounting apparatus on the downstream side is fixed. Therefore, it is difficult to supply a necessary substrate to a downstream apparatus at a necessary timing. For this reason, when a normal substrate that does not require a plurality of printing operations on the same substrate as described above is an object to be processed, the occurrence of a loss time is inevitable in transporting the substrate, and the screen printing operation is efficient. It was difficult to perform well. As described above, in the conventional screen printing method in the electronic component mounting line, it is difficult to efficiently execute various printing operations including a printing process in which a plurality of printing operations are repeatedly performed on the same substrate. There was a problem of being.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a screen printing method capable of efficiently executing various printing operations including a printing process in which a plurality of printing operations are repeatedly performed on the same substrate.

  The screen printing apparatus of the present invention is a screen printing apparatus that is connected to an upstream side of an electronic component mounting apparatus that mounts electronic components on a substrate and prints a paste for joining electronic components on the substrate, and is provided with a pattern hole. A mask plate and a squeegee moving mechanism that slides the squeegee on the mask plate supplied with the paste, in parallel with the first direction which is the line direction of the electronic component mounting line, with the substrate transport direction aligned A plurality of screen printing units arranged; and a substrate positioning unit that is provided in each of the plurality of screen printing units and that positions and holds the substrate conveyed in the first direction at a printing position by the screen printing unit; Between printing units that transport the substrate from one screen printing unit to another screen printing unit among the plurality of screen printing units A board conveying means, and a mode command unit for commanding a work mode indicating a mode of printing work executed by each of the plurality of screen printing units, wherein the mode command unit is configured to position the substrate of each screen printing unit. A first operation mode in which a printing operation is individually performed for each screen printing unit with respect to the substrates individually conveyed to the unit, and the same substrate is sequentially conveyed to the substrate positioning unit of each screen printing unit In each of the screen printing units, a second work mode in which printing work having different work contents is sequentially executed on the same substrate is selectively instructed.

  The screen printing method of the present invention prints a paste for joining an electronic component on the substrate in an electronic component mounting line configured by connecting a screen printing device upstream of the electronic component mounting device for mounting the electronic component on the substrate. The screen printing method includes: a mask plate provided with a pattern hole; and a squeegee moving mechanism for sliding a squeegee on the mask plate supplied with a paste. A plurality of screen printing units arranged in parallel with a substrate transport direction aligned with a first direction that is a line direction of the line, and the substrate provided in each of the plurality of screen printing units and transported in the first direction A substrate positioning unit for positioning and holding the printing position by the screen printing unit, and the plurality of screen printing units An inter-print-part substrate transport means for transporting the substrate from one of the screen printing units to the other screen printing unit, and for each of the substrates individually transported to the substrate positioning unit of each screen printing unit A first operation mode in which printing operations are individually performed for each screen printing unit, and a printing operation in which the same substrate is sequentially transported to the substrate positioning unit of each screen printing unit and the work contents are different in each screen printing unit Are selectively executed in a second operation mode in which the same operation is sequentially performed on the same substrate.

  According to the present invention, in the screen printing apparatus, a plurality of screen printing units arranged in parallel with the substrate conveying direction aligned with the line direction, and an inter-printing unit substrate conveying means for conveying the substrate between these screen printing units, A first operation mode in which a printing operation is individually performed for each screen printing unit for a substrate individually conveyed to a substrate positioning unit of each screen printing unit, and the same substrate is set to each screen. The same substrate can be obtained by selectively executing the second work mode in which the printing operations having different work contents are sequentially performed on the same substrate in the respective screen printing units, which are sequentially conveyed to the substrate positioning unit of the printing unit. Therefore, it is possible to efficiently execute various printing operations including a printing process in which a plurality of printing operations are repeatedly performed.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of an electronic component mounting line according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a screen printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a screen printing unit in the screen printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a configuration of a control system of the screen printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 are diagrams for explaining the operation of the substrate transport operation in the screen printing method according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8 is the printing in the screen printing method according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of an operation | work.

  First, the configuration of the electronic component mounting line 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The electronic component mounting line 1 has a function of manufacturing an electronic component by mounting the electronic component on a substrate, and is simply abbreviated as “mounting device 3”. ) On the upstream side (left side in FIG. 1) is connected to a screen printing apparatus 2 (hereinafter simply referred to as “printing apparatus 2”) that prints a paste for joining electronic components on a substrate. In the description of the present specification, the subscripts (1), (2),... Attached to each device such as a printing device or a mounting device indicate the arrangement order from the upstream side of the electronic component mounting line of the device. It is.

  In the present embodiment, two mounting devices 3 (1) and 3 (2) arranged in series on the downstream side of one printing device 2 are connected. The printing apparatus 2 is provided with a substrate distribution device 4 (1) and a substrate distribution device 4 (2) on the upstream side and the downstream side, respectively. ) Is transferred to the printing apparatus 2 through the printer 2 and screen printed by the printing apparatus 2 is transferred to the mounting apparatus 3 (1) through the substrate distribution apparatus 4 (2). In the present specification, the configuration including the substrate distribution device 4 (1) and the substrate distribution device 4 (2) in the printing apparatus 2 is the screen printing apparatus of the present invention.

  The printing apparatus 2 has a plurality of screen printing units having a function of printing a paste for joining electronic components on a substrate 5 to be mounted in a line direction of the electronic component mounting line 1 on a common base 6. In this configuration, the substrate transport direction in the screen printing unit is aligned in parallel with the first direction (X direction). Here, the two screen printing parts of the first screen printing part 7A and the second screen printing part 7B are arranged symmetrically in plan view with respect to the line center line of the electronic component mounting line 1. In the middle of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B, there is disposed a substrate transport unit 8 that transports the substrate 5 in the substrate transport direction (X direction) in a reversible manner.

  Next, the configuration of the mounting device 3 will be described. Note that the mounting device 3 (1) and the mounting device 3 (2) have the same configuration, and only the mounting device 3 (1) will be described here with reference to the components. In the center of the base 11, three pairs of substrate transport rails 12 </ b> A, 12 </ b> B, and 12 </ b> C are arranged in parallel in the substrate transport direction (X direction). The substrate transport rails 12A, 12B, and 12C constitute three substrate transport lanes L1, L2, and L3 that transport the substrate 5 delivered from the printing device 2 via the substrate sorting device 4 (2). In the present embodiment, among the three substrate transport lanes L1, L2, and L3, only the substrate transport lanes L1 and L3 are provided with a mounting stage for positioning the substrate 5 at the mounting position and performing a mounting operation. The substrate transfer lane L2 located at the center functions as a return transfer path for transferring the substrate 5 from the downstream side toward the upstream side.

Component supply units 13A and 13B are provided on the outer sides of the substrate transport rails 12A and 12B, respectively, and a plurality of tape feeders 14 are arranged in parallel on the component supply units 13A and 13B. The tape feeder 14 feeds an electronic component to a component pick-up position by a component mounting mechanism described below by pitch-feeding a carrier tape holding an electronic component mounted on the substrate 5. A Y-axis movement table 15 is disposed at the end of the base 11 on the X direction side. The two X-axis movement tables 16A and 16B coupled to the Y-axis movement table 15 are each equipped with a mounting head 17A. 17B are mounted. The mounting heads 17A and 17B include a plurality of unit mounting heads, and hold electronic components by vacuum suction using suction nozzles mounted on the unit mounting heads.

  By driving the Y-axis movement table 15 and the X-axis movement tables 16A and 16B, the mounting heads 17A and 17B move horizontally in the X direction and the Y direction. As a result, the mounting heads 17A and 17B suck and take out the electronic components from the tape feeders 14 of the component supply units 13A and 13B, respectively, and transfer and mount them on the substrate 5 positioned on the mounting stage of the substrate transport rails 12A and 12B. Component recognition cameras 18A and 18B are provided on the movement paths of the mounting heads 17A and 17B, and the component recognition cameras 18A and 18B holding the electronic components move above the component recognition cameras 18A and 18B. 18A and 18B recognize and image the electronic components held by the mounting heads 17A and 17B from below.

  Next, the structure of the printing apparatus 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. FIG. 3 shows an AA arrow view in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a detailed cross-sectional view for explaining the structure of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B. As shown in the cross section of FIG. 3, in the printing apparatus 2, the first screen printing unit 7 </ b> A and the second screen printing unit 7 </ b> B arranged symmetrically with respect to the line center line on the base 6 are provided with substrate positioning units 21. ing. The substrate positioning unit 21 positions and holds the substrate 5 transported in the X direction at a printing position by each screen printing unit. Above the substrate positioning unit 21, a squeegee moving mechanism 37 that slides the squeegee 36 (see FIG. 4) of the squeegee unit 33 on the mask plate 32 provided with pattern holes and the mask plate 32 supplied with paste. Is arranged. The mask plate 32, the squeegee unit 33, and the squeegee moving mechanism 37 constitute a screen printing mechanism that prints paste on the substrate 5.

  With reference to FIG. 4, the detailed structure of the board | substrate positioning part 21, the squeegee unit 33, and the squeegee moving mechanism 37 is demonstrated. In FIG. 4, the substrate positioning unit 21 stacks a Y-axis table 22, an X-axis table 23 and a θ-axis table 24, and further combines a first Z-axis table 25 and a second Z-axis table 26 thereon. Configured. The configuration of the first Z-axis table 25 will be described. Similarly, on the upper surface side of the horizontal base plate 24 a provided on the upper surface of the θ-axis table 24, the horizontal base plate 25 a is held up and down by a lifting guide mechanism (not shown). The base plate 25a is moved up and down by a Z-axis lifting mechanism configured to rotationally drive a plurality of feed screws 25c via a belt 25d by a substrate moving Z-axis motor 25b. Two vertical frames 25e are erected on the base plate 25a, and a pair of substrate transfer conveyors 28 constituting a substrate transfer path are held at the upper end of the vertical frame 25e.

  The substrate transfer conveyors 28 are arranged in parallel to the substrate transfer direction (X direction--the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1), and both end portions of the substrate 5 to be printed by the conveyor mechanism provided in these substrate transfer conveyors 28. It supports and conveys. By driving the first Z-axis table 25, the substrate 5 held by the substrate transport conveyor 28 can be moved up and down together with the substrate transport conveyor 28 with respect to the screen printing mechanism.

  The configuration of the second Z-axis table 26 will be described. A horizontal base plate 26a is disposed between the substrate transport conveyor 28 and the base plate 25a so as to be movable up and down along a lifting guide mechanism (not shown). The base plate 26a is lifted and lowered by a Z-axis lifting mechanism configured to rotationally drive a plurality of feed screws 26c via a belt 26d by a lower part lifting / lowering motor 26b. A substrate receiving portion 27 is detachably mounted on the upper surface of the base plate 26a. The substrate receiving part 27 receives and holds the substrate 5 transported to the printing position by the screen printing mechanism from below.

  In the printing operation by the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B, the substrate transfer conveyor 28 receives the substrate 5 supplied from the upstream device via the distribution conveyors 41A and 41B of the substrate distribution device 4 (1). Then, carry it into the printing position by the screen printing mechanism and position it. And the board | substrate 5 after printing by the screen printing mechanism is carried out from a printing position by the board | substrate conveyance conveyor 28, and is delivered to the distribution conveyors 42A and 42B of the board | substrate distribution apparatus 4 (2).

  By driving the second Z-axis table 26, the substrate receiving part 27 moves up and down with respect to the substrate 5 held by the substrate transport conveyor 28. The substrate receiving portion 27 supports the substrate 5 from the lower surface side when the lower surface of the substrate receiving portion 27 comes into contact with the lower surface of the substrate 5. A clamp mechanism 29 is disposed on the upper surface of the substrate transfer conveyor 28. The clamp mechanism 29 includes two clamp members 29a that are arranged opposite to each other on the left and right sides. The clamp member 29a on one side is advanced and retracted by the drive mechanism 29b, thereby clamping and fixing the substrate 5 from both sides.

  Next, the structure of a screen printing mechanism that is disposed above the substrate positioning unit 21 and prints paste on the substrate conveyed to the printing position will be described. 2 and 4, a mask plate 32 is extended on a mask frame 31 held by a mask holder (not shown), and a pattern hole 32 a is provided in the mask plate 32 corresponding to a printing portion on the substrate 5. It has been. On the mask plate 32, a squeegee unit 33 is movably disposed by a squeegee moving mechanism 37.

  The squeegee unit 33 has a structure in which two squeegee lifting mechanisms 35 for raising and lowering a pair of squeegees 36 arranged opposite to each other are arranged on a horizontal moving plate 34. The squeegee unit 33 is moved forward and backward in the Y direction by a squeegee moving mechanism 37 in which a feed screw 37b that is rotationally driven by a squeegee moving motor 37 is screwed into a nut member 37c fixed to the lower surface of the moving plate 34. Move horizontally in the direction. In FIG. 2, the mask plate 32, the moving plate 34, the squeegee moving mechanism 37, etc. of the first screen printing unit 7A are omitted from the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a head X-axis table 40X that is moved in the Y direction by a head Y-axis table 40Y is disposed above the substrate positioning unit 21. The head X-axis table 40X includes a camera head unit 38. A mask cleaning unit 39 is attached. The camera head unit 38 includes a substrate recognition camera 38a for imaging the substrate 5 from above and a mask recognition camera 38b for imaging the mask plate 32 from the lower surface side, and the mask cleaning unit 39 is the mask plate 32. A cleaning head for cleaning the lower surface of the head is provided.

  By driving the head X-axis table 40X and the head Y-axis table 40Y to move the camera head unit 38 and the mask cleaning unit 39 horizontally, the substrate 5 and the mask plate 32 can be recognized simultaneously. If necessary, the lower surface of the mask plate 32 can be cleaned. When these operations are not performed, the camera head unit 38 and the mask cleaning unit 39 are in a position retracted from the upper side of the substrate positioning unit 21 to the side.

Next, the printing operation by the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B will be described. First, the substrate to be printed 5 is carried into the printing position by the substrate conveying conveyor 28 and aligned with the substrate receiving portion 27. Next, the second Z-axis table 26 is driven to raise the substrate receiving portion 27 and receive the lower surface of the substrate 5. Next, the substrate positioning unit 21 is driven to align the substrate 5 with respect to the mask plate 32, and then the first Z-axis table 25 is driven to raise the substrate 5 together with the substrate transport conveyor 28, so that the pattern holes 32a Is brought into contact with the lower surface of the mask plate 32 provided with

  Thereafter, the horizontal position of the substrate 5 is fixed by clamping the substrate 5 by the clamp mechanism 29. In this state, one of the two squeegees 36 is lowered and brought into contact with the mask plate 32. Next, the paste is printed on the substrate 5 through the pattern holes 32a by sliding the squeegee 36 in the squeezing direction (Y direction) on the mask plate 32 supplied with paste such as cream solder.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, on the upper surface of the base 6, the substrate transport unit 8 extends in the X direction along the line center line CL between the first screen printing unit 7 </ b> A and the second screen printing unit 7 </ b> B. It is arranged. The substrate transport unit 8 has a structure in which a substrate transport rail 8b having a substrate transport conveyor mechanism is held at the upper end of a frame 8a erected on the base 6, and the substrate transport rail 8b supports the substrate. 5 can be conveyed in both forward and reverse directions.

  That is, by driving the conveyor mechanism of the substrate transport rail 8b in the downstream direction, the substrate 5 supplied from the upstream device bypasses the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B, and goes to the downstream device. In this case, the substrate transport unit 8 functions as a bypass transport path for passing the substrate 5 sent to the downstream apparatus. In addition, by driving the conveyor mechanism of the substrate transport rail 8b in the upstream direction, the substrate 5 returned from the downstream device can be returned to the upstream side of the printing device 2, and in this case, the substrate transport unit 8 Functions as a return transport path for transporting the substrate returning from the downstream side of the electronic component mounting line 1 to the upstream side of the screen printing apparatus 2.

  Substrate distribution devices 4 (1) respectively provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the printing device 2 include distribution conveyors 41A, 41B, and 41C each having a conveyor mechanism for substrate conveyance. 2) includes sorting conveyors 42A, 42B, and 42C. The sorting conveyors 41A, 41B, 41C and the sorting conveyors 42A, 42B, 42C are individually movable in the Y direction by respective transport rail moving mechanisms (not shown) (arrows a1, a2, a3, b1, b2, b3).

  By the movement of these distribution conveyors in the Y direction, the distribution apparatus 41 (1) requires the distribution conveyor 41A that is connected to the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the first screen printing unit 7A in the normal state. Accordingly, it can be connected to the conveyance rail 8b of the substrate conveyance unit 8 or the substrate conveyance conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B. At this time, the sorting conveyors 41B and 41C are retracted from the normal connection positions.

Similarly, in a normal state, the sorting conveyor 41B that is connected to the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B is connected to the substrate transfer rail 8b of the substrate transfer unit 8 or the first screen printing unit 7A as necessary. It can be connected to the substrate transfer conveyor 28. At this time, the sorting conveyors 41A and 41C are retracted from the normal connection positions. Further, in the normal state, the sorting conveyor 41C that is connected to the substrate transfer unit 8 is connected to the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the first screen printing unit 7A or the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B as necessary. Can be made. At this time, the sorting conveyors 41A and 41B retreat from the normal connection position. In this way, by moving the sorting conveyors 41A, 41B, and 41C in the Y direction and switching the connection target, the substrate 5 supplied from the upstream side can be switched between the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B. In addition to being able to distribute and transfer, the substrate 5 can be transferred between the first screen printing unit 7A, the second screen printing unit 7B and the substrate transport unit 8 via these distribution conveyors. It has become.

  Further, similarly in the substrate sorting apparatus 4 (2), the sorting conveyor 42A that is connected to the substrate carrying conveyor 28 of the first screen printing unit 7A in the normal state is conveyed by the substrate carrying unit 8 as necessary. It can be connected to the rail 8b or the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B. Similarly, in the normal state, the sorting conveyor 42B, which is connected to the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B, is connected to the transfer rail 8b of the substrate transfer unit 8 or the substrate of the first screen printing unit 7A as necessary. It can be connected to the conveyor 28. Further, in a normal state, the sorting conveyor 42C that is connected to the substrate transfer unit 8 is connected to the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the first screen printing unit 7A or the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B as necessary. Can be made. In this way, by moving the sorting conveyors 42A, 42B, and 42C in the Y direction and switching the objects to be connected, the first screen printing unit 7A, the second screen printing unit 7B, and the substrate transport unit 8 can perform these operations. The substrate 5 can be transferred via the sorting conveyor.

  Further, in the substrate distribution device 4 (2), the distribution conveyors 42A and 42B that are connected to the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B, respectively, in the normal state. The substrate 5 after the printing operation is connected to the substrate transport rails 12A and 12B of the mounting device 3 (1) from the substrate positioning unit 21 of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B by the downstream device. It can be delivered to a certain mounting device 3 (1).

  That is, in the above configuration, the substrate sorting device 4 (2) is provided on the downstream side of the two screen printing units of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B and the substrate transport unit 8, and these two screen printing units. And the substrate transfer unit 8 have a function of distributing the substrate 5. Then, by combining the function of the substrate sorting device 4 (2) and the function of the substrate transport unit 8, the substrate is transferred from one of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B to another screen printing unit. 5 can be conveyed. That is, by connecting the distribution conveyors 42A and 42B transferred from either the first screen printing unit 7A or the second screen printing unit 7B to the substrate transfer unit 8, the substrate transfer unit 8 is connected to the substrate transfer unit 8. It can be transported upstream. Then, by distributing the substrate 5 to one of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B by the function of the substrate distribution device 4 (1), the substrate from one screen printing unit to another screen printing unit. 5 is carried.

  Note that the upstream-side substrate distribution device 4 (1) is not essential for the following reason, and only the substrate distribution device 4 (2) may be provided. That is, since the board distribution device 4 (1) is located at the head of the electronic component mounting line 1, there are many cases where a worker who performs board supply work is always present. In such a case, downstream from one screen printing. You may make it distribute the board | substrate 5 carried out to the upstream side by the board | substrate conveyance part 8 to another screen printing part manually. That is, the substrate distribution devices 4 (1) and 4 (2) that are provided at least on the downstream side of the two screen printing units and the substrate conveyance unit 8 and distribute the substrate 5 between the two screen printing units and the substrate conveyance unit 8. The substrate transport unit 8 constitutes an inter-print-unit substrate transport unit that transports the substrate 5 from one screen printing unit among the plurality of screen printing units to another screen printing unit.

Next, the configuration of the control system will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the control unit 50 is an arithmetic processing device, and controls the operation and processing of each unit of the printing apparatus 2 by executing various processing programs stored in the storage unit 51. In the control by the control unit 50, various data stored in the storage unit 51 are referred to. These various programs and data include work modes stored in the work mode storage unit 52 provided in the storage unit 51. These work modes indicate modes of printing work executed by each of a plurality of screen printing units (here, the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B). By reading the program and data about the work mode stored in the mode storage unit 52 and instructing the control unit 50, the printing work and the substrate transport operation based on the predetermined work mode can be performed by each screen printing unit, This is executed by the substrate sorting devices 4 (1) and (2) and the substrate transport unit 8.

  The work mode storage unit 52 stores two work modes, a first work mode 52a and a second work mode 52b. The first work mode 52a is a work mode for causing each screen printing unit to individually perform a printing work on the substrate 5 individually conveyed to the substrate positioning unit 21 of each screen printing unit. . In the second work mode 52b, the same substrate 5 is sequentially conveyed to the substrate positioning unit 21 of each screen printing unit, and printing operations having different work contents are sequentially performed on the same substrate 5 in each screen printing unit. This is a work mode for execution. The mode command unit 53 selectively commands these two work modes.

  The operation / input unit 54 is input means such as a keyboard and a mouse, and inputs operation commands and data. The display unit 55 is a display device such as a liquid crystal panel, and displays a guidance screen at the time of input by the operation / input unit 54 and various notification screens. The communication unit 56 transmits and receives data to and from another apparatus constituting the electronic component mounting line 1 and a management computer 58 that controls the electronic component mounting line 1 through the LAN line 57. The mode instruction by the mode command unit 53 is a mode command signal that is automatically input from the management computer 58 via the communication unit 56, or a manual mode input signal that is given when the operator operates the operation / input unit 54. Based on. The mechanism drive unit 59 is controlled by the control unit 50 to drive the substrate positioning unit 21, the screen printing mechanism 43, the substrate transport unit 8, the substrate distribution device 4 (1), and the substrate distribution device 4 (2). At this time, the control unit 50 controls the substrate transport operation and the printing operation by each unit based on the work mode commanded from the mode command unit 53.

  Next, a substrate transfer operation executed based on the first work mode 52a and the second work mode 52b will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 shows a substrate transfer operation in a printing operation based on the first operation mode 52a. Here, the work target substrates 5 are individually supplied to the distribution conveyors 41A and 41B of the substrate distribution device 4 (1). At this time, the substrates 5 to be printed by the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B may be of the same type or different types. Then, the supplied substrate 5 is transferred from the sorting conveyors 41A and 42B to the respective substrate transfer conveyors 28 of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B (arrows c1 and c2), and is transferred and individually positioned. Each of the print positions is positioned by the unit 21. A predetermined printing operation is individually performed on the substrate 5 for each of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B. After the printing operation is completed, the substrate 5 is carried downstream from the respective substrate positioning portions 21 of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B (arrows d1, d2), and the substrate distribution device 4 (2). Transfer to the sorting conveyors 42A and 42B. Next, in the substrate distribution device 4 (2), the distribution conveyors 42A and 42B are moved in the Y direction (arrows e1 and e2) and connected to the substrate conveyance rails 12A and 12B of the mounting device 3 (1). The substrate 5 is unloaded onto the substrate transport rails 12A and 12B (arrows f1 and f2).

FIG. 7 shows a substrate transfer operation in a printing operation based on the second operation mode 52b. Here, the work target substrate 5 is supplied only to one sorter conveyor (here, the sorter conveyor 41A) of the substrate sorter 4 (1). The supplied substrate 5 is transferred from the sorting conveyor 41A to the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the first screen printing unit 7A (arrow g), transferred downstream, and positioned at the printing position by the substrate positioning unit 21. Then, a printing operation is performed on the substrate 5 by the first screen printing unit 7A.

  In the first screen printing unit 7A, as shown in FIG. 8A, the first printing operation using the mask plate 32A is performed. The mask plate 32A is provided with a recess 32c having a thickness t1 smaller than the mask body thickness t in a range corresponding to the fine electrode section 5a set on the substrate 5 to be printed, and the fine electrode section is provided in the recess 32c. Pattern holes 32a for printing cream solder 44 on the fine electrodes in 5a are formed. By bringing the mask plate 32A into contact with the substrate 5 and causing the squeegee 36 to perform a squeezing operation, as shown in FIG. 8B, the fine electrode section 5a of the substrate 5 has solder corresponding to the fine electrode. A printing unit 44a is formed.

  The substrate 5 after the completion of the first printing operation is unloaded from the substrate positioning unit 21 of the first screen printing unit 7A (arrow h) and is transferred to the sorting conveyor 42A of the substrate sorting device 4 (2). Next, in the substrate sorting apparatus 4 (2), the sorting conveyor 42 A is moved in the Y direction (arrow i) and connected to the substrate transport rail 8 b of the substrate transport unit 8. At this time, the sorting conveyor 42C retreats to a position where it does not interfere with the sorting conveyor 42A. As a result, the substrate 5 after the completion of the first printing operation is moved together with the sorting conveyor 42A to a position connected to the substrate transport unit 8 (arrow j), and then the substrate 5 is transferred to the substrate transport unit 8 and conveyed upstream. (Arrow k), transfer to the distribution conveyor 41C of the substrate distribution device 4 (1).

  Thereafter, in the substrate distribution device 4 (1), the distribution conveyor 41C is moved in the Y direction (arrow 1) and connected to the substrate conveyance conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B. Thereby, the board | substrate 5 after the completion of the 1st printing operation moves to the position connected with the board | substrate conveyance conveyor 28 with the distribution conveyor 41C (arrow m). At this time, the sorting conveyor 41B retreats to a position where it does not interfere with the sorting conveyor 41C. Next, the substrate 5 is transferred to the substrate conveying conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B, conveyed downstream, and positioned at the printing position by the substrate positioning unit 21. Then, a printing operation is performed on the substrate 5 by the second screen printing unit 7B.

  In the second screen printing unit 7B, as shown in FIG. 8C, the second printing operation using the mask plate 32B is performed. The mask plate 32B has a pattern hole 32b of a normal size in a range other than the fine electrode section 5a of the substrate 5 to be printed, and solder printing corresponding to the fine electrode section 5a on the lower surface of the mask plate 32B. A dull portion 32d is formed by cutting the bottom surface by a thickness corresponding to the height of the portion 44a. Thus, in a state where the mask plate 32B is in contact with the substrate 5, the already printed solder printing portion 44a and the mask plate 32B do not interfere with each other.

  By bringing the mask plate 32B into contact with the substrate 5 and causing the squeegee 36 to perform a squeezing operation, as shown in FIG. 8D, the substrate 5 has a solder printing portion 44a formed in the fine electrode section 5a. In addition, a solder printing portion 44b corresponding to a normal size electrode is formed. Then, the substrate 5 after the completion of the second printing operation is unloaded from the substrate positioning unit 21 (arrow o) and is transferred to the distribution conveyor 42B of the substrate distribution device 4 (2). The subsequent steps are the same as the substrate carry-out operation shown in FIG.

That is, in the printing operation based on the second operation mode 52b, the same substrate 5 is sequentially conveyed to the substrate positioning units 21 of the first screen printing unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B, and the first screen printing is performed. In the unit 7A and the second screen printing unit 7B, the first printing operation and the second printing operation, which are different from each other, are sequentially executed on the same substrate 5.

  In the printing work in the second working mode described above, when the same printing work is executed by the printing apparatus 2 that does not have the board sorting apparatus 4 (1), the board 5 indicated by the arrows m and n in FIG. Is moved manually. That is, the operator takes out the substrate 5 transported upstream by the substrate transport unit 8 and puts it on the substrate transport conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B.

  Further, when the same printing operation is performed by the printing apparatus 2 that has neither the substrate distribution device 4 (1) nor the substrate transport unit 8 and includes only the substrate distribution device 4 (2), A work form as shown in FIG. 9 is possible. That is, in this case, the substrate 5 is directly manually input to the substrate transfer conveyor 28 of the first screen printing unit 7A (arrow p), transferred downstream, and positioned at the printing position by the substrate positioning unit 21. Then, a printing operation is performed on the substrate 5 by the first screen printing unit 7A. The substrate 5 after the first printing operation in the first screen printing unit 7A is completed is unloaded from the substrate positioning unit 21 of the first screen printing unit 7A (arrow q), and is distributed by the substrate distribution device 4 (2). Transfer to the conveyor 42A. Next, in the substrate distribution device 4 (2), the distribution conveyor 42A is moved in the Y direction (arrow r) and connected to the substrate conveyance conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B. At this time, the sorting conveyor 42B retreats to a position where it does not interfere with the sorting conveyor 42A.

  As a result, the substrate 5 after the completion of the first printing operation is moved together with the sorting conveyor 42A to a position where it is connected to the substrate transport conveyor 28 of the second screen printing unit 7B (arrow s), and then the substrate of the second screen printing unit 7B. It is transferred to the transfer conveyor 28 and transferred to the upstream side (arrow t), and is positioned at the printing position by the substrate positioning unit 21. Then, a printing operation is performed on the substrate 5 by the second screen printing unit 7B. Then, the substrate 5 after the completion of the second printing operation is unloaded from the substrate positioning unit 21 (arrow u) and moved to the distribution conveyor 42B of the substrate distribution device 4 (2) moved to the connection position with the substrate transfer conveyor 28. Change. The subsequent steps are the same as the substrate carry-out operation shown in FIG.

  As described above, the screen printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a plurality of screen printing units arranged in parallel with the substrate conveyance direction aligned with the line direction, and a printing unit that conveys the substrate between these screen printing units. The same substrate as that in the first operation mode, wherein the substrate transport means is provided, and each screen printing unit individually performs a printing operation on the substrate individually transported to the substrate positioning unit of each screen printing unit. Are sequentially transferred to the substrate positioning units of the respective screen printing units, and the second operation mode in which the printing operations having different work contents are sequentially performed on the same substrate in each of the screen printing units is selectively executed. It is a thing.

  As a result, the line length can be shortened compared to a configuration in which a plurality of screen printing mechanisms are arranged in series, which has been conventionally employed when realizing a printing process similar to that in the second work mode. Can be improved. Furthermore, when a normal substrate that does not need to be printed a plurality of times is targeted, it is possible to perform printing operations in parallel by a plurality of screen printing mechanisms arranged in parallel, thereby obtaining high production efficiency. be able to. Therefore, various printing operations including a printing process in which a plurality of printing operations are repeatedly performed on the same substrate can be efficiently performed.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The screen printing apparatus and the screen printing method of the present invention have an effect that various printing operations including a printing process for repeatedly executing a plurality of printing operations on the same substrate can be efficiently performed. This is useful in the electronic component mounting field in which electronic components are mounted on a substrate to manufacture a mounting substrate.

The top view which shows the structure of the electronic component mounting line of one embodiment of this invention The top view of the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing of the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention Sectional drawing of the screen printing part in the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention The block diagram explaining the structure of the control system of the screen printing apparatus of one embodiment of this invention Operation explanatory diagram of substrate conveyance operation in the screen printing method of one embodiment of the present invention Operation explanatory diagram of substrate conveyance operation in the screen printing method of one embodiment of the present invention Explanatory drawing of the printing work in the screen printing method of one embodiment of this invention Operation explanatory diagram of substrate conveyance operation in the screen printing method of one embodiment of the present invention

Explanation of symbols

1 Electronic component mounting line
2 Printing device (screen printing device)
3. Mounting device (electronic component mounting device)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 Board | substrate distribution apparatus 5 Board | substrate 7A 1st screen printing part 7B 2nd screen printing part 8 Board | substrate conveyance part 21 Board | substrate positioning part 32 Mask plate 33 Squeegee unit 36 Squeegee 37 Squeegee movement mechanism

Claims (4)

A screen printing apparatus that is connected to an upstream side of an electronic component mounting apparatus that mounts electronic components on a substrate and prints a paste for joining electronic components on the substrate,
A mask plate provided with a pattern hole, and a squeegee moving mechanism for sliding a squeegee on the mask plate supplied with paste, the substrate transport direction being set in a first direction which is a line direction of the electronic component mounting line A plurality of screen printing units arranged in parallel to each other and the substrate provided in each of the plurality of screen printing units and conveyed in the first direction are positioned and held at a printing position by the screen printing unit. Each of the plurality of screen printing units is executed by a substrate positioning unit, an inter-printing unit substrate conveying unit that conveys the substrate from one screen printing unit of the plurality of screen printing units to another screen printing unit, and the plurality of screen printing units. A mode command unit for commanding a work mode indicating a mode of printing work.
The mode command unit is the same substrate as that in the first work mode in which the printing operation is individually performed for each screen printing unit with respect to the substrate individually conveyed to the substrate positioning unit of each screen printing unit. Are sequentially conveyed to the substrate positioning unit of each screen printing unit, and a second work mode for sequentially executing printing operations with different work contents on the same substrate in each screen printing unit is selectively instructed. A screen printing apparatus characterized by that. Two screen printing units arranged symmetrically in plan view with respect to a line center line of the electronic component mounting line, and disposed between the two screen printing units to convey the substrate in the first direction. A substrate transfer unit; and a substrate distribution device that is provided at least downstream of the two screen printing units and the substrate transfer unit and distributes substrates between the two screen printing units and the substrate transfer unit, The sorting device and the substrate transport unit constitute the substrate transport means between the printing units,
In the second operation mode, the substrate that has been screen printed by one screen printing unit and has been unloaded from the substrate positioning unit to the downstream side is transported upstream of the screen printing apparatus by the inter-printing unit substrate transfer means. The screen printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the screen printing apparatus is conveyed to the side and carried into the substrate positioning unit of another screen printing unit. In an electronic component mounting line configured by connecting a screen printing device on the upstream side of an electronic component mounting device for mounting an electronic component on a substrate, a screen printing method for printing an electronic component bonding paste on the substrate,
The screen printing apparatus includes a mask plate provided with a pattern hole, and a squeegee moving mechanism that slides a squeegee on the mask plate supplied with paste, and is a first direction in the line direction of the electronic component mounting line. A plurality of screen printing units arranged in parallel with the substrate transport direction aligned with the direction, and a printing position by the screen printing unit that is provided in each of the plurality of screen printing units and transported in the first direction A substrate positioning unit that positions and holds the substrate, and an inter-print-unit substrate conveying unit that conveys the substrate from one screen printing unit to another screen printing unit among the plurality of screen printing units,
A first operation mode in which a printing operation is individually performed for each screen printing unit for the substrates individually conveyed to the substrate positioning unit of each screen printing unit, and the same substrate is used for each screen printing unit. And a second work mode in which the printing operations having different work contents are sequentially executed on the same substrate in the respective screen printing units. Printing method. The screen printing apparatus is disposed between the two screen printing units disposed symmetrically in plan view with respect to a line center line of the electronic component mounting line, and is disposed between the two screen printing units, and the substrate is disposed in the middle. A substrate transport unit that transports in the first direction, and a substrate sorting device that is provided at least downstream of the two screen printing units and the substrate transport unit and sorts the substrates between the two screen printing units and the substrate transport unit And the substrate distribution device and the substrate transport unit constitute the inter-print unit substrate transport means,
In the second operation mode, the substrate that has been screen printed by one screen printing unit and has been unloaded from the substrate positioning unit to the downstream side is transported upstream of the screen printing apparatus by the inter-printing unit substrate transfer means. The screen printing method according to claim 3, wherein the screen printing method is carried to the side and carried into the substrate positioning portion of another screen printing portion.

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