JP7125151B2 - Board assembly system, board assembly apparatus used in the system, and board assembly method using the system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a board assembly system, a board assembly apparatus used in the system, and a board assembly method using the system.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been a substrate assembly system in which an upper substrate (glass substrate) and a lower substrate (glass substrate) are bonded together in a vacuum to assemble a substrate such as a liquid crystal panel (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A substrate assembly system includes a substrate assembly device that assembles substrates by bonding an upper substrate and a lower substrate together in a vacuum chamber, a control device that controls the operation of the substrate assembly device, and a vacuum chamber that separates the upper substrate and the lower substrate from the substrate assembly device. It also has a transport device for loading the substrate into the chamber and for transporting the substrate assembled by the substrate assembly device out of the vacuum chamber.

A substrate assembly apparatus has a lower table and an upper table in a vacuum chamber. The substrate assembly apparatus holds the lower substrate onto which the liquid crystal has been dropped on the lower table, and holds the upper substrate on the upper table so as to face the lower substrate. An adhesive is applied to one of the lower substrate and the upper substrate. The substrate assembly apparatus evacuates the interior of the vacuum chamber and applies pressure to the upper substrate and the lower substrate with the upper table to bond the upper substrate and the lower substrate together with the adhesive applied to one of the substrates. Thereby, the substrate assembly system assembles substrates such as liquid crystal panels. In such a substrate assembling system, the upper substrate and the lower substrate are arranged substantially parallel to each other in the vacuum chamber in order to reduce the error that occurs when the upper substrate and the lower substrate are attached and to improve the positional accuracy of the attachment. need to be placed.

Japanese Patent No. 4379435

However, the conventional board assembly system has a problem that it takes time and effort to adjust the parallelism of the upper board with respect to the lower board.
For example, in the conventional board assembly system, since the adjustment amount is unknown, the inclination of the upper board is manually adjusted until it is confirmed that the state is good (the parallelism is within the threshold). Repeat the adjustment process. Therefore, the parallel adjustment takes time and effort.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and is a board assembly system capable of simplifying parallel adjustment of an upper board with respect to a lower board, a board assembly apparatus used in the system, and the system. The main object is to provide a board assembly method using

In order to achieve the above object, a first invention is a substrate assembly system for assembling substrates by bonding an upper substrate and a lower substrate, comprising a control device for controlling the operation of a substrate assembly apparatus, and holding the lower substrate. A lower table, an upper table for holding the upper substrate, a plurality of adhesive pins for adhesively holding the upper substrate, and an upper frame arranged above the adhesive pins and the upper table are moved up and down to move the adhesive pins. a first drive mechanism for moving the upper table up and down; one or more bases having one or more adhesive pins attached to the lower surface so as to be vertically operable ; and a plurality of second driving mechanisms for vertically moving each part of each of the base portions independently, wherein the control device controls the operation of each of the second driving mechanisms to control each of the Based on a height control unit that defines the height of each part of the base portion, and the timing of load fluctuation of each of the second drive mechanisms measured according to the amount of descent of the first drive mechanism, each and an adjustment data calculation unit that calculates adjustment data for the operation amount of the second drive mechanism, and each of the second drive mechanisms has an external device for measuring fluctuations in the amount of current according to the load. It is configured by a servo motor or a step motor that can be controlled by a control device.

The adjustment data calculator of this circuit board assembly system adjusts the operation amount of each second drive mechanism based on the timing of load fluctuation of each second drive mechanism measured according to the lowering amount of the first drive mechanism. Calculate the data for An engineer on the side of the provider of the board assembly system and an operator on the side of the user can easily perform appropriate parallel adjustment by checking the calculated adjustment data. Therefore, this board assembly system can facilitate parallel adjustment of the upper board with respect to the lower board.

A second aspect of the invention is a substrate assembling apparatus that assembles substrates by bonding an upper substrate and a lower substrate together in a vacuum environment, comprising: a lower table holding the lower substrate; and an upper table holding the upper substrate. a first drive mechanism for vertically moving the adhesive pins and the upper table by vertically moving a plurality of adhesive pins for adhesively holding the upper substrate; and an upper frame disposed above the adhesive pins and the upper table. , one or a plurality of base portions having one or more adhesive pins vertically operably attached to the bottom surface; a plurality of second drive mechanisms for moving up and down by means of a control device; and the control device controls the operation of each of the second drive mechanisms to control each portion of the base portion relative to the upper substrate. and a height control unit that defines the height of each of the second drive mechanisms based on the timing of fluctuations in the load of each of the second drive mechanisms that is measured according to the amount of descent of the first drive mechanism. and an adjustment data calculation unit that calculates adjustment data for the operation amount of the .

A third aspect of the invention is a substrate assembly method for assembling substrates by bonding an upper substrate and a lower substrate together in a vacuum environment, comprising a lower table for holding the lower substrate and an upper table for holding the upper substrate. a first drive mechanism for vertically moving the adhesive pins and the upper table by vertically moving a plurality of adhesive pins for adhesively holding the upper substrate; and an upper frame disposed above the adhesive pins and the upper table. , one or a plurality of base portions having one or more adhesive pins vertically operably attached to the bottom surface; and a plurality of second driving mechanisms for vertically moving the substrate by loading the substrate between the lower table and the upper table, and adhesively holding the substrate with the adhesive pins. and a step of vacuuming the periphery of the substrate into a vacuum environment, and controlling the operation of each of the second drive mechanisms to define the height of each part of each of the bases, and a pressing/measuring step of pressing the substrate toward the lower table side by lowering the adhesive pins and the upper table by one driving mechanism and measuring the load of the second driving mechanism; The second drive mechanism is composed of a servo motor or a step motor capable of measuring the fluctuation of the current amount according to the load by a control device arranged outside, and according to the lowering amount of the first drive mechanism and an adjustment data calculation step of calculating adjustment data for the amount of movement of each of the second drive mechanisms based on the timing of variation in the load of each of the second drive mechanisms measured by .
Other means will be described later.

According to the present invention, parallel adjustment of the upper substrate with respect to the lower substrate can be simplified.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the board|substrate assembly system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the suspension mechanism of the board|substrate assembly apparatus used by embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the suction mechanism of the board|substrate assembly apparatus used by embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the adhesive holding mechanism of the board|substrate assembly apparatus used by embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the upper substrate surface of an upper table. It is a figure which shows typically operation|movement of an upper table. It is a figure which shows the structure of a vertical movement mechanism typically. It is a figure which shows the structure of the control apparatus used by embodiment. FIG. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the Z-axis height and the current value of the electric motor of the vertical motion mechanism; It is a figure which shows the operating state of the electric motor of a vertical movement mechanism. 4 is a flowchart (1) showing the operation during setup of the board assembly system; 10 is a flowchart (2) showing the operation during setup of the board assembly system; 3 is a flowchart (3) showing the operation during setup of the board assembly system; 4 is a flowchart (4) showing the operation during setup of the board assembly system; 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the board assembly system while it is stopped. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of the board assembly system during production; 10 is a flowchart (1) showing the operation of the board assembly system during pressurization and current measurement; 10 is a flowchart (2) showing the operation of the board assembly system during pressurization and current measurement; It is a figure which shows an example of a display screen.

An embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "the present embodiment") will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In addition, each figure is only shown roughly to such an extent that the present invention can be fully understood. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the illustrated examples only. Moreover, in each figure, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected about a common component and a similar component, and those overlapping description is abbreviate|omitted.

[Embodiment]
<Configuration of board assembly system>
The configuration of a board assembly system 1000 according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a board assembly system 1000. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, a board assembly system 1000 according to this embodiment includes a board assembly apparatus 1, a control apparatus 100, and a transport apparatus 200. As shown in FIG.

The substrate assembly apparatus 1 is an apparatus that assembles a substrate such as a liquid crystal panel by bonding an upper substrate K1 (glass substrate) and a lower substrate K2 (glass substrate) together in a vacuum.
The control device 100 is a device that controls the operation of the board assembly apparatus 1 .
The transfer device 200 carries the upper substrate K1 (glass substrate) and the lower substrate K2 (glass substrate) into the vacuum chamber 5 of the substrate assembly apparatus 1, and transports substrates such as liquid crystal panels assembled by the substrate assembly apparatus 1. It is a device for carrying out to the outside of the vacuum chamber 5 .

A board assembly apparatus 1 has a base 1 a and an upper frame 2 . The pedestal 1a is placed on an installation surface (floor surface, etc.). The upper frame 2 is provided above the pedestal 1a so as to be vertically movable.
The upper frame 2 is attached via a load cell 20d to a first drive mechanism (Z-axis drive mechanism 20) attached to the base 1a. In this embodiment, the board assembly apparatus 1 is described as having four Z-axis drive mechanisms 20 and four load cells 20d.

A board assembly apparatus 1 is provided with an upper table 3 and a lower table 4. - 特許庁The lower table 4 is attached to the frame 1a via the XYθ moving unit 40. As shown in FIG. The XY.theta. moving unit 40 is configured to be independently movable with respect to the base 1a in two mutually orthogonal (X-axis, Y-axis) directions. Further, the XYθ moving unit 40 is configured to be rotatable around the Z axis with respect to the gantry 1a. As the XYθ moving unit 40, a unit using a ball bearing or the like that is fixed in the Z-axis direction and freely movable in the XY-axis direction can be used.

In the circuit board assembly apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the direction of the upper frame 2 with respect to the base 1a is the Z-axis direction (vertical direction). The direction of one axis orthogonal to the Z axis is defined as the X-axis direction (horizontal direction), and the direction of one axis orthogonal to the Z-axis and the X-axis is defined as the Y-axis direction (vertical direction).
Also, the upper table 3 and the lower table 4 are rectangular with the Y-axis direction and the X-axis direction as the vertical and horizontal directions. The plane of the upper table 3 (upper substrate surface 3a) and the plane of the lower table 4 (lower substrate surface 4a) face each other.

The upper frame 2 is attached to the base 1a via four Z-axis drive mechanisms 20. As shown in FIG. Each Z-axis drive mechanism 20 has a ball screw mechanism 20b for vertically moving a ball screw shaft 20a extending in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction). The ball screw shaft 20a is rotated by an electric motor 20c and vertically moved by a ball screw mechanism 20b.
The electric motor 20 c is controlled by the control device 100 . Further, the upper frame 2 is displaced (vertically moved) based on the calculation of the control device 100 .

The upper table 3 is fixed to the upper frame 2 via a plurality of upper shafts 2a. The upper frame 2 and the upper table 3 move vertically together. An upper chamber 5 a is arranged around the upper table 3 . The upper chamber 5a has a structure in which the lower side (the side of the pedestal 1a) is opened, and is arranged so as to cover the upper side and the side of the upper table 3. As shown in FIG.

The upper chamber 5 a is attached to the upper frame 2 via a hanging mechanism 6 .
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the suspension mechanism 6 viewed from the side. As shown in FIG. 2, the suspension mechanism 6 has a support shaft 6a extending downward from the upper frame 2, and a locking portion 6b formed by widening the lower end of the support shaft 6a into a flange shape. .
Also, the upper chamber 5a is provided with a hook 6c. The hook 6c freely moves up and down around the support shaft 6a. Also, the hook 6c engages with the locking portion 6b at the lower end of the support shaft 6a.

Returning to FIG. 1, the upper shaft 2a passes through the upper chamber 5a. A vacuum seal (not shown) seals between the upper shaft 2a and the upper chamber 5a.
When the upper frame 2 moves upward (moves upward), the hook 6c engages with the engaging portion 6b of the support shaft 6a, and the upper chamber 5a moves upward together with the upper frame 2 accordingly. Further, when the upper frame 2 moves downward (moves downward), the hook 6c moves downward under its own weight, and the upper chamber 5a moves downward accordingly.

A plurality of suction holes (not shown) are opened in the lower substrate surface 4 a of the lower table 4 . Each suction hole of the lower table 4 is connected to a vacuum pump P3. When the vacuum pump P3 is driven, the lower substrate K2 placed on the lower substrate surface 4a is sucked and held by the lower table 4 (lower substrate surface 4a). Vacuum pump P3 is controlled by control device 100 .
A lower chamber 5 b is arranged around the lower table 4 . The lower chamber 5b is supported by a plurality of lower shafts 1b attached to the base 1a. The lower shaft 1b protrudes into the lower chamber 5b. A vacuum seal (not shown) seals between the lower chamber 5b and the lower shaft 1b.
The lower chamber 5b has a configuration in which the upper side (the side of the upper frame 2) is open, and is arranged so as to cover the lower side and the side of the lower table 4. As shown in FIG.

The XYθ moving unit 40 is attached to the lower shaft 1b protruding into the lower chamber 5b to support the lower table 4. As shown in FIG.

The upper chamber 5a and the lower chamber 5b form a vacuum chamber 5 by combining their open portions. That is, the upper chamber 5a moved downward engages with the lower chamber 5b from above, and the opening of the lower chamber 5b is closed by the upper chamber 5a. A connecting portion between the upper chamber 5a and the lower chamber 5b is sealed with a seal ring (not shown), so that the airtightness of the vacuum chamber 5 is ensured.

Further, the upper frame 2 can move further downward than the state where the upper chamber 5a is in contact with the lower chamber 5b. As a result, the upper frame 2 moves downward from the state in which the downward movement of the upper chamber 5a is restricted by the lower chamber 5b, and the engagement between the locking portion 6b and the hook 6c in the suspension mechanism 6 is released. The upper chamber 5a is placed on the lower chamber 5b by its own weight. An upper table 3 and a lower table 4 are arranged inside the vacuum chamber 5 .

The substrate assembly apparatus 1 is equipped with a vacuum pump mechanism P0. The vacuum pump mechanism P0 is connected to the vacuum chamber 5 and evacuates the air in the vacuum chamber 5 to evacuate the inside of the vacuum chamber 5 . That is, when the vacuum pump mechanism P0 is driven, the inside of the vacuum chamber 5 becomes a vacuum environment. The vacuum pump mechanism P0 is controlled by the controller 100. FIG.

The upper table 3 moves downward together with the upper frame 2 that moves downward inside the vacuum chamber 5 . By such downward movement of the upper table 3, the upper substrate K1 held by the upper table 3 and the lower substrate K2 held by the lower table 4 are stuck together, and the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are pressed. be. If the vacuum chamber 5 is in a vacuum state, the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are bonded together in vacuum.
Further, as described above, the upper table 3 is fixed to the upper frame 2 via a plurality of upper shafts 2a. Therefore, the load when the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are pressed by the upper table 3 is detected by the load cell 20d. A detection signal from the load cell 20 d is input to the control device 100 . The control device 100 specifies the load applied to the substrate from the upper table 3 based on the detected value detected by the load cell 20d. In this embodiment, since the board assembly apparatus 1 has four load cells 20d, the total value of the detection values detected by the four load cells 20d is the total load value of the entire apparatus. That is, the total value of the detection values detected by the four load cells 20d becomes the value of all the loads applied from the upper table 3 to the substrate.

The board assembly system 1000 manages the Z-axis coordinates of the upper table 3 vertically moved by the Z-axis driving mechanism 20 by the control device 100 . However, the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 generally have a thickness tolerance for each product. Therefore, it is difficult to monitor the close contact state between the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 by the amount of descent of the upper table 3 . Therefore, the substrate assembly system 1000 manages the contact state between the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 based on the load values detected by the four load cells 20d.

(Configuration of suction mechanism)
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the suction mechanism 7. As shown in FIG. The suction mechanism 7 is a mechanism for moving the suction pins 7a up and down and for sucking up the upper substrate K1 or a dummy substrate (not shown) to be described later by the suction pins 7a. A suction mechanism 7 is attached to the upper frame 2 .

As shown in FIG. 3, the suction mechanism 7 includes a plurality of suction pins 7a, one or more suction pin pads 7b, and a vertical movement mechanism 70. As shown in FIG. The suction pin 7a is a tubular member that extends vertically, and is provided so as to be vertically movable independently of the upper table 3. As shown in FIG. Each wicking pin 7a is attached to one or more wicking pin pads 7b. One or more wicking pins 7a are attached to each wicking pin pad 7b. Each suction pin 7a moves up and down at the same time as the suction pin pad 7b moves up and down. A suction pin pad 7 b is arranged between the upper chamber 5 a and the upper table 3 . The suction pin pad 7b is vertically moved by a vertical movement mechanism 70. As shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, description will be made on the assumption that the vertical movement mechanism 70 is configured by a ball screw mechanism. Similar to the vertical movement mechanism 80 (see FIG. 4) described later, the vertical movement mechanism 70 includes a ball screw shaft 71 that is rotatably supported by the mounting portion 80a and extends in the Z-axis direction, and the ball screw shaft 71. It has an electric motor 73 for rotation and a ball screw mechanism 72 for vertical movement by a rotating ball screw shaft 71 . The attachment portion 80a is fixed to the upper frame 2, and supports the ball screw shaft 71 of the vertical movement mechanism 70 together with the ball screw shaft 81 (see FIG. 4) of the vertical movement mechanism 80, which will be described later. The ball screw shaft 71 is rotated by an electric motor 73 to vertically move the ball screw mechanism 72 . The ball screw mechanism 72 is attached to the suction pin pad 7b. The suction pin pad 7b moves up and down integrally with the ball screw mechanism 72 which moves up and down as the ball screw shaft 71 rotates.

The vertical movement mechanism 70 is controlled by the control device 100, and the suction pin pads 7b and the suction pins 7a are moved up and down according to commands from the control device 100. FIG.

The suction pins 7a are arranged above the plane of the upper table 3 (upper substrate surface 3a), and protrude downward from the upper substrate surface 3a when moved downward with respect to the upper table 3. As shown in FIG. The upper substrate surface 3a is a flat surface facing the lower table 4 (see FIG. 1).

The suction pin 7a has a hollow tubular shape, and its hollow portion 7a1 communicates with the hollow portion 7b1 of the suction pin pad 7b. A vacuum pump P1 is connected to the hollow portion 7b1 of the suction pin pad 7b. When the vacuum pump P1 is driven, the hollow portions 7a1 and 7b1 are evacuated, and the upper substrate K1 is vacuum-sucked by the suction pins 7a. Vacuum pump P1 is controlled by controller 100 . That is, the vacuum pump P1 is driven according to a command from the control device 100, and the upper substrate K1 is vacuum-sucked by the suction pins 7a.

(Structure of Adhesive Holding Mechanism)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the adhesive holding mechanism 8. As shown in FIG. The adhesive holding mechanism 8 is a mechanism for moving the adhesive pins 8a up and down, and adhesively sucking the upper substrate K1 and the dummy substrate (not shown) by the adhesive pins 8a. The adhesive holding mechanism 8 is attached to the upper frame 2 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the adhesive holding mechanism 8 includes a plurality of adhesive pins 8a, one or more adhesive pin plates 8b, and a vertical movement mechanism 80. As shown in FIG. The adhesive pin 8a is a tubular member extending in the vertical direction, and is provided so as to be vertically movable independently of the upper table 3 and the suction pin 7a. The vertical movement of the adhesive pin 8a is a vertical movement with respect to the upper substrate surface 3a of the upper table 3. As shown in FIG. The adhesive pins 8a are arranged above the upper substrate surface 3a of the upper table 3, and protrude downward from the upper substrate surface 3a when the upper table 3 is moved downward. Also, the adhesive pin 8a moves upward and is pulled in from the upper substrate surface 3a. In the present embodiment, the state in which the adhesive pin 8a does not protrude from the upper substrate surface 3a, that is, the state in which the amount of protrusion of the adhesive pin 8a is zero (or less) is the state in which the adhesive pin 8a is pulled in from the upper substrate surface 3a. state. Then, the adhesive pin 8a moves downward to protrude from the upper substrate surface 3a. The amount of protrusion of the adhesive pin 8a indicates the amount of protrusion of the adhesive pin 8a from the upper substrate surface 3a (same below).

Each adhesive pin 8a is attached to one or more adhesive pin plates 8b (base portion). One or more adhesive pins 8a are attached to each adhesive pin plate 8b. Each adhesive pin plate 8b is capable of vertical movement (perpendicular movement with respect to the upper substrate surface 3a) independently.

The adhesive pin 8a has, at its tip, an adhesive portion 8c made of an elastic material and having adhesiveness. The adhesive pin 8a has a hollow tubular shape and has a vacuum suction hole 8d at its center. The vacuum suction hole 8d communicates with a negative pressure chamber 8b1 formed as a hollow portion of the adhesive pin plate 8b. A vacuum pump P2 is connected to the negative pressure chamber 8b1 of the adhesive pin plate 8b. Therefore, the vacuum pump P2 is connected to the vacuum suction hole 8d of the adhesive pin 8a through the negative pressure chamber 8b1.

The adhesive pin 8a vacuum-sucks the upper substrate K1 when the vacuum suction hole 8d is evacuated by driving the vacuum pump P2, and further adheres and holds the vacuum-sucked upper substrate K1 to the adhesive portion 8c. (Adhesive retention). The adhesive pins 8a hold the upper substrate K1 when protruding from the upper substrate surface 3a.
Vacuum pump P2 is controlled by control device 100 . The upper substrate K1 is vacuum-sucked by the adhesive pins 8a in accordance with a command from the control device 100 and attached to the adhesive portion 8c.

A gas supply means 8e is connected to the negative pressure chamber 8b1 of the adhesive pin plate 8b. The gas supply means 8e is controlled by the controller 100. FIG. The gas supply means 8e is driven according to a command from the control device 100 to supply a predetermined gas (air, nitrogen gas, etc.) to the negative pressure chamber 8b1. The negative pressure chamber 8b1 and the vacuum suction holes 8d are pressurized by the gas supplied from the gas supply means 8e, and the upper substrate K1 adhered to the adhesive portion 8c is peeled off from the adhesive portion 8c.

Each adhesive pin plate 8b is provided with a second drive mechanism (vertical movement mechanism 80). The vertical movement mechanism 80 is configured by a ball screw shaft 81 rotatably supported by the mounting portion 80a and extending in the Z-axis direction, an electric motor 83 that rotates the ball screw shaft 81, and the ball screw shaft 81 that rotates. and a moving ball screw mechanism 82 . The mounting portion 80 a is fixed to the upper frame 2 . The ball screw shaft 81 is rotated by an electric motor 83 to vertically move the ball screw mechanism 82 . The ball screw mechanism 82 is attached to the adhesive pin plate 8b. The adhesive pin plate 8b moves up and down integrally with the ball screw mechanism 82 which moves up and down as the ball screw shaft 81 rotates.
The vertical movement mechanism 80 is controlled by the control device 100, and the adhesive pin plate 8b and the adhesive pins 8a are moved up and down according to commands from the control device 100. FIG.

The mounting portion 80a is mounted on the upper frame 2 and vertically moves together with the upper frame 2. As shown in FIG. Further, the upper table 3 moves vertically together with the upper frame 2 . The upper frame 2 is vertically moved by the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 (see FIG. 1), and when the upper frame 2 is moved downward, the upper table 3 and the mounting portion 80a are moved downward. As a result, the upper table 3 and the mounting portion 80a advance toward the lower table 4 (see FIG. 1). The vertical movement mechanism 80 is attached to the mounting portion 80a, and the adhesive pin plate 8b (adhesive pin 8a) moves up and down according to the vertical movement of the mounting portion 80a. Therefore, the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 (first drive mechanism) has a function of advancing the adhesive pin 8 a and the upper table 3 toward the lower table 4 .

In addition, in this embodiment, the upper table 3 has a back plate 30 and a cushion seat 31 . The back plate 30 is a plate material that supports the cushion seat 30 and is made of a rigid material. The cushion sheet 30 is a sheet material made of an elastic material. The back plate 30 is attached to the upper shaft 2a and vertically moves together with the upper frame 2. - 特許庁The back plate 30 is a plate-like member arranged parallel to the lower substrate surface 4a (see FIG. 1) of the lower table 4. As shown in FIG. Also, the cushion sheet 30 faces the lower substrate surface 4a.

(Structure of upper substrate surface)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the upper substrate surface 3a of the upper table 3, showing an example of the arrangement of the adhesive pins 8a.
As shown in FIG. 5, in this embodiment, the upper table 3 is provided with 81 adhesive pins 8a. Nine adhesive pins 8a are attached to the lower surface side of one adhesive pin plate 8b having a rectangular shape. Nine adhesive pin plates 8 b are arranged on one upper table 3 . Four vertical movement mechanisms 80 are provided for one adhesive pin plate 8b. For example, a total of four vertical movement mechanisms 80 are provided, one at each of the four corners of each adhesive pin plate 8b having a rectangular shape. The nine adhesive pin plates 8b can be vertically moved independently of each other by a vertically moving mechanism 80. As shown in FIG. However, the number of adhesive pins 8a can be appropriately changed according to the operation. Also, the number of adhesive pin plates 8b can be appropriately changed according to the operation, and can be, for example, one, four, or another number.

Thus, the vertical movement mechanism 80 (second drive mechanism) of the present embodiment can independently vertically move the plurality (nine) of the adhesive pin plates 8b (perpendicular movement with respect to the upper substrate surface 3a). is configured to

The vertical movement mechanism 80 can cause the adhesive pins 8a to protrude from the upper substrate surface 3a by a protrusion amount set for each adhesive pin plate 8b. As a result, the adhesive pins 8a can hold the upper substrate K1 (see FIG. 1) while protruding from the upper substrate surface 3a by a protrusion amount set for each adhesive pin plate 8b.

(Operation of upper table)
FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing the operation of the upper table 3. As shown in FIG. FIG. 6(a) shows the state immediately before bonding the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 together, and FIG. 6(b) shows the state when the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are bonded together. there is

As shown in FIG. 6A, the lower substrate K2 is placed on the lower table 4 immediately before the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are bonded together. The upper substrate K1 is held above the lower substrate K2 by a plurality of adhesive pins 8a passing through the upper table 3. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6B, the substrate assembly apparatus 1 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to move the upper frame 2 downward when bonding the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 together. Each adhesive pin plate 8b (adhesive pin 8a) is moved downward together with the upper table 3 . As a result, the board assembly apparatus 1 presses the upper board K1 and the lower board K2 with the upper frame 2, the upper table 3, and the lower table 4 to bond the upper board K1 and the lower board K2 together.

(Structure of Vertical Movement Mechanism of Adhesive Holding Mechanism)
FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of the vertical movement mechanism 80 of the adhesive holding mechanism 8. As shown in FIG. FIG. 7(a) schematically shows the configuration of the vertical movement mechanism 80 of the entire board assembly apparatus 1, and FIG. The structure of the movement mechanism 80 is shown typically.

As shown in FIG. 7A, in this embodiment, the substrate assembly apparatus 1 has nine rectangular adhesive pin plates 8b. At least four corners of each adhesive pin plate 8b are attached with four vertical movement mechanisms 80 for vertically moving each part (four corners) of the adhesive pin plate 8b.

Here, the four vertical motion mechanisms 80 are respectively referred to as axes Ax1, Ax2, Ax3, and Ax4 (see FIG. 7(b)). Axis Ax1 and axis Ax4 are arranged on a diagonal line connecting two non-adjacent vertices of the rectangle. Axis Ax2 and axis Ax3 are arranged on a diagonal line connecting two other vertices.

As shown in FIG. 7B, each vertical movement mechanism 80 has a ball screw shaft 81, a ball screw mechanism 82, and an electric motor 83. As shown in FIG. The ball screw mechanism 82 is formed integrally with the adhesive pin plate 8b and is screwed with the ball screw shaft 81 . The electric motor 83 rotates the ball screw shaft 81 to move each part (four corners) of the adhesive pin plate 8b up and down.

The electric motor 83 is connected to the controller 100 via an amplifier 211 and programmable logic controller (PLC) 212 . In this embodiment, a servomotor is used as the electric motor 83 so that the control device 100 can define the operation amount (rotation angle) of each electric motor 83 via the PLC 212 . Therefore, the control device 100 can regulate the distance from the upper frame 2 to the adhesive pin plate 8b on each axis Ax1, Ax2, Ax3, Ax4 by controlling the operation amount (rotational angle) of the electric motor 83. . That is, the control device 100 can define the height of each portion (four corners) of the adhesive pin plate 8b.

<Configuration of control device>
The configuration of the control device 100 will be described below with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control device 100. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, the control device 100 includes a control unit 110, a storage unit 160 such as a ROM, a RAM, and an HDD, a speaker 170, a display unit 180 such as a liquid crystal display, and an input unit 190 such as a touch panel, numeric keypad, and keyboard. have.

The control unit 110 is configured by a CPU, and by executing a control program Pr1 stored in advance in the storage unit 160, the height control unit 111, the movement control unit 112, the vacuum process control unit 113, the measurement unit 121, the adjustment It functions as a data calculator 122 , an adjustment mode selector 123 , a change monitor 124 , an automatic adjuster 131 and a manual adjuster 132 .

The height control unit 111 is functional means for controlling the operations of the vertical motion mechanisms 70 and 80 . The height control unit 111 drives the vertical movement mechanisms 70 and 80 to control the height adjustment of the suction pin pad 7b and the height adjustment of each part (four corners) of the adhesive pin plate 8b.
The movement control section 112 is functional means for controlling the operations of the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 and the XYθ movement unit 40 . The movement control unit 112 drives the electric motor 20c of the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to move the upper frame 2 up and down, thereby moving the upper table 3 and each adhesive pin plate 8b (adhesive pin 8a) up and down. The movement control unit 112 also drives the movement mechanism 41 of the XYθ movement unit 40 to displace the lower table 4 and determine the bonding position between the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2.

The vacuum process controller 113 is functional means for controlling the operations of the upper chamber 5a, the vacuum pump mechanism P0, and the vacuum pumps P1, P2, and P3.
The measuring unit 121 is functional means for measuring the load of each vertical movement mechanism 80 (in the present embodiment, the current value of the holding current flowing through each electric motor 83 (holding current value)). The measurement unit 121 simultaneously records the timing data when the holding current value of the electric motor 83 fluctuates and the height data of the adhesive pin plate 8b in the storage unit 160 as the measurement data D2. The measuring unit 121 has a monitoring function to determine the parallel state of each part (four corners) of each adhesive pin plate 8b according to the timing of load fluctuation of each vertical movement mechanism 80 .

The adjustment data calculator 122 is functional means for calculating adjustment data D3, which will be described later.
The adjustment mode selection unit 123 is functional means for selectively accepting an adjustment mode such as an automatic adjustment mode or a manual adjustment mode.
The change monitoring unit 124 is a functional means for monitoring the magnitude of change in the height (parallelism) of each portion (four corners) of the adhesive pin plate 8b and the holding current value of each electric motor 83 due to aging or other factors. is.

The automatic adjustment unit 131 is functional means that executes an automatic adjustment mode. The automatic adjustment mode is a mode in which the control device 100 automatically performs parallel adjustment based on the adjustment data D3 calculated by the adjustment data calculator 122 .
The manual adjustment unit 132 is functional means for executing the manual adjustment mode. The manual adjustment mode is a mode in which parallel adjustment is performed by accepting manual input of adjustment values by an engineer or operator. Here, the engineer is a person on the provider side of the board assembly system 1000 . Also, the operator is a person on the user side of the board assembly system 1000 . The manual adjustment mode is suitable for production while engineers and operators individually check the parallel adjustment status of each board.

The storage unit 160 stores, for example, a control program Pr1, setting data D1, measurement data D2, adjustment data D3, accumulated measurement data D4, and the like.
The control program Pr1 is a program that defines the operation of the control device 100. FIG.
The setting data D<b>1 is data representing setting values for the operation of the board assembly apparatus 1 .
The measurement data D2 is data representing the measurement result of the holding current value of each electric motor 83 of each vertical movement mechanism 80 .
The adjustment data D3 is data representing an adjustment value of the operation amount (rotational angle) of each electric motor 83 of each vertical movement mechanism 80 . Details of the adjustment data D3 will be described later.
The accumulated measurement data D4 is data representing the measurement result of the holding current value of each electric motor 83 of each vertical movement mechanism 80 measured in the past.

<Example of change in electric motor current value>
An example of change in the current value of the electric motor 83 will be described below with reference to FIG. In this embodiment, "parallel adjustment" means driving the electric motor 83 of the vertical movement mechanism 80 of the adhesive holding mechanism 8 to adjust each part of the adhesive pin plate 8b (specifically, the four corners of the adhesive pin plate 8b). By adjusting the height of each axis Ax1, Ax2, Ax3, Ax4 (see FIG. 7(b)) arranged in the means the action of adjusting the

FIG. 9 is a graph showing the relationship between the Z-axis height and the current value of the electric motor 83 of the vertical movement mechanism 80. As shown in FIG. FIG. 9(a) shows the state before parallel adjustment. 9(b) and 9(b) show the state after the parallel adjustment.

In FIG. 9 , the horizontal axis represents the Z-axis height, and the vertical axis represents the current value of the holding current flowing through each electric motor 83 (holding current value). The values on the horizontal axis decrease from left to right, while the values on the vertical axis increase from bottom to top.

Here, the Z-axis height represents the height from the lower substrate surface 4a of the lower table 4 to the upper substrate surface 3a of the upper table 3 (height of the vertical axis of the upper frame 2). When the upper frame 2 is moved upward by the Z-axis drive mechanism 20, the Z-axis height value increases, and when the upper frame 2 is moved downward by the Z-axis drive mechanism 20, the Z-axis height value is decreased.
The holding current value is measured by the measuring unit 121 (see FIG. 8) of the control device 100, for example.

Ax1a represents the point at which the current value of the electric motor 83 of the axis Ax1 begins to decrease. Ax1b represents a section during which the current value of the electric motor 83 of the axis Ax1 is decreasing. Ax1c represents the end point of the current decrease in the electric motor 83 of the axis Ax1. Ax2a, Ax3a, and Ax4a represent the start points of the current reduction in the electric motors 83 of the axes Ax2a, Ax3a, and Ax4a, respectively.

Here, the starting points (points Ax1a, Ax2a, Ax3a, and Ax4a) of the decrease in the current value are the substrates held by the adhesive pins 8a (for example, the upper substrate K1 or a dummy substrate (not shown) to be described later). It represents the point of contact with the side members (for example, the lower substrate K2 and the lower table 4).

As described above, the total value of the detection values detected by the four load cells 20d is the total load value of the entire device. The control device 100 monitors whether or not the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are in contact with each other by monitoring the Z-axis height and changes in the detection values of the four load cells 20d. The substrate assembly apparatus 1 has a structure in which an upper table 3 is suspended from an upper frame 2 by a suspension mechanism 6 . The circuit board assembly apparatus 1 is structured such that when the adhesive portion 8c of the adhesive pin 8a is crushed, the load is applied to the upper table 3 rather than to the adhesive holding mechanism 8. As shown in FIG. Therefore, in the board assembly apparatus 1, when the adhesive portion 8c is crushed to some extent, the holding current value of the electric motor 83 stops fluctuating and the holding current value becomes constant.

FIG. 10 shows the state of the adhesive pin 8a in that process. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing the operating state of the electric motor 83 of the vertical movement mechanism 80, which is the second drive mechanism. At the point Ax1a shown in FIG. 9(a), the adhesive pin 8a is in the state shown in FIG. 10(a). Moreover, in the section Ax1b shown in FIG. 9(a), the adhesive pin 8a is in the state shown in FIG. 10(b). At point Ax1c shown in FIG. 9(a), the adhesive pin 8a is in the state shown in FIG. 10(c).

As shown in FIG. 10A, at the point Ax1a, which is the starting point of the decrease in the current value, the substrate held by the adhesive pins 8a (for example, the upper substrate K1 or a dummy substrate (not shown) to be described later) is positioned on the lower side. It is in contact with members (for example, the lower substrate K2 and the lower table 4). Here, it is assumed that the substrate held by the adhesive pins 8a is the upper substrate K1 and the member below the upper substrate K1 is the lower substrate K2 (the same applies hereinafter). At this time, the adhesive portion 8c of the adhesive pin 8a is not crushed, and as the holding current value of the electric motor 83, the current value I1a as set is measured.

As shown in FIG. 10B, the upper substrate K1 is pressed by the upper frame 2, the upper table 3, and the lower table 4 in the section Ax1b where the current value is decreasing. At this time, the adhesive portion 8c of the adhesive pin 8a is in a crushed state, and as the holding current value of the electric motor 83, a current value I1b smaller than the current value I1a is measured.

As shown in FIG. 10(c), at the point Ax1c, which is the end point of the decrease in the current value, the upper substrate K1 and the cushion sheet 31 of the upper table 3 are pressed together by the upper frame 2, the upper table 3, and the lower table 4. is under pressure. At this time, the adhesive portion 8c of the adhesive pin 8a and the cushion sheet 31 of the upper table 3 are in a crushed state, and the holding current value of the electric motor 83 is a current value I1c that is even smaller than the current value I1b. measured.

Returning to FIG. 9A, ΔAx12 represents the difference from point Ax1a to point Ax2a. ΔAx13 represents the difference from point Ax1a to point Ax3a. ΔAx14 represents the difference from point Ax1a to point Ax4a. Here, the difference ΔAx12 represents the difference from the first current value decrease start point (point Ax1a) to the second current value decrease start point (point Ax2a) (the other differences ΔAx13 and ΔAx14 are also as well).

In this embodiment, as an example, when "N (μm)" is set as a threshold and "-Nμm<(ΔAx14−ΔAx12)<+Nμm", the adhesive pin plate 8b (substrate held by the adhesive pins 8a) is It is assumed that parallel adjustment is performed by judging that it is parallel to the lower member (for example, the lower substrate K2 and the lower table 4).

In the example shown in FIG. 9A, the Z-axis height values of points Ax1a, Ax2a, Ax3a, and Ax4a are arranged in descending order of the points Ax1a, Ax2a, Ax3a, and Ax4a. This means that the adhesive pin plate 8b is positioned so that the axis Ax1 is the lowest, the axis Ax2 is the second lowest, the axis Ax3 is the third lowest, and the axis Ax4 is the fourth lowest (that is, the highest). indicates that it is tilted. The board assembly system 1000 can adjust the timing of starting the reduction of the holding current value, for example, as shown in FIGS. 9(b) and 9(c).

FIG. 9(b) shows an example in which parallel adjustment is performed so that the holding current values start decreasing at the same timing for all the axes Ax1, Ax2, Ax3, and Ax4. This case means that parallel adjustment is performed so that the entire surface of the adhesive pin plate 8b is parallel to the lower member (eg, the lower substrate K2 and the lower table 4).

On the other hand, FIG. 9(c) shows an example in which parallel adjustment is performed so that the timings of starting the reduction of the holding current values on the axes Ax1, Ax2, Ax3, and Ax4 are appropriately shifted. In this case, each portion of the adhesive pin plate 8b is adjusted so as to be substantially parallel to the lower member (for example, the lower substrate K2 and the lower table 4) with a deliberately set amount of misalignment. means if

<Details of setting data>
Details of the adjustment data D3 (see FIG. 8) will be described below.
In this embodiment, the adjustment data D3 is the amount of parallel adjustment of each portion of the adhesive pin plate 8b (for example, near each axis Ax1, Ax2, Ax3, Ax4 (see FIG. 7B)) (of each vertical movement mechanism 80). It means data representing the adjustment amount of the operation). The adjustment data D3 is calculated based on the Z-axis height differences ΔAX12, ΔAX13, and ΔAX14 (see FIG. 9A). For example, the substrate assembly system 1000 can adjust the adhesive pin plate 8b, which is inclined with respect to the upper substrate surface 3a of the upper table 3, to be parallel to the upper substrate surface 3a. That is, the substrate assembly system 1000 can perform parallel adjustment from the state shown in FIG. 9A to the state shown in FIG. 9B. In this case, the parallel adjustment amounts of the axes Ax2, Ax3 and Ax4 are ΔAX12, ΔAX13 and ΔAX14. The adjustment data D3 represents that value.

The substrate assembly system 1000 can be adjusted so that each portion of the adhesive pin plate 8b is distorted by an intentionally set amount of displacement. That is, the substrate assembly system 1000 can perform parallel adjustment from the state shown in FIG. 9A to the state shown in FIG. 9C, for example. In this case, the amount of parallel adjustment for each of the axes Ax2, Ax3, and Ax4 can be changed according to the intentionally distorted displacement amount of each portion. Therefore, the value of the adjustment data D3 in this case varies according to the amount of displacement.

<Operation of board assembly system>
The substrate assembly system 1000 makes it possible to simplify parallel adjustment of the upper substrate K1 with respect to the lower substrate K2. The parallel adjustment is performed by controlling the operation of the vertical movement mechanism 80 of the adhesive holding mechanism 8, which is the second driving mechanism, and adjusting the height of each part of the adhesive pin plate 8b, which is the base portion of the adhesive holding mechanism 8. It is performed by executing (see S140 in FIG. 11A).

11A to 11D, 12, 13, 14A to 14B, and 15, the operation of board assembly system 1000 will be described below. 11A-11D are each flow charts showing operations during setup of the board assembly system 1000. FIG. FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the operation of board assembly system 1000 while it is stopped. FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing the operation of board assembly system 1000 during production. 14A and 14B are flow charts showing the operation of the substrate assembly system 1000 during pressurization and current measurement. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen PI1 displayed on the display section 180 (see FIG. 8).

The board assembly apparatus 1 operates based on the time measured by a timer (not shown). A series of operations of the circuit board assembly apparatus 1 is defined by a program pre-stored in a memory (not shown) in a readable manner. Also, each information is temporarily stored in the storage unit in a readable manner, and then output to a required component for subsequent processing. Since these points are common means in information processing, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

(Operation during setup)
First, with reference to FIGS. 11A to 11D, operations during setup of board assembly system 1000 will be described. Operations during setup are performed based on the operations of the engineer of the board assembly system 1000 provider side. The engineer operates the control device 100 to display a registration screen (not shown) for registering various set values in the board assembly system 1000 on the display section 180 . Thereby, the board assembly system 1000 starts the operation during setup.

As shown in FIG. 11A, when the engineer inputs various setting values from a registration screen (not shown), the control device 100 accepts registration of the input setting values (S105).
Then, when the engineer performs an operation to instruct the start of setup, the control device 100 causes the substrate assembly apparatus 1 to carry a dummy substrate (not shown) into the vacuum chamber 5 (S110). Specifically, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 of the substrate assembly apparatus 1 to move the upper frame 2 upward, thereby moving the upper table 3 upward and the upper chamber 5a upward. Let This opens the vacuum chamber 5 . Next, the control device 100 drives the transfer device 200 to carry a dummy substrate (not shown) between the upper table 3 and the lower table 4 in the vacuum chamber 5 . The dummy board is used to confirm the amount of parallel adjustment (adjustment amount of operation of each vertical movement mechanism 80) of each part of the adhesive pin plate 8b (for example, near each axis Ax1, Ax2, Ax3, Ax4 (see FIG. 7B)). It is a substrate for The dummy substrate is formed with a uniform thickness over the entire surface.

When the dummy substrate is carried between the upper table 3 and the lower table 4, the control device 100 gives a command to the vertical movement mechanism 70 to move the suction pins 7a downward until they hit the dummy substrate, and the vacuum pump P1. to drive. As a result, the dummy substrate is vacuum-sucked by the suction pins 7a.
Thereafter, the control device 100 moves the transfer device 200 out of the vacuum chamber 5 and moves the suction pins 7 a upward to bring the dummy substrate into close contact with the upper substrate surface 3 a of the upper table 3 . Since the upper substrate surface 3a is a flat surface, deformation such as flexure in the dummy substrate is corrected (deformation such as flexure is removed).

The control device 100 then gives a command to the vertical movement mechanism 80 to move the adhesive pin plate 8b downward and drive the vacuum pump P2. The dummy substrate is vacuum-sucked by the adhesive pins 8a that move downward together with the adhesive pin plate 8b. At this time, the adhesive portion 8c at the tip of the adhesive pin 8a sticks to the dummy substrate. After that, the control device 100 moves downward the adhesive pin plate 8b in which the dummy substrate is attached to the adhesive portion 8c of the adhesive pin 8a to separate the dummy substrate from the upper substrate surface 3a.

At this time, the control device 100 operates each vertical movement mechanism 80 (specifically, each By controlling the operation of each electric motor 83 of the vertical movement mechanism 80, each adhesive pin plate 8b is moved downward. Thereby, the control device 100 defines the height of each portion of each adhesive pin plate 8b. In this embodiment, the electric motor 83 is configured by a servomotor and controlled by the PLC 212 . The PLC 212 (see FIG. 7B) maintains the operation amount (rotational angle) of the electric motor 83 at the operation amount specified by the command from the control device 100 by continuously supplying a constant current to the electric motor 83. continue.

Thereafter, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to move the upper frame 2 downward, thereby moving the upper table 3 downward and the upper chamber 5a downward. This causes the upper chamber 5a and the lower chamber 5b to engage and the vacuum chamber 5 to close. At this time, inside the vacuum chamber 5, the upper table 3, the lower table 4, the suction pins 7a, and the adhesive pins 8a are arranged.
The processing of S110 is performed as described above.

After S110, the controller 100 causes the substrate assembly apparatus 1 to vacuum (S115). Specifically, when the vacuum chamber 5 is closed, the controller 100 drives the vacuum pump P0 to evacuate the inside of the vacuum chamber 5 . As a result, the vacuum chamber 5 accommodates the upper table 3, the lower table 4, the suction pins 7a, and the adhesive pins 8a in a vacuum environment.

After S115, the control device 100 causes the board assembly apparatus 1 to perform pressure and current measurement (S125). The processing of S125 is performed as follows.
First, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to move the upper frame 2 downward, thereby lowering the adhesive pin plates 8b (adhesive pins 8a) together with the upper table 3 . As a result, the substrate assembly apparatus 1 presses the dummy substrate with the upper frame 2 and the upper table 3 and the lower table 4 . At the same time, the control device 100 starts measuring the holding current value of each electric motor 83 of each vertical movement mechanism 80 .

The control device 100 associates the measurement result of the holding current value of each electric motor 83 measured between the start and the end of the measurement of the current value of each electric motor 83 with the Z-axis height, and performs the measurement. Stored in the storage unit 160 as data D2. Specifically, the measurement unit 121 of the control device 100 measures, for example, the height data of the adhesive pin plate 8b representing the Z-axis height and the holding current of the electric motor 83 representing the measurement result of the holding current value of each electric motor 83. The timing data whose value has changed is recorded in the storage section 160 as the measurement data D2.

When the adhesive pin plate 8 b (adhesive pin 8 a ) moves downward, the lower surface of the dummy substrate held by the adhesive pin 8 a comes into close contact with the lower substrate surface 4 a of the lower table 4 . The control device 100 detects that the lower surface of the dummy substrate is in close contact with the lower substrate surface 4a of the lower table 4 from the detection signal input from the load cell 20d. At that time, the controller 100 drives each vertical movement mechanism 80 to draw each adhesive pin 8a from the upper substrate surface 3a. At this time, the control device 100 stops the vacuum pump P2, drives the gas supply means 8e to supply gas to the vacuum suction holes 8d, and separates the dummy substrate from the adhesive portion 8c.

When the adhesive pin plate 8b (adhesive pin 8a) moves further downward, the adhesive portion 8c of the adhesive pin 8a is crushed. After that, the upper surface of the dummy substrate is brought into close contact with the upper substrate surface 3 a of the upper table 3 , and the dummy substrate is further pressed by the upper frame 2 and the upper table 3 . The control device 100 stops the downward movement of the upper frame 2 when it determines that a predetermined set load has occurred between the upper table 3 and the lower table 4 based on the detection signal input from the load cell 20d. Also, the control device 100 ends the measurement of the current value of each electric motor 83 . At this time, the dummy substrate is in a state where a predetermined set load is applied under the vacuum environment in the vacuum chamber 5 .
The processing of S125 is performed as described above. Details of the "pressurization/current measurement" process of S125 will be described later with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B.

After S125, the control device 100 refers to the measurement data D2 of the current value of each electric motor 83 stored in the storage unit 160 in S125, and displays a display screen showing the measurement result (for example, the display screen PI1 shown in FIG. 15). ) is created and its display screen is displayed on the display unit 180 (see FIG. 8) (S130).

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of the display screen PI1. In the example shown in FIG. 15, the display screen PI1 is configured to show the old measurement result and the latest measurement result in comparison. The display screen PI1 includes graphs representing the measured fluctuations of the current values of the electric motors 83, various reference information, automatic adjustment buttons B1a and B2a, manual adjustment buttons B1b and B2b, and a no-adjustment button B3. It has become. The automatic adjustment buttons B1a and B2a are buttons for instructing the controller 100 to automatically execute parallel adjustment (that is, adjustment that defines the height of each portion of the adhesive pin plate 8b) (execution of the automatic adjustment mode). is. Manual adjustment buttons B1b and B2b are buttons for instructing control device 100 to manually execute parallel adjustment (execute manual adjustment mode). Adjustment unnecessary button B3 is a button for instructing control device 100 not to execute parallel adjustment.

Returning to FIG. 11A, after S130, the engineer determines whether a parallel adjustment is required (S135). If parallel adjustment is required ("Yes"), for example, an engineer presses the automatic adjustment button B1a (see FIG. 15) or the manual adjustment button B1b (see FIG. 15). When the control device 100 detects that the automatic adjustment button B1a (see FIG. 15) or the manual adjustment button B1b has been pressed, it performs parallel adjustment (S140). On the other hand, when the parallel adjustment is unnecessary ("No"), for example, the engineer presses the adjustment unnecessary button B3 (see FIG. 15). When the control device 100 detects that the no-adjustment button B3 has been pressed, it terminates the series of routine processes.

(Details of "adjustment execution" processing)
Details of the "adjustment execution" process (see FIG. 11A) of S140 will be described below with reference to FIG. 11B.
As shown in FIG. 11B, in the "adjustment execution" process of S140, the control device 100 first accepts the adjustment mode (S140a). Acceptance of the adjustment mode is performed, for example, by detecting pressing of automatic adjustment buttons B1a, B2a or manual adjustment buttons B1b, B2b displayed on the display screen PI1 (see FIG. 15). Next, the control device 100 determines whether or not the accepted adjustment mode is the automatic adjustment mode (S140b).

If it is determined in S140b that the accepted adjustment mode is the automatic adjustment mode ("Yes"), the control device 100 calculates adjustment data D3 (see FIG. 8) (S140c), Automatic parallel adjustment is executed (S140d). Thus, the control device 100 ends the "adjustment execution" process of S140. The details of the "automatic adjustment execution" process of S140d will be described later with reference to FIG. 11C.

On the other hand, when it is determined in S140b that the accepted adjustment mode is not the automatic adjustment mode (“No”), the adjustment data calculator 122 (see FIG. 8) of the control device 100 calculates the adjustment data D3 (see FIG. 8) is calculated (S140e), adjustment data is displayed on the display unit 180 (see FIG. 8) (S140f), and parallel adjustment is performed manually (S140g). Thus, the control device 100 ends the "adjustment execution" process of S140. Details of the "manual adjustment execution" process of S140g will be described later with reference to FIG. 11D.

(Details of "automatic adjustment execution" processing)
Details of the "automatic adjustment execution" process (see FIG. 11B) of S140d will be described below with reference to FIG. 11C.
As shown in FIG. 11C, in the process of S140d, first, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to move the upper frame 2 upward, thereby moving the upper table 3 and each adhesive pin plate 8b (adhesive pin plate 8b). 8a) is moved upward to release the pressure on the dummy substrate (S141a).
Next, based on the adjustment data calculated in S140c (see FIG. 11B), the control device 100 automatically updates the set value of the operation amount of each vertical movement mechanism 80 (each electric motor 83) for parallel adjustment (S141b). .

After S141b, the control device 100 causes the board assembly apparatus 1 to perform pressurization and current measurement (S141c) in the same manner as in the processing of S125 (see FIG. 11A). Then, based on the measurement result of S141c, the control device 100 determines whether or not the difference in timing of fluctuation of the holding current value of each electric motor 83 of each vertical movement mechanism 80 is within a preset threshold value (S141d). ). If it is determined in S141d that the difference is within the preset threshold value (“Yes”), the control device 100 ends the “automatic adjustment execution” process in S140d. On the other hand, if it is determined in S141d that the difference is not within the preset threshold value ("No"), the control device 100 calculates adjustment data based on the measurement result in S141c (S141e). . After that, the process returns to S141a.

(Details of "manual adjustment execution" processing)
Details of the "manual adjustment execution" process (see FIG. 11B) of S140g will be described below with reference to FIG. 11D.
As shown in FIG. 11D, in the “manual adjustment execution” process of S140g, first, the control device 100 releases the pressure on the dummy substrate (S142a) as in the process of S141a (see FIG. 11C).
Next, the control device 100 receives a manual input by the engineer of the set value of the operation amount of each vertical movement mechanism 80 (each electric motor 83) for parallel adjustment, and updates the set value of the operation amount to the received value (S142b). ).

After S142b, the control device 100 causes the board assembly apparatus 1 to perform pressurization and current measurement (S142c) in the same manner as in the process of S125 (see FIG. 11A). Next, similarly to the process of S130 (see FIG. 11A), the control device 100 creates a display screen showing the measurement result (for example, the display screen PI1 shown in FIG. 15), and displays the display screen on the display section 180 (see FIG. 8) is displayed (S142d).

After S142d, the engineer determines whether readjustment (parallel adjustment) is required (S142e). If readjustment (parallel adjustment) is necessary ("Yes"), for example, an engineer presses the manual adjustment button B1b (see FIG. 15). When the control device 100 detects that the manual adjustment button B1b has been pressed, it calculates adjustment data based on the measurement results of S142c (S142f). After that, the process returns to S142a. On the other hand, if readjustment (parallel adjustment) is unnecessary ("No"), for example, an engineer presses the adjustment unnecessary button B3 (see FIG. 15). When the control device 100 detects that the adjustment unnecessary button B3 has been pressed, the control device 100 ends the "manual adjustment execution" process of S140g.

(Operation during substrate production stop)
Next, with reference to FIG. 12, the operation of the board assembly system 1000 while board production is stopped will be described. The operation during board production stop is performed based on the operation of the operator on the user side of the board assembly system 1000 .

As shown in FIG. 11A, the operator operates the control device 100 to display a confirmation screen (not shown) for confirming the accumulated measurement data D4 (see FIG. 8) on the display unit 180 (S205). When a confirmation screen (not shown) is displayed, the operator determines whether parallel adjustment is necessary (S210).

If parallel adjustment is necessary ("Yes"), for example, the operator presses an automatic adjustment button or manual adjustment button (not shown) included in a confirmation screen (not shown). When the control device 100 detects that an automatic adjustment button or a manual adjustment button (not shown) has been pressed, it performs parallel adjustment (S140). On the other hand, if the parallel adjustment is unnecessary ("No"), for example, the operator presses an adjustment unnecessary button (not shown) included in a confirmation screen (not shown). When the controller 100 detects that an adjustment unnecessary button (not shown) has been pressed, it terminates the series of routine processes.

(Operation during board production)
Next, referring to FIG. 13, the operation of the board assembly system 1000 during board production will be described. Operations during board production are performed based on the operations of the operator on the side of the user of the board assembly system 1000 . The operator operates the control device 100 to display a production instruction screen (not shown) for instructing the production of substrates on the display unit 180 . This causes the board assembly system 1000 to start operating during board production.

As shown in FIG. 13, when the operator inputs various set values such as the number of sheets to be produced from a production instruction screen (not shown) and instructs the start of production, the control device 100 instructs the board assembly apparatus 1 to start the upper board. K1 and the lower substrate K2 are carried into the vacuum chamber 5 (S305). The processing of S305 is performed as follows.

First, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis driving mechanism 20 of the substrate assembly apparatus 1 to move the upper frame 2 upward, thereby moving the upper table 3 and the upper chamber 5a upward. This opens the vacuum chamber 5 . Next, the control device 100 drives the transfer device 200 to carry the upper substrate K1 between the upper table 3 and the lower table 4 inside the vacuum chamber 5 .

When the upper substrate K1 is transported between the upper table 3 and the lower table 4, the control device 100 gives a command to the vertical movement mechanism 70 to move the suction pins 7a downward until they hit the upper substrate K1, and the vacuum is removed. Drive pump P1. As a result, the upper substrate K1 is vacuum-sucked by the suction pins 7a.

Thereafter, the control device 100 moves the transfer device 200 out of the vacuum chamber 5 and moves the suction pins 7 a upward to bring the upper substrate K 1 into close contact with the upper substrate surface 3 a of the upper table 3 . Since the upper substrate surface 3a is a flat surface, deformation such as bending in the upper substrate K1 is corrected (deformation such as bending is removed).

The control device 100 then gives a command to the vertical movement mechanism 80 to move the adhesive pin plate 8b downward and drive the vacuum pump P2. The upper substrate K1 is vacuum-sucked by the adhesive pins 8a that move downward together with the adhesive pin plate 8b. At this time, the adhesive portion 8c at the tip of the adhesive pin 8a sticks to the upper substrate K1. Thereafter, the controller 100 moves downward the adhesive pin plate 8b with the upper substrate K1 stuck to the adhesive pins 8a to separate the upper substrate K1 from the upper substrate surface 3a.

At this time, the control device 100 operates the vertical movement mechanism 80 (specifically, each vertical movement) so that the amount of protrusion of each adhesive pin 8a becomes the amount of protrusion set for each part of the adhesive pin plate 8b. The operation of each electric motor 83 of the driving mechanism 80 is controlled to move each adhesive pin plate 8b downward. Thereby, the control device 100 defines the height of each portion of each adhesive pin plate 8b.

Next, the control device 100 drives the transfer device 200 to carry the lower substrate K2 between the upper substrate K1 and the lower table 4 in the vacuum chamber 5 and place the lower substrate K2 on the lower substrate surface 4a of the lower table 4. Place. After that, the control device 100 causes the transfer device 200 to leave the vacuum chamber 5 . Further, the control device 100 drives the vacuum pump P3 to cause the lower substrate K2 to be attracted to the lower substrate surface 4a of the lower table 4 and to be held.

Thereafter, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to move the upper frame 2 downward, thereby moving the upper table 3 downward and the upper chamber 5a downward. This causes the upper chamber 5a and the lower chamber 5b to engage and the vacuum chamber 5 to close. At this time, inside the vacuum chamber 5, the upper table 3, the lower table 4, the suction pins 7a, and the adhesive pins 8a are arranged.
The processing of S305 is performed as described above.

After S305, the control device 100 causes the substrate assembly apparatus 1 to vacuum (S310), as in the process of S115 (see FIG. 11A). As a result, the vacuum chamber 5 accommodates the upper table 3, the lower table 4, the suction pins 7a, and the adhesive pins 8a in a vacuum environment. Before the lower substrate K2 is carried into the substrate assembly apparatus 1 (between the upper table 3 and the lower table 4), necessary substances such as sealant, liquid crystal, spacers, and paste are applied in a separate process. ing.

After S310, the control device 100 drives the moving mechanism 41 of the XYθ moving unit 40 to displace the lower table 4, thereby determining the bonding position of the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 (S315).

After S315, the control device 100 causes the substrate assembly apparatus 1 to perform pressure and current measurement processing (S320). The processing of S320 is performed as follows.
First, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to move the upper frame 2 downward, thereby lowering the upper table 3 and the respective adhesive pin plates 8b (adhesive pins 8a). Then, the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are pressed by the upper table 3 and the lower table 4, respectively. As a result, the upper substrate K1 held by the adhesive pins 8a and the lower substrate K2 held by the lower table 4 are bonded together. At the same time, the control device 100 starts measuring the holding current value of each electric motor 83 of each vertical movement mechanism 80 . The control device 100 associates the measurement results of the current values of the electric motors 83 measured from the start to the end of the measurement of the current values of the electric motors 83 with the Z-axis height, and prepares measurement data. D2 is stored in the storage unit 160 .

The control device 100 detects that the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are stuck together by a detection signal input from the load cell 20d. At that time, the controller 100 drives the vertical movement mechanisms 80 to draw the adhesive pins 8a from the upper substrate surface 3a. At this time, the control device 100 stops the vacuum pump P2, drives the gas supply means 8e to supply gas to the vacuum suction holes 8d, and separates the upper substrate K1 from the adhesive portion 8c.

Then, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to move the upper frame 2 further downward, thereby moving the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 with the upper frame 2, the upper table 3, and the lower table 4. Apply more pressure. The control device 100 stops the downward movement of the upper frame 2 when it determines that a predetermined set load has occurred between the upper table 3 and the lower table 4 based on the detection signal input from the load cell 20d. Also, the control device 100 ends the measurement of the current value of each electric motor 83 . At this time, the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are bonded together under a vacuum environment in the vacuum chamber 5 with a predetermined set load. Moreover, the pressure applied at this time appropriately presses the sealing agent applied in advance to the lower substrate K2, and the vacuum of the liquid crystal portion applied within the frame surrounded by the sealing agent is maintained.
After that, the sealant is temporarily cured with ultraviolet rays emitted from a UV (ultraviolet) irradiation device (not shown) so that the positions of the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are not shifted.
The processing of S320 is performed as described above.

After S320, the control device 100 determines whether or not the difference in the variation timing of the holding current value of each electric motor 83 of each vertical movement mechanism 80 is within a preset threshold based on the measurement result of S320. (S325).
If it is determined in S325 that the difference is within the preset threshold value ("Yes"), the control device 100 causes the substrate assembly apparatus 1 to open to the atmosphere (S330). Specifically, the control device 100 injects a gas such as nitrogen gas into the vacuum chamber 5 in a vacuum state to raise the pressure inside the vacuum chamber 5 to atmospheric pressure. By increasing the pressure inside the vacuum chamber 5 to the atmospheric pressure, the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate are separated from each other until the gap (cell gap) determined by the amount of spacers and liquid crystal applied to the substrate (lower substrate K2) in advance is reached. K2 is uniformly pressed (pressurized). The control device 100 drives the gas supply means 8e to supply gas to the vacuum suction holes 8d. Since the adhesive pins 8a do not hold the upper substrate K1 at this point, the gas supplied to the vacuum suction holes 8d is supplied into the vacuum chamber 5. As shown in FIG. The controller 100 measures the pressure inside the vacuum chamber 5 with an air pressure sensor (not shown), and stops the gas supply means 8e when the pressure inside the vacuum chamber 5 reaches the atmospheric pressure. Then, the control device 100 moves the upper frame 2 upward. The vacuum chamber 5 is thereby opened.

After S325, the control device 100 drives the transfer device 200 to carry out the substrate in which the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are bonded to the outside of the vacuum chamber 5 (S335).
After S335, the control device 100 determines whether or not the production of the set number of sheets has been completed (S340). If it is determined in S340 that production of the set number of sheets has not been completed ("No"), the process returns to S305. On the other hand, when it is determined in S340 that the production of the set number of sheets has been completed ("Yes"), the series of routine processing ends.

Further, when it is determined in S325 that the difference is not within the preset threshold value (“No”), the control device 100 issues an alarm through the speaker 170 so that the operator can confirm the measurement result. While issuing the alarm (S350), referring to the measurement data D2 of the current value of each electric motor 83 stored in the storage unit 160 in S320, a display screen showing the measurement result (for example, the display screen PI1 shown in FIG. 15) is displayed. is created, and its display screen is displayed on the display unit 180 (see FIG. 8) (S355).

After S355, it is determined by the operator whether a parallel adjustment is required (S360). If the parallel adjustment is required ("Yes"), for example, the operator presses the automatic adjustment button B1a (see FIG. 15) or the manual adjustment button B1b (see FIG. 15). When the control device 100 detects that the automatic adjustment button B1a (see FIG. 15) or the manual adjustment button B1b has been pressed, it drives the transfer device 200 to carry out the substrate being produced to the outside of the vacuum chamber 5 (S365). Then, the control device 100 executes parallel adjustment (S140). After that, the process returns to S305 via symbol SA1. On the other hand, in S360, if parallel adjustment is unnecessary ("No"), for example, the operator presses the adjustment unnecessary button B3 (see FIG. 15). In this case, the process proceeds to S330 via code SA2.

In this embodiment, the substrate assembly apparatus 1 is exposed to the atmosphere in the process of S330. This is for realizing the following operations.
That is, it is not preferable to have a gap through which gas enters between the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2. Therefore, the substrate assembly apparatus 1 presses the upper substrate K1 against the lower substrate K2 to such an extent that the adhesive portions 8c of the adhesive pins 8a are crushed, thereby partially bonding the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 together. By opening the substrate assembly apparatus 1 to the atmosphere, the upper substrate K1 is pressurized by the atmospheric pressure to bring the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 into close contact with each other and bond them together as a whole.

(Details of "pressurization/current measurement" processing)
Details of the "pressurization/current measurement" process (see FIGS. 11A, 11B, 11D, and 13) in S140g, S141c, S142c, and S320 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 14A and 14B. Here, it is assumed that the amount of descent of the upper table 3 is set in four stages from the first descent amount to the fourth descent amount. However, the lowering amount of the upper table 3 can also be set in multiple steps other than four steps. Also, the description will be made assuming that the target load used as a condition for determining whether or not to set the amount of descent of the upper table 3 is set in three stages from the first target load to the third target load. However, the target load can also be set in multiple stages other than three stages.

As shown in FIG. 14A, in the "pressurization/current measurement" process of S140g, S141c, S142c, and S320, first, the control device 100 sets each adhesive pin plate 8b to the pressure start height (S405). The pressurization start height is a height set in advance for pressurization start, and corresponds to the thickness of the substrate (specifically, the thickness of the dummy substrate or the height of the dummy substrate). It is set to a value larger than the total thickness of the substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2). Next, the control device 100 starts current measurement (S410). Then, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to lower the upper table 3 to the pressurization start height (S415).

After S415, the controller 100 sets the lowering amount of the upper table 3 to the first lowering amount (S420). The first descent amount is about the same as a set value (hereinafter referred to as "set protrusion amount") preset as the amount of protrusion of the adhesive portion 8c of the adhesive pin 8a from the upper substrate surface 3a, or is less than the set protrusion amount. is also set to a small value. Next, the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to lower the upper table 3 by the first lowering amount (S425).

After S425, the control device 100 determines whether or not the loads measured by the four load cells 20d (hereinafter referred to as "measured loads") have reached the final loads (S430). The final load is the set load when actually bonding the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 together.

When it is determined in S430 that the measured load has reached the final load ("Yes"), the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 are in a bonded state. In this case, the control device 100 waits for the set time (S435), then ends the current measurement (S440), and stores the measurement result in the storage section 160 as measurement data D2 (S445). Then, the control device 100 ends the processing of "pressurization/current measurement".

On the other hand, if it is determined in S430 that the measured load has not reached the final load ("No"), the process proceeds to S505 shown in FIG. 14B via symbol SB1.

When it is determined in S430 that the measured load has not reached the final load (“No”), as shown in FIG. It is determined whether or not (S505). The first target load is a target load used as a condition for determining whether or not to set the second descent amount as the descent amount of the upper table 3, and is set to a value smaller than the final load.

When it is determined in S505 that the measured load has reached the first target load ("Yes"), the control device 100 sets the lowering amount of the upper table 3 to the second lowering amount. (S510). The second descent amount is set to a value smaller than the first descent amount.

Next, the control device 100 suspends current measurement (S515). Then, the controller 100 drives the moving mechanism 41 of the XY.theta. moving unit 40 to displace the lower table 4, thereby determining the bonding position between the upper substrate K1 and the lower substrate K2 (S520). Thereafter, the control device 100 restarts current measurement (S525).

On the other hand, when it is determined in S505 that the measured load has not reached the first target load ("No"), the control device 100 determines whether the measured load has reached the second target load. (S530). The second target load is set to a value smaller than the first target load. When it is determined in S530 that the measured load has reached the second target load ("Yes"), the control device 100 sets the lowering amount of the upper table 3 to the third lowering amount. (S535). The third descent amount is set to a smaller value than the second descent amount.

On the other hand, if it is determined in S530 that the measured load has not reached the second target load ("No"), the control device 100 determines whether the measured load has reached the third target load. (S540). The third target load is set to a value smaller than the second target load. If it is determined in S540 that the measured load has reached the third target load ("Yes"), the controller 100 sets the amount of descent of the upper table 3 to the fourth amount of descent. (S545). The fourth descent amount is set to a smaller value than the third descent amount. On the other hand, if it is determined in S540 that the measured load has not reached the third target load ("No"), the process proceeds to S550.

After any of the processing of S525, S535 and S545, or when it is determined in S540 that the measured load has not reached the third target load ("No"), the control device 100 drives the Z-axis drive mechanism 20 to lower the upper table 3 by the set lowering amount (S550). As a result, when the process is after S525, the upper table 3 is lowered by the second lowering amount. Also, when the process is after S535, the upper table 3 is lowered by the third lowering amount. Also, when the process is after S545, the upper table 3 is lowered by the fourth lowering amount. Further, when it is determined in the determination at S540 that the measured load has not reached the third target load ("No"), the upper table 3 descends by the third descending amount.
After S550, the process returns to S430 shown in FIG. 14A via SB2.

<Main features of the board assembly system>
(1) The board assembly system 1000 has an adjustment data calculator 122 (see FIG. 8). The adjustment data calculation unit 122 calculates the amount based on the variation timing of the load of each vertical movement mechanism 80 (in this embodiment, the holding current value of the electric motor 83) measured according to the amount of descent of the Z-axis drive mechanism 20. , adjustment data D3 for the amount of movement of each vertical movement mechanism 80 (the rotation angle of the electric motor 83) is calculated. An engineer on the side of the provider of the board assembly system 1000 or an operator on the side of the user can easily perform appropriate parallel adjustment by checking the calculated adjustment data D3. Therefore, the substrate assembly system 1000 can simplify parallel adjustment of the upper substrate K1 with respect to the lower substrate K2.

In particular, in recent years, there has been a demand to cut out and obtain a large number of products from a single substrate. In order to satisfy this demand, it is desirable to finely set the amount of parallel adjustment according to each portion of the substrate. Since the substrate assembly system 1000 can finely set the amount of parallel adjustment in accordance with each portion of the substrate, such a demand can be satisfied.

(2) The board assembly system 1000 has a measuring section 121 (see FIG. 8). The measuring unit 121 measures the load of each vertical movement mechanism 80 (holding current value of the electric motor 83), and monitors the parallel state of each part (four corners) of the adhesive pin plate 8b according to the timing of load fluctuation. have a function. Therefore, for example, when the height of each part of the adhesive pin plate 8b exceeds a preset threshold value, the board assembly system 1000 issues an alarm to notify the engineer or operator of an abnormality in parallel adjustment. can do.

(3) The control device 100 displays on the display section 180 (see FIG. 8) a display screen PI1 (see FIG. 15) that allows selection between the manual adjustment mode and the automatic adjustment mode. This allows engineers and operators to select the preferred mode depending on the operation. For example, by selecting the manual adjustment mode, an engineer or operator can perform parallel adjustment including an intentionally set amount of deviation, as shown in FIG. 9(c). Further, the engineer or operator selects the automatic adjustment mode so that the entire surface of the adhesive pin plate 8b is parallel to the lower member (for example, the lower substrate K2 or the lower table 4) as shown in FIG. 9(b). Parallel adjustment can be performed to However, even in the automatic adjustment mode, by presetting the setting data D1 (see FIG. 8) including the amount of misalignment, an intentionally set amount of misalignment can be included as shown in FIG. 9(c). Parallel adjustments can also be made.

(4) The board assembly system 1000 has a monitoring section 124 (see FIG. 8). The monitoring unit 124 arbitrarily presets the measurement data D2 representing the load of the vertical movement mechanism 80 (holding current value of the electric motor 83) measured by the measurement unit 121 as a past measured load or a sample value. monitor the magnitude of the change from the set load. Such a board assembly system 1000 feeds back and monitors the state of parallel adjustment each time a board is manufactured, and issues an alarm or performs automatic adjustment when the state of parallel adjustment changes from before. be able to. Specifically, the control device 100 records measurement data for the past several months in the recording unit 160 as accumulated measurement data D4 as data representing the measurement load measured in the past. The monitoring unit 124 compares the measurement data D2 and the accumulated measurement data D4 to monitor whether or not the measurement data D2 has changed from the accumulated measurement data D4 by exceeding a preset threshold. When the measurement data D2 changes from the accumulated measurement data D4 by exceeding a preset threshold value, the board assembly system 1000 issues an alarm to notify an engineer or operator of an abnormality in parallel adjustment, or Alternatively, parallel adjustment can be automatically performed.

(5) The control device 100 displays a display screen PI1 (see FIG. 15) including a graph showing the process of variation of the load of the vertical movement mechanism 80 (holding current value of the electric motor 83) measured by the measurement unit 121. 180 (see FIG. 8). As a result, the circuit board assembly system 1000 allows an engineer or operator to intuitively identify at a glance the amount of deviation in the timing of fluctuations in the load (holding current value of the electric motor 83) on each of the axes Ax1, Ax2, Ax3, and Ax4.

(6) The electric motor 83 of the vertical motion mechanism 80 is a servomotor that allows the control device 100 to measure the variation of the holding current value according to the load. However, the electric motor 83 can also be configured by a step motor.

As described above, according to the board assembly apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, it is possible to simplify parallel adjustment of the upper board K1 with respect to the lower board K2.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and includes various modifications. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail for easy understanding of the present invention, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the described configurations. Also, part of the configuration of one embodiment can be replaced with the configuration of another embodiment, and the configuration of another embodiment can be added to the configuration of one embodiment. Moreover, it is possible to add, delete, or replace part of the configuration of each embodiment with another configuration.

For example, in the embodiment described above, the substrate assembly apparatus 1 has 81 adhesive pins 8a and 9 adhesive pin plates 8b. However, the number of adhesive pins 8a can be appropriately changed according to the operation. Also, the number of adhesive pin plates 8b can be appropriately changed according to the operation.
Further, for example, in the above-described embodiment, the board assembly apparatus 1 is configured to vertically move one adhesive pin plate 8b by four vertically moving mechanisms 80. As shown in FIG. However, the substrate assembly apparatus 1 may be configured to vertically move one adhesive pin plate 8b by four or more vertical movement mechanisms 80. FIG.

Further, for example, the measurement unit 121 and the adjustment data calculation unit 122 may be operated as follows. That is, when measuring the holding current value of the electric motor 83, the measurement unit 121 continues to record the measurement result as the measurement data D2 in the storage unit 160 for N seconds after the upper table 2 starts to descend. Then, the measurement unit 121 (or the adjustment data calculation unit 122) detects a section in which the holding current value of the electric motor 83 fluctuates, cuts out the data in that section from the measurement data D2, and converts the cut out data into Stored in the storage unit 160 as calculation data. The adjustment data calculator 122 calculates adjustment data D3 based on the calculation data.

Further, for example, the substrate assembly system 1000 may be configured so that the parallel adjustment state of each substrate can be determined remotely via a network.

Further, for example, the board assembly system 1000 may perform parallel adjustment once, store the adjustment value at that time in the storage unit 160, and continuously produce a large number of boards using the adjustment value. good. Such parallel adjustment is suitable for the production of products with relatively loose adjustment accuracy (for example, one-panel products in which one product is obtained from one substrate).
Further, for example, the substrate assembly system 1000 may produce substrates one by one while performing parallel adjustment each time. Such parallel adjustment is suitable for production of products requiring relatively strict adjustment accuracy (for example, multi-panel products in which a large number of products are obtained from one substrate).

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 substrate assembly device 1a base 1b lower shaft 2 upper frame 2a upper shaft 3 upper table 3a upper substrate surface 4 lower table 4a lower substrate surface 5 vacuum chamber 5a upper chamber 5b lower chamber 6 suspending mechanism 6a support shaft 6b locking portion 6c Hook 7 Suction mechanism 7a Suction pin 7b Suction pin pad 7a1, 7b1 Hollow part 8 Adhesive holding mechanism 8a Adhesive pin 8b Adhesive pin plate (base part)
8b1 negative pressure chamber 8c adhesive portion 8d vacuum suction hole 8e gas supply means 20 Z-axis drive mechanism (first drive mechanism)
20a ball screw shaft 20b ball screw mechanism 20c electric motor 20d load cell 30 back plate 31 cushion seat 40 XYθ movement unit 70 vertical movement mechanism 71, 81 ball screw shaft 72, 82 ball screw mechanism 73, 83 electric motor 80 vertical movement mechanism (No. 2 drive mechanism)
80a mounting section 110 control section 111 height control section 112 movement control section 113 vacuum process control section 121 measurement section 122 adjustment data calculation section 123 adjustment mode selection section 124 change monitoring section 131 automatic adjustment section 132 manual adjustment section 160 storage section 170 Speaker 180 Display 190 Input 211 Amplifier 212 Programmable Logic Controller (PLC)
200 transfer device 1000 substrate assembly system Ax1, Ax2, Ax3, Ax4 axis D1 setting data D2 measurement data D3 adjustment data D4 accumulated measurement data K1 upper substrate K2 lower substrate P0 vacuum pump mechanism P1, P2, P3 vacuum pump Pr1 control program

Claims (5)

In a substrate assembly system that assembles substrates by bonding an upper substrate and a lower substrate together,
a controller for controlling the operation of the board assembly apparatus;
a lower table that holds the lower substrate;
an upper table that holds the upper substrate;
a plurality of adhesive pins for adhesively holding the upper substrate;
a first driving mechanism for vertically moving the adhesive pin and the upper table by vertically moving the adhesive pin and an upper frame disposed above the upper table;
one or more base portions having one or more adhesive pins vertically operably attached to the lower surface;
a plurality of second drive mechanisms arranged on the lower surface side of the upper frame and vertically moving each part of each of the base portions independently;
The control device is
a height control unit that controls the operation of each of the second drive mechanisms to define the height of each part of each of the bases;
Adjustment data for calculating the operation amount adjustment data of each of the second drive mechanisms based on the timing of load fluctuation of each of the second drive mechanisms measured according to the amount of descent of the first drive mechanism. a data calculation unit;
A circuit board assembly characterized in that each of said second drive mechanisms comprises a servo motor or a step motor capable of measuring fluctuations in the amount of current according to the load by means of an external control device. system. In a substrate assembly apparatus that assembles substrates by bonding an upper substrate and a lower substrate together in a vacuum environment,
a lower table that holds the lower substrate;
an upper table that holds the upper substrate;
a plurality of adhesive pins for adhesively holding the upper substrate;
a first driving mechanism for vertically moving the adhesive pin and the upper table by vertically moving the adhesive pin and an upper frame disposed above the upper table;
one or more base portions having one or more adhesive pins vertically operably attached to the lower surface;
a plurality of second driving mechanisms arranged on the lower surface side of the upper frame and vertically moving each part of each of the base portions independently ;
a controller;
The control device is
a height control unit that controls the operation of each of the second drive mechanisms to define the height of each part of each of the bases relative to the upper substrate;
Adjustment data for calculating the operation amount adjustment data of each of the second drive mechanisms based on the timing of load fluctuation of each of the second drive mechanisms measured according to the amount of descent of the first drive mechanism. and a data calculation unit
A board assembly apparatus characterized by: 3. The apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a measuring unit having a monitoring function for measuring the load of the second drive mechanism and determining the parallel state of each part of the base unit according to the timing of load fluctuation. A board assembly apparatus as described. 3. The circuit board assembly apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a manual adjustment section that adjusts the amount of movement of each portion of the base section by receiving a manual adjustment value input. In a substrate assembly method for assembling substrates by bonding an upper substrate and a lower substrate together in a vacuum environment,
A lower table for holding the lower substrate, an upper table for holding the upper substrate, a plurality of adhesive pins for adhesively holding the upper substrate, and an upper frame arranged above the adhesive pins and the upper table are vertically moved. Thus, a first driving mechanism for vertically moving the adhesive pins and the upper table, one or more base portions having one or more adhesive pins attached to the lower surface so as to be vertically operable, and the upper frame. Between the lower table and the upper table, the substrate assembly apparatus is provided with a plurality of second driving mechanisms arranged on the lower surface side and independently moving each part of the base part vertically. a substrate carrying-in step of carrying the substrate into and holding the substrate with the adhesive pins;
A vacuuming step of creating a vacuum environment around the substrate;
By controlling the operation of each of the second drive mechanisms and lowering the adhesive pins and the upper table with the first drive mechanism in a state where the height of each part of each of the base portions is defined, a pressurization/measurement step of pressurizing the substrate toward the lower table and measuring the load of the second drive mechanism;
Each of the second drive mechanisms is composed of a servo motor or a step motor capable of measuring fluctuations in the amount of current according to the load by means of an external control device, and the first drive mechanism is an adjustment data calculation step of calculating adjustment data for the amount of movement of each of the second drive mechanisms based on the timing of variation in the load of each of the second drive mechanisms measured according to the amount of descent; A substrate assembly method, comprising:

Images