JPH091026A - Paste coating machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To accurately draw a paste pattern by specifically setting the position relation between a nozzle and a base sheet even if the position of the outlet of the nozzle is changed by exchanging the nozzle. CONSTITUTION: A point P0 is the center of the field of view of a camera and X is the distance from this point P0 to the position directly below the outlet of a nozzle with no positional deviation. Then, a temporary base sheet is arranged so as to be able to photograph it by means of a camera and then, this temporary base sheet is moved by a distance X and a paste is dropped down on the temporary base sheet from the outlet of the nozzle to apply a dotting paste P1 and in addition, dotting paste P3 and P5 and dotting pastes P2 and P4 are respectively applied at the positions of ±DX and ±DY from the dotting paste P1. Then, the temporary base sheet is moved in the reverse direction of the above described direction by the distance X and the positional deviations of these dottings P1-P5 are detected by using the point P0 as a reference to obtain the amt. of the positional deviation of the outlet on the nozzle. The positional relation between the base sheet on which a pattern is actually formed and the nozzle is adjusted.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paste applicator for applying and drawing a paste in a desired pattern on a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A paste having a desired pattern shape is formed on a substrate by changing the relative positional relationship between the nozzle and the substrate in the vertical and front-back and left-right directions while discharging the paste from a nozzle provided at the tip of a paste storage cylinder. Techniques for drawing a film are known, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 52742/1990.
The technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication moves the substrate relative to the nozzle and adjusts the gap between the nozzle and the substrate,
A desired resistance pattern is formed by discharging a resistance paste from a nozzle onto a substrate.

[0003]

Although a desired pattern may be drawn and the paste may be almost discharged from the paste container, the paste may be cut off during the drawing of the pattern on the next substrate. In such a case, filling the paste storage cylinder with paste in the middle of drawing has a problem in the configuration as a precision device.Therefore, in the conventional paste applicator as described above, prior to drawing on the next substrate, It is usually possible to replace the paste storage cylinder with a new paste. In this case, the paste container and the nozzle are integrated, so that the nozzle is also replaced at the same time. Hereinafter, such replacement is referred to as replacement of the nozzle.

In such a case, the relative position of the nozzle discharge port with respect to the substrate changes before and after the nozzle replacement due to variations in the processing accuracies of the paste accommodating cylinders and nozzles and the mounting accuracy of these, and the paste is moved from the desired position on the substrate. In many cases, coating drawing could not be performed.

Therefore, for example, in the case of applying a sealant to a liquid crystal sealing substrate of a liquid crystal display device by pattern drawing, if the pattern of the sealant is misaligned, when the substrates are overlapped with each other, the display pixel In some cases, the portion may be located outside the pattern of the sealing material, and it may not be possible to display correctly on the screen.

An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to enable a paste pattern to be correctly applied and drawn at a predetermined position on a substrate even if the nozzle ejection port is displaced relative to the substrate due to nozzle replacement. It is to provide a paste applicator.

Another object of the present invention is to enable the relative positional relationship between the nozzle ejection port and the substrate to be set automatically and accurately with respect to the position variation of the nozzle ejection port due to nozzle replacement. It is to provide a paste applicator.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, the positions of the discharge ports of the nozzles when the nozzles are replaced with respect to the desired position of the substrate placed on the table are separated from each other. Means for measuring at an arbitrary number of paste application points, means for calculating the position variation of the nozzle discharge port when the nozzle is replaced from the measurement results for each paste application point by the measurement means, and results obtained by the calculation means And means for positioning the substrate at a desired position with respect to the nozzle discharge port after replacement.

Specifically, the calculating means is either statistical processing of all measurement results of each paste application point by the measuring means or statistical processing of the remaining paste application points excluding the paste application point applied first. Then, the position variation of the nozzle discharge port when the nozzle is replaced is calculated.

Further, according to the present invention, the position of the discharge port of the nozzle at the time of exchanging the nozzle with respect to the desired position of the substrate placed on the table is applied last among the arbitrary number of paste application points separated from each other on the substrate. A means for measuring the paste application point, a means for calculating the position variation of the nozzle discharge port when the nozzle is replaced from the measurement result of the paste application point applied last by the measuring means, and the result obtained by the calculation means The means for positioning the substrate at a desired position with respect to the nozzle discharge port after replacement.

Further, according to the present invention, a means for storing the fact of nozzle replacement, the position of the nozzle discharge port is measured based on the data of the storage means, the position variation of the nozzle discharge port is calculated, and the nozzle discharge after replacement is performed. There is provided means for positioning the substrate at a desired position with respect to the outlet.

[0012]

[Function] An attempt is made to calculate the position variation of the nozzle ejection port when the nozzle is replaced by scanning the paste slightly ejected to the nozzle ejection port on the substrate, reading the position of the spotted paste by image processing technology and the like. In this case, it is rare that the center of the paste slightly ejected to the nozzle ejection port at the time of nozzle replacement coincides with the center of the nozzle ejection port. It was confirmed that the spot of the paste slightly discharged to the nozzle discharge port gradually coincided with the center of the nozzle discharge port when the spots were punctured multiple times.

Based on this fact, the position of the discharge port of the nozzle is measured by measuring the position of the paste applied in an arbitrary number of dots separated from each other on the substrate from the nozzle of the paste storage cylinder filled with the newly replaced paste. Read by the means. Then, the position variation of the nozzle discharge port when the nozzle is replaced is calculated by statistical processing or the like from the measurement result of each paste application point with respect to the desired position of the substrate. Then, the error caused by the fact that the center of the paste slightly ejected to the nozzle ejection port does not coincide with the center of the nozzle ejection port is eliminated, and the position variation of the nozzle ejection port due to the processing accuracy of the paste container and the mounting accuracy is obtained. Will be able to. afterwards,
By correcting this positional variation, the nozzle discharge port can be positioned at a desired position with respect to the substrate, and the positional displacement of the nozzle before and after nozzle replacement is eliminated.

By not using the first data for the spotting of the paste, the error caused by the fact that the center of the paste does not coincide with the center of the nozzle ejection port becomes extremely small. In addition, by using the last data of paste spotting, the nozzle ejection port when replacing the nozzle with the measurement result that the center of the paste matches the center of the nozzle ejection port as much as possible without statistical processing The position variation of can be calculated.

When the nozzle is replaced, a message to that effect is input to the storage unit of the apparatus. This allows the device to automatically check the presence or absence of data related to nozzle replacement in the storage unit when a new board is installed, and if there is data, calculate the nozzle misalignment before and after replacement, and By adjusting the positions of the substrates, coating drawing can be performed from the same position on each substrate.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a paste coating machine according to the present invention, in which 1 is a nozzle, 2 is a paste container (hereinafter referred to as syringe), 3 is an optical displacement meter, and 4a.
Is a Z-axis table, 4b is a camera support part, 5 is an X-axis table, 6 is a Y-axis table, 7 is a substrate, 8 is a θ-axis table part, 9 is a mount part, 10 is a Z-axis table support part, and 11a is an image. Recognition camera (substrate positioning camera), 11b is a lens barrel, 12 is a nozzle support, 13 is a substrate suction unit, 14 is a controller, 15a is a Z-axis motor, 15b is an X-axis motor, 1
5c is a Y-axis motor, 16 is a monitor, 17 is a keyboard,
Reference numeral 18 is an external storage device.

In FIG. 1, an X-axis table 5 is fixed on a mount 9, a Y-axis table 6 is mounted on the X-axis table 5 so as to be movable in the X-axis direction, and further on the Y-axis table 6. Further, a θ-axis table 8 is mounted so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction. The θ-axis table 8 has a substrate suction unit 13
The substrate 7 is mounted on the substrate suction portion 13 so that the substrate 7 is sucked so that, for example, its four sides are parallel to the X and Y axis directions, respectively.

The X-axis motor 15b is attached to the Y-axis table 5
A Y-axis motor 15c is attached to each of the axis tables 6, and the X-axis motor 15b and the Y-axis motor 15c are controlled and driven by a control device 14 including, for example, a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer). That is, when the X-axis motor 15b is driven, the Y-axis table 6
When the θ-axis table 8 and the substrate suction unit 13 move in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis motor 15c is driven, the θ-axis table 8
The substrate suction unit 13 moves in the Y-axis direction. Therefore, the control device 14 moves the Y-axis table 6 and the θ-axis table 8 respectively by arbitrary distances to move the substrate 7 in an arbitrary direction and an arbitrary position within a plane parallel to the gantry 9. You can Further, by driving the θ-axis table 8 by the controller 14, the substrate 7 can be rotated around the Z-axis in the θ-axis direction.

The Z-axis table support portion 10 is provided on the surface of the pedestal portion 9.
Is installed, the nozzle 1 is connected to the syringe 2, and the nozzle support 12 for positioning the nozzle 1 in the vicinity of the lower side of the optical displacement meter 3 acting as a distance meter is moved in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction). A Z-axis table 4a is attached. In this embodiment, the nozzle 1, the syringe 2 and the nozzle support 12 that connects them together form a paste cartridge. For the control drive of the Z-axis table 4a, the Z-axis motor 15a attached to this is used as the control device 14.
Is controlled by.

By applying pressure inside the syringe 2 while driving the Y-axis table 6 and the θ-axis table 8,
The paste is ejected from the paste ejection port of the nozzle 1 onto the substrate 7, whereby a paste pattern is drawn on the substrate 7.

From the keyboard 17, data for instructing the shape of the paste pattern drawn on the substrate 7,
Data for instructing the distance between the paste ejection port of the nozzle 1 and the surface of the substrate 7 is input. Further, the external storage device 18 including a hard disk is for storing various set values to be stored in the RAM of the microcomputer in the control device 14 when the power of the paste applicator is turned on.

An image recognition camera 11a having a lens barrel 11b is attached to the camera support 4b and is used for recognizing the position of the substrate 7 when the initial position of the substrate 7 is set. The image data is supplied to the control device 14 and used for controlling each part. Further, the monitor 16 displays such images and input data of the keyboard 17.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing the syringe 2 portion in FIG. 1, and the portions corresponding to FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals.

In the figure, a triangular notch is formed at the lower end of the optical displacement meter 3, and a light emitting element and a light receiving element are provided at this notch. At the lower end of the syringe 2, there is provided a nozzle support tool 12 that extends to the lower part of the cut portion of the optical displacement meter 3, and the optical displacement meter 3 is provided on the lower surface of the tip of the nozzle support tool 12. The nozzle 1 is attached so as to be located below the notch.

The optical displacement meter 3 measures the distance from the tip of the nozzle 1 to the surface of the substrate 7 by non-contact triangulation. That is, the laser light L emitted from the light emitting element of the optical displacement meter 3 is reflected at the measurement point S on the substrate 7 and is received by the light receiving element of the optical displacement meter 3. In this case, the nozzle support 12 A light emitting element and a light receiving element are provided on different side surfaces of the cut portion so that the laser light L is not blocked by the laser light L, and the laser light L is emitted in an oblique direction and reflected in an oblique direction. I am trying.

Here, the measurement point S by the laser beam L and the position immediately below the nozzle 1 are slightly deviated by ΔX and ΔY on the substrate 7, but with such a deviation, measurement on the surface of the substrate 7 is performed. Since there is almost no difference in the unevenness of the surface of the substrate 7 between the point S and the position immediately below the tip of the nozzle, the distance from the tip of the nozzle 1 to the surface of the substrate 7 immediately below it should be measured almost accurately by the optical displacement meter 3. You can

The controller 14 (FIG. 1) operates the Z-axis table 4a up and down based on the measurement result of the optical displacement meter 3 even when the surface of the substrate 7 has undulations at the time of applying and drawing the paste. As a result, the paste discharge port of the nozzle 1 maintains a desired distance from the surface of the substrate 7, and the width and thickness of the applied paste are uniform in all paste patterns.

In order to prevent the above-mentioned measurement point S from traversing the already-applied paste on the substrate 7 as much as possible, this measurement point S is set at X from the drop point of the paste from the discharge port of the nozzle 1. , Y Y axis may be oblique.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a specific example of the control device 14 in FIG.
e is an external interface, 14b is a motor controller, 14cb is an X-axis driver, 14cc is a Y-axis driver, 14cd is a θ-axis driver, 14ca is a Z-axis driver, 14d is an image processing device, 15d is a θ-axis motor, E is an encoder, PP is a paste pattern, and the portions corresponding to those in FIG.

In the figure, the microcomputer 14a includes a main arithmetic unit, a ROM storing a software processing program for drawing a paste pattern PP described later, processing results in the main arithmetic unit, an external interface 14e and a motor controller 14b. RAM that stores the input data from
External interface 14e and motor controller 1
An input / output unit for exchanging data with the 4b is provided.

Data for designating the shape of the paste pattern to be drawn and data for designating the distance between the nozzle 1 and the substrate 7 are input from the keyboard 17, and the microcomputer 14a is supplied via the external interface 14e. Is supplied to. In the microcomputer 14a, these data are processed using the main arithmetic unit and the RAM according to the software program stored in the ROM.

The motor controller 14 is operated in accordance with the data designating the shape of the paste pattern thus processed.
b is controlled, X-axis driver 14cb, Y-axis driver 1
The X-axis motor 15b, the Y-axis motor 15c, or the θ-axis motor 15d is rotationally driven by the 4 cc or θ-axis driver 14cd. Further, encoders E are provided on the rotary shafts of these motors, and the rotation amounts (driving operation amounts) of the respective motors are detected by the encoders E to drive the X-axis driver 14cb, the Y-axis driver 14cc, the θ-axis driver 14cd, or the motor controller 14b. It is fed back to the microcomputer 14a via the X-axis motor 15b, the Y-axis motor 15c, or the θ-axis motor 15d so that the X-axis motor 15b, the Y-axis motor 15c, or the θ-axis motor 15d accurately rotates by the rotation amount designated by the microcomputer 14a. As a result, the predetermined paste pattern is drawn on the substrate 7.

During drawing of the paste pattern, the measurement data of the optical displacement meter 3 is converted into digital data by an AD converter (not shown) and supplied to the microcomputer 14a through the external interface 14e, where the above nozzle is used. 1, comparison processing with data designating the distance between the substrates 7 and the like are performed. If there is undulation on the surface of the substrate 7, this is detected by the microcomputer 14a based on the input data,
The Z axis driver 1 is controlled by controlling the motor controller 14b.
The Z-axis motor 15a is rotationally driven by 4ca. As a result, the Z-axis table 4a (FIG. 1) is vertically displaced to keep the distance between the paste ejection port of the nozzle 1 (FIG. 2) and the surface of the substrate 7 constant. An encoder E is also provided on the rotary shaft of the Z-axis motor 15a, and the rotation amount of the Z-axis motor 15a is fed back to the microcomputer 14a via the Z-axis driver 14ca and the motor controller 14b. 15a is the microcomputer 14
It is controlled to rotate exactly by the rotation amount designated by a.

Various data input from the keyboard 17 and various data produced by being processed by the microcomputer 14a such as the data of the paste drawing pattern and the data at the time of exchanging the paste storage cylinder are stored in the RAM built in the microcomputer 14a. Is stored.

Next, the operation of the paste application drawing and the paste accommodating cylinder exchange in this embodiment will be described.

In FIG. 4, the power is turned on (step 100), and first the initial setting of the coating machine is executed (step 200).

This initial setting is performed as shown in FIG. That is, first, the Z-axis table 4a, the X-axis table 5, and the Y-axis table 6 are positioned at predetermined origin positions (step 201), and then the paste pattern data, the substrate position data, and the paste ejection end position data are set. Perform (steps 202 and 203). Data input for this setting is performed from the keyboard 17 of FIG. The input data is stored in the RAM built in the microcomputer 14a (FIG. 3) in the control device 14 as described above.
Is stored in

Returning to FIG. 4, it is determined whether or not the syringe 2 has been replaced (the replacement of the syringe will be described in detail in the paste film forming processing step (step 700) in FIG. 10) (step 300). If this replacement is made, the nozzle position displacement amount is measured (step 400) and the substrate is mounted (step 500). If the syringe 2 is not replaced, the substrate is mounted (step 5).
00).

Now, the nozzle position deviation amount measuring process (step 400) when the syringe 2 is replaced will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 6.

First, a temporary substrate is mounted on the suction table 13 of FIG. 1 (step 401), held by suction on the suction table 13 (step 402), and the temporary substrate, which is in the center of the visual field of the image recognition camera 11a, is attached to the nozzle 1. Move it directly below (step 40)
3). Then, the nozzle 1 is lowered on the Z-axis table 4a (step 404), the paste filled in the syringe 2 is applied on the temporary substrate to form a dot-like film, and spotting is performed (step 405). . Then, the nozzle 1 is raised (step 406). And this step 4
A series of operations from 04 to step 406 is repeatedly performed a set number of times.

When it is confirmed that the spotting has been repeated the set number of times (step 407), the temporary substrate is moved below the center of the visual field of the image recognition camera 11a (step 408). Then, the position of each dot paste is measured by the image recognition camera 11a (step 409). This position measurement is performed for all the point-paste pastes for each point-paste paste (step 410), and the measurement data is stored in the RAM of the microcomputer 14a.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the above-mentioned stippling, and shows a situation in which the image recognition camera 11a looks at the temporary substrate. Here, the number of stippling is set to 5 times, and these 5 pieces are set. Dotted pastes are indicated by P1 to P5.

In FIGS. 1, 6 and 7, each of the spotting pastes P1 to P5 is X, centered around the spotting paste P1.
The Y table 6 and the θ-axis table 8 are moved so as not to overlap each other at equal intervals of DX and DY in the Y-axis direction, and coating is performed (step 405). A frame G indicated by a dotted line is the visual field of the image recognition camera 11a, and the distances DX and DY are the visual field G.
The value is selected so that all the point-filling pastes P1 to P5 are contained therein.

Further, the distance X in FIG.
08 is the moving distance of the Y table 6 in the X-axis direction from the visual field center P0 of the image recognition camera 11a before the movement is started. This moving distance X is a predetermined distance from the center P0 of the visual field to a position just below the tip of the nozzle without any deviation. Therefore, when the Y table 6 is moved by this distance X, the first spotting paste P1 is moved. The center and the center of the visual field G of the image recognition camera 11a should coincide with each other. Also,
The distance between the centers of the other spotting pastes P2 to P5 should be DX and DY from the center of the first spotting paste P1. However, in reality, there is a displacement.

This misalignment is due to the processing accuracy of the paste storage cylinder 2 and the nozzle 1 and the variation of their mounting accuracy, and that the center of the paste slightly ejected to the nozzle ejection port during nozzle replacement is the nozzle ejection port. It is due to the disagreement with the center of. One of the grounds for causing this discrepancy is the cleaning of the nozzle discharge port when the nozzle is replaced. If you clean it carefully, it will take longer than necessary to replace the nozzle and workability will be reduced. In this embodiment, the displacement due to the latter cause is eliminated in a short time as described below.

Each of the dot-shaped pastes (dotted pastes) P1 to P5 is photographed by the image recognition camera 11a, the original image data is subjected to known image processing by the image processing device 14d (FIG. 3), and the dot-shaped paste is applied. Of the center of gravity, that is, the center positions of points P1 to P5 are obtained.

8 (a) to 8 (e) are dotted paste P1.
The center positions of the points obtained by performing image processing on P5 to P5 are shown. Here, the solid line indicates the contour obtained by performing image processing on each of the spotting pastes P1 to P5.

Since each of the spotting pastes P1 to P5 and the nozzle 1 cannot be imaged by the image recognition camera 11a at the same time, the outline of the nozzle 1 has the outline of each of the spotting pastes P1 to P5.
In contrast to, is indicated by a two-dot chain line. ΔX1 to Δ
X5, ΔY1 to ΔY5 are the paste storage cylinder 2 and the nozzle 1.
The amount of deviation between the center of each of the spotting pastes P1 to P5 and the center of the nozzle 1 including those due to variations in processing accuracy and the mounting accuracy thereof is shown. As the number of times of spotting increases, the deviation amounts ΔX1 and ΔY1 become ΔX2. , ΔY2, ..., ΔX5
It is shown that it converges with ΔY5.

Next, the positional deviation amount (deviation) of the nozzle 1 from the center of the visual field G is calculated by the following formula, and this deviation will be used later, so the microcomputer 14a uses it as the positional deviation amount of the nozzle 1. It is stored in the RAM (step 411).

[0050]

(Equation 1)

[0051]

(Equation 2)

(Note that i is each of the spotting pastes P1 to P5.
Lastly, the temporary substrate is released from the suction (step 412), and the nozzle position deviation amount measuring process (step 400) in FIG. 4 is completed.

In this embodiment, the number n of spots is 5, and the error is reduced if a large number n of spots is given. However, the number of spots n is equal to the processing time required for a series of operations in steps 404 to 411. In consideration of this, the number of spots n may be set arbitrarily.

Returning to FIG. 4, in step 500, the substrate 7 on which the paste is applied and drawn in a desired pattern is mounted on the suction table 13 (FIG. 1) and held by suction.
Substrate preliminary positioning processing is performed (step 60).
0).

FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing a specific example of this step 600.

In the figure, first, the positioning mark of the substrate 7 mounted on the suction table 13 is shown by the image recognition camera 11a.
(Step 601), and the position of the center of gravity of the positioning mark within the visual field of the image recognition camera 11a is obtained by image processing (step 602). Here, the shift amount between the center of the visual field and the position of the center of gravity is calculated (step 603), and in order to set the substrate 7 at the desired coating start position, the shift amount is used to move the Y-axis table 6 in the X-axis direction. , The amount of movement of the θ-axis table 8 in the Y-axis direction and the amount of movement of the θ-axis table 8 in the θ-axis direction are calculated (step 604), and these are further controlled by the motor controller 14b (FIG. 3).
To 15d and 15a (step 60
5) Then, the tables 6 and 8 are moved in the X and Y axis directions and the θ axis directions to set the substrate 7 at a desired position (step 606).

Next, in order to confirm whether or not the substrate 7 has been set at this desired position, the positioning mark is photographed again by the image recognition camera 11a and the center (center of gravity) of the positioning mark within its field of view is taken. Is measured (step 607), and the deviation amount of the mark center in the visual field is obtained (step 60
8) It is confirmed whether the deviation amount is within the allowable range (step 609). If it is within the allowable range, the substrate preliminary positioning process (step 600) is ended. If it is outside the allowable range, the process returns to step 604 to repeat the above process.

Preliminary substrate positioning processing (step 6)
(00) is completed, the process proceeds to the next paste film forming process (step 700) in FIG.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a specific example of this step 700.

In the figure, first, the substrate 7 is moved to the coating start position (step 701), and the substrate position is compared / adjusted (step 702). This is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 7, it is based on the above-described positional deviation amount measuring process of the nozzle 1 (step 400), which will be described below with reference to FIG.

First, the positional deviation amount Xmean, Y of the nozzle 1 (FIG. 1) obtained in step 409 in FIG. 6 and stored in the RAM of the microcomputer 14a (FIG. 3).
It is determined whether or not the mean is within the positional deviation permissible ranges ΔX and ΔY of the nozzle 1 shown in FIG. 2 (step 702a). These positional deviations are within this allowable range (△
If X ≧ Xmean, ΔY ≧ Ymean), the process directly proceeds to the next process step in FIG. 10, that is, the nozzle height setting process (step 703).

However, outside this allowable range (ΔX <Xmea
n, ΔY <Ymean), in FIG. 11, the substrate 7 is calculated from the previous positional displacement amounts Xmean, Ymean.
The amount of movement in the X and Y axis directions of the Y and θ axis tables 6 and 8 for performing the movement is calculated (step 702b), and the operation amount of the motor controller 14b (FIG. 3) is set (step 702c). Then, the X and Y axis drivers 14cb, 14
The servo motors 15b and 15c are rotated by the designated amounts via cc, and the Y and θ axis tables 6 and 8 are moved to X and
The substrate 7 is moved to the desired position by eliminating the deviation between the ejection port of the nozzle 1 and the desired position of the substrate 7 caused by the replacement of the nozzle 1 in the Y-axis direction (step 702d). . As a result, the process of step 702 in FIG. 10 ends.

In FIG. 10, when the process of step 702 is completed, the height of the nozzle 1 is set next (step 703). The distance from the discharge port of the nozzle 1 to the substrate 7 at this time is the thickness of the applied paste. As described above, the substrate 7 is set at a desired position by the substrate preliminary positioning process (step 600) in FIG. 9 and the substrate position comparison / adjustment movement process (step 702) in FIG. When the height is set, the ejection of paste is started and the drawing operation is started (step 7).
04).

At the same time, the measured data is input from the optical rangefinder 3 to measure the undulation of the surface of the substrate 7 (step 705), and the measured data of the optical rangefinder 3 is also used. It is determined whether or not the measurement point S (see FIG. 2) is on the paste film (step 706). In this determination, when the measurement point S of the optical rangefinder 3 crosses the paste film, the measured data from the optical rangefinder 3 suddenly changes beyond the allowable value. Therefore, the measured data from the optical rangefinder 3 changes. Is performed by detecting a sudden change in value exceeding this allowable value.

When the measuring point S of the optical distance meter 3 is not on the paste film, the correction data for moving the Z-axis table 4a in accordance with the waviness of the surface of the substrate 7 is calculated based on the measured data. Is performed (step 707). Then, the height of the nozzle 1 is corrected using the Z-axis table 4a, and the position of the nozzle 1 in the Z-axis direction is maintained at the set value (step 708).

When it is determined that the measuring point S of the optical distance meter 3 is passing over the paste film (step 706), the height of the nozzle 1 is maintained as it is and the discharge of the paste film is continued. Let This is because the surface of the substrate 7 hardly changes during the passage of the measurement point S on the paste film having a slight width, so that if the height of the nozzle 1 is not changed, the paste ejection shape will be changed. There is no change, so the desired paste film can be drawn. When it is no longer measured that the measurement point S is on the paste film, the process returns to the original nozzle height correction step.

Further, the drawing operation is advanced, and it is judged whether or not the paste discharge is continued or finished depending on whether or not the set pattern operation is completed (step 709).
Whether or not the formation of the paste film is completed is determined depending on whether or not the substrate 7 has reached a predetermined position with respect to the end of the pattern (step 711), and when the end of the pattern has not been reached, step 705 is performed again. Then, the series of processing operations described above are repeated, and in this way, the paste film formation is continued until the end of the pattern. When the end of the pattern is reached, the Z-axis table 4a is driven to raise the nozzle 1, and the paste film forming process (step 70 in FIG. 4).
0) is ended.

When the paste film forming process is completed, in FIG. 4, the substrate 7 on which the paste drawing has been completed is discharged from the suction table 13 (step 800), and it is determined whether or not all the above steps are stopped (step 900). ). That is, when the paste film is formed on a plurality of substrates in the same pattern, a series of operations from the syringe replacement determination process (step 300) to the substrate discharge process (step 800) are repeated for that number of substrates.

In the stop determination process (step 900), for example, an operator can confirm whether or not the paste remaining amount in the paste storage cylinder (syringe) 2 is sufficient,
If the microcomputer 14a makes a judgment by accumulating the amount of paste discharged after the nozzle replacement and the remaining amount is very small, the syringe 2 is replaced here. Then, the fact that the nozzle has been replaced is input from the keyboard 17, and the information (for example, flag) is read by the R of the microcomputer 14a.
Store in AM. As a result, when the syringe replacement determination process (step 300) is performed thereafter, the presence or absence of the flag in the data table relating to the syringe replacement in the RAM is checked, and the deviation in the next nozzle position deviation amount measurement process (step 400) is performed. Can be automatically calculated.

Whether or not there is a flag in the data table relating to syringe replacement in the RAM is checked, and the deviation is automatically obtained in the next nozzle position deviation amount measuring process (step 400).
This flag is erased, and the nozzle position deviation amount measuring process (step 400) is prevented from being unnecessarily re-executed until the next nozzle replacement.

Even if the paste in the syringe 2 is used up and the nozzle is replaced while the paste film forming process (step 700) in FIG. 10 is being executed, the substrate discharging process (step 800) is performed at the time of replacement. In the case of a substrate in which the coating and drawing can be continued without changing or to the replacement, the syringe replacement determination process (step 300) and the nozzle position deviation amount measurement process (step 400) in FIG. Forming process (step 70)
It should be done before restarting 0).

In FIG. 11, the positional deviation amount Xme of the nozzle 1 is
When an and Ymean are outside the positional deviation permissible ranges ΔX and ΔY of the nozzle 1 shown in FIG. 2, the substrate 7 is moved, but the camera support 4a is moved to the Z-axis table support 10.
With respect to the X axis direction, the image recognition camera 11a is moved instead of moving the substrate 7 so that the positional deviation amounts Xmean, Ymean of the nozzle 1 fall within the allowable ranges ΔX, ΔY. May be.

Further, in the calculation of the positional deviation amounts Xmean and Ymean of the nozzle 1 described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8, since the first dot data ΔX1 and ΔY1 include many errors, In step 411 of 6, the first dot data ΔX1 and ΔY1 may not be used as the basic data, but may be calculated based on the second dot data ΔX2 and ΔY2 and thereafter. . Further, as described above, since the data of each point dot ΔXi, ΔYi tend to converge to the last one, instead of the statistical processing (averaging process), the data of the last dot data ΔXn, ΔYn may be the amount of positional deviation of the nozzle 1.

Further, although the substrate 7 is moved in the X and Y axis directions with respect to the syringe 2 in the above embodiments, the substrate 7 is fixed and the syringe 2 is moved in the X and Y axis directions. You may

Furthermore, in order to reduce the time required for the coating machine initial setting process (step 200) in FIG. 4, an external storage means 18 such as an IC card or a floppy disk or a hard disk is provided in the external interface 14e (FIG. 3). (FIG. 3) is connected, while various data settings for the applicator initial setting process (step 200) in FIG. 5 are executed in advance by a personal computer or the like, and the applicator initial setting process is performed. (Step 200)
When executing, each data may be read off-line from the external storage means 18 via the above-mentioned storage / reading device connected to the external interface 14e and transferred to the RAM of the microcomputer 14a (FIG. 3).

The above modifications may be combined in any desired manner.

[0077]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Even if the position of the nozzle discharge port with respect to the substrate is changed by exchanging the paste storage cylinder, the nozzle and the substrate can be positioned in a desired positional relationship and the paste pattern can be accurately applied and drawn.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of a paste applicator according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a relationship between a paste storage cylinder and an optical distance meter in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a specific example of a control device in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a paste application drawing operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.

5 is a flowchart showing a specific example of a coating initial setting process in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a specific example of nozzle position deviation amount measurement processing in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining spotting processing of paste on a temporary substrate in FIG. 6;

8 is a diagram showing a method for obtaining the amount of nozzle misalignment in FIG.

9 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the substrate preliminary positioning process in FIG.

10 is a flowchart showing a specific example of the paste film forming process in FIG.

11 is a flowchart showing a specific example of substrate position comparison / adjustment movement processing in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Nozzle 2 Paste Storage Cylinder 3 Optical Distance Meter 4a Z-axis Table 4b Camera Support 5 X-axis Table 6 Y-axis Table 7 Substrate 8 θ-axis Table 9 Mount 10 Z-axis Table Support 11a Image Recognition Camera 11b Lens Tube 12 Nozzle support 13 Suction table 14 Control device 15a to 15d Servo motor 16 Monitor 17 Keyboard 18 External storage device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yukihiro Kawasumi 5-2, Koyodai, Ryugasaki-shi, Ibaraki Hitachi Techno Engineering Co., Ltd. Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Fukuo Yoneda 5--2, Koyodai, Ryugasaki, Ibaraki Hitachi Techno Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A paste is applied in a desired pattern on the substrate by changing the relative positional relationship between the nozzle and the table while discharging the paste from the nozzle onto the substrate placed on the table. In the paste applicator, a measuring means for measuring the position of the discharge port of the nozzle when the nozzle is replaced with respect to the desired position of the substrate placed on the table, at an arbitrary number of paste application points separated from each other on the substrate. And a calculation means for calculating the position variation of the nozzle discharge port due to the nozzle replacement from the measurement result of each paste application point by the measurement means, and the nozzle discharge port after the nozzle replacement based on the result obtained by the calculation means. And a positioning means for positioning the substrate at a desired position with respect to the paste coating machine. 2. The statistical processing according to claim 1, wherein the calculating means statistically processes all measurement results of each paste application point by the measuring means and statistically processes remaining paste application points excluding the first paste application point. A paste applicator characterized in that the position variation of the nozzle discharge port due to the nozzle replacement is calculated by either of the above. 3. A paste for applying paste in a desired pattern on the substrate by changing the relative positional relationship between the nozzle and the table while discharging the paste from the nozzle onto the substrate placed on the table. In the coating machine, the position of the discharge port of the nozzle at the time of nozzle replacement with respect to the desired position of the substrate placed on the table is applied last among the arbitrary number of paste application points separated from each other on the substrate. The measuring means for measuring at the paste application point, the calculating means for calculating the position variation of the nozzle discharge port due to the nozzle replacement from the measurement result of the paste applying point applied last by the measuring means, and the calculating means Based on the results, a paste coating machine is provided with a positioning means for positioning the substrate at a desired position with respect to the nozzle discharge port after nozzle replacement. . 4. The paste applicator according to claim 1, wherein the positioning means is means for adjusting the position of the substrate to the desired position. 5. The positioning means according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the positioning means is means for adjusting a fixed position of a board positioning camera for reading an arbitrary number of paste application points separated from each other on the board. Characteristic paste applicator. 6. The storage means according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the storage means stores information indicating that the nozzle has been replaced, and the position of the discharge port of the nozzle is measured based on the information stored in the storage means. A paste applicator comprising: means for calculating a positional variation of the nozzle ejection port and positioning the substrate at a desired position with respect to the nozzle ejection port after nozzle replacement.