JPH1170436A - Plate shaped work conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a whole device compact by photographing a pair of guide marks by one image pick-up means so as to reduce the number of expensive partitems and performing the conveyance and positioning of a plate shaped work by the same device. SOLUTION: For the positioning and conveyance (feeding to a next process) of a plate shaped work W (multi-layered substrate) on which a pair of guide marks M1 and M2 are provided, a device obtains positional data by photographing in order each of the guide marks M1 and M2 by a single image pick-up means. The plate shaped work W which, based on the positional data thus obtained, is moved and positioned by the movement in XYθ direction is conveyed to a next process by the same means even after positioning under a positioned condition.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a plate-shaped work, such as a printed circuit board, which has been input from a previous step and which is positioned based on guide marks provided on the work and supplied to a processing apparatus which is the next step. Related to a transfer device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the manufacture of circuit boards, a large number of circuit boards are obtained by printing a large number of circuit patterns on one large-area substrate (original plate) and then cutting and separating each circuit pattern. The method has been done. At the time of this cutting, at least one pair of guide holes is provided in the substrate, and the pair of guide holes is positioned by, for example, being mounted on a guide pin provided in a processing apparatus, and is sequentially cut. Therefore, the pair of guide holes is a basis for determining a cutting position, and is required to be provided at an accurate position. As a drilling device for providing such a pair of guide holes, a pair of guide marks provided in advance is imaged by an imaging means, image data is subjected to image processing, and positioning is performed based on the result. It is known that they make holes.

[0003] With respect to the positioning of a printed circuit board in a conventional drilling device, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-183097, when a printed circuit board is loaded from a previous step, it is provided on the printed circuit board. A pair of guide marks are picked up by a pair of image pickup means, and the image data is image-processed by an image processing device to obtain position data of both guide marks, and the printed board is positioned by a positioning device on which the printed board is mounted. Is known. Further, in this apparatus, one of the pair of image pickup means can change the interval with the image pickup means at the other fixed position so as to be compatible with printed boards of various sizes. It is provided movably by the moving means.

When the printed board is a multilayer board and a pair of guide marks provided on the printed board is provided not on the surface but on an inner layer portion, the imaging means emits X-rays. It comprises a generator and an X-ray detector for capturing a transmission image of the guide mark.

[0005]

In the prior art, since a pair of guide marks provided on a plate-like work are imaged by a pair of imaging means, it is necessary to provide a pair (two) of imaging means. Yes, and to accommodate various sizes of plate-like workpieces where the distance between a pair of guide marks is different,
It is necessary to have a configuration in which the arrangement interval of the imaging means is moved, which has been a cause of an increase in cost in configuring a positioning and transporting device for a plate-like work. Furthermore, since the device for positioning the plate-like work and the device for transporting it were separately configured,
As a result, the number of components was large, and the entire apparatus became large.

Therefore, in the present invention, the number of expensive components is reduced by imaging a pair of guide marks by one imaging means, and the transport and positioning of the plate-like work are performed by the same apparatus. By doing so, the object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the entire apparatus.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, each guide for positioning and transporting (supplying to the next step) a plate-shaped work provided with a pair of guide marks is provided. The position data is obtained by sequentially taking images of the marks by a single image pickup means, and the plate-like work to be moved and positioned in the XYθ directions based on the mark is positioned to the next step by the same means even after the positioning. It is transported as it is.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS According to the present invention, a plate-like work fed from a previous step is positioned on the basis of a pair of guide marks provided in the direction of its transfer, and is fed to the next step. An apparatus for holding and transporting the plate-shaped work and moving the plate-shaped work in the X, Y, and θ directions, and a pair of guide marks provided on a first guide on the downstream side in the transfer direction of the plate-shaped work. One imaging unit that separately captures images in the order of the mark and the second guide mark on the upstream side;
An image processing apparatus for performing image processing on image data obtained by the image capturing means to obtain position data of a guide mark;
A control device for controlling the operation of the conveying means based on the position data of the two guide marks obtained by the image processing device and positioning the plate-like work.

In the above-described plate-like work transfer device, when the plate-like work is a multi-layer substrate and the pair of guide marks are provided on an inner layer, the imaging means applies an X-ray to the plate-like work. And an X-ray detector that captures a transmission image of a pair of guide marks.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the plate-shaped work is a multilayer substrate W having an indefinite outer shape, and a pair of guide marks M provided on the multilayer substrate W are provided on an inner layer will be described. .

FIG. 1 is an overall front view showing the configuration of a guide hole drilling system configured by using the plate-like workpiece transfer device according to the present invention. An input unit A for supplying the multilayer substrate W, a positioning unit B for positioning the input multilayer substrate and transporting it to a punching unit in the next process, and a punching unit C for punching a desired position on the multilayer substrate. They are arranged in order. The plate-like workpiece transfer device of the present invention is applied to the positioning unit B. Since the details of the charging unit A and the drilling unit C do not relate to the gist of the present invention, the description is omitted.

FIG. 2 is an overall front view of the positioning unit B, FIG. 3 is an overall side view thereof, and FIG. 4 is an overall plan view thereof. On the upstream side of the positioning unit B, that is, on the side of the loading unit A, a conveyor 1 on which the multilayer substrate W loaded by the loading unit A is placed is provided (see FIG. 1).
On the downstream side of the conveyor 1, the multi-layer substrate W is brought into contact with the outer side of the multi-layer substrate W conveyed by the conveyor 1.
A stopper 2 is provided to stop the sheet at a predetermined position so as to be able to protrude and retract from the conveying surface of the conveyor 1 (see FIG. 4). FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a portion R where the stopper 2 is provided. As shown in FIG. 5, a sensor 3 for checking the presence or absence of the multilayer substrate W is provided near the stopper 2 on the side where the multilayer substrate W contacts, so as not to hinder the transport of the multilayer substrate W. I have.

Image pickup means 4 are provided above and below the multilayer substrate W which is conveyed by the conveyor 1 and stopped at a predetermined position by the stopper 2, and of the pair of guide marks M of the multilayer substrate W, The first guide mark M1, which is on the downstream side in the transport direction, enters the field of view of the imaging means 4. The imaging means 4 emits X-rays to the multilayer substrate W.
The apparatus includes a line generating device 4a and an X-ray detector 4b for inputting X-ray projection to an image processing device (not shown). Only one imaging unit 4 is provided. Since the imaging device 4 of this embodiment uses X-rays, the guide mark M provided on the multilayer substrate W is an internal layer and the guide mark M is not exposed on the surface of the multilayer substrate W. Even if there is, the position of the guide mark M can be imaged. Of the pair of guide marks M of the multilayer substrate W, the second guide mark M2 which is on the upstream side in the transport direction of the multilayer substrate W
As described later, the second guide mark M2 of the image pickup means 4 is transferred by the transfer means H from the distance between the first guide mark M1 and the second guide mark M2 of the multilayer substrate W which has been input in advance. This is performed by transporting the multilayer substrate W to a position where it enters the field of view.

As shown in FIG. 3, a protective tube 4c and an X-ray protective curtain 4d for preventing X-ray leakage are provided below the X-ray generator 4a. X-ray protective curtain 4d
Can be moved up and down by the cylinder 4e. When the X-rays are shielded by the X-ray shutter 4f, the X-rays rise upward so as not to hinder the transfer of the multilayer substrate W. The outer shape of the multilayer substrate W of the present embodiment is indefinite, and the positioning of the multilayer substrate W based on the outer shape standard is rough. Therefore, the X-ray detector 4b is capable of imaging a relatively wide area of about 50 × 50 mm. Is used. Therefore, the position of the guide mark M can be measured even with such an accuracy that the multilayer substrate W is stopped by the stopper 2. Note that the imaging state of the imaging unit 4 is visible to the operator via the monitor 35.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a transfer means H capable of holding the multilayer substrate W and moving in the XYθ directions, FIG.
FIG. 8 shows the front view. Here, the X direction indicates the transport direction of the multilayer substrate W, the Y direction indicates the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the multilayer substrate W, and the θ direction indicates the direction in which the multilayer substrate W rotates horizontally on the XY plane.

An X-direction slider 7 is provided on a linear guide rail 5 laid in the X direction via a linear guide nut 6 so as to be able to reciprocate.
The pulley 8a is fixed to a part of a timing belt 9 provided by a pair of pulleys 8a and 8b, and the rotation of the pulley 8a can be controlled by a servomotor 10. Therefore, the X-direction slider 7 can be moved to any position between the pulleys 8a and 8b (see FIG. 2).

As shown in FIG. 6, a pair of linear guide nuts 11a and 11b are fixed to the X-direction slider 7, and a pair of linear guide rails 12a and 12b are fixed to the linear guide nuts 11a and 11b. 12b is movably supported in the Y direction, and a Y-direction slider 13 is fixed to the linear guide rails 12a and 12b. In addition, connecting members 15a, 15b are movably provided on the pair of linear guide rails 12a, 12b via linear guide nuts 14a, 14b, respectively. The two connecting members 15a, 15b have a stepped shape (see FIG. 8), and ball screw nuts 17 are provided on the ends opposite to the portions fixed to the linear motion guide nuts 14a, 14b via brackets 16a, 16b.
a and 17b are fixed, and both ball screw nuts 17
Ball screws 18a and 18b are screwed into a and 17b. One end of each of the ball screws 18a and 18b is a bearing 19
a, 19b so as to be rotatable, and the end thereof is attached to the X-direction slider 7 by the motor brackets 20a, 20b.
servo motors 21a, 21b fixed via b
Are coupled via couplings 22a and 22b. The connecting members 15a and 15b have elongated holes 23.
The levers 23a and 23b in which c and 23d are formed are fixed, and the long holes 23c and 2b of the levers 23a and 23b are fixed.
3d includes driven rollers 24c, 24 of cam followers 24a, 24b fixed to a rotating plate 26, which will be described later.
d is in the inserted state.

A rotary plate 26 is rotatably provided below the Y-direction slider 13 via a bearing 25 (see FIG. 8). Further, a chuck plate 27 is provided below the rotary plate 26, and a pair of linear guide shafts 28a and 28b are erected on the chuck plate 27, and the linear guide shafts 28a and 28b rotate. A linear guide nut 29 provided on the plate 26
a, 29b. The upper end of the linear motion guide shaft 28 is connected to the Y-direction slider 7 via the connecting member 30.
It is connected to the drive shaft of a cylinder 31 installed above.

Therefore, the servo motors 21a, 21b
Simultaneously rotate by the same pulse in the same direction, the two levers 23a, 23b fixed to the two connecting members 15a, 15b move in the Y direction, and the cam follower 24
The rotating plate 26 and the chuck plate 27 connected via the a and 24b are simultaneously movable in the Y direction. When the servo motors 21a and 21b rotate simultaneously by the same number of pulses in opposite directions, both levers 23a fixed to the connecting member 15a move in the Y direction, and the levers 23 fixed to the connecting member 15b move.
b moves in the opposite direction to the lever 23a, and the rotating plate 2 is connected via both cam followers 24a and 24b.
The chuck plate 6 and the chuck plate 27 can rotate left and right in the θ direction around the drive shaft of the cylinder 31 without moving in the Y direction.

Further, by driving the cylinder 31, the two linear guide shafts 2 connected to the connecting member 30 are provided.
8a and 28b move in the vertical direction, and the rotating plate 26 and the chuck plate 27 are not rotatable and are kept in a parallel state so that they can come and go.

The chuck plate 27 has a vacuum pad 3
2 are provided, and a multi-layer substrate W can be sucked by generating a negative pressure by an air hose 33 connected to a vacuum generator (not shown).

[0022]

[Explanation of Operation] The multilayer substrate W loaded on a stocker (not shown) (arranged on the right side of the loading unit in FIG. 1) is moved upstream of the conveyor 1 of the positioning unit B by the chuck means 34 (see FIG. 1) of the loading unit A. Placed on Here, for the multi-layer substrate W to be processed, the distance between the pair of guide marks M1 and M2 is preset in advance. The presetting is performed by a computer (not shown) connected to the guide hole drilling system.

When the positioning unit B receives the completion signal of loading of the multilayer substrate W from the loading unit A, the positioning unit B stops the stopper 2 (R in FIG. 4) in a state where the multilayer substrate W protrudes from the transport surface.
Section, see FIG. 5 for details), when the conveyor 1 is operated until the multilayer substrate W comes into contact with the stopper 2 and stops.
The sensor 3 detects the multilayer substrate W, and the operation of the conveyor 1 is stopped. The position where the multilayer substrate W is stopped by the stopper 2 is determined by a pair of guide marks M provided on the multilayer substrate W.
Of these, the first guide mark M1 on the downstream side is in the field of view of the imaging means 4 of the positioning unit B.

The chuck plate 27 in a standby state above the multilayer substrate W shown in FIGS. 6 to 8 is lowered by the cylinder 31, and the multilayer substrate W is held on the chuck plate 27 by the vacuum pad 32. At the same time that the multilayer substrate W is held by the chuck plate 27, the X-ray protection curtain 4d of the imaging means 4 shown in FIG. When the lowering of the X-ray protective curtain 4d is confirmed, the X-ray shutter 4f of the X-ray generator 4a
Is released, and the multilayer substrate W is irradiated with X-rays.

The X-ray transmitted through the multilayer substrate W is applied to the first guide mark M1 on the imaging surface of the X-ray detector 4b (see FIG. 2).
Is projected. This shadow image is subjected to image processing as image pickup data to obtain position data of the first guide mark M1. When the image processing is completed, the X-ray shutter 4f
The line is shielded, followed by the X-ray protective curtain 4d rising,
The multilayer substrate W is in a state where it can be transported.

When the imaging of the first guide mark M1 is completed and the multi-layer substrate W becomes movable, the cylinder 31 is operated and the chuck plate 27 is raised while holding the multi-layer substrate W. The second guide mark M on the upstream side of the pair of guide marks M provided on W
2 transports the multilayer substrate W to a position where it enters the field of view of the imaging means. This transfer is performed by using a preset multilayer substrate W
The X-direction slider 7 is moved by the rotation of the servo motor 10 shown in FIG. 2 and the driving of the timing belt 9 based on the interval between the pair of guide marks M. When the second guide mark M2 is positioned within the field of view of the imaging means, the first guide mark M
Similarly to 1, the second guide mark M2 is imaged and the second
The position data of the guide mark M2 is obtained.

When the first guide mark M1 and the second guide mark M2 are respectively picked up and image-processed to obtain position data, the position data and the servo motor 10 are obtained.
The position and orientation of the multi-layer substrate W is calculated from the rotation amount. Based on the calculation result, the drilling unit C of the multilayer substrate W
(See FIG. 1), the amount of rotation of the servomotor 10 in the X direction and the amount of rotation of the servomotors 21a and 21b (see FIG. 6) in the Y and θ directions are determined. It is conveyed to the drilling unit C while being positioned.

That is, as shown in FIG.
In order to position the chuck plate 27 holding the connecting members 3 in the Y direction, the servo motors 21a and 21b are simultaneously rotated in the same direction by the same number of pulses, and the two connecting members 3 are rotated.
The chuck plate 27 is moved in the Y direction by moving both levers 23a and 23b fixed to 0 in the Y direction and moving the rotating plate 26 connected via the cam followers 24a and 24b in the Y direction. Y
Position in the direction. When positioning in the θ direction, the servo motors 21a and 21b are simultaneously rotated in the opposite direction by the same number of pulses to connect the two connecting members 15a and 15b.
Are moved in the opposite Y direction to move the levers 23a and 23b in the opposite Y direction to rotate the rotating plate 26 connected via the cam followers 24a and 24b in the θ direction. The chuck plate 27 is moved in the θ direction by
Position in the direction. And for the X direction,
By rotating the servo motor 10 to move the X-direction slider 7, the X-direction movement and positioning of the multilayer substrate positioned in the Y and θ directions is performed.

The conveying means H of the positioning unit B (FIG. 1,
2), the multilayer substrate W is moved to the drilling position of the drilling unit C while the multilayer substrate W is positioned, and the chuck plate 27 is lowered by the cylinder 31 to set the multilayer substrate W on the table surface of the drilling unit C. Here, the positioning unit B outputs a set completion signal to the drilling unit C. And the conveying means H of the positioning unit B is
When receiving the receiving completion signal from the perforating unit C, the holding (adsorption) of the multilayer substrate W by the vacuum pad 32 is released, and the multi-layer substrate W returns to the original position for positioning and transporting the next multilayer substrate W.

As described above, the plate-like work (multi-layer substrate W) input from the previous step is positioned based on the pair of guide marks M provided on the plate-like work, and the next step, processing. It can be supplied to the device.

In this embodiment, a multi-layer substrate W having a pair of guide marks M provided in an inner layer as a plate-like work is used.
This is an example in which an X-ray generator 4a and an X-ray detector 4b are adopted as the imaging means 4. However, a plate-like workpiece having a pair of guide marks exposed on the surface is imaged. Naturally, a normal visible light camera can be applied as a means.

[0032]

According to the structure of the present invention, the transporting means for transporting the plate-like work includes the plate-like work positioning mechanism, and is provided for positioning the plate-like work. The plate-like work can be positioned on the basis of position data obtained by separately capturing a pair of guide marks by one image-capturing unit, and the configuration is simplified and compact as a device for transporting and positioning the plate-like work. Can be Furthermore, cost reduction can be achieved because only one expensive imaging means with a single cost is required.

When the plate-like work is a multi-layer substrate and a pair of guide marks provided on the multi-layer substrate are provided on the inner layer portion, the imaging means irradiates the plate-like work with X-rays. By using an X-ray generator and an X-ray detector that captures a transmission image of a pair of guide marks, it is possible to capture a pair of guide marks and obtain position data of the guide marks.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall front view illustrating a configuration of a guide hole drilling system configured by using a plate-like workpiece transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall front view of a positioning unit configured by using the plate-like workpiece transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an overall side view of a positioning unit configured using the plate-like workpiece transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an overall plan view of a positioning unit configured using the plate-like workpiece transfer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view of a stopper portion shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a transfer device for a plate-like work.

FIG. 7 is a side view of a transfer device for a plate-like work.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a transfer device for a plate-like work.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W Multilayer substrate (plate-like work) M A pair of guide marks M1 First guide mark M2 Second guide mark H Transport means 4 Imaging means 4a X-ray generator 4b X-ray detector

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A conveying device for a plate-like work fed from a previous process, which is positioned based on a pair of guide marks provided in the conveying direction and is supplied to a next process. Transport means for holding and transporting the plate-like work and moving the plate-like work in the X, Y, and θ directions; and a first guide mark on the downstream side of the plate-like work in the transport direction of the plate-like work; One imaging unit that separately captures images in the order of the second guide mark on the upstream side; an image processing device that performs image processing on the imaging data obtained by the imaging unit to obtain position data of the guide mark; A control device for controlling the operation of the conveying means based on the position data of the two guide marks obtained by the image processing device and positioning the plate-like work. Plate work transfer device. 2. The imaging device according to claim 1, wherein the plate-like work is a multi-layer substrate, and the pair of guide marks are provided on an inner layer. Is a X-ray generator for irradiating the plate-like work with X-rays, and an X-ray detector for capturing a transmission image of the pair of guide marks.