JPS61258799A - Automatic plotter - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an automatic drawing device, and particularly to an automatic drawing device that can automatically draw a drawing based on drawing data by scanning a light beam over the surface of a plate-shaped drawing object. This is how it was done.

[Conventional technology]

This type of automatic drawing device draws precise patterns by scanning an optically modulated laser beam over the surface of a photoresist or dry film deposited on the printed circuit board material to be drawn. A pattern drawing device based on the
No. 178072). This pattern drawing □ device has a stage that moves in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction of the light beam, and a printed circuit board material is placed on the stage so that it faces the surface of the printed circuit board material. It is configured to project a scanning light beam from a reflecting mirror provided in the mirror.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, this conventional pattern drawing device can only scan one side of the printed circuit board material mounted on the stage, so when drawing a pattern on both the front and back sides of the printed circuit board material, A light beam is scanned while moving the stage in a first direction (for example, in the forward direction) on one surface, and when the scanning of this light beam is completed, the printed circuit board material is turned over and mounted on the stage again. In this state, it is necessary to provide an automatic turning-over mechanism that scans the light beam while moving the stage in the second direction (ie, backward direction).

However, in actual equipment, a reflector is provided to face the stage, and the position of this reflector is precisely set so that the pattern is imaged on the surface of the printed circuit board material mounted on the stage. Since the space above the stage cannot be provided very widely due to the necessity of positioning the printed circuit board material at It is necessary to prepare a large-scale mechanism to turn it over and then return it to the reflector position.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to propose an automatic drawing device that can draw with a light beam on both the front and back sides of a drawing object without turning the drawing object over. It is.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to solve this problem, in the present invention, the light source 1
light modulation means 2 for modulating the light beam according to drawing data;
automatic drawing which forms a scanning light beam based on the light beam obtained from the light modulation means 2 and projects the scanning light beam onto the surface of the drawing object 14 to draw a drawing corresponding to the drawing data. In the apparatus, scanning light beam generating means (3, 4, 5) (Fig. 1), (21, 23, 24, 25) (Fig. 2), and a plurality of optical path means (13,1゜5.16.17) (Fig. 1), (26, 15, 27, 17) (Fig. 2).

[Effect]

The first and second beams generated in the scanning light beam generating means
The scanning light beams are guided alternately to two surfaces of the drawing object 14 by first and second optical path means, and drawings are made on these two surfaces based on the drawing data.

In this way, it is possible to draw with high precision on the two surfaces of the drawing object 140 without requiring a process for turning over the drawing object 14.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a laser light source, and the laser beam LA
is made incident on the rotating polygon mirror 3 through the optical modulator 2, and a light beam that moves and scans in the lateral direction is obtained as reflected light, which is made incident on the rotating movable reflecting mirror 5 via the lens 4.

The optical modulator 2 is composed of an optical deflection device such as an ultrasonic modulator,
When the drawing data S1 is at the logic "0" level, the drawing data S1, which is a digital signal supplied from the drive control device 6, causes the light beam LA to travel straight without being deflected, thereby making it incident on the rotating polygon mirror 3. When the drawing data S1 is at the logic "1" level, the light beam L
A is deflected by a predetermined angle to control the light beam LA so that it cannot enter the rotating polygon mirror 3, and thus the drawing data S
Scanning light beam LBI that flashes in response to a logic level of 1
is incident on the rotating movable reflecting mirror 5.

The rotating polygon mirror 3 is rotationally driven in one direction at a predetermined constant rotational speed by a control signal S2 supplied from the drive control device 6 to the drive device 11, and thus each mirror surface of the polygon mirror 3 sequentially arrives from the optical modulator 2. A light beam is supplied to the rotatable reflecting mirror 5.

The rotatable reflector 5 is rotatably driven to switch between two rotational positions by a switching drive device 12 that receives a switching control signal S3 supplied from a drive control bag W6, and has reached the rotational position shown by the solid line in FIG. At this time, the reflected beam arriving from the rotating polygon mirror 3 is turned upward and reflected onto the reflecting mirror 13. The scanning light beam reflected by the reflecting mirror 13 is reflected by the reflecting mirror 15, which is provided so as to face the upper plane 14A of the printed circuit board material 14 to be drawn, and is projected onto the upper surface 14. The printed circuit board material 14 is mounted on a stage (not shown) so as to extend in a substantially horizontal plane, and the stage driving device 18 is moved in the scanning direction of the scanning light beam shown by arrow a (this is the X-axis direction). The printed circuit board material 14 is caused to reciprocate in the directions of arrows A and C (this is defined as the y-axis direction), which are orthogonal to each other.

In this embodiment, the upper surface 1 of the printed circuit board material 14
When drawing on the printed circuit board material 14, the scanning light beam is scanned in the X-axis direction as shown by arrow a.
is moved at a predetermined speed in the +y direction as shown by the arrow. As a result, as the scanning light beam LBl is sequentially reflected from each surface of the rotating polygon mirror 3, the scanning light beam scans the upper surface 14A of the printed circuit board material 14 two-dimensionally (so-called raster scanning). .

With respect to the above-mentioned reflector 13 and reflector 15 corresponding to the upper surface 14A of the printed circuit board material 14, a reflector 16 facing the rotatable reflector 5 is provided at a symmetrical lower position with the printed circuit board material 14 in between. and printed circuit board material 14
A reflecting mirror 17 is provided facing the lower surface 14B of the rotary polygon mirror 3. The scanning light beam LBI is reflected downward and incident on the reflecting mirror 16 as shown by the dotted line. At this time, the scanning light beam LBI is further reflected by the reflecting mirror 17 and projected onto the lower surface 14B of the printed circuit board material 14.

At this time, the stage drive device 18 moves the printed circuit board material 1
4 is switched to the -y direction as shown by the arrow C, and the lower surface 14B is two-dimensionally scanned by the scanning light beam LB1. .

In the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the drive control device 6 first plots the upper surface 14A of the printed circuit board material 14 while transporting the printed circuit board material 14 in the direction of the arrow mark. At this time, the rotary movable reflector 5 is switched to the first rotation position, whereby the scanning light beam LBI obtained from the rotary polygon mirror 3 passes through the optical path of the rotatable movable reflector 5 - reflector 13 - reflector 15 to the upper side. is projected onto surface 14A. In this way, the upper surface 14A is two-dimensionally scanned by the scanning light beam, thereby creating a drawing corresponding to the drawing data Sl supplied from the drive control device 6 to the optical modulator 2.

When the drawing on the upper surface 14A of the printed circuit board material 14 is completed, the drive control device 6 controls the rotary movable reflecting mirror 5.
Switch to the second rotation position and rotate multi-sided! J! The scanning light beam LBI obtained from 3 is passed through the optical path of the rotating movable reflector 5 - reflector 16 - reflector 17 to the printed circuit board material 14.
The state is changed to a state in which the light is projected onto the lower surface 14B of the. Along with this, the drive control bag W, 6 moves the printed circuit board material 14 to arrow C.
in the opposite direction as shown, thus lower surface 1
4B, a drawing corresponding to the drawing data S1 supplied from the drive control device 6 to the optical modulator 2 is performed.

As described above, according to the configuration shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface 14A and the lower surface 14B of the printed circuit board material 14 to be drawn are
The drawings can be made on both sides of the printed circuit board material 14, thereby eliminating the step of turning over the printed circuit board material 14. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an automatic drawing device that has a relatively simple overall configuration and is highly productive.

FIG. 2 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which a rotary movable reflection ff121 is provided on the output side of the optical modulator 2, as shown by assigning the same reference numerals to parts corresponding to those in FIG. In response to a switching control signal Sll sent from the drive control device 6, the rotatable reflecting mirror 21 is rotationally driven via the switching drive device 22 so as to switch between two rotational positions as shown by arrow e.

When the rotatable reflecting mirror 21 is switched to the first rotational position, the light beam sent out from the optical modulator 2 is directed to the reflecting mirror 21.
On the other hand, when the rotary movable reflecting mirror 21 is switched to the second rotational position, the light beam of the optical modulator 2 travels straight and enters the first rotating polygon mirror 23 without being incident on the reflecting mirror 23.
1 , is turned back downward, and is incident on a second rotating polygon mirror 25 via a reflecting mirror 24 .

The rotating polygon mirrors 23 and 25 are rotationally driven by the driving device 11 at the same rotational speed, and form two scanning light beams LB21 and LB22, respectively, based on the incident light beam.

The scanning light beam LB21 is directed through the lens 26 and onto the upper surface 14 via the reflector 15 facing the printed circuit board material 14.
Projected to A.

In addition, the scanning light beam LB22 obtained from the rotating polygon mirror 25
is projected onto lower surface 14B through lower reflector 17 facing printed circuit board material 14 through lens 27.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, when drawing on the upper surface 14A of the printed circuit board material 14, the drive control device 6 drives the printed circuit board material 14 in the direction of the arrow mark, and rotates the rotatable reflector 21 in the first rotation direction. switch to optical modulator 2
The light beam emitted from the rotating polygon mirror 23 is made to travel straight to the rotating polygon mirror 23. A scanning light beam LB21 is thus obtained for the upper surface 14A, with which a drawing can be made for the upper surface 14A.

Eventually, when drawing on the upper surface 14A is completed, the drive control device 6 reverses the printed circuit board material 14 in the direction shown by the arrow C, and switches the rotatable reflector 21 to the second rotational position to exit the optical modulator 2. The light beam is sent to a rotating polygon mirror 25 via a reflecting mirror 24, thereby forming a scanning light beam LB22. (The lower surface 14B
Able to draw diagrams for.

Even with the structure shown in FIG. 2, there is no need for the process of turning over the printed circuit board material 14 midway as in the case of FIG. 1, so the overall structure is simple and highly productive. An automatic drawing device can be obtained.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show further embodiments of the present invention,
That is, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the case was described in which a stage was used that held the printed circuit board material 14 to be drawn in a horizontal direction, but instead of this, the embodiments shown in FIGS. In this case, a stage is used which holds the printed circuit board material 14 vertically.

In this case, as shown by assigning the same reference numerals to corresponding parts in FIGS. 1 and 2, the optical path for dividing the scanning light beam into both surfaces is formed by the printed circuit board material 14 vertically erected.
placed on both sides of the In this way, by dividing the optical path into two, it is possible to obtain an effect that does not require the step of turning over the printed circuit board material 14, and in addition, there is no need for the step of turning the printed circuit board material 14 over. Since there is no distortion, it is possible to draw with high precision and no distortion.

In the above description, an embodiment has been described in which the optical modulator 2 has a light deflection device configuration, but instead of this, a shutter configuration that can be switched between a light-transmitting state and a light-blocking state may be used.

Further, in the above embodiment, the printed circuit board material 14 is moved in the direction of arrow C when drawing the upper surface 14A, and conversely in the direction of arrow C when drawing the lower surface 14B. Although the example was described,
Alternatively, the surface to be drawn may be changed while moving in the same direction. For example, the upper surface 1
After drawing the first half of the area 4A while moving it in the direction of the arrow, the lower surface 14B may be drawn while moving the remaining half area in the same way. .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the drawing on the lower surface 14B is started after the drawing on the upper surface 14A is completed, but instead of this, the upper surface 14A and the lower surface By alternately drawing the surfaces 14B, the drawings of the upper surface 14A and the lower surface 14B may be performed substantially simultaneously. In this case, the rotatable reflecting mirrors 5 (in the case of FIG. 1) and 21 (in the case of FIG. 2) are rotated while moving the printed circuit board material 14 in one direction.
The drive control device 6 may perform synchronous control such that the switching positions of the rotating polygon mirrors 3, 23 and 25 are alternately switched in synchronization with the rotational positions of the rotating polygon mirrors 3, 23 and 25.

Further, in the above embodiment, the rotatable reflecting mirror 5 or 2
Although the two scanning light beams are obtained by switching the rotational position of the first scanning light beam, the switching means is not limited to this. For example, an acousto-optic effect
Even if two scanning light beams are obtained using an optical deflection device using an acousto-optic element that produces an effect, the same effect as in the above case can be obtained.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the optical modulator 2 is provided separately from the rotary movable reflecting mirror 21, but an optical deflection device configured with an acousto-optic element is used to divide the optical beam into two by the switching control signal Sll.
If the light is modulated by alternately switching to two optical paths and changing the deflection angle of the light in each switching state according to plotting data, only one light deflection device can be used.

Furthermore, in the embodiments shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, even if one of the two optical paths is omitted, the effect of preventing bending caused by standing up the printed circuit board material 14 to be drawn remains the same. , it is possible to draw without distortion.

Furthermore, although the plurality of objects to be drawn in the above-mentioned embodiments were the front and back sides of a relatively rigid printed circuit board material, the objects to be drawn to which the present invention can be applied are not limited to this. It may be the front and back sides of the printed circuit board. In this case, in order to prevent the thin-film printed circuit board from warping, it is necessary to perform a process such as attaching the outer edge of the board to a frame-shaped member before installing it on the stage.

Furthermore, the plurality of objects to be drawn according to the present invention are not limited to the front and back sides of a plate, but for example, a plurality of plate-like members arranged in parallel on one or more stages in a direction perpendicular to the feed direction of the stage. It may be the respective surfaces, or the photosensitive surfaces of each of a plurality of photosensitive drums arranged in parallel.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, by making it possible to obtain a plurality of scanning light beams from one light beam, it is possible to draw a plurality of objects to be drawn, and thus the overall configuration is relatively simple. This makes it possible to realize a highly productive automatic drawing device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of an automatic drawing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 4 are perspective views showing other embodiments of the invention. 1... Laser light source, 2... Light modulator,
3.23, 25...Rotating polygon mirror, 4.26.2
7... Lens, 5.21... Rotating movable reflecting mirror, 14... Printed circuit board material, 14A,
14B... Upper side, lower surface, 15.17...
···Reflector.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A light modulating means for modulating a light beam from a light source according to plotting data, a scanning light beam is formed based on the light beam obtained from the light modulation means, and the scanning light beam is In an automatic drawing device that creates a drawing corresponding to the above-mentioned drawing data by projecting it onto the surface of a drawing target, a scanning light that alternately generates a plurality of scanning light beams based on the light beam obtained from the light modulation means. An automatic plotting apparatus comprising: a beam generating means; and a plurality of optical path means for guiding the scanning light beam to a plurality of plotting targets.