CN107949168B

CN107949168B - Processing apparatus and processing method

Info

Publication number: CN107949168B
Application number: CN201710953541.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 石井彻
Original assignee: Yamaha Fine Technologies Co Ltd
Current assignee: Yamaha Fine Technologies Co Ltd
Priority date: 2016-10-13
Filing date: 2017-10-13
Publication date: 2021-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 2037-10-13
Also published as: KR101973864B1; CN107949168A; JP6726077B2; KR20180041075A; JP2018063169A

Abstract

The invention provides a processing device capable of preventing flexible workpieces from being damaged at the edge of a holding part. The processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a plurality of holding portions for holding an outer edge of a plate-like flexible workpiece; and a support part for supporting each of the holding parts and having one or more degrees of freedom of the parallel movement mechanism or the swing mechanism with respect to the holding part to be supported.

Description

Processing apparatus and processing method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a processing apparatus and a processing method.

Background

A processing apparatus is used for holding the outer edge of a rectangular plate-like or strip-like flexible workpiece and performing inspection or processing. Examples of such processing apparatuses include an inspection apparatus for a flexible printed circuit board, a punching apparatus, and the like (for example, japanese patent laid-open nos. 2000-202799 and 2006-332422).

In such a processing apparatus, a position where the inspection head or the processing head abuts against the flexible workpiece may be displaced from a position where an outer edge of the flexible workpiece is gripped in a normal direction of a surface of the flexible workpiece. If such a positional deviation is caused, the flexible workpiece strongly presses and collides with the edge of the grip portion, and is damaged.

Patent document 1: japanese unexamined patent application publication No. 2000-202799

Patent document 2: japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2006-332422

Disclosure of Invention

In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a processing apparatus capable of preventing a flexible workpiece from being damaged by an edge of a grip portion.

In order to solve the problem, a processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a plurality of holding portions that hold an outer edge of a plate-shaped flexible workpiece; and a support portion that supports each of the gripping portions and has a parallel movement mechanism or a swing mechanism having one or more degrees of freedom with respect to the supported gripping portion.

The support portion may have a parallel movement mechanism that moves the flexible workpiece in parallel in a direction normal to the surface of the support portion.

The parallel-moving mechanism may also be a one-degree-of-freedom motion mechanism.

The support portion may also have a yaw mechanism that rotates the flexible workpiece about an axial center parallel to the surface of the support portion.

The head swinging mechanism can also be a motion mechanism with two degrees of freedom.

The robot may further include a return mechanism for automatically returning the grip portion supported by the support portion to an initial position.

The handling device may also be used for inspecting or processing the flexible workpiece.

The processing apparatus may further include an inspection head or a processing head configured to be movable so as to be in contact with a surface of the flexible workpiece.

The processing apparatus may also have a mechanism for inspecting or processing the flexible workpiece.

Another invention to solve the above problem is a processing method including: a step of gripping an outer edge of a plate-like flexible workpiece by a plurality of gripping portions; and a step of supporting the respective gripping portions and causing the plurality of gripping portions to perform parallel movement or swing with one or more degrees of freedom.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic side view of a holding device of the processing device of fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view showing a step of electrical inspection of the processing apparatus of fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a schematic view showing a next step of fig. 3 in the electrical inspection of the processing apparatus of fig. 1.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention different from that of FIG. 1.

Fig. 6 is a schematic side view of a holding device of the processing device of fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a schematic side view of a gripping device according to an embodiment different from those of fig. 2 and 6.

Fig. 8 is a schematic side view of a holding device according to an embodiment different from those of fig. 2, 6, and 7.

Fig. 9 is a schematic plan view of a gripping device according to an embodiment different from those of fig. 2, 6, 7, and 8.

Fig. 10 is a schematic side view (a view in the direction a) of the holding device of fig. 9.

Fig. 11 is a schematic front view (B-direction view) of the gripping device of fig. 9.

Fig. 12 is a schematic plan view of a gripping device according to an embodiment different from those of fig. 2, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

Fig. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Description of the reference numerals

1 first electric inspection head

2 second electric inspection head

3 first driving mechanism

4 second driving mechanism

5. 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d, 5e gripping device

6 first camera

7 second camera

8 controller

9 Detector

10 guide plate

11 contact surface

12. 12a, 12b, 12c gripping part

13. 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13e support part

14. 14a, 14b, 14c clamp base

15 gripper arm

16 actuator

17 support shaft

18, 18a spring

19 limiter

20 abutting part

21 die

22 punch

23 punch hole

24 linear guide

25 concave part

26 spring

27 engaging piece

28 first support shaft

29, 29e first support member

30 second support shaft

31. 31e second support member

32 first spring

33 first limiter

34 second spring

35 second limiter

36 first abutment member

37 second abutment member

38 first recess

39 first spring

40 first engaging piece

41 second recess

42 second spring

43 second engaging piece

P, Pa flexible printed substrate

Detailed Description

The processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a plurality of holding portions that hold an outer edge of a plate-shaped flexible workpiece; and a support portion that supports each of the gripping portions and has a parallel movement mechanism or a swing mechanism having one or more degrees of freedom with respect to the supported gripping portion.

The processing device comprises: a plurality of holding portions for holding an outer edge of the flexible workpiece; and a support portion for supporting each of the gripping portions, the support portion having a parallel movement mechanism or a swing mechanism with one or more degrees of freedom with respect to the gripping portion to be supported. Therefore, the processing apparatus can absorb the positional deviation in the normal direction of the flexible workpiece between the grounding position of the processing head with respect to the flexible workpiece and the gripping position where the plurality of gripping portions grip the flexible workpiece when processing the flexible workpiece, and can prevent the flexible workpiece from being damaged at the edge of the gripping portions.

The term "plate-like" is a concept including a strip, a sheet, and a film. The "flexible workpiece" is not particularly limited as long as it has flexibility or bendability and can be a target to be processed. Hereinafter, the embodiments of the present invention will be described by taking a flexible printed circuit board as an example of a flexible workpiece to be processed, but the object to be processed of the present invention is not limited to the flexible printed circuit board.

The processing device can be used for inspecting or processing flexible workpieces.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[ first embodiment ]

Fig. 1 shows a configuration of a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The processing apparatus shown in fig. 1 is an electrical inspection apparatus for detecting electrical characteristics of a flexible printed circuit board P as a thin rectangular plate-shaped flexible workpiece.

The processing device comprises: a first electrical inspection head 1 and a second electrical inspection head 2 which are disposed separately and oppositely and can move close to each other; a first driving mechanism 3 and a second driving mechanism 4 for driving the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2, respectively; a plurality of holding devices 5 for holding the outer edge of the flexible printed board P; a first camera 6 and a second camera 7 for taking an image of the flexible printed board P; and a controller 8 for controlling the first drive mechanism 3 and the second drive mechanism 4. As shown in fig. 1, when the flexible printed circuit board P is disposed between the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2, the flexible printed circuit board P can move in contact with the surface of the flexible printed circuit board P.

The processing apparatus may further include a frame, not shown, for supporting the respective components.

< Flexible printed substrate >

As a flexible printed board P for inspecting electrical characteristics by this processing apparatus, a flexible printed board is typically one in which a plurality of functional portions are formed above a sheet-like base material having flexibility in a square shape in a plan view, and a portion including each functional portion is finally cut out to obtain a plurality of electronic components.

Such a flexible printed board P is an inspection target portion to be inspected by the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2 in a relatively small area including each functional portion or a small number of functional portions. In other words, the flexible printed board P has a plurality of inspection target portions. Therefore, the flexible printed board P is repeatedly held while being repositioned by the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2, and the electrical characteristics of the inspection target portions are sequentially inspected.

< Electrical inspection head >

The first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2 are disposed separately and oppositely, and each have: a plurality of detectors 9; and a guide plate 10, the guide plate 10 having a plurality of guide holes into which the plurality of probes 9 are respectively inserted.

(Detector)

The plurality of probes 9 are perpendicular to the guide plate 10, and respective leading ends are held so as to protrude slightly from the guide plate 10. The plurality of probes 9 are disposed so as to be capable of abutting on predetermined measurement points of the conductive pattern of the flexible printed board P.

(guide plate)

The guide plate 10 is made of an insulating material, faces the flexible printed board P, and has a flat contact surface 11 that contacts the flexible printed board P during electrical inspection.

The first and second electrical inspection heads 1 and 2 preferably have a circuit for measuring electrical characteristics of the flexible printed circuit board P via the plurality of probes 9. That is, the first and second electrical inspection heads 1 and 2 preferably have a measurement circuit that measures the electrical characteristics of the flexible printed circuit board P and can output the measurement results to the controller 8 via a relatively small number of wires.

As will be described in detail later, the first electrical inspection head 1 that is first brought into pressure contact with the flexible printed circuit board P is preferably brought into pressure contact with a surface of the flexible printed circuit board P on which the wiring width of the conductive pattern is relatively large. On the other hand, when using the processing apparatus, it is preferable to dispose the flexible printed board P so that the side having the larger wiring width of the conductive pattern faces the first electrical inspection head 1.

In this processing apparatus, as will be described later, when the first electrical inspection head 1 applies tension to the flexible printed circuit board P to remove warpage or bending of the flexible printed circuit board P, it is preferable to dispose the first electrical inspection head 1 below the second electrical inspection head 2 so that the flexible printed circuit board P and the contact surface 11 are easily brought into close contact with each other by gravity. In other words, in the processing apparatus, it is preferable that the flexible printed board P is held substantially horizontally, the first electrical inspection head 1 is pressed against the flexible printed board P from below, and the second electrical inspection head 2 is pressed against the flexible printed board P from above.

< Driving mechanism >

The first drive mechanism 3 and the second drive mechanism 4 may be configured to be able to perform three-dimensional positioning of the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2, and more preferably configured to be able to perform rotational positioning of the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2 around an axis in the normal direction of the flexible printed board P. The normal direction of the flexible printed circuit board P indicates a normal direction of the surface of the flexible printed circuit board P in an ideal state where the plurality of gripping devices 5 grip the surface of the flexible printed circuit board P in a planar shape.

As the first drive mechanism 3 and the second drive mechanism 4, an articulated robot may be used, and an orthogonal coordinate type drive system having relatively small cost and space occupation is preferably used. The orthogonal coordinate type driving system may include: an orthogonal coordinate robot capable of performing two-axis positioning in the plane direction of the flexible printed board P; a lifting device arranged at the tail end of the orthogonal coordinate type robot; the first and second electrical inspection heads 1 and 2 are rotatably held by a rotary positioning device that is held so as to be capable of being lifted and lowered by the lifting device.

The first drive mechanism 3 and the second drive mechanism 4 may have a buffer portion that can elastically deform the flexible printed board P in the normal direction of the flexible printed board P with the pressure contact force acting on the flexible printed board P being appropriately adjusted when the flexible printed board P is sandwiched by the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2.

< gripping device >

The plurality of holding devices 5 hold the outer edge of the flexible printed board P, thereby holding the position of the flexible printed board P in the normal direction substantially at the position where the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2 perform inspection.

As shown in fig. 2, each of the holding devices 5 includes: a holding portion 12 for holding an outer edge of the flexible printed board P; and a support portion 13 for supporting the grip portion 12. The support portion 13 of the gripping device 5 has a swing mechanism that is a passive motion mechanism having one degree of freedom with respect to the gripping portion 12 supported. That is, in the gripping device 5, the gripping portion 12 is supported swingably by the support portion 13.

(grip portion)

The grip portion 12 may include: a jig base 14 supported by the support portion 13 and abutting the flexible printed board P on the upper surface of one end portion; a clamp arm 15 movably disposed above the clamp base 14, and configured to contact the flexible printed circuit board P at a surface facing a portion of the flexible printed circuit board P contacting the clamp base 14, and clamp the flexible printed circuit board P between the clamp base 14 and the clamp arm; the actuator 16 of the jig arm 15 is driven so that one end of the jig arm 15 is brought into contact with or separated from the jig base 14. That is, the front end of the gripper base 14 is pressed against or separated from the front end of the gripper arm 15 by the operation of the actuator 16, and the gripping portion 12 holds or releases the flexible printed board P.

The structure of the gripping portion 12, particularly the driving mechanism of the gripper arm 15, can be implemented by a cam mechanism driven by the actuator 16, as disclosed in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2006-281432, for example. Specifically, a cam groove is provided in the jig base 14, a pin that engages with the cam groove is provided in the jig arm 15, the relative movement of the jig arm 15 with respect to the jig base 14 is guided, and the cam driven by the actuator 16 drives the relative movement of the jig arm 15 with respect to the jig base 14.

(bearing part)

The support portion 13 is a swing mechanism configured to support the jig base portion 14 of the grip portion 12 rotatably about a support shaft 17. The support shaft 17 is disposed parallel to the side edge of the flexible printed circuit board P in a thin plate shape held by the holding portion 12. That is, the swing head of the holding portion 12 of the swing head mechanism using the support portion 13 is rotated around the support shaft 17 parallel to the surface of the flexible printed circuit board P, more specifically, the side edge of the held portion. The support shaft 17 may be disposed at a position that is not cushioned by the structure of the gripping portion 12 for gripping the flexible printed circuit board P.

The support portion 13 also has a return mechanism for automatically returning the grip portion 12 to the initial position. Since the support portion 13 has the return mechanism, the surfaces of the portions of the flexible printed circuit board P to be held by the holding portions 12 of the plurality of holding devices 5 can be arranged on the same plane, and the inclination of the holding portions 12 on which unnecessary stress acts on the flexible printed circuit board P can be suppressed.

As shown in the drawing, the recovery mechanism may include: a spring 18 for pressing the jig base 14 of the grip 12 to rotate in one direction around the support shaft 17; and a stopper 19 which is disposed on the support shaft 17 on the opposite side of the spring 18, abuts against the jig base 14, and regulates the rotation of the jig base 14 against the pressing force of the spring 18. Such a return mechanism can move the grip portion 12 from the initial position only to one side. The direction in which the holding portion 12 can move from the initial position is a normal direction of the flexible printed board P, and the position side of the flexible printed board P is sandwiched by the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2, typically the upper side.

As the spring 18, for example, a compression spring or the like can be used. Further, an abutting member 20 capable of adjusting a portion at which the jig base 14 abuts against the stopper 19 or an angular position at which the jig base 14 is locked to the stopper 19 may be provided.

< Camera >

The first camera 6 and the second camera 7 capture images of the flexible printed board P to acquire positional information of the flexible printed board P, and supply image data to a controller 8 described later.

The first camera 6 and the second camera 7 may be held by a frame or the like of the processing apparatus, not shown, but may be held so as to be movable at least in the planar direction of the flexible printed board P together with the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2 by the first drive mechanism 3 and the second drive mechanism 4. Since the first camera 6 and the second camera 7 are moved together with the first electrical inspection head 1 and the second electrical inspection head 2 to limit the range of image processing, the required pixel of the cameras and the calculation capability of the controller are relatively small, the processing apparatus can be made relatively inexpensive, and the inspection cycle of the flexible printed circuit board P can be shortened.

The image data captured by the first camera 6 and the second camera 7 is analyzed by the controller 8 using a known image processing technique and used to identify the coordinates of the feature points of the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P. Specifically, the relative position between the first camera 6 or the second camera 7 and the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P, and further the absolute position of the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P are specified based on the image data captured by the first camera 6 and the second camera 7.

In addition, when the first camera 6 and the second camera 7 capture a digital image of the flexible printed circuit board P, the relative positions of the first camera 6 and the second camera 7 and the inspection target portion of the flexible printed circuit board P in the planar direction can be calculated relatively easily by making the positions of the first camera 6 and the second camera 7 in the normal direction of the flexible printed circuit board P (the separation distance from the flexible printed circuit board P) constant.

The feature points extracted in the image processing may be a feature shape portion preset in the conduction pattern of the flexible printed board P, or may be a mark dedicated to the image processing in the flexible printed board P.

< controller >

As the controller 8, for example, a programmable logic controller, a personal computer, or the like is used.

The controller 8 has: a first pressure control element that pressure-controls the first drive mechanism 3 in a normal direction of the flexible printed board P after positioning the first electrical inspection head 1 in a planar direction with respect to the flexible printed board P; after the positioning and the pressure bonding of the first electrical inspection head 1, the second electrical inspection head 2 is positioned in the planar direction with respect to the flexible printed board P, and then a second pressure bonding control element of the second drive mechanism 4 is pressure-bonded-controlled in the normal direction of the flexible printed board P.

The first and second crimp control elements can be implemented using software, such as a distribution program, a subroutine, or the like.

(first crimping control element)

The first crimping control element sequentially performs: a step of acquiring positional information of the flexible printed board P by the first camera 6 [ a first positional information acquisition step ]; a step of positioning the first electrical inspection head 1 in the planar direction with respect to the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P by the first driving mechanism 3 [ a first planar direction positioning step ]; and a step of moving the first electrical inspection head 1 along the normal direction of the flexible printed board P by the first driving mechanism 3 to press-contact the flexible printed board P [ first press-contact step ].

[ first position information acquisition step ]

The first pressure control means images the flexible printed board P by the first camera 6 in the first position information acquisition step, and specifies the relative position in the planar direction of the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P with respect to the first camera 6 by performing image processing on the image data obtained by the image processing. Thus, the amount of movement in the planar direction required to align the first electrical inspection head 1 with the portion to be inspected of the flexible printed board P is calculated.

[ first plane orientation positioning step ]

In the first planar direction positioning step, the first pressure control means moves the first electrical inspection head 1 in the planar direction of the flexible printed board P by the first drive mechanism 3 by the necessary movement amount calculated in the first position information acquisition step, thereby aligning the first electrical inspection head 1 with the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P.

[ first crimping step ]

The first pressure control means causes the contact surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 to come into pressure contact with the flexible printed board P in the first pressure contact step, thereby causing the plurality of probes 9 of the first electrical inspection head 1 to come into pressure contact with the plurality of measurement points on one surface of the flexible printed board P.

In the first pressure bonding step, as shown in fig. 3, the contact surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 is projected toward the second electrical inspection head 2 side from a reference plane including the center in the thickness direction of each gripping position where the outer edge of the flexible printed circuit board P is gripped by the gripping device 5.

As described above, the abutment surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 is projected from the reference plane, and a tensile force acts on the flexible printed board P, so that the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P is brought into close contact with the abutment surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1. That is, the first pressure control means can remove the warpage and the curve by projecting the contact surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 from the reference plane and stretching the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P into a flat plate shape along the contact surface 11.

The lower limit of the amount of projection from the reference plane of the contact surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 is preferably 0.1%, more preferably 0.2%, of the average interval between the gripping positions where the flexible printed board P is gripped by the gripping device 5. On the other hand, the upper limit of the amount of projection from the reference plane of the contact surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 is preferably 1% of the average interval between the holding positions where the flexible printed board P is held by the holding device 5, and more preferably 0.5%. If the amount of projection from the reference plane of the abutment surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 does not satisfy the lower limit, the warp or bend of the flexible printed circuit board P may not be sufficiently removed. Conversely, if the amount of projection from the reference plane of the contact surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 exceeds the upper limit, excessive stress acts on the flexible printed circuit board P and may damage the flexible printed circuit board P. The "average interval between the gripping positions" represents an average of minimum values of the intervals between the gripping regions gripped by the opposing gripping devices 5, and when the minimum intervals between the gripping regions gripped by the gripping devices 5 are continuous, the minimum values of the intervals represent values obtained by weighted averaging with the lengths of the minimum intervals (for example, when the flexible printed board P is held by sandwiching a plurality of pairs of gripping devices 5, the intervals between the gripping devices 5 of each pair are weighted with the effective width of the gripping devices 5).

In the first pressure bonding step, when the warpage or the curvature of the flexible printed circuit board P is removed by pressure bonding of the first electrical inspection head 1, the flexible printed circuit board P may be slightly displaced. Therefore, in the first pressure bonding step, the first electrical inspection head 1 is preferably pressure bonded to the side of the flexible printed board P where the wiring width of the conduction pattern is large.

(second crimping control element)

The second crimping control element sequentially performs: a step of acquiring positional information of the flexible printed board P by the second camera 7 [ second positional information acquisition step ]; a step of positioning the second electrical inspection head 2 in the planar direction with respect to the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P by the second driving mechanism 4 [ second planar direction positioning step ]; and a step [ second pressure bonding step ] of moving the second electrical inspection head 2 in the normal direction of the flexible printed board P by the second driving mechanism 4 to press-bond the flexible printed board P to the flexible printed board P, thereby sandwiching the flexible printed board P between the second electrical inspection head 2 and the first electrical inspection head 1.

[ second position information acquisition step ]

The second pressure control means images the flexible printed board P by the second camera 7 in the second position information acquisition step, and specifies the relative position of the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P in the planar direction with respect to the second camera 7 by performing image processing on the image data obtained by the image processing. Thus, the amount of movement in the planar direction required to align the second electrical inspection head 2 with the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P is calculated.

[ second planar orientation positioning step ]

In the second planar direction positioning step, the second pressure control means moves the second electrical inspection head 2 in the planar direction of the flexible printed board P by the second drive mechanism 4 by the necessary movement amount calculated in the second position information acquisition step, thereby aligning the second electrical inspection head 2 with the inspection target portion of the flexible printed board P.

[ second crimping step ]

As shown in fig. 4, in the second pressure bonding step, the second pressure bonding control means causes the second electrical inspection head 2 to be in pressure contact with the flexible printed board P by the second driving mechanism 4, and sandwiches the flexible printed board P between the contact surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 and the contact surface 11 of the second electrical inspection head 2.

In addition, since the second pressure bonding step is performed after the warpage and the curvature of the flexible printed circuit board P are removed in the first pressure bonding step, the flexible printed circuit board P is hardly displaced. Therefore, in the second pressure bonding step, the second electrical inspection head 2 is preferably pressure bonded to the surface of the flexible printed board P on the side where the wiring width of the conduction pattern is small.

That is, in the first pressure bonding step in which the contact position of the probe 9 may be shifted due to the warp or bend of the flexible printed circuit board P, the probe 9 is brought into contact with the surface of the flexible printed circuit board P on the side having the larger wiring width in the conduction mode, whereby a measurement failure due to the shift in the contact position of the probe 9 can be suppressed. On the other hand, in the second pressure bonding step in which the offset of the contact position of the probe 9 due to the warpage or bending of the flexible printed circuit board P is less likely to occur, the probe 9 is brought into contact with the surface of the flexible printed circuit board P on the side where the wiring width of the conductive pattern is small, thereby preventing a measurement failure.

< advantages >

In this processing apparatus, even if the flexible printed circuit board P is pressed in the normal direction by the first electrical inspection head 1, the grip portion 12 is rotated, and unnecessary bending stress and shearing stress are prevented from being applied to the flexible printed circuit board P by the edge of the grip portion 12. That is, the processing apparatus can prevent the flexible printed circuit board P from being damaged by the edge of the grip portion 12.

Therefore, in this processing apparatus, the contact surface 11 of the first electrical inspection head 1 is projected toward the second electrical inspection head 2 side from the reference plane including the center in the thickness direction of the gripping position where the outer edge of the flexible printed circuit board P is gripped by the gripping portion 12 of the gripping device 5, and thus, the flexible printed circuit board P is not damaged and a tensile force is applied, and warpage or bending is removed. This processing apparatus can press the second electrical inspection head 2 against the flexible printed circuit board P with high accuracy, and can inspect electrical characteristics of the flexible printed circuit board P relatively accurately.

[ second embodiment ]

Fig. 5 shows a configuration of a processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. The processing apparatus shown in fig. 5 is a processing apparatus for performing hole forming (punching) on a flexible printed circuit board Pa which is a flexible work in the form of a long strip plate.

The processing device comprises: a die 21 as a first machining head and a punch 22 as a second machining head which are disposed so as to be separated from each other and movable close to each other; a first driving mechanism 3 and a second driving mechanism 4 for driving the die 21 and the punch 22, respectively; a plurality of holding devices 5a for holding the outer edge of the flexible printed board Pa; a first camera 6 and a second camera 7 for taking an image of the flexible printed board Pa; and a controller 8 for controlling the first drive mechanism 3 and the second drive mechanism 4. As shown in fig. 5, when the flexible printed board Pa is disposed between the die 21 and the punch 22, the flexible printed board Pa can move in contact with the surface of the flexible printed board Pa.

The first drive mechanism 3, the second drive mechanism 4, the first camera 6, the second camera 7, and the controller 8 in the processing apparatus of fig. 5 can be the same as the first drive mechanism 3, the second drive mechanism 4, the first camera 6, the second camera 7, and the controller 8 in the processing apparatus of fig. 1. Therefore, the processing apparatus of fig. 5 will not be described in duplicate with the processing apparatus of fig. 1.

< Flexible printed substrate >

The flexible printed circuit board Pa perforated by the processing apparatus is wound into a roll shape and supplied, and is wound into a roll shape by forming a through hole by the die 21 and the punch 22 while being unwound and held by the holding device 5a in order from one end side in the longitudinal direction.

< machining head >

The die 21 and the punch 22 are disposed so as to be spaced apart from each other, and the cross-sectional shape of the punch 22 is formed in accordance with the punch hole 23 formed in the die 21. In this processing apparatus, a punch 22 is inserted into the punch hole 23 in a state where the flexible printed board Pa is placed on the die 21, and a hole is formed in the flexible printed board Pa.

< gripping device >

The plurality of gripping devices 5a grip the outer edges (both side edges) of the flexible printed circuit board Pa, thereby holding the position of the flexible printed circuit board Pa in the normal direction substantially at the processing position of the die 21 and the punch 22.

As shown in fig. 6, each gripping device 5a has a gripping portion 12a that grips the outer edge of the flexible printed board Pa; and a support portion 13a for supporting the grip portion 12 a. The support portion 13a of the gripping device 5a has a parallel movement mechanism that is a motion mechanism passive with one degree of freedom with respect to the gripping portion 12a supported thereby. That is, in the gripping device 5a, the gripping portion 12a is supported by the support portion 13a so as to be movable in parallel.

(grip portion)

The grip portion 12a may include: a jig base 14a supported by the support portion 13 a; a clamp arm 15 movably disposed on the clamp base 14a and sandwiching the flexible printed board Pa between the clamp base 14a and the clamp arm; an actuator 16 for driving the gripper arm 15. The configuration of the flexible printed board Pa for gripping the gripping portion 12a of fig. 6 can be the same as the configuration of the flexible printed board P for gripping the gripping portion 12 of fig. 2.

(bearing part)

The support portion 13a can have a linear guide portion 24 (a combination of a guide rail and a slider) as a parallel movement mechanism as shown in the figure. The linear guide portion 24 movably supports the grip portion 12a in a normal direction of the flexible printed board Pa (an operation direction of the punch 22). That is, the parallel movement of the grip portion 12a by the parallel movement mechanism of the support portion 13a is parallel movement in the normal direction of the flexible printed board Pa.

The support portion 13a also has a return mechanism for automatically returning the grip portion 12a to the initial position. Since the support portion 13a has the return mechanism, the surfaces of the portions gripped by the gripping portions 12a of the plurality of gripping devices 5a of the gripped flexible printed circuit board P can be arranged on the same plane, and thus a positional shift between the gripping portions 12a, in which unnecessary stress acts on the flexible printed circuit board P, can be suppressed.

As shown in the drawing, the recovery mechanism may include: a spring 18a that presses the jig base 14a of the grip 12a so as to move in parallel in one direction along the linear guide 24; and a stopper 19 which abuts on the clamp base 14a and limits the parallel movement of the clamp base 14a against the pressing force of the spring 18 a. Such a return mechanism can move the grip portion 12a from the initial position only to one side. The direction in which the grip portion 12a can move from the initial position is the punch 22 side, typically the upper side.

< advantages >

In this processing apparatus, even if the flexible printed circuit board Pa is pressed in the normal direction by the die 21, the gripping portion 12a is moved in parallel, and thus damage to the flexible printed circuit board Pa by the edge of the gripping portion 12a can be prevented. Therefore, in this processing apparatus, the contact surface of the die 21 is pressed against the punch 22 side from the reference plane including the center in the thickness direction of the gripping position of the outer edge of the flexible printed board Pa gripped by the gripping portion 12a, whereby the flexible printed board Pa can be subjected to tension to remove warpage and bending, and the hole forming process can be performed with high accuracy.

[ third embodiment ]

Fig. 7 shows a gripping device 5b of a treatment device according to another embodiment of the present invention. A treatment apparatus according to an embodiment different from that of fig. 1 is configured by using the gripping device 5b instead of the gripping device 5 of the treatment apparatus of fig. 1.

< gripping device >

The plurality of gripping devices 5b grip the outer edge of the flexible printed board P, thereby holding the position of the flexible printed board P in the normal direction substantially at the inspection position of the first and second electrical inspection heads 1 and 2.

The gripping device 5b includes: a holding portion 12b for holding an outer edge of the flexible printed board P; and a support portion 13b for supporting the grip portion 12 b. The support portion 13b of the gripping device 5b has a swing mechanism that is a motion mechanism that is passive with one degree of freedom with respect to the gripping portion 12b supported. That is, in the gripping device 5b, the gripping portion 12b is supported by the support portion 13b so as to be able to swing.

(grip portion)

The grip portion 12b may include: a jig base 14b supported by the support portion 13 b; a clamp arm 15 movably disposed on the clamp base 14b and sandwiching the flexible printed circuit board P between the clamp base 14b and the clamp arm; an actuator 16 for driving the gripper arm 15. The configuration of the flexible printed circuit board P for gripping the gripping portion 12b of fig. 7 can be the same as the configuration of the flexible printed circuit board P for gripping the gripping portion 12 of fig. 2.

(bearing part)

The support portion 13b is configured as a swing mechanism for rotatably supporting the jig base portion 14b of the grip portion 12b around the support shaft 17. The support shaft 17 is disposed in parallel with the side edge of the flexible printed board P held by the holding portion 12b at a position not interfering with the operation of the jig arm 15. Therefore, the swing of the holding portion 12b by the swing mechanism of the support portion 13b is a swing operation centered on the support shaft 17 parallel to the surface of the flexible printed circuit board P, more specifically, parallel to the side edge of the held portion.

The support portion 13b also has a return mechanism for automatically returning the grip portion 12b to the initial position. As shown in the drawing, the return mechanism may be configured such that the engaging piece 27 is pressed by the spring 26 against the recess 25 formed to open in the direction perpendicular to the support shaft 17 of the jig base 14b of the grip portion 12 b.

The recess 25 is preferably disposed at a position spaced apart from the support shaft 17. The engagement piece 27 is preferably disposed on the support portion 13b so as to be movable in a direction (radial direction) perpendicular to the support shaft 17, that is, so as to protrude and retreat toward and from the support shaft 17. The spring 26 and the engagement piece 27 can be incorporated into the support portion 13 b. Such a return mechanism can turn the grip portion 12b from the initial position in either direction around the support shaft 17.

The shape of the recess 25 is preferably a groove having a substantially V-shaped cross section perpendicular to the support shaft 17. The angle between the pair of slopes of the V-shape may be 120 ° to 160 °. Further, as the spring 25, a compression spring can be used. The engagement piece 27 is disposed on the support portion 13b so as to be movable in a direction orthogonal to the support shaft 17, and is a member having a spherical surface or a cylindrical surface that abuts against the concave portion 25.

With such a configuration, the slope of the concave portion 25 presses the engaging piece 27 in a direction away from the support shaft 17 by the rotation of the jig base 14b, and the spring 26 is compressed to accumulate the restoring force. In this state, when the force for rotating the jig base 14b is removed, the spring 26 is extended to press the inclined surface of the recess 25 with the engaging piece 27, thereby rotating the jig base 14b and bringing the engaging piece 27 into contact with both of the pair of inclined surfaces in the recess 25. This automatically returns the jig base 14b and the grip 12b to the initial positions.

[ fourth embodiment ]

Fig. 8 shows a gripping device 5c of a treatment device according to another embodiment of the present invention. This gripping device 5c is used in place of the gripping device 5 of the treatment device of fig. 1, and constitutes a treatment device of an embodiment different from that of fig. 1.

< gripping device >

The plurality of holding devices 5c hold the outer edge of the flexible printed board P, thereby holding the positions of the flexible printed board P in the normal direction substantially at the inspection positions of the first and second electrical inspection heads 1 and 2.

Each gripping device 5c includes: a holding portion 12c for holding the outer edge of the flexible printed circuit board P, and a support portion 13c for supporting the holding portion 12 c. The support portion 13c of the gripping device 5c has a parallel movement mechanism that is a motion mechanism passive with one degree of freedom with respect to the gripping portion 12c supported. That is, in the gripping device 5c, the gripping portion 12c is supported by the support portion 13c so as to be movable in parallel.

(grip portion)

The grip portion 12c may include: a jig base 14c supported by the support portion 13 c; a clamp arm 15 movably disposed on the clamp base 14c and sandwiching the flexible printed board P with the clamp base 14 c; an actuator 16 for driving the gripper arm 15. The structure of the holding portion 12c in fig. 8 for holding the flexible printed circuit board P can be the same as the structure of the flexible printed circuit board P in fig. 2 for holding the holding portion 12.

(bearing part)

The support portion 13c may have a linear guide portion 24 as a parallel movement mechanism as shown in the figure. The linear guide 24 supports the grip 12c so as to be movable in the normal direction of the flexible printed board P. That is, the parallel movement of the grip portion 12c of the parallel movement mechanism of the support portion 13c is parallel movement in the normal direction of the flexible printed board P.

The support portion 13c also has a return mechanism that allows parallel movement from the initial position of the grip portion 12c to both sides in the normal direction of the flexible printed circuit board P and automatically returns the grip portion 12c to the initial position. In this way, since the support portion 13c has the return mechanism, the flexible work can be prevented from being damaged on the flexible printed board P by the edge of the grip portion 12 c.

As shown in the drawing, the return mechanism can be configured such that the engaging piece 27 is pressed by the spring 26 against the recess 25 formed so as to open in the direction perpendicular to the movable direction of the linear guide portion 24 of the jig base portion 14c of the grip portion 12 c. The configurations of the concave portion 25, the spring 26, and the engaging piece 27 of the returning mechanism of the gripping device 5c in fig. 8 can be the same as the configurations of the concave portion 25, the spring 26, and the engaging piece 27 of the returning mechanism of the gripping device 5b in fig. 7.

[ fifth embodiment ]

Fig. 9 to 11 show a gripping device 5d of a treatment device according to another embodiment of the present invention. This gripping device 5d is used in place of the gripping device 5 of the treatment device of fig. 1, and constitutes a treatment device of an embodiment different from that of fig. 1.

< gripping device >

The plurality of gripping devices 5d grip the outer edge of the flexible printed board P, thereby holding the position of the flexible printed board P in the normal direction substantially at the inspection positions of the first and second electrical inspection heads 1 and 2.

The gripping device 5d includes: a holding portion 12 for holding the outer edge of the flexible printed board P, and a support portion 13d for supporting the holding portion 12. The support portion 13d of the gripping device 5d has a swing mechanism that is a motion mechanism passive with two degrees of freedom with respect to the gripping portion 12 supported thereby. That is, in the gripping device 5d, the gripping portion 12 is supported by the support portion 13d so as to be swingable in two directions. The structure of the grip portion 12 of the gripping device 5d in fig. 9 to 11 can be the same as the structure of the grip portion 12 of the gripping device 5 in fig. 2. Therefore, the structural elements of the grip portion 12 of the gripping device 5d of fig. 9 to 11 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the gripping device 5 of fig. 2, and redundant description is omitted.

(bearing part)

The support portion 13d is a swing mechanism including: a first support member 29 for rotatably supporting the jig base 14 of the grip portion 12 about the first support shaft 28; and a second support member 31 for rotatably supporting the first support member 29 about a second support shaft 30.

The first support shaft 28 is disposed parallel to the side edge of the flexible printed board P gripped by the gripping portion 12. The second support shaft 30 is disposed parallel to the flexible printed circuit board P and perpendicular to the first support shaft 28. That is, the swing motion of the grip portion 12 by the swing mechanism of the support portion 13d is a swing motion in two directions orthogonal to each other.

The support portion 13d also has a return mechanism for automatically returning the grip portion 12 to the initial position. As shown in the drawing, the recovery mechanism may include: a first spring 32 for pressing the clamp base 14 of the grip 12 to rotate in one direction around the first support shaft 28; a first stopper 33 provided on the first support member 29, abutting against the jig base 14, and restricting the rotation of the jig base 14 against the pressing force of the first spring 32; a second spring 34 for pressing the first support member 29 to rotate in one direction around the second support shaft 30; and a second stopper 35 provided on the second support member 31, abutting against the first support member 29, and restricting the rotation of the first support member 29 against the pressing force of the second spring 34.

In order to adjust the initial position of the grip portion 12, a first contact member 36 may be provided on a portion of the jig base 14 that contacts the first stopper 33 or the first stopper 33, and a second contact member 37 may be provided on a portion of the first support member 29 that contacts the second stopper 35 or the second stopper 35.

[ sixth embodiment ]

Fig. 12 shows a gripping device 5e of a treatment device according to another embodiment of the present invention. This gripping device 5e is used in place of the gripping device 5 of the treatment device of fig. 1, and constitutes a treatment device of an embodiment different from that of fig. 1.

< gripping device >

The plurality of holding devices 5e hold the outer edge of the flexible printed board P, thereby holding the position of the flexible printed board P in the normal direction substantially at the inspection position of the first and second electrical inspection heads 1 and 2.

The gripping device 5e includes: a holding portion 12b for holding an outer edge of the flexible printed board P; and a support portion 13e for supporting the grip portion 12 b. The support portion 13e of the gripping device 5e has a swing mechanism that is a motion mechanism passive with two degrees of freedom with respect to the gripping portion 12b supported. That is, in the gripping device 5e, the gripping portion 12b is supported by the support portion 13e so as to be swingable in two directions. The configuration of the grip portion 12b of the gripping device 5e in fig. 12 can be the same as the configuration of the grip portion 12b of the gripping device 5b in fig. 7. Therefore, the structural elements of the grip portion 12b of the gripping device 5e of fig. 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the gripping device 5b of fig. 7, and redundant description is omitted.

(bearing part)

A first support member 29e serving as a swing mechanism for rotatably supporting the clamp base 14b of the grip portion 12b about a first support shaft 28; and a second support member 31e for rotatably supporting the first support member 29e about the second support shaft 30.

The first support shaft 28 is disposed parallel to the side edge of the flexible printed board P held by the holding portion 12 b. The second support shaft 30 is disposed parallel to the flexible printed circuit board P and perpendicular to the first support shaft 30. That is, the swing mechanism of the support portion 13e swings the grip portion 12b in two directions perpendicular to each other.

The support portion 13e also has a return mechanism for automatically returning the grip portion 12b to the initial position. As shown in the drawing, the recovery mechanism may include: the first engaging piece 40 is pressed by the first spring 39 against the first concave portion 38 formed so as to open in the direction perpendicular to the first support shaft 28 of the jig base 14b, and the second engaging piece 43 is pressed by the second spring 42 against the second concave portion 41 formed so as to open in the direction perpendicular to the second support shaft 30 of the first support member 29 e.

< treatment method >

As shown in fig. 13, the processing method according to an embodiment of the present invention mainly includes: a step of gripping an outer edge of a plate-like flexible workpiece with a plurality of gripping portions < gripping step >; a process of supporting the respective gripping portions and causing the plurality of gripping portions to perform parallel movement or yaw with one or more degrees of freedom < parallel movement or yaw process >. This processing method is a method of processing a plate-shaped flexible workpiece, and can be performed using the processing apparatus. The above treatment is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include inspection and processing of a plate-like flexible workpiece.

With this processing method, since the processing head (inspection head, processing head, etc.) has the above-described steps, when processing the flexible workpiece, it is possible to absorb a positional deviation in the normal direction of the flexible workpiece between the contact position of the processing head (inspection head, processing head, etc.) with respect to the flexible workpiece and the gripping position of the flexible workpiece gripped by the plurality of gripping portions, and it is possible to prevent the flexible workpiece from being damaged at the edge of the gripping portion.

< holding step >

In the gripping step, the outer edge of the plate-like flexible workpiece is gripped by the plurality of gripping portions. Thereby, the position of the plate-like flexible workpiece in the normal direction is substantially held at the processing position of the processing head.

< parallel translation or head swinging Process >

In the parallel movement or yaw process, the plurality of gripping portions are supported and moved in parallel or yaw with one or more degrees of freedom. In this step, the position deviation of the contact position of the processing head with respect to the flexible workpiece and the gripping position of the flexible workpiece gripped by the plurality of gripping portions in the normal direction of the flexible workpiece during processing can be absorbed.

With this processing method, the flexible workpiece is processed in a state where the positional deviation in the normal direction of the flexible workpiece is absorbed as described above.

[ other embodiments ]

The embodiments do not limit the structure of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments are to be construed as being within the scope of the present invention, and it should be understood that constituent elements of the respective portions of the embodiments may be omitted, substituted or added based on the description of the present specification and the common technical knowledge.

The support portion of the processing device may be configured to support the grip portion with three or more degrees of freedom.

In this processing apparatus, the recovery mechanism may be omitted.

The processing device may be an inspection device that performs inspection or the like using, for example, an optical sensor, in addition to electrical inspection using an electrical inspection head, or may be a processing device that performs, for example, laser processing or the like, in addition to punching. Further, the configuration of the gripping device according to the embodiment of the electrical inspection apparatus may be applied to the processing apparatus, or the configuration of the gripping device according to the embodiment of the processing apparatus may be applied to the inspection apparatus.

Industrial applicability

The processing apparatus of the present invention can be applied to inspection, processing, and the like of a flexible workpiece which has flexibility or bendability and can be warped or bent.

Claims

1. A processing apparatus, comprising:

a plurality of holding portions for holding an outer edge of a plate-like flexible workpiece to be inspected or processed;

a support portion that supports the respective gripping portions via two support shafts that are parallel to a surface of the flexible workpiece and orthogonal to each other, and that has a passive yaw mechanism that rotates the flexible workpiece about the support shafts with respect to the supported gripping portions;

an inspection head or a processing head configured to be movable in contact with a surface of the flexible workpiece;

the position of the support shaft is fixed with respect to the support portion, and the position of the grip portion and the support portion is fixed with respect to each other.

2. The processing apparatus of claim 1,

and a return mechanism for automatically returning the grip portion supported by the support portion to an initial position.

3. The processing apparatus of claim 1,

the processing device is used for inspecting or processing the flexible workpiece.

4. The processing apparatus of claim 3,

and the flexible workpiece is also provided with a mechanism for inspecting or processing the flexible workpiece.

5. A processing method is characterized by comprising:

a step of gripping an outer edge of a plate-like flexible workpiece to be inspected or processed by a plurality of gripping portions;

moving an inspection head or a processing head so as to be in contact with a surface of the flexible workpiece;

supporting each of the gripping portions by a support portion via two support shafts parallel to a surface of the flexible workpiece and orthogonal to each other, and performing passive swing by rotating the plurality of gripping portions around the support shafts;