JP2008178772A - Tape-like member washing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tape-like member washing apparatus for preventing the flattering of a thin tape-like member without adding an excessive tension at the time of washing. <P>SOLUTION: The tape-like member washing apparatus is equipped with a pair of guide rollers for moving the tape-like member, the washing nozzle of the tape-like member arranged between the guide rollers and the air knife arranged on the downstream side of the washing nozzle and the pressing rollers for holding the tape-like member are provided on the upwardly or downstream side of the washing nozzle or the air knife. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning device for a tape-like member that is cleaned by spraying a cleaning liquid while continuously moving a long tape-like member in which fine circuits are formed at predetermined intervals.

As tape-like members used for liquid crystal televisions, PDP televisions, etc., there are COF tapes, TAB tapes, and spacer tapes for protecting them. Since these COF tapes and TAB tapes are incorporated into a display panel, for example, they are required to be small and thin.
In addition, the number of leads has been increased due to the increase in the recording density of the driver IC, and the lead line width and interval have become very narrow. Adhering foreign matter has become a major factor in yield reduction and reliability reduction.

In order to remove these obstruction factors, a cleaning device has been devised in which the tape-shaped member is fed from the feeding reel, the tape-shaped member is cleaned via movement, and then taken up by the take-up reel.
As a cleaning method, cleaning liquid and compressed air are mixed inside a two-fluid nozzle, and sprayed mist is sprayed onto the surface of the tape-shaped member to remove foreign matter on the surface of the tape-shaped member, and then compressed dry air Attention has been paid to a method of spraying the powder from an air knife, draining it, drying it, and winding it on a take-up reel.
JP-A-2005-109112

  A cleaning method in which cleaning liquid and compressed air are mixed inside a two-fluid nozzle, foreign matters on the tape-like member are removed with a mist spray, and the compressed dry air is sprayed from an air knife to drain and dry. It has been adopted because it has a cleaning effect that greatly exceeds the dry method mainly using air blow.

However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, the tape-like member flutters around the spray nozzle portion and the air knife portion that apply a strong external force to the thin tape-like member, and the conveyance state may become unstable.
In particular, in an air knife portion that blows compressed air, the tape-shaped member and the air knife are brought closer to each other as much as possible to obtain a greater effect. Therefore, the distance is reduced, but as a result, the flapping of the tape-shaped member increases. Furthermore, the tape-shaped member and the air knife are in contact with each other, and there is a problem that a fine circuit portion formed on the surface of the tape-shaped member is damaged.

  Therefore, there is a method of applying a certain tension to the tape-like member in order to solve this problem. However, if the tension is applied too strongly in order to suppress fluttering, the thin tape-like member may be extended and the dimensional accuracy may be lowered. .

  An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device that prevents flapping of a thin tape-like member without applying excessive tension during cleaning.

The present invention relates to the following.
(1) A pair of guide rollers for moving the tape-shaped member, a cleaning nozzle for the tape-shaped member disposed between the guide rollers, and an air knife disposed on the downstream side of the cleaning nozzle, A tape-shaped member cleaning device provided with a pressing roller for clamping the tape-shaped member upstream or downstream of a cleaning nozzle or an air knife.
(2) The tape-shaped member cleaning device according to item (1), wherein the pressing roller is provided within 300 mm from the cleaning nozzle or the air knife.
(3) The tape-like member cleaning device according to item (1) or (2), wherein the pressing roller has a bearing therein.
(4) The tape-shaped member cleaning device according to any one of items (1) to (3), wherein the pressing roller is replaceable according to the tape width of the tape-shaped member.
(5) The tape-like member cleaning device according to any one of items (1) to (4), wherein the pressing roller can move its installation position in the vertical and horizontal directions.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress flapping of the tape-like member that occurs when compressed air is blown from a two-fluid spray or an air knife, and the surface of the tape-like member is in contact with the spray nozzle or air knife. This is effective in preventing the yield from being lowered due to damage to the circuit.

The tape-like member to be cleaned in the present invention is a long tape whose surface is formed with a fine circuit at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction, and specifically includes a COF tape, a TAB tape, and the like. Such a tape has a plurality of fine circuits made of copper, tin plating, etc. at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction of the tape on one side or both sides of a flexible plastic film such as polyimide film or polyethylene terephthalate film. The thickness is usually 25 to 90 μm and the width is usually 35 to 105 mm. Sprocket holes may be provided at regular intervals at both ends of the tape-like member.
Examples of the spacer tape include a flexible plastic film such as a polyethylene terephthalate film and a polyetherimide film. The thickness is usually 50 to 100 μm, and usually has the same width as the tape-like member to be overlapped. Have. Moreover, the sprocket hole may be provided similarly to a tape-shaped member.

The guide roller described in the present invention moves the tape-shaped member continuously in the longitudinal direction, and a pair means feeding and winding. More specifically, it is preferable to have a feeding portion such as a feeding reel that feeds a roll-shaped tape-shaped member and a winding portion such as a winding reel that winds the tape-shaped member after cleaning.
As a method of moving the tape-shaped member in a certain direction at the time of cleaning, there is a method in which only the feeding portion and the winding portion are used and cleaning is performed via movement between them. In addition, if necessary, one or more auxiliary guide rollers are arranged between the feeding portion and the winding portion to change the moving direction of the tape-like member, so that the winding portion is wound between the feeding portion and the guide roller. The cleaning may be performed between the section and the guide roller or via movement in a certain direction between the two guide rollers. A sprocket may be used as the guide roller.

  In addition, it may be connected to the tape-shaped member manufacturing process without using the supply reel or the take-up reel, and may be directly cleaned after the manufacturing. Further, the manufacturing process such as the semiconductor chip mounting process directly without winding after the cleaning. May be sent to

In FIG. 2, the one aspect | mode of the tape-shaped member washing | cleaning apparatus of this invention is shown.
Guide rollers 3c and 3d are arranged above and below the cleaning mechanism section 4, and the tape-like member 6 continuously moves in a fixed direction between the guide rollers 3c and 3d and is cleaned by the cleaning mechanism section 4.
The cleaning mechanism 4 includes spray nozzles 7a and 7b arranged on both sides of the tape-like member 6 moving from the lower side to the upper side, air knives 8a and 8b arranged on both sides for draining water, and both sides for hot air. There are provided air knives 9a and 9b, a casing part A in which these members are installed and divided into respective parts, and exhaust parts 10a and 10b provided at the upper and lower parts of the casing part A.

  The pressing rollers 11a and 11b are provided at locations where the flapping of the tape-like member 6 becomes a problem, for example, at the upstream side and the downstream side of the spray nozzles 7a and 7b and the air knives 8a, 8b, 9a and 9b (in this description, It is installed on both the upstream side and the downstream side.) Particularly, it is effective to arrange within 300 mm in the front and rear. In FIG. 2, the tape-like member 6 is disposed before and after the air knife 8a, 8b for draining, which is most likely to flutter.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the pressing roller 11a arranged in the housing portion A of the cleaning mechanism unit 4. FIG. FIG. 4 is a detailed plan view showing the configuration of the pressing roller shown in FIG.
The pressing rollers 13a, 13b made of synthetic resin (for example, polyethylene, polyacetal, fluororesin, etc.) are held by aluminum frames 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d and smoothly rotated by bearings 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d. It has a mechanism to do.
The roller shape is a stepped roller with a raised end, and the portion that contacts the tape-like member is a sprocket hole portion of the non-circuit portion (the end portion is about 5 mm), so that the roller shape does not directly contact the circuit portion. Have.

  5 and 6 show a method for pressing down the tape-like member. FIG. 5 shows the method of sandwiching the tape-like member by using the spring force of the hollow hole 16a and the spring 14b processed in the frame 12b. FIG. 6 shows a method of making use of a hollow hole 16b machined in the frame 12b so that one roller 13b is placed on the other roller 13a so as to be dropped by gravity, so that the tape is applied by its own weight. This is a method of sandwiching a member.

  FIG. 7 shows the roller specifications used when the surface of the tape-shaped member may be contacted by a roller. The rollers 17a and 17b have a round bar shape, and the material is often made of fluororesin processed with a soft surface and a small friction coefficient, and COF tape and spacer tape can be used except for TAB tape having inner leads. is there. In the case of a round bar, since it is not necessary to change the pressing roller structure in accordance with the tape width, efficient production becomes possible.

Although the housing part A shown in FIG. 2 is not essential, by covering the cleaning mechanism part 4 with the housing part A, it is possible to prevent the sprayed cleaning liquid and the gas for draining from diffusing.
Further, the housing part A does not have to be separated, but by separating the inside thereof, the sprayed cleaning liquid mist can be prevented from splashing other than the liquid draining part, and the liquid draining can be efficiently performed. Can be done automatically.
When the housing part A is provided, the atmosphere in the housing part A is exhausted from the exhaust parts 10a and 10b through an exhaust duct (not shown) by an exhaust fan (not shown). The mist of the sprayed cleaning liquid in A and the gas used for draining can be efficiently discharged without diffusing.

  In FIG. 2, the cleaning mechanism unit is illustrated by vertical conveyance, but when incorporated in an apparatus such as a tape-like member production line, it may be conveyed horizontally in accordance with the apparatus. The conveyance speed is generally in the range of 0.5 to 30 m / min, but can be changed by arbitrarily controlling the number of revolutions of the sprocket or roll.

  The spray nozzle sprays the cleaning liquid by the force of air pressure, but it can also be arranged on one side of the tape-like member or on both sides so as to face each other. The pressure when spraying the cleaning liquid is preferably in the range of 0.2 to 0.7 Mpa, and more preferably 0.3 to 0.5 Mpa, for both the cleaning liquid pressure and the air pressure. If the pressure is less than 0.2 Mpa, the spray sprayed from the nozzle does not become a fine mist and the cleaning power gradually decreases. Conversely, if the pressure exceeds 0.7 Mpa, the amount of air to be used becomes extremely large, In order to discharge these mists, the displacement must be increased, which is not economical.

  If the cleaning fluid pressure and the air pressure are set to the same level, it is easy to balance. The distance between the spray nozzle and the tape is preferably in the range of 10 to 100 mm, more preferably in the range of 20 to 50 mm. If it is less than 10 mm, the distance to the object is short and the spray width is narrowed. As a result, the required number of nozzles increases and the amount of air used increases, which is economically disadvantageous and is not preferable. On the contrary, if it exceeds 100 mm, the spray pressure with respect to the tape is lowered, and there is a possibility that the foreign matter removing force is also reduced in proportion thereto.

  The nozzle angle with respect to the tape is not particularly limited, but is preferably a right-angle direction in consideration of the striking force, and is perpendicular to prevent the mist from moving in the tape traveling direction (upper part in FIGS. 1 and 2). It can also be tilted 10 to 45 degrees from the direction backward in the direction of travel of the tape (downward in FIGS. 1 and 2). Further, it is particularly preferable that the nozzle angle has a structure that can be arbitrarily adjusted with respect to the tape.

  As the type of cleaning liquid, pure water or electrolytic water that has been treated with an ion exchange resin and then passed through a filter, or a cleaning liquid to which a cleaning liquid is added can be used. The temperature of the cleaning solution may be used at room temperature, but may be heated to 30 to 80 ° C. in order to enhance the cleaning effect. When the temperature of the cleaning liquid is less than 30 ° C, the effect obtained without much changing the cleaning power from that at room temperature is small. Conversely, when the temperature exceeds 80 ° C, a high heat-resistant material must be used as the constituent material of the apparatus. This is not preferable because the apparatus price may increase and the operation may be complicated.

  After cleaning, it is necessary to drain the cleaning liquid. For this purpose, it is preferable to arrange an air knife that blows air at a predetermined pressure so as to face both surfaces of the tape. The slit width of the air knife is preferably in the range of 0.1 to 1 mm, and more preferably in the range of 0.15 to 0.3 mm. When the slit width is less than 0.1 mm, the pressure loss increases, the amount of air blown out decreases, and the effect of draining gradually decreases. On the other hand, if it exceeds 1 mm, the pressure of the air sprayed on the tape surface decreases, and the liquid drainage gradually decreases. The air pressure is preferably in the range of 0.05 to 0.5 MPa. If it is less than 0.05 Mpa, the liquid drainage property gradually decreases, and if it exceeds 0.5 Mpa, the air amount increases and the exhaust amount must be increased, which is not economical.

  The distance between the air knife and the tape is preferably 3 to 20 mm, and more preferably 5 to 10 mm. If the distance is less than 3 mm, the tape and the air knife may come into contact with each other and damage the tape. On the other hand, if it exceeds 20 mm, the air pressure sprayed on the tape may be reduced, and the effect of draining may be reduced. . The angle at which the air knife is attached to the tape is not particularly limited, but the tape advances about 10 to 45 degrees from the perpendicular direction in order to reduce the possibility of reattachment of the sprayed droplets in the perpendicular direction. It can also be attached rearwardly (downward in FIG. 2). The angle of the air knife is particularly preferably a structure that can be arbitrarily adjusted with respect to the tape.

Although the surface of the tape can be brought into a dry state only by draining, it is preferable to perform a hot air treatment after the draining in order to further improve the dry state. The air knife used for the hot air treatment should have the same specifications as the air knife used when draining the liquid, but it should be placed on both sides facing the tape. At this time, the air pressure, the distance between the tape and the air knife, and the air The knife mounting angle may be the same as in the case of liquid removal.
The hot air treatment includes a method using a blower in addition to using an air knife, and any method may be used as long as it generates hot air and improves the dry state. The hot air temperature is preferably 40 to 120 ° C, more preferably 60 to 90 ° C. If it is less than 40 degreeC, there exists a possibility that a drying effect may fall, and if it exceeds 120 degreeC, there exists a possibility that the copper foil and tin plating of a circuit material may be oxidized and denatured.

  As described above, the gas used in the spray nozzle and the air knife has been described mainly with air, but nitrogen gas may be used in addition to air. In the conventional dry method, compressed air is blown, air is sucked, ultrasonic waves are applied to the compressed air, or a combination of these. However, it can be easily removed by employing the present invention. In addition, in the case of such a cleaning device having a high cleaning power, it is common that the fine TAB inner lead is deformed and cannot be used for this purpose. However, in the present invention, the cleaning power is high (foreign matter removal property is low). It is suitable as a cleaning device for a tape-shaped member that does not deform a fine TAB inner lead.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a tape-shaped member cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
A 48 mm wide COF tape (tape-like member 6) on which fine circuits were formed at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction was continuously moved from the supply reel 1 at a moving speed of 6 m / min. The tape-like member 6 is tensioned by the weight reel 2 having a weight of 500 g via the movement, and is sent to the cleaning mechanism unit 4 while being guided by the guide rollers 3a, 3b, and 3c.

  In the cleaning mechanism section 4, in the spray nozzle sections 7a and 7b shown in FIG. 2, pure water obtained by filtering room temperature ion exchange water with a 0.1 μm filter is supplied as 0.5 Mpa as a cleaning liquid, and an air pressure of 0.5 Mpa is supplied thereto. Then, the particles were atomized in the nozzle portion and sprayed to collide with the tape-like member 6 to remove foreign matter adhering to the tape-like member 6. The spray nozzle at this time used the general thing of a commercial item. The spray nozzle was disposed so as to face both sides of the tape-shaped member 6, the distance from the tape-shaped member 6 was set to 30 mm, and the angle with respect to the tape-shaped member 6 was disposed to be about 30 degrees downward from the perpendicular direction.

  After the cleaning, it is moved between the upper air knives 8a and 8b in order to immediately drain the liquid, but the air knives 8a and 8b are opposed to each other with the tape-like member 6 interposed therebetween so that the liquid can be drained simultaneously. It is arranged. The specifications of the air knives 8a and 8b were a slit width of 0.15 mm and a slit part length of 100 mm. The air pressures of the air knives 8a and 8b can be adjusted individually on the left and right sides, but both the left and right sides are set to 0.15 MPa. The distance between the air knives 8 a, 8 b and the tape-like member 6 was 8 mm, the mounting angle was about 30 degrees downward from the perpendicular direction, and they were arranged on both sides so as to face the tape-like member 6.

  The pressing rollers 11a and 11b were arranged at positions 50 mm before and after the air knives 8a and 8b as shown in FIG. As the specifications of the pressing rollers 11a and 11b, as shown in FIG. The tape surface was almost dried only by this treatment, but in order to obtain a higher dry state, the tape was moved between the air knives 9a and 9b for blowing the hot air at the top, and drying was added. The set temperature of the hot air at this time was 65 ° C., and the other air knife conditions were the same as the air knife conditions at the time of liquid removal. After cleaning, the tape-shaped member 6 was wound up with the take-up reel 5 shown in FIG.

(Comparative Example 1)
This was carried out under the same conditions as in Example 1 without arranging the pressing rollers 11a and 11b shown in FIG. When the pressing rollers 11a and 11b were not arranged, a phenomenon that the tape-like member 6 fluttered at the air knives 8a and 8b and contacted with the air knives 8a and 8b was observed.

The case where the pressing roller of the present invention described in Example 1 was arranged and the case where Comparative Example 1 was not arranged were compared with respect to cleaning property, draining property, and presence or absence of damage. Regarding the cleaning performance, all 30 foreign substances marked before cleaning were removed regardless of the presence or absence of the pressing roller, and no difference was observed between the two. Regarding water drainage, when a pressing roller is arranged, the tape-like member 6 was observed with a magnifying glass over a length of 5 m, but no traces of water drops or water marks were observed, but no pressing roller was arranged. , Water droplets were confirmed around 10 spots, and traces of water marks were also found around it. Regarding the presence or absence of damage, the tape-like member 6 was observed with a magnifying glass over a length of 5 m. However, when there was no pressing roller, there were 17 traces on the circuit portion of the tape-like member 6 that seemed to be in contact with the air knife. Although confirmed, when the pressing roller was arranged, it was not observed at all.
From these results, it has been demonstrated that the arrangement of the pressing roller suppresses flapping of the tape-like member 6 and has a great effect on yield improvement.
By applying the cleaning apparatus having the pressing roller of the present invention, it has become possible to efficiently remove foreign matters from the tape-like member, which has been difficult in the past, with high yield.

It is a schematic block diagram of the tape-shaped member cleaning apparatus which is one Example of this invention. The internal detail figure of the tape-shaped member washing | cleaning apparatus which is one Example of this invention is shown. It is a top view of the pressing roller described in the present invention. FIG. 4 is a detailed plan view of the pressing roller shown in FIG. 3. It is a side view of the pressing roller shown in FIG. It is a side view which shows the other Example of the pressing roller used for this invention. It is a top view which shows further another Example of the pressing roller used for this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Delivery reel, 2 ... Weight roller, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 3e ... Guide roller, 4 ... Cleaning mechanism part, A ... Housing part, 5 ... Take-up reel, 6 ... Tape-like member, 7a, 7b ... Spray nozzle, 8a, 8b ... Air knife, 9a, 9b ... Air knife, 10a, 10b ... Exhaust part, 11a, 11b ... Pressing roller, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d ... Frame, 13a, 13b ... Pressing roller, 14a, 14b ... springs, 15a, 15b, 15c, 15d ... bearings, 16a, 16b ... hollows, 17a, 17b, 17c ... rollers

Claims (5)

  A pair of guide rollers for moving the tape-shaped member; a cleaning nozzle for the tape-shaped member disposed between the guide rollers; and an air knife disposed on the downstream side of the cleaning nozzle; A tape-shaped member cleaning device provided with a pressing roller for clamping the tape-shaped member upstream or downstream of the air knife.   The tape-shaped member cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing roller is provided within 300 mm from the cleaning nozzle or the air knife.   3. The tape-like member cleaning device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pressing roller has a bearing therein.   4. The tape-shaped member cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing roller is replaceable according to the tape width of the tape-shaped member.   5. The tape-like member cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing roller can move its installation position in the vertical and horizontal directions.

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