JP3353159B2 - Substrate dividing method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for dividing a substrate, for example, in the production of chip-type electronic components such as chip resistors, the production substrate having a slit formed on the upper surface is accurately divided along the slit. Related to what you can do.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a chip-type electronic component such as a chip resistor has a planar shape as schematically shown in FIG. It is manufactured using the manufacturing substrate a made of the above.

[0003] First, electrode terminals and resistors (not shown) are collectively formed on the upper surface of the manufacturing substrate a by thick-film printing, and if necessary, the resistance value is adjusted by laser trimming or the like. A protective layer (not shown) is formed by printing and firing.

Next, the manufacturing substrate a is divided along a vertical dividing slit b to obtain a bar-shaped substrate d.

A secondary electrode is formed on the divided surface of the rod-shaped substrate d, or a tertiary electrode is formed which is electrically connected to the secondary electrode and goes around the back surface of the substrate. Thereafter, the rod-shaped substrate a is divided along the horizontal dividing slit c to obtain a final chip resistor e.

By the way, the above-mentioned substrate division, that is, the step of dividing the manufacturing substrate a along the vertical slit b to obtain a rod-shaped substrate, and dividing the rod-shaped substrate d along the horizontal slit c Conventionally, the step of obtaining a unit chip component has generally been performed using the following substrate dividing apparatus.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7,
In both cases, a large-diameter upper roller f whose surface is formed of rubber,
The substrate a is passed between the small-diameter lower roller g and a predetermined pressure. Then, a bending moment indicated by a symbol m in FIG. 7 always acts on the substrate a due to the difference in diameter between the upper and lower rollers. When the slit b just passes between the upper and lower rollers f and g, the pressing force concentration due to the bending moment m reaches the vicinity of the slit b, whereby the substrate a is divided at the slit b. Become.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, there is a device in which a belt transport mechanism is combined with the upper roller f and the lower roller g as described above, but the dividing action is the same as that of the device shown in FIG.

[0009]

As described above, the substrate a is located between the large-diameter upper roller f and the small-diameter lower roller g.
When the substrate is divided by passing through, the following problem arises. As shown in detail in FIG. 7, the surfaces of the upper roller f and the lower roller g are both made of rubber, and the substrate a must be sandwiched between these rollers f and g with a predetermined pressure. The surfaces of the rollers f and g are elastically deformed and come into surface contact with the surface of the substrate a instead of line contact.

Further, since the rollers f and g are rotated, the divided end faces of the substrate a are not constant, and large burrs h may be formed as shown in FIG.

When the burrs h occur in the divided chips as described above, the dimensions of the products vary, which makes them unsuitable for high-density mounting on a circuit board.

The present invention has been conceived in view of the above circumstances, and is intended to obtain a chip-like final product by dividing a substrate from a manufacturing substrate along a slit. It is an object of the present invention to significantly reduce dimensional variations.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention takes the following technical measures.

That is, according to the invention described in claim 1 of the present application, a manufacturing substrate having a plurality of parallel split slits formed on a surface thereof is conveyed in a direction orthogonal to the split slits and along the split slits. A substrate dividing method for dividing, the operation of holding the front edge of the manufacturing substrate in the transport direction, an operation of holding the upper surface thereof, an operation of positioning a sharp fulcrum member extending in the slit direction at a position immediately below the foremost division slit, The rear upper surface of the foremost split slit
An operation of pressing with a predetermined pressure by a pressing member having an elastically deformable pressing pad and an operation of moving the fulcrum member by a predetermined distance are repeated.

[0015] The invention described in claim 2 of the present application is:
A substrate dividing apparatus for dividing along a division slit while transporting a production substrate having a plurality of parallel division slits formed on a surface in a direction orthogonal to the division slit, wherein the production substrate is A belt transport mechanism that supports and transports both sides of the substrate, a stopper that moves out of the transport path of the substrate for production, stops the production substrate by contacting the front end of the substrate, and the substrate for production. A guide that moves back and forth to the transport path and holds the front edge of the substrate stopped by the stopper on its upper surface;
A predetermined pressure is applied to the rear upper surface of the foremost split slit of the substrate, which is stopped by the stopper and whose front edge is held by the guide , and
A pressing member having a sexually deformable pressing pad, a sharp fulcrum extending in the direction of the split slit, and a fulcrum member that can be moved up and down immediately below the foremost split slit of the substrate, I have.

[0016]

When the manufacturing substrate conveyed in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the slit is held on one surface of the front edge by the guide, the rear of the foremost slit is pressed by the pressing member. At this time, the front is substantially supported by the holding guide, and the rear is substantially supported by the pressing member, with the frontmost slit to be divided interposed therebetween. On the other hand, the fulcrum member has a sharp fulcrum having a predetermined length in the direction in which the slit extends, and this fulcrum member accurately pushes the position immediately below the slit to be divided upward.

When the position immediately below the slit is pressed upward by a sharp fulcrum, the reaction force is effectively supported on the upper surface of the substrate by the holding guide and the pressing member. A bending moment acts in a direction that becomes upwardly convex with the position immediately below the fulcrum as a fulcrum. Then, the stress due to the bending moment concentrates on the portion where the slit is formed, and the substrate is divided at this portion.

When one rod-shaped substrate is separated from the material substrate at the frontmost slit, the second slit from the front in the material substrate becomes the frontmost slit to be divided next.

The substrate is divided at the slit in the same manner as described above. In this manner, by sequentially dividing the rod-shaped substrate along each slit from the front of the material substrate, the material substrate is separated into a plurality of rod-shaped substrates divided at each slit.

In the present invention, a fulcrum member having a sharp fulcrum is applied to the lower surface of the substrate in order to apply a bending moment so as to project upward on the substrate in the slit. The substrate to be divided is
It is clearly divided before and after the sharp fulcrum. for that reason,
The formation of irregular burrs or edges on the divided surface is extremely reduced.

In the chip electronic component finally obtained in this way, the variation in the outer diameter dimension is reduced, the product quality is uniform, and the higher density mounting on the circuit board can be performed without any inconvenience. .

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below.
This will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

The substrate dividing apparatus 1 of the present invention described below is configured so as to be suitable for obtaining a rod-shaped substrate d by dividing a material substrate a as shown in FIG. 5 along a vertical slit b. Things.

As shown in FIG. 1, the material substrate a is transported by the belt transport mechanism 2 in a direction orthogonal to the vertical slit b. The belt transport mechanism 2 includes a pair of left and right flat belts 3, 3 at least a pair of front and rear pulleys 3 a,
The flat belts 3 and 3 run forward by driving one of the pulleys.

The distance between the belts 3 and 3 is set so that the upper surfaces thereof can support the lower surfaces on both sides of the material substrate a. The material substrate a is carried onto the belt by a suitable handling mechanism (not shown).

At an appropriate position in the transport path of the belt transport mechanism 2, the belts 3, 3
Stoppers 4 and 4 are provided which can protrude and retract with respect to the height of the upper surface. The stoppers 4 and 4 are, as shown in FIG.
It can be moved up and down by a reciprocating actuator 5 such as a solenoid or a small air cylinder.

At the position where the stoppers 4 and 4 are provided, a first edge capable of holding the front edge of the material substrate a stopped by the front end contacting the stoppers 4 and 4 is further provided. The holding guide 6 is arranged.

As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the first holding guide 6 has an engagement holding portion 6a bent in a hook shape rearward, and is shown in an upright state shown by a solid line in FIG. It is configured to swing up and down between the state of falling forward and the state of falling down. In order to move the first holding guide 6 up and down, a rotary actuator 7 such as a rotary solenoid can be used.

On the other hand, the position behind the material substrate a, which is stopped by the stoppers 4, 4 as described above, is located at a position rearward by a predetermined distance from the position where the stoppers 4, 4 and the first holding guide 6 are provided. A second holding guide 8 capable of holding the edge is provided. This second holding guide 8
The support base 10 is reciprocated in the front-rear direction by the air cylinder 9 and the like, and is made to move up and down. As shown in FIG. 3, this second holding guide 8 also has an engaging holding portion 8a bent forward like a hook, and stands upright with respect to the support base 10 by a solid line in FIG. And a back-and-forth state shown by a virtual line.

Further, in a portion located behind the stoppers 4 and 4 by a predetermined distance, more specifically, the frontmost slit b to be divided in the material substrate a
Is moved up and down to a portion located just behind
The pressing member 12 which presses is provided. In order to drive the pressing member 12 up and down, a reciprocating actuator such as an air cylinder or a solenoid may be used, or the pressing member 12 may be reciprocated by driving a cam. An elastically deformable pressing pad 1 made of rubber or the like is provided on the pressing surface of the pressing member 12.
2a is stuck.

It is desirable that the pressing member 12 or a mechanism for reciprocating the pressing member 12 can change its front-back position in accordance with the interval between the slits of the material substrate a.

Further, a sensor 13 for detecting the position of the slit is disposed above the substrate a. This sensor 13 is suitably a laser sensor, and detects the position of the slit b by a change in reflected light.

Further, a fulcrum member 14 having a sharp fulcrum 14a extending in the direction of the slit is provided below the substrate a.
Are arranged so as to be able to drive up and down. To reciprocate the fulcrum member 14, for example, an air cylinder 15 is used. The fulcrum member 14 including the reciprocating drive mechanism can be finely adjusted in the front-rear direction by, for example, a ball screw mechanism 16 or the like.

Next, the operation of the substrate dividing apparatus 1 having the above configuration will be described.

In the initial state, the first and second holding guides 6 and 8 are in a forward and backward falling state, and the second holding guide 8 is located at the rearmost position by the air cylinder 9. I have. Then, the pressing member 12 is at the upper movement position, and the fulcrum member 14 is at the lower movement position.

The material substrate a is carried into the belt transport mechanism by a handling mechanism (not shown), and the substrate is transported forward by the belt drive. At this point, as shown in FIG.
Takes the upward movement position, so that the material substrate a is stopped when its front end comes into contact with the stoppers 4, 4. At this point, the belt transport mechanism may be stopped, or the operating state may be maintained so that the substrate a slides on the belt at a fixed position.

As described above, the manufacturing substrate a is
The laser sensor 13 detects the slit interval on the substrate while being conveyed at a constant speed until it comes into contact with the supporting member 4, and the longitudinal position of the fulcrum member 14 is changed according to the slit interval thus detected. Adjusted. That is, the ball screw mechanism 16 (FIG. 3) driven by a stepping motor or the like is driven so that the fulcrum member 14 is located immediately below the foremost slit b to be divided first. If necessary, the position of the pressing member 12 in the front-rear direction is also adjusted. That is, the adjustment is performed so that the pressing member 12 is located behind the frontmost slit b to be divided.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 4B, the first holding guide 6 rises and engages and holds the front end of the substrate a by the engagement holding portion 6a.
Is also raised and moved forward by the operation of the air cylinder 9, and the rear edge of the substrate a is engaged and held by the engagement holding portion 8a.

After the pressing member 12 moves downward to press the upper surface of the substrate just behind the foremost slit b, the fulcrum member 14 is moved upward as shown in FIG. .

As is apparent from the above, the front of the foremost slit b to be divided is engaged and held by the first holding guide 6, and the rear of the slit b is pressed by the pressing member 12. . Therefore, when the fulcrum member 14 moves upward and pushes the rear surface of the substrate immediately below the slit b so as to push up, the substrate a is bent upward so that the portion provided with the slit b serves as a fulcrum. Acting moment. Due to the moment, stress concentrates on the portion where the slit b is provided, and the substrate a is divided along the slit b by such stress concentration.

At this time, the fulcrum member 14, which presses the back surface of the substrate a, presses a very limited range in the front-rear direction by the sharp fulcrum 14a, so that the substrate a is clearly separated from the sharp fulcrum 14a. A situation in which burrs and edges protrude unnecessarily from the divided surface is effectively avoided.

When the foremost rod-shaped substrate is separated as described above, the fulcrum member 14 and the pressing member 12 are both retracted, as shown in FIG.
Falls forward and evacuates. At this time, the second holding guide may or may not be retracted backward.

Next, after the belts 3 and 3 are in the running state, the stoppers 4 and 4 are momentarily moved down and then returned to the up state (FIG. 4 (e)). By doing so,
The material substrate a is moved forward by one pitch in the front-rear direction, that is, by the slit interval, and then stopped again by the stoppers 4 and 4 (FIG. 4 (a)). The bar-shaped substrate d separated from the substrate a is transported forward while being still on the belts 3 and 3 which are still running, and is transported to a post-processing apparatus.

Thereafter, the same operation as described above is repeated. That is, first, the first holding guide 6 is raised to engage and hold a new front edge of the substrate a, and the second holding guide 8 is advanced by the air cylinder 9 to re-adjust the rear edge of the substrate a again. Engage and hold. Then, while the pressing member 12 presses the upper surface immediately behind the forefront slit (the second slit in the initial material substrate),
The fulcrum member 14 is moved upward to divide the rod-shaped substrate d along the slit b.

The above operation is repeated until division is performed in the rearmost slit. However, in the case of dividing the rearmost slit, the pressing member 12 does not move downward, and is divided while being engaged and held only by the first holding guide 6 and the second holding guide 8. After division is performed in all slits, all mechanisms return to the initial state to wait for introduction of a new material substrate.

As is apparent from the above, according to the substrate dividing apparatus of the present invention, a bending moment is applied to the substrate by pressing a very limited area on the back surface of the substrate that exactly corresponds to the slit, and the stress concentration caused by this is increased. Since the substrate is divided along the division slits, the substrate can be divided more accurately than in the conventional art, in other words, the substrate can be divided so that unnecessary burrs and edges are not easily formed on the divided surface. As a result, the final chip-shaped electronic component has a uniform shape with no unnecessary edges or burrs around it, significantly improving the product quality and achieving higher density without considering the presence of burrs and edges. Implementation can be achieved.

Of course, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above. As chip-shaped electronic components produced by such substrate division, there are chip capacitors, chip resistor networks, and the like, in addition to chip resistors.

Further, it is needless to say that the structure for operating each mechanism constituting the apparatus can be variously changed within a range that can be recognized by those skilled in the art.

The substrate dividing method of the present invention can be applied not only to the case where a rod-shaped substrate is obtained from a material substrate as in the above-described embodiment, but also to the case where a unit chip is obtained from a rod-shaped substrate.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an aspect of substrate division.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional substrate dividing device.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view of a conventional substrate dividing device.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of another example of the conventional substrate dividing device.

FIG. 9 is a side view of a chip substrate divided by a conventional substrate dividing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 substrate dividing device 6 first holding guide 8 second holding guide 12 pressing member 14 fulcrum member a substrate b (substrate) dividing slit

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate dividing method for dividing a production substrate having a plurality of parallel division slits formed on a surface thereof along a division slit while transporting the production substrate in a direction orthogonal to the division slit. Holding the front edge in the transport direction of the substrate on the upper surface thereof, operating a sharp fulcrum member extending in the slit direction immediately below the foremost split slit, and elasticizing the rear upper surface of the foremost split slit. Deformable
A method of pressing with a predetermined pressure by a pressing member provided with a suitable pressing pad, and an operation of moving the fulcrum member by a predetermined distance. 2. A substrate dividing apparatus for dividing a manufacturing substrate having a plurality of parallel division slits formed on a surface thereof along the division slit while transporting the production substrate in a direction orthogonal to the division slit, A belt transport mechanism that transports the production substrate while supporting both sides thereof, and a stopper that moves out of the transportation path of the production substrate and stops the production substrate by contacting the front end of the substrate. A guide that moves back and forth to the transport path of the manufacturing substrate and holds the front edge of the substrate stopped by the stopper on its upper surface; and a guide stopped by the stopper and held by the guide. the rear upper surface of the foremost division slit in the substrate, which is pressed by a predetermined pressure, and the bullet
A pressing member provided with a sexually deformable pressing pad; and a fulcrum member having a sharp fulcrum extending in the direction of the split slit, and a vertically movable fulcrum member immediately below the foremost split slit of the substrate. Substrate dividing device.