Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Electrical device making
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-05
2002-12-10
Arbes, Carl J. (Department: 3729)
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Electrical device making
C029S834000, C029S705000, C029S712000, C029S740000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06490787
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for aligning and supplying an electrical component for aligning an electrical component (including an electronic component) and supplying it to a position at which it is mounted on another electrical component, and is utilized, for example, in the case in which an IC (integrated circuit) chip is mounted on a liquid crystal panel with alignment marks on them being aligned with each other.
BACKGROUND ART
An operation of mounting a driver IC chip on a liquid crystal panel via a conducting material such as an ACF (anisotropic conducting film) is performed with alignment marks of the IC chip being aligned with alignment marks of the liquid crystal panel since the IC chip has to be mounted accurately at a predetermined position of the liquid crystal panel so that both of them have to be surely brought into a conductive state. To this end, an apparatus for mounting an IC chip on a liquid crystal panel is provided with a CCD camera being image pick up means for picking up the alignment marks of the IC chip and the alignment marks of the liquid crystal panel at the mounting position. The IC chip is sucked by a suction head provided at the mounting device to be supplied to the aforesaid mounting position, and in order that the alignment marks of the IC chip can be surely picked up by the CCD camera having a small possible range in which an image can be picked up, the IC chip is sucked in a state in which it is properly aligned relative to the suction head, in which state, the IC chip has to be supplied to the mounting position by movement of the suction head.
FIG. 9
to
FIG. 12
show a conventional method for making the suction head suck an IC chip
81
in proper alignment. The IC chip
81
is housed in a recessed portion of a container with a bump as a conductive element facing upward, that is, in a face-up state. A suction arm not illustrated sucks the IC chip
81
, and thereafter the IC chip
81
is mounted on a pre-alignment stage
82
with the suction arm as it is (FIG.
9
). A pushing member
83
is disposed with a smaller space than the thickness of the IC chip
81
being provided between the pushing member
83
and the pre-alignment stage
82
, and the pushing member
83
moves in two horizontal directions perpendicular to each other as shown in FIG.
10
and
FIG. 11
, thereby aligning the IC chip in the two horizontal directions perpendicular to each other.
The pushing member
83
, which aligns the IC chip
81
with a solid line position from a two-dot line position in
FIG. 12
, moves in the reverse directions of the two horizontal directions perpendicular to each other to thereby retreat from the IC chip
81
. The IC chip
81
is sucked by a reverse arm not illustrated, and after the arm rotates at 180 degrees in reverse and thereby the IC chip
81
is in a face-down state in which the aforesaid bump faces downward, the IC chip
81
is sucked by the suction head. The IC chip
81
in this situation is sucked by the suction head in proper alignment by the pushing action of the pushing member
83
, and in the above proper alignment, the IC chip
18
is supplied to the aforesaid mounting position by movement of the suction head.
According to the above conventional method, in order that the IC chip is sucked by a suction head in proper alignment, a step is necessary, in which the IC chip is once placed on the pre-alignment stage, and this causes the disadvantage of increasing operating time. Further, the apparatus for mounting the IC chip on the liquid crystal panel has to be provided with a component and means such as a pre-alignment stage and suction arm other than the suction head, and as the result, the disadvantages of the configuration being complicated and the entire apparatus increasing in size.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for aligning and supplying an electrical component, capable of performing an operation of mounting the first electrical component such as an IC chip on the second electrical component such as a liquid crystal panel with a step using a pre-alignment stage being omitted, and thereby reducing the operating time.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for aligning and supplying an electrical component which eliminates a need of members and means related to the step using the pre-alignment stage, thereby making it possible to simplify the configuration and reduce the entire apparatus in size.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is made in view of the fact that the container housing a first electrical component such as an IC chip in a recessed portion is formed with comparatively high precision.
A method for aligning and supplying an electrical component according to the present invention is characterized by including the steps of sucking a first electrical component housed in a recessed portion of a container with a suction head, and thereafter causing relative movement between the container and the suction head, thereby causing the first electrical component to abut a wall of the recessed portion; carrying out the relative movement after abutting, and thereby displacing the first electrical component relative to the suction head and changing a suction position; and supplying the first electrical component, which is in proper alignment as a result of the change, to a mounting position at which the first electrical component is mounted on a second electrical component by movement of the suction head.
Further, an apparatus for aligning and supplying an electrical component according to the present invention is an apparatus for aligning and supplying the electrical component for aligning the first electrical component and supplying the same to a mounting position at which the first electrical component is mounted on a second electrical component, and is characterized by including a suction head for sucking the first electrical component housed in a recessed portion of a container and supplying the first electrical component to the aforesaid mounting position; and aligning drive means which moves at least one of the suction head and the container to cause the first electrical component sucked by the suction head to abut a wall of the recessed portion, and after abutting, carries out the aforesaid movement to thereby displace the suction position of the first electrical component relative to the suction head to achieve alignment of the first electrical component.
In the present invention described above, even after the first electrical component sucked by the suction head abuts the wall of the recessed portion of the container housing the first electrical component, the relative movement between the suction head and the container is further carried out, thereby causing a displacement of the first electrical component relative to the suction head, and thus the first electrical component is aligned relative to the suction head.
Consequently, according to the present invention, the step using a pre-alignment stage can be eliminated, thus making it possible to reduce operating time. Further, since the members and means related to the step with the pre-alignment stage are not needed, the configuration of the entire apparatus can be simplified and the entire apparatus can be reduced in size.
In the present invention, when the alignment of the first electrical component sucked by the suction head may be carried out in only one of the X and Y direction of the aforesaid recessed portion of which opening shape is two-dimensional in the X and Y direction perpendicular to each other of the container housing the first electrical component, for example, due to the shape or the like of the conductive element of the second electrical component on which the first electrical component is mounted, it is suitable if the aforesaid relative movement of the aforesaid method and the aforesaid aligning drive means of the aforesaid apparatus according to the present invention can carry out the alignment in one of these directions.
However, wh
Hashiguchi Ryou
Ohashi Masayoshi
Arbes Carl J.
Flynn ,Thiel, Boutell & Tanis, P.C.
Ohashi Co., Ltd.
LandOfFree
Method and apparatus for aligning and supplying electrical... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method and apparatus for aligning and supplying electrical..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method and apparatus for aligning and supplying electrical... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2992673