Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – Forming electrical articles by shaping electroconductive...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-25
2003-05-27
Ortiz, Angela (Department: 1732)
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
Forming electrical articles by shaping electroconductive...
C264S251000, C264S254000, C427S058000, C427S272000, C427S282000, C427S369000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06569367
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an electronic component and an apparatus for manufacturing the same, particularly to a method for manufacturing an electronic component that requires a paste such as a conductive paste to be coated on a part of the side faces of a component body provided with an electronic component, and to an apparatus for manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 16
shows a perspective view of the appearance of an electronic component
1
in concern with the present invention. The electronic component having three or more terminals such as, for example, a three-terminal capacitor, a capacitor array, a LC composite EMI filter and a capacitor network assumes an appearance as shown in FIG.
16
.
The electronic component
1
comprises, for example, a rectangular column shaped electronic part
2
. The terminals provided on this electronic component
1
include end face electrodes
5
and
6
formed on the end faces
3
and
4
, respectively, in opposed relation with each other, while side face electrodes
9
and
10
are formed with a predetermined width on the other side faces
7
and
8
, respectively, in opposed relation with each other.
Not only the end face electrodes
5
and
6
are formed on the end faces
3
and
4
, respectively, but also adjoining face extension parts
13
and
14
are extended onto a part of the side faces
7
and
8
adjoining the end faces
3
and
4
, besides extending up to a part of the other pair of the side faces
11
and
12
. The side face electrodes
9
and
10
not only extend onto the side faces
7
and
8
, respectively, but also have adjoining face extension parts
15
and
16
extending up to a part of the side faces
11
and
12
adjoining the side face electrodes
9
and
10
.
These adjoining face extension parts
13
to
16
serve for improving soldering property to the wiring board (not shown) when the electronic part
1
is mounted thereon.
What is concerned with the present invention is a technology particularly for forming the side face electrodes
9
and
10
.
An apparatus
17
is shown in
FIG. 17
in order to form the side face electrodes
9
and
10
. The apparatus
17
is provided with a slit plate
18
made of a metal, and a plurality of slits
19
having a width corresponding to the width of the side face electrodes
9
and
10
are provided on the slit plate
18
. The slit plate
18
is placed so as to shut the upper opening of a paste vessel
21
accommodating a conductive paste
20
. A cylinder
22
is provided to be connected with the space in the paste vessel
21
, and a piston is provided in the cylinder
22
.
The component body
2
is firstly disposed so that its one side face
7
contacts the slit plate
18
. The conductive paste
20
is fed through the slit
19
by allowing the piston
23
to move along the direction of an arrow
24
so that the paste swells on the upper face of the slit plate
18
, while the side face of the component body is in contact with the slit plate, thereby the conductive paste
20
is coated on a part of the side face
7
of the component body
2
. The conductive paste is also coated on a part of the side faces
11
and
12
adjoining the side face
7
of the component body
2
.
The same procedure is also applied to the other side face
8
of the component body
2
.
Subsequently, the conductive paste
20
coated on the component body
2
is baked, and the side face electrodes
9
and
10
comprising the adjoining face extension parts
15
and
16
, respectively, as shown in
FIG. 16
are formed using the conductive paste
20
.
An apparatus
25
is also shown in
FIG. 18
in place of the foregoing apparatus
17
.
The apparatus
25
has a coating plate
26
comprising an elastic material capable of elastic deformation such as a rubber. A plurality of grooves
27
having a width corresponding to the width of the side face electrode
9
or
10
are provided on the coating plate
26
, and the grooves
27
are filled with the conductive paste
28
.
The component body
2
is compressed against the coating plate
26
while one side face
7
comes into contact with the coating plate
26
, thereby the component body
2
allows the coating plate
26
to deform along the direction of thickness. As a result, the conductive paste
28
in the groove
27
is coated on a part of the side face
7
of the component body
2
with a predetermined width, as well as on a part of the adjoining side faces
11
and
12
by allowing a part of the conductive paste
28
to swell onto the upper face of the coating plate
26
.
The same step is also applied on the other side face
8
of the component body
2
.
The conductive paste
28
is baked thereafter by the same way as in the case using the apparatus
17
shown in FIG.
17
. The side face electrodes
9
and
10
having the adjoining face extension parts
15
and
16
as shown in
FIG. 16
are formed using the conductive paste
28
.
However, the following problems arise when the apparatus
17
shown in
FIG. 17
is used.
As hitherto described, a plurality of slits
19
are provided on the slit plate
18
, and the component bodies
2
corresponding to respective slits
19
are disposed. The plural component bodies
2
are held by being arranged on a plane using an appropriate holder (not shown), and are positioned so as to correspond to respective slits
19
.
However, it happens that some of the components bodies
2
may be accidentally deficient at specified portions of the holder, when a plurality of the components bodies
2
are held with the holder, whereby no component bodies
2
are present on the specified portions of the slit
19
remaining the portion of the slit to be open. Consequently, since the pressure applied from the piston
23
is readily released through the open portion of the slit
19
, the amount of the coated conductive paste
20
on the component body
2
, particularly the coating level of the conductive paste
20
to serve as the adjoining face elongation parts
15
and
16
, tends to be irregular. This irregularity may well arise not only among the component bodies
2
that are simultaneously treated, but also among the component bodies
2
that are treated in each repeating process.
For solving the problems as described above, it is contemplated to coat the conductive paste
20
on the component body
2
after forming a gap between the component body
2
and the slit plate
18
. However, it is difficult to form the side face electrode
9
or
10
with a uniform width, because the width of the side face electrode
9
or
10
becomes wider to an extent not to be negligible than the width of the slit
19
, besides making the width of the electrodes wider at the center of the side face. Accordingly, such solving means are inappropriate when the side face electrode
9
or
10
should be formed with finer width, or when a plurality of the side face electrodes having a narrow pitch are desired to be formed on specified side faces (not shown).
For solving the foregoing problems, it can be also contemplated that the slit
19
is so designed as to have a narrower width than the width required for the side face electrode
9
or
10
. However, the conductive paste
20
turns out to be left in the slit thus requiring the slit as well as the paste vessel
21
to be frequently cleaned, arising a problem of decreased work efficiency.
The following problems arise, on the other hand, when the apparatus
25
as shown in
FIG. 18
is used.
The elastic material such as a rubber constituting the coating plate
26
may be swelled by the effect of organic solvents contained in the conductive paste
28
. The organic solvents are pervaded into the elastic material with time lapsing. Such swelling and pervasion not only shortens the service life of the coating plate
26
, but also accidentally happens to deform the coating plate
26
, thereby the positional accuracy for coating the conductive paste
28
onto the component body
2
is decreased with t
Fukuda Makoto
Miura Takehiko
Nakagawa Tadahiro
Okuyama Shingo
Keating & Bennett LLP
Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Ortiz Angela
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