IC chip mounting device, IC chip mounting method

Abstract

To improve productivity in the inlay manufacturing process.SOLUTION: An IC chip mounting device includes: a transport unit that transports, on a predetermined transport surface, an antenna continuum in which a plurality of inlay antennas are continuously formed on a base material; an IC chip arrangement unit for arranging an IC chip on a photocurable adhesive provided at a predetermined reference position of each antenna of the antenna continuum; and a light beam irradiation unit that irradiates, with a light beam, the adhesive on each antenna of the antenna continuum in which the IC chip is disposed and which is transported by the transport unit. The light beam irradiation unit irradiates, with the light beam, the IC chip disposed on the adhesive while the IC chip is pressed toward the antenna side.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an IC chip mounting device and an IC chip mounting method. [Background technology]

[0002] With the spread of RFID tags, the production of sheet-like inlays having an antenna and an IC chip electrically connected to the antenna is expanding. To manufacture an inlay, an adhesive is applied to a predetermined reference position on the antenna formed on a base material, which serves as a reference for mounting the IC chip, and the IC chip is placed at the reference position, and then the adhesive is cured to fix the IC chip. For example, the adhesive curing method described in Patent Document 1 describes a method of curing a photocurable adhesive by pressing four crimping tools against four components arranged on a substrate while irradiating the components with light to cure the photocurable adhesive. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2012-206278 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Conventionally, the transport of the parts to be bonded has been stopped when the adhesive is hardened to fix parts such as IC chips, making it difficult to improve productivity. Therefore, one aspect of the present invention aims to improve productivity in the inlay manufacturing process. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present invention is an IC chip mounting device comprising: a conveying unit that conveys an antenna continuum having multiple antennas for inlay formed continuously on a substrate on a predetermined conveying surface; an IC chip placement unit that places an IC chip on a light-curing adhesive provided at a predetermined reference position of each antenna of the antenna continuum; and a light beam irradiation unit that irradiates a light beam onto the adhesive on each antenna of the antenna continuum on which an IC chip is placed and which is being conveyed by the conveying unit, wherein the light beam irradiation unit irradiates the light beam while pressing the IC chip placed on the adhesive towards the antenna. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, productivity can be improved in the inlay manufacturing process. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1A and 1B are a plan view and a partially enlarged view of an antenna according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively, before and after mounting an IC chip thereon. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an antenna sheet and a roll body around which the antenna sheet is wound. [Diagram 3] 4A to 4C are diagrams showing a portion of the IC chip mounting device according to the embodiment corresponding to an IC chip placement step. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 shows a chip-containing tape and its enlarged cross section. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a side view of a rotary mounter in the IC chip mounting device of the embodiment. [Figure 6] 1 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between a rotary mounter and an antenna sheet. FIG. [Figure 7] 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which the chip-including tape is separated by a separation roller. FIG. [Figure 8] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating the operation of supplying IC chips from the chip-containing tape to the nozzle unit. [Figure 9] 5A to 5C are diagrams showing a portion of the IC chip mounting device according to the embodiment that corresponds to a curing step. [Figure 10] 10 is a diagram showing a part of the pressing unit and an ultraviolet irradiator as viewed from an arrow J in FIG. 9. [Figure 11] 3A and 3B are a front view and a side view of a pressing unit included in the curing device of the embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a pressing unit circulation mechanism included in the curing device of the embodiment. [Figure 13] 13A and 13B are views showing cross sections BB and CC of FIG. 12. [Figure 14] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating the positional relationship of the pressing unit with respect to the rail in a tensioned state and a pressed state in the pressing unit circulation mechanism. [Figure 15] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating a sending-out operation of the pressing unit. [Figure 16] 4 is a functional block diagram of a control unit that controls the curing device. FIG. [Figure 17] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a method of conveying an antenna sheet according to an embodiment. [Figure 18] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating an IC chip placement process according to an embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a curing process according to an embodiment. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an ultraviolet curing unit in FIG. 19. [Figure 21] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a curing process according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, an IC chip mounting device and an IC chip mounting method according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The IC chip mounting device 1 according to the embodiment is a device that mounts an IC chip on a thin-film antenna when manufacturing an inlay for non-contact communication such as an RFID inlay. 1 shows an exemplary antenna AN having a predetermined antenna pattern, but is not intended to be limited to this antenna pattern. FIG. 1 also shows an enlarged view of a portion E before and after an IC chip C is mounted on the antenna AN. In this example, the IC chip C is mounted at a predetermined reference position Pref that is determined in advance based on the antenna pattern. The IC chip C is extremely small, for example, with a vertical and horizontal size of several hundred μm, and it is required to mount this extremely small IC chip C accurately at the reference position Pref.

[0009] To mount an IC chip C on the antenna AN, an IC chip placement process is required in which adhesive is applied toward the reference position Pref of the antenna AN and the IC chip C is placed on the adhesive, and a curing process is required in which the adhesive is hardened to strengthen the connection between the antenna AN and the IC chip C.

[0010] In the IC chip placement process described below, a roll PR is provided on which a strip-shaped antenna sheet AS (an example of an antenna continuum) having a plurality of antennas AN formed at a fixed pitch on a substrate BM is wound, as shown in Fig. 2. The antenna sheet AS is continuously pulled out from the roll PR and fed into the line for the IC chip placement process. The material of the substrate BM is not particularly limited, but examples thereof include paper substrates such as fine paper, coated paper, and art paper, synthetic resin films made from PET (polyethylene terephthalate), PE (polyethylene), PP (polypropylene), and PS (polystyrene), sheets combining multiple types of the above synthetic resins, and composite sheets combining synthetic resin films and paper. The antenna AN is formed, for example, by attaching a metal foil to a base material BM, or by screen printing or vapor depositing a conductive material in a predetermined pattern on the base material BM.

[0011] In the following description, the XYZ coordinate system is defined as shown in Fig. 2. In the following description, when referring to diagrams of the state in which the product is arranged in each process, a diagram viewed on the YZ plane is called a front view, a diagram viewed on the XY plane is called a plan view, and a diagram viewed on the XZ plane is called a side view. The X direction is the direction in which the antenna sheet AS unwound from the roll PR is transported in each process described below, and is also referred to as the transport direction D1. The Y direction is the width direction of the antenna sheet AS, and is also referred to as the width direction D2. The Z direction is the direction perpendicular to the antenna sheet AS.

[0012] (1) IC chip placement process The IC chip arrangement step will be described below with reference to Fig. 3 to Fig. 10. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing a portion of the IC chip mounting device 1 of the embodiment corresponding to the IC chip arrangement step. Fig. 4 shows a plan view of the chip-containing tape CT and an enlarged view of its AA cross section. In the IC chip placement process, the IC chip mounting device 1 can place extremely small IC chips with high precision at the reference positions Pref (see FIG. 1) of the antennas AN on the antenna sheet AS.

[0013] As shown in FIG. 3, in the IC chip placement process, the IC chip mounting apparatus 1 includes a conveyor 81, a dispenser 2, a rotary mounter 3, an ultraviolet irradiator 41, imaging devices CA1 to CA3, a tape feeder 71, a tape main body take-up reel 72, a film take-up reel 73, and a separation roller 74.

[0014] The conveyor 81 (an example of a conveying section) conveys the antenna sheet AS pulled out from a roll PR (see FIG. 2) toward the downstream process at a predetermined conveying speed. The upper surface of the conveyor 81 corresponds to the conveying surface. The dispenser 2 dispenses a fixed amount of anisotropic conductive paste (ACP; hereinafter simply referred to as "conductive paste") toward the reference position Pref of each antenna AN being transported. This conductive paste is an example of an ultraviolet-curing adhesive. The dispenser 2 is configured to be able to adjust the dispensing position in the width direction in order to accurately position the dispensing position relative to the reference position Pref of each antenna AN.

[0015] The imaging device CA1 is provided upstream of the dispenser 2 and captures an image of a portion of each antenna AN near the reference position Pref in order to determine a position to apply the conductive paste. The imaging device CA2 is provided downstream of the dispenser 2 and captures an image of a portion of each antenna AN near the reference position Pref in order to inspect whether the conductive paste has been applied to each antenna AN and to inspect whether the conductive paste has been accurately applied to an area including the reference position Pref.

[0016] The rotary mounter 3 (an example of an IC chip placement unit) is a chip mounter that places IC chips on the conductive paste applied to each antenna AN, and rotates counterclockwise in Fig. 3. The rotary mounter 3 is attached to a suspension plate 86, which is fixed to a support base 85. In other words, the rotary mounter 3 is suspended from above on the support base 85. As described later, the rotary mounter 3 picks up an IC chip from the chip-containing tape, and releases and places (mounts) the picked-up IC chip toward the reference position Pref of each antenna AN on the antenna sheet AS. At this time, a process is performed to correct the position and orientation of the picked-up IC chip in order to accurately place the IC chip at the reference position Pref of the antenna AN. The imaging device CA3 captures an image of the IC chip picked up by a nozzle (described later) for a correction process to correct the position and orientation of the IC chip when mounting the IC chip on the antenna AN.

[0017] The tape feeder 71 is loaded with a wound chip-containing tape containing IC chips, and is configured to sequentially draw out the chip-containing tape in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 at a speed synchronized with the rotary mounter 3 . Now, with reference to FIG. 4, an example of the chip-containing tape will be described. As shown in Fig. 4, the chip-including tape CT includes a tape body T in which recesses Td for containing IC chips C are formed at regular intervals, and a covering film CF attached to the tape body T so as to cover the recesses Td. The recesses Td are formed, for example, by embossing the tape body T. An IC chip C is contained in each recess Td along the extension direction of the chip-including tape CT. Mounting holes H are formed at regular intervals in the extension direction of the chip-including tape CT. The mounting holes H are provided for accurate positioning relative to the circumferential surface of the separation roller 74, and are inserted into protrusions 74p (described later) provided on the separation roller 74 when the chip-including tape CT is transported to the separation roller 74.

[0018] 4, suction holes Ts are formed between the bottom surface of the recess Td and the back surface (the surface opposite to the surface to which the cover film CF is adhered) of the tape body T. The suction holes Ts are provided to allow the separation roller 74 to suck the IC chip C so that the IC chip C does not fall out of the recess Td when the cover film CF is peeled off.

[0019] 3 again, at the separation roller 74, the covering film CF is peeled off from the chip-containing tape CT supplied from the tape feeder 71 via one or more auxiliary rollers, and the tape body T and the covering film CF are separated. The IC chips C exposed by the peeling of the covering film CF are successively sucked by each nozzle provided on the rotary mounter 3. After the chip-containing tape CT is separated into a tape body T and a covering film CF by the separation roller 74, the tape body T is wound onto the tape body take-up reel 72 via one or more auxiliary rollers, and the covering film CF is wound onto the film take-up reel 73 via one or more auxiliary rollers.

[0020] Next, the rotary mounter 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig. 5 is a side view of the rotary mounter 3 in the IC chip mounting device 1 of the embodiment. Fig. 6A is a plan view of a nozzle unit mounted on the rotary mounter 3. Fig. 6B is a side view of the nozzle unit 30. Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining the relationship between the rotary mounter 3 and the antenna sheet AS.

[0021] 5, a plurality of nozzle units 30-1 to 30-12 (12 in the illustrated example) are arranged radially from a rotary head 3H in the rotary mounter 3. In the following description, when referring to matters common to the nozzle units 30-1 to 30-12, they will be collectively referred to as nozzle unit 30. Although the rotary head 3H is not shown in detail, it is connected to a rotary drive motor that rotates the nozzle units 30-1 to 30-12 counterclockwise in FIG. 5, a vacuum pump for adsorbing the IC chip to the nozzle unit 30, and a blower for releasing the IC chip from the nozzle unit 30.

[0022] 6, the rotary head 3H is rotated counterclockwise by a rotary drive motor (not shown), which sequentially switches the position of each nozzle unit 30 on the circumference of the rotary head 3H. In other words, a specific nozzle unit 30 is positioned in turn at each of the 12 positions PA to PL on the circumference of the rotary head 3H, from position PA counterclockwise to position PL, so as to move along a circular orbit on a plane perpendicular to the transport surface, in response to the rotation of the rotary head 3H.

[0023] Here, position PA is a position where nozzle unit 30 picks up a new IC chip C from the chip-containing tape CT. Position PE is a position where an image of the IC chip C picked up by the nozzle of nozzle unit 30 is captured by imaging device CA3. Position PK is a position where the adsorbed IC chip C is released onto the conductive paste applied to the antenna AN on the transported antenna sheet AS. At position PK, the movement direction of the nozzle tip coincides with the transport direction D1 of the antenna sheet AS. At position PK, air is discharged from the nozzle of the nozzle unit 30 to release the IC chip C. At position PL, the nozzle unit 30 does not adsorb the IC chip C because the IC chip C has already been released at position PK. Note that at position PL, air may be released from the nozzle to remove dust that may adhere to the nozzle. Figure 6 shows an example in which a dust collection tray TR is disposed at position PL to collect dust that may be released from the nozzle.

[0024] 6, the nozzle unit 30-1 at position PA picks up a new IC chip C there, rotates counterclockwise while holding the IC chip C, releases the IC chip C when it reaches position PK, and then picks up a new IC chip C again when it returns to position PA, repeating this process. With this IC chip mounting method, IC chips can be continuously placed on each antenna AN without stopping the transport of the antenna sheet AS, resulting in high productivity.

[0025] The angular velocity of the rotary head 3H and the transport speed of the antenna sheet AS are set or controlled so that the nozzle units 30 that reach the position PK in sequence emit the IC chips C toward the reference positions Pref of the antennas AN of the antenna sheet AS transported from upstream. In order to reliably position the IC chips C, it is preferable to provide a section in which the speed of the tip of the nozzle unit 30 near the position PK and the transport speed of the antenna sheet AS are equal.

[0026] In this embodiment, an example in which twelve nozzle units 30 are arranged on the rotary head 3H is shown, but the number is not limited to this. The number of nozzle units 30 arranged on the rotary head 3H can be set arbitrarily.

[0027] Next, the operation of the nozzle unit 30 sucking the IC chip C will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the state in which the chip-including tape CT is separated by the separation roller 74. Fig. 8 is a side view near the separation roller 74, and is a diagram explaining the operation in which the IC chip C is supplied from the chip-including tape CT to the nozzle unit 30. In Fig. 8, only the chip-including tape CT is shown in cross section so that the state of the chip-including tape CT can be seen.

[0028] 7, the protrusion 74p of the separation roller 74 is inserted into the mounting hole H of the chip-including tape CT supplied from the tape feeder 71, and the chip-including tape CT is transported with the width direction of the chip-including tape CT positioned. At this time, the covering film CF of the chip-including tape CT is peeled off by the branching member 75 and directed toward the film take-up reel 73. On the other hand, the tape body T of the chip-including tape CT is directed toward the tape body take-up reel 72.

[0029] 8, the IC chip C exposed by peeling off the cover film CF is immediately sucked by the nozzle unit 30. At this time, in order to prevent the IC chip C from dropping during the short time from when the IC chip C is exposed to when it is sucked by the nozzle unit 30, the separation roller 74 is provided with a suction path (not shown) for sucking the IC chip C toward the center of rotation of the separation roller 74. The IC chip C is sucked through this suction path and a suction hole Ts (see FIG. 4) provided in the tape main body T.

[0030] (2) Curing process Next, the curing step will be described with reference to FIGS. In the curing process, the conductive paste applied to each antenna that has undergone the above-mentioned IC chip placement process is cured to strengthen the physical connection between the antenna and the IC chip as well as to ensure electrical continuity between the antenna and the IC chip.

[0031] Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a portion corresponding to the curing step in the IC chip mounting device 1 of the embodiment. Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a part of the pressing unit 6 and an ultraviolet irradiator 42 as seen from the arrow J in Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is a diagram showing the pressing unit 6 included in the curing device 4 of the embodiment. Fig. 12 is a plan view of the pressing unit circulation mechanism 5 included in the curing device 4 of the embodiment. Note that a lower rail 51L, which will be described later, is omitted in Fig. 12.

[0032] As shown in FIG. 9, in the curing step, the IC chip mounting apparatus 1 includes a conveyor 82, a curing device 4, and an imaging device CA4. The conveyor 82 conveys the antenna sheet AS, which is conveyed from an upstream IC chip arrangement process, downstream at a predetermined conveying speed. The upper surface of the conveyor 82 corresponds to the conveying surface. The imaging device CA4 is disposed above the antenna sheet AS at the most upstream side in the curing process (i.e., the most downstream side in the IC chip placement process) and captures an image of each antenna AN conveyed from the IC chip placement process. The imaging device CA4 is provided to inspect whether the IC chips are placed in appropriate positions in the IC chip placement process.

[0033] 9, the curing device 4 has a pressing unit circulation mechanism 5 as a pressing unit moving mechanism and an ultraviolet irradiator 42 (an example of a light irradiation section). As shown in Fig. 9 and Fig. 12, the pressing unit circulation mechanism 5 includes a circulation rail 51 consisting of an upper rail 51U and a lower rail 51L, a main belt 52 and gears 521 and 522, an auxiliary belt 53, a delivery gear 54, and a pressing unit 6. The pressing unit circulation mechanism 5 circulates the pressing units 6 along a predetermined circular track. The pressing unit 6 moves up and down in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface, and presses the IC chips arranged on the conductive paste of the antennas AN while irradiating each antenna AN with ultraviolet light. The number of pressing units 6 provided in the pressing unit circulation mechanism 5 is not limited, but from the viewpoints of productivity and cost, it is preferable that the number can be set to any number equal to or greater than two. The ultraviolet irradiator 42 is disposed along the conveying direction D1, so that it is possible to simultaneously irradiate ultraviolet rays onto many antennas AN on the antenna sheet AS.

[0034] In the IC chip mounting device 1 of this embodiment, a thermosetting adhesive such as an epoxy resin may be applied to the antenna AN by the dispenser 2, and a thermosetting device may be provided instead of the ultraviolet irradiator .

[0035] 9, preferably, a plurality of (eight in the illustrated example) pressing units 6 simultaneously press the IC chips arranged on the conductive paste of a plurality of (eight in the illustrated example) antennas AN being transported. At this time, the conveyor 82 does not stop transporting the antenna sheet AS, and while the pressing units 6 and the pressed antennas AN move at a constant speed in the transport direction D1, ultraviolet rays are irradiated to each antenna AN by the ultraviolet irradiator 42. This has the advantage of extremely high productivity when fixing IC chips to the antennas AN.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 10, a state in which ultraviolet light is irradiated onto each antenna AN by an ultraviolet irradiator 42 is shown. The ultraviolet irradiator 42 has a light source 42e, such as an LED (Light Emitting Device), etc. The light source 42e is configured to irradiate the antenna AN with ultraviolet light from a direction inclined obliquely with respect to the transport plane. The side surface of the pressing portion 61 of the pressing unit 6 (that is, the surface on the side where the ultraviolet irradiator 42 is disposed) is open. The glass plate 61p constituting the pressing surface of the pressing portion 61 is made of glass that transmits ultraviolet light.

[0037] Next, the configuration of the pressing unit 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 11, the pressing unit 6 has a pressing part 61, a housing 62, a shaft 63, and a roller holding part 66. A pair of lower rollers 64L and a pair of lateral rollers 65 that rotate on the lower rail 51L are attached to the housing 62. A pair of upper rollers 64U that rotate on the upper rail 51U are attached to the roller holding part 66. The lower rollers 64L and the upper rollers 64U are rollers adapted to rotate on a horizontal plane, and the lateral rollers 65 are rollers adapted to rotate on a vertical plane.

[0038] One end of the shaft 63 is connected to the pressing portion 61, and the other end of the shaft 63 is connected to the roller holding portion 66. The shaft 63 is displaceable relative to the housing 62 in the vertical direction in FIG. A spring (not shown) is built into the housing 62. In Fig. 11, the pressing portion 61, the shaft 63, and the roller holding portion 66 are shown in a free state in which no external force is applied by solid lines, and in a tension state (a state in which an external force is applied) by virtual lines. When the external force is released in the tension state, the spring's restoring force causes them to return to the free state. Although a coil spring may be used as the spring, it is preferable to use a magnetic spring. A magnetic spring has the advantage that the pressing force is constant regardless of the stroke amount, so that it is difficult to damage the IC chip, and the deterioration of characteristics after long-term use is extremely small.

[0039] A pair of V-shaped grooves 62g are formed in the housing 62. The number of the V-shaped grooves 62g is not limited, but each groove is shaped so as to fit with the main belt 52 and the delivery gear . It is preferable that a permanent magnet is built into the housing 62. By building in the permanent magnet, as described below, the multiple pressing units 6 can be made to overlap each other in the waiting section by magnetic force, so that the pressing units 6 can be sent out with accurate timing.

[0040] The pressing portion 61 has a gap 61h formed on the side where the V-groove portion 62g is formed, and a glass plate 61p that transmits ultraviolet light is attached to the bottom. As shown in Fig. 10, when irradiation is being performed by the ultraviolet irradiator 42, the IC chip is pressed by the bottom surface of the glass plate 61p. By providing the glass plate 61p that transmits ultraviolet light at the bottom of the glass plate 61p, the IC chip can be pressed while being irradiated with ultraviolet light.

[0041] 12, in the pressing unit circulation mechanism 5, the gears 521 and 522 are driven by a main belt drive motor M41 (not shown in FIG. 12) to rotate counterclockwise at a constant angular velocity. In response to the rotation of the gears 521 and 522, the main belt 52 meshing with each gear moves circulatingly around the gears 521 and 522 at a constant speed along the orbit of the pressing unit 6. The auxiliary belt 53 is, for example, a flat belt or a V-belt, and is driven at a constant speed in a clockwise direction in Fig. 12 by an auxiliary belt drive motor M42 (not shown in Fig. 12). The auxiliary belt 53 has a role of accelerating the pressing unit 6 along the rail by engaging with the V-groove portion 62g of the pressing unit 6.

[0042] The send-out gear 54 is configured to mesh with the V-groove portion 62g of the pressing unit 6, is a gear operated by a send-out belt drive motor M43 (not shown in FIG. 12), and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 12. The send-out gear 54 is provided to send the pressing unit 6 from the standby position toward the antenna sheet AS being conveyed. The timing at which the send-out gear 54 operates is controlled by the control unit 200, which will be described later. Note that instead of the send-out gear 54, a send-out belt having a V-groove portion on the outside may be used.

[0043] Next, the operation of the pressing unit circulation mechanism 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig. 13 is a diagram showing cross sections BB and CC of Fig. 12. Fig. 14 is a diagram explaining the positional relationship of the pressing unit 6 with respect to the circulation rail 51 in the tension state and the pressing state in the pressing unit circulation mechanism 5. Fig. 15 is a diagram explaining the sending operation of the pressing unit 6.

[0044] For the convenience of the following description, the circulation path of the pressing unit 6 is divided into sections S1 to S5 in FIG. 12, and each section will be described in turn. As shown in FIG. 13, when the pressing unit 6 circulates on the circulation rail 51, a pair of upper rollers 64U of the pressing unit 6 rotate while contacting the upper surface 511 of the upper rail 51U, and a pair of lower rollers 64L of the pressing unit 6 rotate while contacting the bottom surface 512 of the lower rail 51L.

[0045] Here, the height of bottom surface 512 of lower rail 51L with respect to the transport surface of conveyor 82 is constant over one circumference of lower rail 51L. In contrast, the height of upper surface 511 of upper rail 51U relative to the transport surface of conveyor 82 varies throughout one revolution. Specifically, the height of upper surface 511 of upper rail 51U is lowest in section S1 in Fig. 12 and highest in sections S3 and S4. The height of upper surface 511 of upper rail 51U gradually increases as one moves counterclockwise in Fig. 12 in section S2, and gradually decreases as one moves counterclockwise in Fig. 12 in section S5. When pressing unit 6 is located in section S1, top surface 511 of upper rail 51U is the lowest in one revolution, pressing unit 6 is in a pressing state close to a free state, and pressing portion 61 is at the lowest position in one revolution. The positions of top surface 511 of upper rail 51U and bottom surface 512 of lower rail 51L are set so that pressing unit 6 comes into contact with the antenna in this state and presses it.

[0046] 12, in section S1, each pressing unit 6 moves directly above each antenna of the antenna sheet AS along the conveying direction D1 of the antenna sheet AS. In section S1, the V-groove portion 62g of each pressing unit 6 meshes with the main belt 52, and each pressing unit 6 moves according to the speed of the main belt 52. As described above, in section S1, the top surface 511 of the upper rail 51U is the lowest in the entire circumference, and each pressing unit 6 is in a pressing state close to a free state as shown in Fig. 14, so that the pressing portion 61 protrudes downward. When the pressing unit 6 is in the pressing state as shown in Fig. 9, the repulsive force of the spring built into the pressing unit 6 presses the IC chip placed on the conductive paste on the corresponding antenna of the antenna sheet AS.

[0047] In section S2, as described above, the height of the top surface 511 of the upper rail 51U gradually increases as it moves counterclockwise in Fig. 12. Therefore, the shaft 63 is gradually lifted (pulled) against the restoring force of the spring, and at the end of section S2, it reaches the tension state of Fig. 14. In section S2, the V-groove portion 62g of each pressing unit 6 meshes with the main belt 52, and each pressing unit 6 moves according to the speed of the main belt 52. In section S2, since the upper surface 511 of the upper rail 51U gradually becomes higher than in section S1, the roller holding portion 66 of each pressing unit 6 is pulled upward against the restoring force of the spring, whereby the pressing portion 61 moves upward.

[0048] When the start position of section S3 is reached, the pressing unit 6 is released from meshing with the main belt 52. That is, as can be seen by comparing the BB cross section and the CC cross section in Fig. 13, in sections S3 and S4 (see the CC cross section), the upper rail 51U and the lower rail 51L are offset outward as a whole (offset amount ofs in Fig. 13) with respect to the final position of section S2 and the start position of section S5 (both see the BB cross section), and as a result, the pair of lateral rollers 65 of the pressing unit 6 rotate following the inner surface 513 of the lower rail 51L, and the V-groove portion 62g of the pressing unit 6 moves away from the main belt 52. In section S3, after the pressing units 6 are no longer in contact with the main belt 52, the auxiliary belts 53 rotating clockwise in Fig. 12 come into contact with the outer V-groove portions 62g of the pressing units 6 and strongly push them out, thereby accelerating the pressing units 6 in the counterclockwise direction along the circulating rail 51. The pressing units 6 are accelerated in section S3 in order to avoid a situation in which the number of pressing units 6 is insufficient in section S4, which is a standby section for the pressing units 6. In section S3 and section S4 described later, the upper surface 511 of the upper rail 51U is the highest in one revolution, and as shown in FIG. 14, each pressing unit 6 is in a tension state.

[0049] Section S4 is a waiting section (an example of a waiting position) where the pressing units 6, which are accelerated and sent in sequence in section S3, wait until they are sent out. As described above, it is preferable that a permanent magnet is built into the housing 62 of the pressing unit 6, so that the pressing units 6 are brought into close contact with each other by magnetic force and wait in an overlapping state. In section S4, the sending gear 54 meshes with the V-groove portion 62g of the pressing unit 6 located at the front among the multiple waiting pressing units 6. Then, at a timing determined by the control unit 200 described later, the sending gear 54 rotates clockwise in Fig. 12, thereby sending out the pressing unit 6 located at the front. In the waiting section, the pressing units 6 are overlapped with each other by magnetic force, so that the pressing units 6 can be sent out one by one from the waiting section S4 with accurate timing.

[0050] The sending-out operation of the pressing unit 6 will be further described with reference to Fig. 15. Fig. 15 is a diagram showing the engagement state of the V-groove portion 62g with the main belt 52 and the sending-out gear 54 for the pressing unit 6 near the sending-out gear 54. As shown in FIG. 15, the inner V-groove portion 62g of the pressing units 6-1, 6-2, ... in the waiting section S4 is not engaged with the main belt 52, but the outer V-groove portion 62g of the pressing unit 6-1 located at the front is engaged with the sending gear 54. In this state, when the sending gear 54 rotates clockwise based on a command from the control unit 200 described later, the pressing unit 6-1 moves to the left side of FIG. 15 and is sent out. At this time, the lower rail 51L is formed so that the pair of lateral rollers 65 of the pressing unit 6 move along the trajectory shown by the imaginary line (i.e., move toward the main belt 52 by the offset amount ofs also shown in FIG. 13). Therefore, the pushed-out pressing unit 6-1 moves inward toward the main belt 52, and the inner V-groove portion 62g comes to engage with the main belt 52 at the start position of the section S5. After the inner V-groove portion 62g meshes with the main belt 52, the pressing unit 6-1 operates in accordance with the movement of the main belt 52 in section S5.

[0051] That is, in section S5, the V-shaped groove portion 62g of each pressing unit 6 meshes with the main belt 52, and each pressing unit 6 moves according to the speed of the main belt 52. As described above, the height of the top surface 511 of the upper rail 51U gradually decreases as it moves counterclockwise in FIG. 12. Therefore, the shaft 63 gradually moves down due to the restoring force of the spring, and at the end of section S5, it reaches the pressing state shown in FIG. 14. In the pressing state, the pressing portion 61 of the pressing unit 6 is at the lowest position in one revolution and is in a state where it can press each antenna being transported. In this state, each pressing unit 6 proceeds to section S1 and presses the IC chip placed on the conductive paste of each antenna being transported.

[0052] As described above, each pressing unit 6 moves up and down in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface while circulating along the orbit (sections S1 to S5) of the circulating rail 51, to press the IC chips arranged on the conductive paste of the antenna AN. Because the pressing units 6 move in a circulating manner, a predetermined number of pressing units 6 can be continuously used for pressing.

[0053] Next, the control performed by the control unit 200 that controls the curing device 4 will be described with reference to Fig. 16. Fig. 16 is a functional block diagram of the control unit 200. The control unit 200 is mounted on a circuit board (not shown), and is electrically connected to the imaging device CA4, the main belt drive motor M41, the auxiliary belt drive motor M42, the delivery belt drive motor M43, and the ultraviolet irradiator . The control unit 200 includes a microcomputer, memory (RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory)), storage, and a group of driving circuits. The microcomputer reads and executes a program recorded in the memory, and realizes the functions of the belt driving means 201, the delivery timing determination means 203, and the hardening execution means 204.

[0054] The belt driving means 201 sends control signals to the driving circuits of the main belt driving motor M41 and the auxiliary belt driving motor M42 so that the main belt 52 and the auxiliary belt 53 are driven at equal speeds. The belt driving means 201 sends a control signal to the driving circuit of the delivery belt driving motor M43 in accordance with the delivery timing determined by the delivery timing determination means 203, thereby rotating the delivery gear 54 at the delivery timing. As a result, the pressing unit 6 at the head of the waiting section is delivered as shown in FIG.

[0055] The sending timing determination means 203 determines the sending timing for sending out the leading pressing unit 6 among the multiple pressing units 6 in the waiting section in the pressing unit circulation mechanism 5. In determining the sending timing, each parameter of the speed of the main belt 52 and the conveying speed by the conveyor 82 is taken into consideration. That is, the sending timing of each pressing unit 6 is determined based on each parameter so that each pressing unit 6 sent out in order from the waiting section S4 meets with the corresponding antenna AN passing through the imaging device CA4 at the start position of section S1.

[0056] The curing execution means 204 sends a predetermined drive signal to the ultraviolet irradiator 42 so that the ultraviolet irradiator 42 irradiates each of the transported antennas AN with an integrated light amount set in advance.

[0057] As described above, a strip-shaped antenna sheet on which a plurality of antennas are formed at a fixed pitch on a substrate is fed into the line, and an IC chip is mounted on each antenna through an IC chip placement process and a hardening process. In the IC chip placement process, the IC chip mounting device of this embodiment applies adhesive toward the reference position of the antenna and places an IC chip on the adhesive, and hardens the adhesive in the hardening process to strengthen the connection between the antenna and the IC chip. In particular, in the hardening process of this embodiment, light is irradiated in a state in which the IC chip placed on the conductive paste is pressed against the antenna without stopping the conveyance of the antenna sheet on which a plurality of antennas are formed. Therefore, the productivity when fixing the IC chip to the antenna is extremely high. In other words, the productivity can be improved in the inlay manufacturing process.

[0058] Although the embodiments of the IC chip mounting device and the IC chip mounting method have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiments can be variously improved or modified without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

[0059] For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the antenna sheet AS is transported in one direction on the conveyor 81 in the IC chip arrangement process, but the present invention is not limited to this. In one embodiment, as shown in FIG. 17, in the IC chip arrangement step, the antenna sheet AS may be transported by suction drums 92, 94 and a plurality of transport rollers (for example, transport rollers 91, 93, 95 in FIG. 17). In FIG. 17, at the highest position of the suction drum 92, the dispenser 2 dispenses conductive paste onto the reference position of the antenna AN on the antenna sheet AS. Also, at the highest position of the suction drum 94, the IC chip is arranged on the conductive paste. In this case, it is preferable that at least the suction drums 92, 94 are suction rollers that adsorb the back surface of the antenna sheet AS. This makes it possible to prevent the antenna sheet AS from shifting in position (particularly in the longitudinal direction), and allows the discharge of the conductive paste and the arrangement of the IC chip to be performed with high precision.

[0060] In one embodiment, instead of releasing the IC chip onto the conductive paste applied to the antenna AN on the transported antenna sheet AS, the IC chip may be placed by pressing it against the conductive paste. 18 shows a time series of operations of the rotary mounter 3 when placing an IC chip by pressing it against the conductive paste. In one embodiment, each nozzle unit 30 of the rotary mounter 3 is configured to be individually movable in a radial direction by a built-in driving device. In state ST1, the nozzle unit 30 has adsorbed the IC chip C. When placing the adsorbed IC chip C, as shown in state ST2, the nozzle unit 30 is moved toward the reference position (i.e., downward, i.e., in the Z direction in FIG. 2) so as to extend in the radial direction (diameter direction), and the IC chip C is pressed onto the conductive paste applied to the antenna AN to place the IC chip C on the conductive paste. After the IC chip C is placed, the adsorption is released and the nozzle unit 30 is returned to the position of state ST1. For example, the operations of states ST1 to ST3 are performed at the timing when the nozzle unit 30 reaches position PK (see FIG. 6), so that the IC chip C is placed on the conductive paste applied to the antenna AN.

[0061] The curing process is not limited to using the curing device 4 that circulates the pressing units 6. The curing step of one embodiment is shown in Fig. 19. Fig. 19 shows a curing device 4A used in the curing step of one embodiment. The curing device 4A has multiple ultraviolet curing units 43 removably attached to a mounting plate 44. Multiple mounting plates 44 with different mounting positions are prepared according to the spacing between adjacent antennas AN of the antenna sheet AS, and by replacing the mounting plate 44 according to the spacing, it is possible to accommodate various antenna sheets AS. The support shaft 45 supports the mounting plate 44 and is configured to be able to raise and lower the mounting plate 44. The antenna sheet AS conveyed from the IC chip arrangement process is sent to the curing process via conveyor rollers 96 to 98. The conveyor roller 97 is configured to be able to raise and lower by a driving device (not shown).

[0062] A configuration example of the ultraviolet curing unit 43 is shown in Fig. 20. As shown in Fig. 20, the ultraviolet curing unit 43 incorporates a light source 432 (e.g., an LED light source) for irradiating ultraviolet rays into a housing 431. The light source 432 is powered by a cable 436 (not shown in Fig. 19) provided from the outside of the ultraviolet curing unit 43. A condenser lens for condensing the ultraviolet rays irradiated by the light source 432 may be provided inside the housing 431. The holding plate 434 is connected to the housing 431 and holds a glass plate 435. The ultraviolet rays irradiated from the light source 432 are irradiated onto the conductive paste applied to each antenna AN, curing the conductive paste.

[0063] 19 again, the conveying state shows the state in which the antenna sheet AS is conveyed from the IC chip arrangement process. The conveying of the antenna sheet AS is stopped at the timing when the antenna AN, on which the uncured conductive paste is applied, is positioned directly below the ultraviolet curing unit 43. Then, in the state in which the conveying of the antenna sheet AS is stopped (stopped state), the ultraviolet curing unit 43 is moved downward to irradiate the antenna AN with ultraviolet rays while pressing it with the glass plate 435, thereby curing the conductive paste.

[0064] Even in the stopped state, the antenna sheet AS is transported from the IC chip arrangement process, so the transport roller 97 descends under its own weight while ultraviolet light is being irradiated, and absorbs the transported antenna sheet AS between the transport rollers 96 and 98. When the ultraviolet light irradiation is completed, the antennas AN corresponding to the number of the ultraviolet light curing units 43 are rapidly transported downstream, and the uncured antennas AN are stopped so that they are positioned directly below the ultraviolet light curing units 43. In other words, in the curing process of one embodiment, the transport state and the stopped state (state in which ultraviolet light is irradiated) of the antenna sheet AS are repeated. When the antenna AN is rapidly transported, the transport roller 97 rises due to the tension applied to the antenna sheet AS.

[0065] The curing step of the embodiment may be performed using a heat curing device. That is, when a heat curing adhesive such as an epoxy resin is applied by the dispenser 2, the adhesive is cured by a heat curing process in the curing step. FIG. 21 shows a curing device 4B configured to repeatedly convey and stop the antenna sheet AS, similarly to FIG. 19. Unlike the curing device 4A, the curing device 4B includes a plurality of thermal curing units 46. A heat source is provided in each thermal curing unit 46, which is powered by a cable (not shown). When the antenna sheet AS is stopped, the support shaft 45 is driven to descend, and each thermal curing unit 46 presses the corresponding antenna AN while heating and curing the adhesive. When heating is completed, the support shaft 45 is driven to ascend, and the antenna sheet AS is conveyed.

[0066] In addition, in FIG. 19, when the conductive paste is cured by ultraviolet light, instead of the ultraviolet curing unit 43 having a built-in light source, a pressing unit that presses the antenna AN through a glass plate may be used, and an ultraviolet irradiation device may be provided that irradiates ultraviolet light from the outside in the width direction or diagonally from above onto the conductive paste on the antenna AN that is pressed in a stopped state. In one embodiment, in order to avoid stopping the antenna sheet AS when irradiating ultraviolet rays, as shown in Figure 9, multiple ultraviolet curing units 43 may be circulated in sync with the traveling speed of the antenna sheet AS, and ultraviolet rays may be irradiated by the built-in light source while pressing the antenna AN. Similarly, in one embodiment, when the conductive paste is thermally cured, a plurality of thermal curing units 46 may be cyclically moved in conjunction with the traveling speed of the antenna sheet AS to heat the antenna AN while pressing it. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1...IC chip mounting device, 2...dispenser, 3...rotary mounter, 3H...rotary head, 4, 4A, 4B...curing device, 5...pressure unit circulation mechanism, 6...pressure unit, 30...nozzle unit, 41, 42...ultraviolet irradiator, 42e...light source, 43...ultraviolet curing unit, 44...mounting plate, 45...support shaft, 46...thermal curing unit, 51...circulation rail, 51L...lower rail, 51U...upper rail, 52...main belt, 53...auxiliary belt, 54...feed gear, 61...pressure section, 61h...gap, 61p...glass plate, 62...housing, 62g...V-groove section, 63...shaft, 64L...lower roller, 64U...upper roller, 65...lateral roller, 66...roller holding section, 71...tape feeder, 72...tape main body take-up reel, 73...fil take-up reel, 74...separation roller, 74p...projection, 75...diverging member, 81, 82...conveyor, 85...support base, 86...suspension plate, 91, 93, 95-98...transport roller, 92, 94...suction drum, 200...control unit, 201...belt driving means, 203...delivery timing determination means, 204...curing execution means, 511...upper surface, 512...bottom surface, 513...inner surface, 521, 522...gear, AN...antenna, AS...antenna sheet, BM...substrate, C...IC chip, CA1-CA4...imaging device, CF...covering film, CT...chip-containing tape, H...mounting hole, M41...main belt driving motor, M42...auxiliary belt driving motor, M43...delivery belt driving motor, PR...roll body, T...tape body, TR...dust collection tray, Td...recess, Ts...suction hole

Claims

1. a conveying section that conveys an antenna continuum having a plurality of antennas for inlay formed continuously on a substrate on a predetermined conveying surface; an IC chip placement unit that places an IC chip on a photocurable adhesive provided at a predetermined reference position of each antenna of the antenna continuum; a light beam irradiation unit that irradiates light beams onto the adhesive on each antenna of the antenna continuum, the antenna continuum having an IC chip disposed thereon and being transported by the transport unit; a pressing unit that operates in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface and presses the IC chip placed on the adhesive; Equipped with the light beam irradiation unit irradiates the light beam in a state in which the IC chip placed on the adhesive is pressed toward the antenna by the pressing unit, the pressing unit causes the light beam to pass through while pressing an IC chip placed on the adhesive toward an antenna so that the light beam emitted from the light beam irradiation unit is irradiated onto the adhesive. Device equipped with IC chip.

2. The light beam irradiation unit is disposed on the conveying surface along a conveying direction of the antenna continuum.

2. An IC chip mounting device according to claim 1.

3. The pressing unit is disposed above the IC chip on the antenna continuum.

3. An IC chip mounting device according to claim 1 or 2.

4. The conveying unit is switchable so as to repeatedly switch between a conveying state in which the antenna continuum is conveyed and a stopped state in which the conveying of the antenna continuum is stopped, the light beam irradiation unit irradiates the adhesive with the light beam in the stopped state, the pressing unit presses the IC chip placed on the adhesive when in the stopped state; 4. An IC chip mounted device according to claim 1.

5. A pressing unit moving mechanism is provided which sends out the pressing unit from a standby position toward the antenna on the conveying surface and moves the pressing unit along the conveying surface while circulating the pressing unit along a predetermined circular orbit.

4. An IC chip mounted device according to claim 1.

6. A plurality of the pressing units are provided, the pressing unit moving mechanism sends out each of the plurality of pressing units from the standby position at a predetermined timing; 6. An IC chip mounting device according to claim 5.

7. the pressing unit has a pressing surface made of glass that presses the IC chip placed on the adhesive and transmits the light beam; 7. An IC chip mounting device according to claim 1.

8. The light irradiation unit is built into the pressing unit.

8. An IC chip mounted device according to claim 1.

9. A plurality of antennas for inlay are continuously formed on a substrate, and an antenna continuum is formed by a predetermined method. The material is conveyed on the conveying surface of A photocurable adhesive is discharged by a dispenser at a predetermined reference position of each antenna of the antenna continuum, and an IC chip is placed on the discharged adhesive; a light beam is irradiated onto the adhesive on each antenna of the antenna continuum while pressing the IC chip placed on the adhesive toward the antenna, The IC chip is pressed against the antenna by raising and lowering a pressing unit in a direction perpendicular to the conveying surface. the pressing unit causes the light beam to pass through while pressing an IC chip placed on the adhesive toward an antenna so that the light beam is irradiated onto the adhesive; IC chip mounting method.

10. The pressing unit is disposed above the IC chip on the antenna continuum.

10. The IC chip mounting method according to claim 9.

11. The conveying of the antenna continuum is performed by repeating a conveying state in which the antenna continuum is conveyed and a stopped state in which the conveying of the antenna continuum is stopped; irradiating the adhesive with the light beam when in the stopped state; the pressing unit presses the IC chip placed on the adhesive when in the stopped state; 11. The IC chip mounting method according to claim 9 or 10.

12. the pressing unit is sent from a standby position toward the antenna on the conveying surface, and is caused to circulate along a predetermined circular orbit while being moved along the conveying surface; 11. The IC chip mounting method according to claim 9 or 10.

13. sending out each of the plurality of pressing units from the standby positions at a predetermined timing; 13. The IC chip mounting method according to claim 12.

Images