Inspection Equipment

Abstract

This inspection device is provided with an upper mechanism that includes a table provided with a placement surface for inspection, a lower mechanism which supports the upper mechanism so as to allow rotation, and a lifting / lowering operation unit which is supported by the upper mechanism so as to allow lifting and lowering, wherein the lower mechanism comprises a rotation drive unit which rotates the upper mechanism, and a press-up force output unit which drives lifting and lowering of the lifting / lowering operation unit, and on the bottom end of the lifting / lowering operation unit, a transmission member is provided which the distal end of the press-up force output unit can contact or separate from.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an inspection apparatus for inspecting an object to be inspected, such as a substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been known a printed circuit board in which wiring patterns are formed point-symmetrically on the same plane. In order to inspect such a printed circuit board, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2015-36625, a printed circuit board inspection device is known in which a printed circuit board placed on a flat tray is sandwiched between an upper inspection jig and a lower inspection jig, and inspection pins provided on the upper inspection jig are brought into contact with wiring formed on the upper surface of the printed circuit board to inspect the continuity or insulation between the inspection pins and the wiring.

[0003] This printed circuit board inspection device is provided with a board reversing unit that reverses the direction of the printed circuit board placed on the tray, and after inspecting the wiring pattern formed on the printed circuit board in a certain direction, the direction of the printed circuit board is changed, for example by rotating the table on which the tray is placed, by 180 degrees, and wiring inspection is performed on the printed circuit board placed on the tray for the wiring pattern in the reverse direction in the same procedure as for the forward direction. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-36625 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Incidentally, when rotating the table as described above, if the weight of the table is heavy, the load on the rotary drive unit that rotates the table becomes large. On the other hand, if an attempt is made to improve the functionality of the table, there is a risk that the weight will increase in order to realize the functionality.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an inspection device that can easily reduce the risk of increased load on the rotary drive unit due to increased weight while improving the functionality of the object driven by the rotary drive unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An inspection device according to one example of the present invention comprises an upper mechanism including a table on which an inspection object is placed, a lower mechanism rotatably supporting the upper mechanism, and a lifting operation unit supported on the upper mechanism so as to be able to rise and fall. The lower mechanism comprises a rotation drive unit which rotates the upper mechanism, and a push-up force output unit which is aligned to face the lifting operation unit and drives the lifting operation unit to rise and fall. The lifting operation unit is disposed at a position facing the push-up force output unit when the rotation angle of the upper mechanism relative to the lower mechanism is a preset angle. A transmission member with which the tip of the push-up force output unit can come into contact or separate is provided at the lower end of the lifting operation unit.

[0008] Moreover, an inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes a transport mechanism for transporting the inspection object, a control unit for controlling the push-up force output unit and the transport mechanism, and an inspection unit for inspecting the inspection object placed on the placement surface. The transport mechanism has an inspection object holding unit for holding the inspection object. The control unit is configured to execute the following controls: operate the push-up force output unit to cause the upper end of the protruding rod to protrude to the push-up position, operate the transport mechanism to cause the inspection object to be held by the inspection object holding unit, transport the inspection object above the placement surface and place it on the upper end of the protruding rod, and retract the inspection object holding unit from below the inspection object, and stop the operation of the push-up force output unit to lower the multiple protruding rods to the retracted position, thereby placing the inspection object on the placement surface. Effect of the Invention

[0009] An inspection device configured in this manner can easily reduce the risk of an increase in the load on the rotary drive unit due to an increase in weight, while improving the functionality of the object driven by the rotary drive unit. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an inspection device according to an example of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a mounting table of the inspection device. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. [Diagram 5] 3 is a perspective view showing the mounting table as viewed from an angle different from that in FIG. 2. [Figure 6] 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI in FIG. 4. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing a lowered state of the pressing member. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII in FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a specific configuration of a lower mechanism. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a specific configuration of an object to be inspected. [Figure 11] FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing a control operation of a control unit. [Figure 12] 13 is a plan view showing a modified example of a unit substrate arranged on an inspection target; FIG. [Figure 13] 13 is a plan view showing another modified example of a unit substrate provided on an inspection target. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to denote the same configuration, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0012] The inspection device 1 shown in FIG. 1 broadly comprises a stage 2 for the inspection object 100, a transport mechanism 4, an inspection unit 5, a control unit 6, and a support frame 7 that supports these. In each figure, XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes are appropriately shown to clarify directional relationships as necessary. The Z direction corresponds to the height direction of the stage 2. The X direction corresponds to the depth direction of the stage 2 perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1. The Y direction corresponds to the width direction of the stage 2 extending in the left-right direction of FIG. 1.

[0013] The inspection unit 5 includes an inspection jig 72 having a conductive rod-shaped probe Pr and a support member 71 that supports a plurality of the probes Pr.

[0014] The transport mechanism 4 includes a base unit 8 and a transport drive unit 9 having a conventionally known robot arm or the like supported on the base unit 8. At the tip of the transport drive unit 9, an inspection object holder 10 consisting of a substantially fork-shaped or flat holding plate, clamp claws, or the like is provided.

[0015] The transport drive unit 9 has a function of moving the inspection object holder 10 horizontally and vertically, etc. When inspecting the inspection object 100, the inspection object 100 is taken out of a supply cassette (not shown) by the transport mechanism 4 and transported onto the mounting table 2. After the inspection of the inspection object 100 is completed, the inspection object 100 is taken out of the mounting table 2 by the transport mechanism 4 and carried out to an installation portion of a storage cassette (not shown).

[0016] A first moving mechanism 13 including an elevation drive mechanism for raising and lowering the mounting table 2 in the Z direction is provided below the mounting table 2. A second moving mechanism 14 including a screw feed mechanism for moving the mounting table 2 and the first moving mechanism 13 in the X direction is provided below the first moving mechanism 13. A third moving mechanism 15 including a screw feed mechanism for moving the mounting table 2, the first moving mechanism 13, and the second moving mechanism 14 in the Y direction is provided below the second moving mechanism 14.

[0017] The mounting table 2 includes an upper mechanism 34 having a table 33 on which the inspection object 100 is placed, and a lower mechanism 35 arranged below the upper mechanism 34. An alignment camera 37 and a laser displacement meter 38 are disposed above the mounting table 2. The alignment camera 37 and the laser displacement meter 38 have the function of detecting the placement position and placement angle of the inspection object 100 placed on the table 33.

[0018] The control unit 6 has a function of determining whether or not the placement position and placement angle of the inspection object 100 placed on the table 33 are appropriate, in response to detection signals from the alignment camera 37 and the laser displacement meter 38. In response to the result of this determination, the control unit 6 executes control for finely adjusting the placement position etc. of the inspection object 100.

[0019] As shown in Fig. 2, the upper mechanism 34 has an upper main body 42 that is rotationally driven by a rotation drive unit 40 provided in the lower mechanism 35, and first lifting and lowering operation units 43a, 43b and second lifting and lowering operation units 44a, 44b that are supported by the upper main body 42 so as to be movable up and down. In Figs. 2 and 3, the first lifting and lowering operation unit located on one side of the mounting table 2 is indicated by reference numeral 43a, and the first lifting and lowering operation unit located on the other side of the mounting table 2 is indicated by reference numeral 43b. In addition, the second lifting and lowering operation unit located on one side of the mounting table 2 is indicated by reference numeral 44a, and the second lifting and lowering operation unit located on the other side of the mounting table 2 is indicated by reference numeral 44b.

[0020] The upper body 42 has a table 33 having a mounting surface 36 for the inspection object 100, a support plate 45 that supports the table 33, an intermediate plate 46 fixed to the lower surface of the support plate 45, and a rotating body 47 fixed to the lower surface of the intermediate plate 46 (see FIG. 3). The rotating body 47 is rotated by the rotation drive unit 40. As a result, the table 33 is configured to rotate, for example, 180 degrees in a plan view.

[0021] The upper end of a suction pipe 49 is attached to the support plate 45, which sucks in air in a gap 48 provided between the support plate 45 and the table 33. A rotary joint 50 is provided at the lower end of the suction pipe 49. A piping 19 communicating with a vacuum device (not shown) is connected to the rotary joint 50. The table 33 is also formed with suction holes (not shown) for sucking the inspection object 100 onto the mounting surface 36 in response to the suction force of the vacuum device.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the first lifting operation section 43 has a guide bush 51 provided on the intermediate plate 46, and a pair of lifting bars 52 supported by the guide bush 51 so as to be movable up and down. A pressing member 53 is fixed to the upper end of the lifting bar 52. A lower plate 54 is fixed to the lower end of the lifting bar 52. In addition, a biasing member 55 made of a compression coil spring or the like is disposed between the lower plate 54 and the support plate 45 of the upper main body 42. The biasing member 55 presses the lower plate 54 downward, biasing the pressing member 53 in a direction to press the pressing position S1 shown in Fig. 8.

[0023] As shown in Figs. 3 and 7, a transmission member 57 is disposed at the lower end of the first lifting / lowering operation unit 43, with which the tip of the push-up force output unit 59 provided in the lower mechanism 35 can come into contact or separate. The transmission member 57 is made of a material harder than the lower surface of the upper mechanism 34, which is generally made of soft steel, specifically the lower surface 54a of the lower plate 54 shown in Fig. 6. For example, the transmission member 57 is made of a roller member made of high carbon chromium bearing steel material quenched at a predetermined temperature. The transmission member 57 made of a roller member is supported rotatably around a shaft 58 perpendicular to the lifting / lowering direction of the first lifting / lowering operation unit 43. The shaft 58 is made of a material harder than the lower surface of the upper mechanism 34, for example, a material made of carbon steel for machine construction made of S45C quenched at a predetermined temperature. Note that Fig. 7 is a cross-sectional view at a position different from Fig. 6, and shows a state in which the tip of the push-up force output unit 59 is separated from the transmission member 57.

[0024] The push-up force output unit 59 outputs a push force for lifting the first lifting operation unit 43. In this embodiment, the push-up force output unit 59 is configured by, for example, a piston rod of an air cylinder 56 installed in the Z direction of FIG. 7. The push-up force output unit 59 rises in response to the driving air supplied to the air cylinder 56 from an air source not shown in the figure, and is in a state of protruding from the air cylinder 56. As a result, the tip of the push-up force output unit 59 contacts the lower surface of the transmission member 57. As shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the push-up force output unit 59 is formed on a plane 60 extending in a direction perpendicular to the lifting direction of the first lifting operation unit 43. Note that the push-up force output unit 59 is not limited to a piston rod that is driven to lift by the air cylinder 56. For example, the push-up force output unit 59 may be configured by a push rod that is driven to lift by a push-pull solenoid or a push-pull motor.

[0025] When the tip of the push-up force output portion 59 comes into contact with the transmission member 57, a push-up force that pushes up the lower plate 54 and the lift bar 52 is applied to the transmission member 57 via the transmission member 57. As a result, the pressing member 53 is pushed up to an elevated position U1 that is higher than the inspection object 100 placed on the placement surface 36 of the table 33, as shown in FIG.

[0026] On the other hand, when the supply of driving air to the air cylinder 56 is stopped, the tip of the push-up force output portion 59 moves away from the lower surface of the transmission member 57. Then, the pressing member 53 is pressed downward to the pressing position S1 (see FIG. 8) by the biasing force of the biasing member 55. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the end of the inspection object 100 placed on the placement surface 36 of the table 33 is pressed onto the placement surface 36 via the pressing member 53. As a result, if the inspection object 100 is warped, this warping is corrected.

[0027] That is, depending on the material of the test object 100, warping may easily occur in the test object 100. This warping of the test object 100 can be corrected to some extent by sucking air through suction holes provided in the table 33 and bringing the test object 100 into close contact with the mounting surface 36. However, for example, if the test object 100 is warped such that its ends are farther away from the mounting surface 36 than its center, it is difficult to correct the warping with the above-mentioned suction force alone. In such a case, the warping of the test object 100 can be effectively corrected by using the pressing force of the pressing member 53.

[0028] As shown in Figure 8, the second lifting / lowering operating unit 44 has a lifting plate 62 supported so as to be able to rise and fall along a lifting bar 61, a number of protruding rods 63 protruding upward from the tip of the lifting plate 62, and a biasing member 64 consisting of a compression coil spring that biases the lifting plate 62 downward.

[0029] A transmission member 67 is disposed at the lower end of the second lifting / lowering operation unit 44, with which the tip of the push-up force output unit 68 provided in the lower mechanism 35 can come into contact or separate. Specifically, a shaft 66 perpendicular to the lifting / lowering direction of the second lifting / lowering operation unit 44 is provided at a position facing the push-up force output unit 68. The transmission member 67 is constituted by a roller member such as a roller bearing rotatably supported around the shaft 66. The transmission member 67 and the shaft 66 are formed of a material harder than the lower surface of the upper mechanism 34, specifically the lower surface 62a of the lifting / lowering plate 62 shown in FIG. 7, like the transmission member 57 and the shaft 58 of the first lifting / lowering operation unit 43. Note that FIG. 7 shows a state in which the tip of the push-up force output unit 68 is separated from the transmission member 67.

[0030] The push-up force output portion 68 outputs a pushing force for lifting the second lifting operation portion 44. In this embodiment, the push-up force output portion 68 is configured by, for example, a piston rod of an air cylinder 65 installed in the Z direction of FIG. 7. Then, in response to driving air supplied to the air cylinder 65 from an air source not shown, the push-up force output portion 68 is brought into a state of protruding from the air cylinder 65. As a result, the tip of the push-up force output portion 68 comes into contact with the lower surface of the transmission member 67. Note that, as shown in FIG. 7, the tip of the push-up force output portion 68 is formed on a plane 69 extending in a direction perpendicular to the lifting direction of the second lifting operation portion 44.

[0031] When the tip of the push-up force output portion 68 comes into contact with the transmission member 67, a pushing force for pushing up the lift plate 62 and the protruding rod 63 is applied to the transmission member 67 via the transmission member 67. As a result, the upper end of the protruding rod 63 penetrates the table 33 and the support plate 45 and protrudes to a push-up position U2 above the placement surface 36, as shown in FIG.

[0032] On the other hand, when the supply of driving air to the air cylinder 56 is stopped, the tip of the lifting force output portion 68 moves away from the lower surface of the transmission member 67. Then, the upper end of the protruding rod 63 is pushed downward to the retracted position S2 (see FIG. 8) in response to the urging force of the urging member 64. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper end of the protruding rod 63 is retracted below the mounting surface 36 of the table 33. Note that the lifting force output portion 68 is not limited to a piston rod that is driven to move up and down by the air cylinder 65. For example, the lifting force output portion 68 may be constituted by a push rod that is driven to move up and down by a push-pull solenoid or a push-pull motor.

[0033] The lower mechanism 35 includes a rotation drive unit 40 that rotates the upper mechanism 34, as shown in Figures 3 and 4. The lower mechanism 35 also includes a push-up force output unit 59 that drives the first lifting operation units 43a and 43b to move up and down, and a push-up force output unit 68 that drives the second lifting operation units 44a and 44b to move up and down, as shown in Figures 2 and 3. The rotation drive unit 40 includes a direct drive motor having a drive plate 41 that rotates the rotor 47 of the upper mechanism 34, and the like. An opening is formed in the center of the rotation drive unit 40, into which the suction pipe 49 is inserted.

[0034] The push-up force output units 59, 68 are disposed at positions facing a pair of the first lifting / lowering operation unit 43 and the second lifting / lowering operation unit 44 disposed on both sides in the X direction in Fig. 6 and Fig. 8. Even when the upper mechanism 34 is rotated 180 degrees by the rotation drive unit 40, the push-up force output unit 59 is disposed to face the transmission member (roller member) 57 of the first lifting / lowering operation unit 43, and the push-up force output unit 68 is disposed to face the transmission member (roller member) 67 of the second lifting / lowering operation unit 44. Air tubes 16, 17 are connected to the air cylinders 56, 65 that lift and lower the push-up force output units 59, 68, respectively (see Fig. 5).

[0035] The object to be inspected 100 may be any of a variety of substrates, such as a glass epoxy substrate, a flexible substrate, a ceramic multilayer wiring substrate, an electrode plate for a liquid crystal display or a plasma display, a transparent conductive plate for a touch panel, and a package substrate or film carrier for a semiconductor package.

[0036] 10, a plurality of first unit substrates 101, whose wiring direction is arranged in the forward direction, and a plurality of second unit substrates 102, whose wiring direction is arranged in the reverse direction, are arranged opposite each other in the test object 100. The first unit substrates 101 and the second unit substrates 102 are formed in a figure that is point-symmetric with respect to a point O in a plan view of the test object 100.

[0037] The control operation when inspecting the inspection object 100 by the inspection device 1 having the above-mentioned configuration will be described with reference to the process diagram shown in Fig. 11. First, in the carry-in process K1, the control unit 6 executes control to operate the transport mechanism 4 and the like to remove the inspection object 100 from the supply cassette, transport it to the mounting base 2, and place it on the mounting surface 36 of the table 33.

[0038] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6, the control unit 6 executes control to push up the pressing members 53 of the first lifting operation units 43a, 43b to the lifted position U1. The control unit 6 also executes control to push up the upper ends of the protruding rods 63 of the second lifting operation units 44a, 44b to the lifted position U2. Next, the control unit 6 executes control to operate the transport mechanism 4 to transport the test object 100 above the protruding rod 63. Thereafter, the control unit 6 controls the test object holder 10 of the transport mechanism 4 to be lowered, and the test object 100 is transferred from the test object holder 10 to the upper end of the protruding rod 63. Furthermore, the control unit 6 controls the test object holder 10 to be lowered to a retracted position below the upper end of the protruding rod 63, and then retracted from below the test object 100.

[0039] Then, the control unit 6 executes control to press the pressing member 53 down to the pressing position S1. As a result, as shown in Fig. 8, the end of the test object 100 placed on the placement surface 36 of the table 33 is pressed against the placement surface 36 by the pressing member 53. The control unit 6 also executes control to press the upper end of the protruding rod 63 down to the retracted position S2. As a result, as shown in Fig. 8, the upper end of the protruding rod 63 is retracted below the placement surface 36 of the table 33. Next, the control unit 6 executes control to operate a vacuum device (not shown) to suck air through the suction hole and adsorb the test object 100 to the placement surface 36.

[0040] Next, in a discrimination step K2, the control unit 6 executes control to discriminate whether or not the placement position of the inspection object 100 placed on the placement surface 36 of the placement table 2 is appropriate, based on detection signals from the alignment camera 37 and the laser displacement meter 38, etc. Based on the discrimination result, in an adjustment step K3, the control unit 6 operates the first movement mechanism 13, the second movement mechanism 14, and the third movement mechanism 15. In addition, the control unit 6 operates the rotation drive unit 40 as necessary. This allows fine adjustments to be made to the placement position, placement angle, etc. of the inspection object 100.

[0041] Next, in a moving step K4, the control unit 6 outputs an operation command signal to the second moving mechanism 14, and executes control to move the mounting table 2 to the inspection unit 5. Thereafter, in a first inspection step K5, the control unit 6 brings the probe Pr into contact with the inspected portion of the inspection object 100, and inspects the inspection object 100.

[0042] When the inspection of all the first unit substrates 101 is completed, in a reversing step K6, the rotation drive section 40 of the lower mechanism 35 is operated to rotate the upper mechanism 34 by 180 degrees. As a result, the orientation of the inspection object 100 placed on the table 33 is reversed in a plan view. Thereafter, in a second inspection step K7, the control section 6 brings the probe Pr into contact with the portion to be inspected of the inspection object 100, and inspects the inspection object 100.

[0043] When all the inspections of the inspection object 100 are completed as described above, in the carrying-out step K8, the control unit 6 executes control to remove the inspection object 100 from the mounting table 2 and carry it out to the installation section of the storage cassette. Specifically, the control unit 6 outputs a control signal to operate the second moving mechanism 14, and moves the mounting table 2 from the inspection section 5 to its original position shown in FIG. 1. Also, as shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 6 executes control to raise the pressing member 53 of the first lifting / lowering operation section 43 and the protruding rod 63 of the second lifting / lowering operation section 44. As a result, the inspection object 100 is pushed up above the mounting surface 36 by the protruding rod 63.

[0044] Next, the control unit 6 executes control to move the test object holding part 10 between the mounting surface 36 and the test object 100, and then to raise the test object holding part 10. As a result, the test object 100 is transferred from the upper end of the protruding rod 63 onto the test object holding part 10. Then, the control unit 6 executes control to operate the transport mechanism 4 to transport the test object 100 from the mounting table 2 to the installation part of the storage cassette and to store it in the storage cassette.

[0045] The above-mentioned inspection device 1 includes a mounting table 2 separated into an upper mechanism 34 including a table 33 on which a mounting surface 36 for the inspection object 100 is provided, and a lower mechanism 35 that rotatably supports the upper mechanism 34. The upper mechanism 34 supports first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44 so that they can be raised and lowered. Meanwhile, the lower mechanism 35 includes a rotation drive unit 40 that rotates the upper mechanism 34, and push-up force output units 56, 65 that drive the first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44 to move up and down.

[0046] According to the above-mentioned configuration, when inspecting the inspection object 100, the inspection object 100 supported by the upper mechanism 34 can be rotated in a plan view without applying a large load to the rotation drive unit 40. Therefore, even when a plurality of first unit substrates 101 and a plurality of second unit substrates 102 provided on the inspection object 100 are formed in a point-symmetrical shape as shown in Fig. 10, for example, inspection of these can be easily and properly performed.

[0047] That is, the rotation drive unit 40, which is made up of a heavy direct drive motor or the like, and the air cylinders 56, 65 which raise and lower the push-up force output units 59, 68, are provided in the lower mechanism 35. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the weight of the upper mechanism 34, and the upper mechanism 34 can be easily rotated with a light force. Therefore, the first unit substrate 101 and the second unit substrate 102 can be easily and appropriately inspected.

[0048] Furthermore, the tips of the push-up force output units 59, 68 provided on the lower mechanism 35 are installed so as to be able to come into contact with or separate from the transmission members 57, 67 provided on the lower ends of the first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44. The first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44 can be driven to move up and down by bringing the tips of the push-up force output units 59, 68 into contact with the transmission members 57, 67. Furthermore, when the upper mechanism 34 is rotated, the tips of the push-up force output units 59, 68 can be separated from the transmission members 57, 67. This allows the upper mechanism 34 to be rotated with a lighter force.

[0049] As a result, the first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44 can be provided in the upper mechanism 34, which is the drive target of the rotation drive unit 40, thereby improving the functionality of the upper mechanism 34. Furthermore, the air cylinders 56, 65 that drive the first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44 are provided in the lower mechanism 35, not in the upper mechanism 34, so that an increase in weight of the upper mechanism 34 can be reduced. Therefore, it is easy to reduce the risk of an increase in the load on the rotation drive unit 40 due to an increase in weight while improving the functionality of the upper mechanism 34 driven by the rotation drive unit 40.

[0050] In the above embodiment, a rotary joint 50 is provided at the lower end of the suction pipe 49, and the suction force of a vacuum device (not shown) is applied via the piping 19 connected to this rotary joint 50. Therefore, the rotary joint 50 can absorb the rotational force generated when rotating the support plate 45 of the upper mechanism 34 to which the upper end of the suction pipe 49 is attached.

[0051] In the above embodiment, when the rotation angle of the upper mechanism 34 relative to the lower mechanism 35 is a preset angle, the first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44 are disposed at positions facing the push-up force output units 59, 68. The tips of the push-up force output units 59, 68 are configured to contact the transmission members 57, 67, such as roller members, made of a material harder than the lower surface of the upper mechanism 34, to operate the first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44, respectively. Therefore, when the upper mechanism 34 is rotated to a predetermined set angle, the first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44 operate appropriately. In addition, when the tips of the push-up force output units 59, 68 are brought into contact with the transmission members 57, 67, deformation of the transmission members 57, 67 can be prevented. When the tips of the push-up force output parts 59, 68 are brought into contact with the transmission members 57, 67 made of roller members or the like to raise the transmission members 57, 67, there is a possibility that the transmission members 57, 67 may rotate. For this reason, it is preferable to provide a restriction mechanism that uses electromagnetic force to restrict the rotation of the transmission members 57, 67 when raising the transmission members 57, 67.

[0052] When the upper mechanism 34 is rotated 180 degrees in a plan view, the first lifting / lowering operation unit 43a and the second lifting / lowering operation unit 44a located on the left side of FIG. 3 are positioned on the right side of FIG. 3. At the same time, the first and second lifting / lowering operation units 43b and 44b located on the right side of FIG. 3 are positioned on the left side of FIG. 3. As a result, the transmission members 57 and 67 provided on the upper mechanism 34 and the push-up force output units 59 and 68 provided on the lower mechanism 35 are opposed to each other. Therefore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when the upper mechanism 34 is rotated 180 degrees, the first lifting / lowering operation units 43a and 43b and the second lifting / lowering operation units 44a and 44b are operated, respectively, to drive the pressing member 53 and the protruding rod 63 to move up and down.

[0053] Alternatively, the four first and second lifting operation units 43, 44 may be disposed at four locations facing each other in a plan view of the upper mechanism 34. With this configuration, when the first unit substrate 101a and the second unit substrate 102a are arranged at a rotation angle of 90 degrees around point O as shown in Fig. 12, these inspections can be easily and properly performed. Also, when the first unit substrate 101b and the second unit substrate 102b are arranged at a rotation angle of 270 degrees around point O as shown in Fig. 13, these inspections can be easily and properly performed.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the transmission members 57, 67 are constituted by roller members rotatably supported around shafts 58, 66 provided at the lower ends of the first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44. The tips of the push-up force output units 59, 68 facing the transmission members 57, 67 are formed on flat surfaces 60, 69 extending in a direction perpendicular to the lifting and lowering direction of the first and second lifting and lowering operation units 43, 44. This has the advantage that the table 33 of the upper mechanism 34 can be easily rotated even in a state in which the inspection object 100 is pressed against the placement surface by the pressing member 53 of the first lifting and lowering operation unit 43.

[0055] That is, when it is confirmed that there is a slight deviation in the placement angle θ of the inspection target 100 in a plan view according to the detection signals from the alignment camera 37 and the laser displacement meter 38, in order to correct this, it is necessary to rotate the upper mechanism 34 by a small angle using the rotation drive unit 40. In this case, by rotating the transmission members 57, 68, the upper mechanism 34 can be rotated smoothly without generating a large frictional force.

[0056] In the above embodiment, the first lifting / lowering unit 43 is provided with a pressing member 53 that is pressed up to a raised position U1 above the placement surface 36 of the table 33 when the tip of the lifting force output unit 59 comes into contact with the transmission member 57. The first lifting / lowering unit 43 is also provided with a biasing member 55 that presses the pressing member 53 down to a lower pressing position S1 when the tip of the lifting force output unit 59 separates from the transmission member 57. Therefore, when the inspection object 100 is inspected, the pressing member 53 can be quickly and smoothly lowered to the pressing position S1 according to the biasing force of the biasing member 55. Therefore, even if the end of the inspection object 100 is warped, the end of the inspection object 100 is pressed against the placement surface 36 via the pressing member 53, so that the warp of the inspection object 100 can be appropriately corrected.

[0057] That is, depending on the material of the inspection object 100, warping may easily occur in the inspection object 100, and the end portion of the inspection object 100 may be warped away from the mounting surface 36 more than the center portion. In such a case, by pressing the pressing member 53 downward to a pressing position K1 during the inspection of the inspection object 100, the warping of the inspection object 100 can be effectively corrected by using the pressing force of the pressing member 53. Moreover, after the inspection of the inspection object 100 is completed, the pressing member 53 can be raised to an elevated position U1 above the mounting surface 36 of the inspection object 100, whereby the inspection object 100 can be easily removed.

[0058] In the above embodiment, when the transport mechanism 4 transports and places the test object 100 on the placement surface 36, the upper end of the protruding rod 63 of the second lifting and lowering operation unit 44 is configured to protrude above the placement surface 36. This makes it easy to transfer the test object 100 from the test object holder 10 onto the protruding rod 63. After the transport operation of the test object 100 is completed, the upper end of the protruding rod 63 is retracted below the placement surface 36, so that the test object 100 can be placed on the placement surface 36.

[0059] Moreover, the inspection device 1 according to the above-described embodiment includes the mounting table 2 having the above-described configuration, a transport mechanism 4 that transports the inspection object 100, a control unit 6 that controls the push-up force output units 59, 68 and the transport mechanism 4, and an inspection unit 5 that inspects the inspection object 100 placed on the mounting surface 36. Furthermore, the transport mechanism 4 is provided with an inspection object holder 10 that holds the inspection object 100. The control unit 6 is configured to execute the following controls: actuating the push-up force output unit 68 to protrude the upper end of the protruding rod 63 to the push-up position U2; actuating the transport mechanism 4 to hold the test object 100 in the test object holding unit 10, transporting it above the mounting surface 36 and placing it on the upper end of the protruding rod 63, and retracting the test object holding unit 10 from below the test object 100; and stopping the operation of the push-up force output unit 68 to lower the upper ends of the multiple protruding rods 63 to the retracted position S2, thereby placing the test object 100 on the mounting surface.

[0060] According to this configuration, when inspecting the test object 100, the test object 100 transported by the transport mechanism 4 onto the mounting surface 36 can be easily transferred from the test object holding part 10 to the protruding rod 63, the test object 100 can be placed on the mounting surface 36, and the test object holding part 10 can be easily moved away from below the test object 100.

[0061] As described above, an inspection device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises an upper mechanism including a table on which an inspection object is placed, a lower mechanism rotatably supporting the upper mechanism, and a lifting operation unit supported on the upper mechanism so as to be liftable and lowerable. The lower mechanism comprises a rotation drive unit that rotates the upper mechanism, and a push-up force output unit that is aligned opposite the lifting operation unit and drives the lifting operation unit to lift and lower, the lifting operation unit is disposed at a position opposite the push-up force output unit when the rotation angle of the upper mechanism relative to the lower mechanism is a preset angle, and a transmission member with which the tip of the push-up force output unit can come into contact or separate is provided at the lower end of the lifting operation unit.

[0062] According to this configuration, the upper mechanism is rotated by the rotation drive unit. Also, the lifting operation unit that is driven to move up and down by the push-up force output unit is provided in the upper mechanism. That is, the upper mechanism that is the driving target of the rotation drive unit is highly functional. On the other hand, the upper mechanism can be made lighter by providing the push-up force output unit that drives the lifting operation unit to move up and down in the lower mechanism. As a result, it is easy to reduce the risk of an increase in the load on the rotation drive unit due to an increase in weight while achieving high functionality of the driving target driven by the rotation drive unit. Also, the lifting operation unit can be driven to move up and down by bringing the tip of the push-up force output unit into contact with the transmission member while aligning the push-up force output unit so as to face the lifting operation unit. Therefore, the upper mechanism provided with the lifting operation unit can be easily rotated with a light force to easily change the direction of the test object placed on the placement surface.

[0063] Furthermore, it is desirable that the tip of the push-up force output portion is capable of facing the underside of the upper mechanism, the transmission member is formed of a material harder than the underside of the upper mechanism, and the push-up force output portion drives the lifting operation portion to move up and down by its tip coming into contact with the transmission member.

[0064] According to this configuration, the transmission member is formed from a material that is harder than the underside of the upper mechanism, which has the advantage that deformation is less likely to occur than when the tip of the push-up force output portion is configured to abut against the underside of the upper mechanism.

[0065] It is also desirable that the transmission member comprises a roller member supported for free rotation around an axis perpendicular to the lifting and lowering direction of the lifting and lowering operating part, and that the tip of the push-up force output part is formed on a plane extending in a direction perpendicular to the lifting and lowering direction of the lifting and lowering operating part.

[0066] With this configuration, by rotating the upper mechanism while the tip of the push-up force output part is in contact with the transmission member consisting of a roller member, it is possible to easily perform tasks such as fine-tuning the placement angle of the inspection object placed on the placement surface.

[0067] It is also desirable that the lifting / lowering operation unit has a pressing member that is pushed up to a raised position above the placement surface by the push-up force output unit when the tip of the push-up force output unit contacts the lifting / lowering operation unit, and a biasing member that presses the pressing member down to a pressing position below the raised position when the tip of the push-up force output unit moves away from the lifting / lowering operation unit.

[0068] According to this configuration, with the test object placed on the placement surface, the pressing member is pressed down to the pressing position in response to the biasing force of the biasing member, whereby the end of the test object is pressed toward the placement surface, and as a result, the test object is inspected while being stably placed on the placement surface.

[0069] The lifting / lowering operation unit may also have a protruding rod whose upper end is pushed up to a push-up position above the placement surface when the tip of the push-up force output unit contacts the lifting / lowering operation unit, and a biasing member which pushes the upper end of the protruding rod down to a retracted position below the placement surface when the tip of the push-up force output unit moves away from the lifting / lowering operation unit.

[0070] According to this configuration, when placing the test object on the placement surface, the upper end of the protruding rod is protruded above the placement surface, so that the test object can be easily transferred onto the upper end of the protruding rod. Then, the test object can be placed on the placement surface by retracting the upper end of the protruding rod below the placement surface.

[0071] The inspection apparatus further includes a transport mechanism for transporting the inspection object, a control unit for controlling the push-up force output unit and the transport mechanism, and an inspection unit for inspecting the inspection object placed on the placement surface, the transport mechanism having an inspection object holding unit for holding the inspection object. The control unit is configured to execute the following controls: operate the push-up force output unit to cause the upper end of the protruding rod to protrude to the push-up position, operate the transport mechanism to cause the inspection object to be held by the inspection object holding unit, transport the inspection object above the placement surface and place it on the upper end of the protruding rod, and retract the inspection object holding unit from below the inspection object, and stop operation of the thrust push-up force output unit to lower the multiple protruding rods to the retracted position, thereby placing the inspection object on the placement surface.

[0072] According to this configuration, by operating the upward force output unit and the conveying mechanism in response to a control signal output from the control unit, when inspecting the test object, it is possible to easily perform operations such as transferring the test object conveyed onto the mounting surface via the conveying mechanism from the test object holding unit to the protruding rod, placing the test object on the mounting surface, and retracting the test object holding unit from below the test object. [Explanation of symbols]

[0073] 1 Inspection device 2 Placement table 4 Transport mechanism 5 Inspection section 6 Control unit 10 Inspection object holding unit 33 Table 34 Upper mechanism 35 Lower mechanism 36 Placement surface 40 Rotation drive unit 43 First lifting operation unit 44 Second lifting operation portion 53 Pressing member 55, 64 biasing member 56 air cylinder 57,67 Transmission member (roller member) 58,66 Shaft 59,68 Push-up force output section 60,69 Plane 61 Lifting bar 62 Lifting plate 63 Protruding rod 65 Air cylinder 71 Support member 72 Inspection jig 100 inspection object 101 first unit board 102 Second unit board

Claims

1. an upper mechanism including a table on which an object to be inspected is placed; a lower mechanism that rotatably supports the upper mechanism; a lifting operation unit supported on the upper mechanism so as to be liftable, The lower mechanism includes: A rotation drive unit that rotates the upper mechanism; a push-up force output unit that is positioned to face the lifting / lowering operation unit and drives the lifting / lowering operation unit to lift and lower; the lifting operation unit is disposed at a position facing the push-up force output unit when a rotation angle of the upper mechanism with respect to the lower mechanism is a preset angle, An inspection device in which a transmission member with which the tip of the push-up force output portion can come into contact or separate is provided at the lower end of the lifting operation portion.

2. a tip end of the push-up force output portion is capable of facing a lower surface of the upper mechanism, the transmission member is formed of a material harder than a lower surface of the upper mechanism, The inspection device according to claim 1 , wherein the push-up force output portion drives the lifting operation portion to move up and down by contacting a tip of the push-up force output portion with the transmission member.

3. the transmission member is a roller member supported rotatably about an axis perpendicular to the lifting direction of the lifting operation unit, 3. The inspection device according to claim 2, wherein a tip of the push-up force output portion is formed on a plane extending in a direction perpendicular to the lifting direction of the lifting operation portion.

4. The lifting operation unit is a pressing member that is pressed up to a raised position above the placement surface by the lifting force output portion when a tip of the lifting force output portion comes into contact with the lifting operation portion; The inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a biasing member that presses the pressing member down to a pressing position lower than the raised position when the tip of the push-up force output portion separates from the lifting and lowering operation portion.

5. The lifting operation unit is a protruding rod having an upper end pushed up to a push-up position above the placement surface when a tip of the push-up force output portion contacts the lifting operation portion; The inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a biasing member that presses the upper end of the protruding rod down to a retracted position below the placement surface when the tip of the push-up force output portion separates from the lifting and lowering operating portion.

6. A transport mechanism for transporting the inspection object; a control unit that controls the push-up force output unit and the transport mechanism; An inspection unit that inspects the inspection object placed on the placement surface, the transport mechanism has an inspection object holder that holds the inspection object, The control unit is a control for operating the push-up force output unit to cause the upper end of the protrusion rod to protrude to the push-up position; Control of operating the transport mechanism to hold the inspection object in the inspection object holding unit; a control for transporting the inspection object above the placement surface and placing it on the upper end of the protruding rod, and a control for retracting the inspection object holder from below the inspection object; 6. The inspection device according to claim 5, further comprising a control for placing the inspection object on the placement surface by stopping the operation of the push-up force output unit and lowering the protruding rod to the retracted position.

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