Ultrasonic vibration coupling device

Abstract

To provide an ultrasonic vibration joining device reduced at least in size.SOLUTION: A lifting air cylinder 39 is disposed below an ultrasonic wave joining execution group including three ultrasonic wave joining units 1, three pressure air cylinders 33, and a position adjustment mechanism, and executes a lifting operation for the ultrasonic wave joining execution group through a telescopic motion of a piston rod 392. The position adjustment mechanism includes three position adjustment cams 37 corresponding to the three ultrasonic wave joining units 1, and executes a position adjustment operation including rotation operations of the three position adjustment cams 37. The position in a height direction an ultrasonic wave joining unit 81 in corresponding one of the three ultrasonic wave joining units 1 is determined on the basis of the attitude of each of the three position adjustment cams 37.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a pressure-type ultrasonic vibration bonding device, and relates to an ultrasonic vibration bonding device used, for example, as an electrode bonding device for ultrasonically bonding a conductive electrode onto a thin substrate. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, after arranging electrode wires for current collection on the upper surface of a substrate for a thin-film solar cell, in the process of bonding the electrode wires to the substrate, an ultrasonic vibration bonding device has been used to perform an ultrasonic bonding process by applying ultrasonic waves while applying pressure to the electrode wires arranged on the substrate. Examples of such ultrasonic vibration bonding devices include the pressure-type ultrasonic vibration bonding devices disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

[0003] Fig. 18 is a perspective view showing a schematic diagram of the overall configuration of a conventional ultrasonic vibration bonding device, an electrode bonding device 70. Fig. 18 shows an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system.

[0004] As shown in the figure, the electrode bonding device 70 includes, as its main components, three ultrasonic bonding units 1, three pressure sliders 77, three pressure air cylinders 74, a lifting frame 73, a ball screw 72, a lifting AC servo motor 71, a mounting jig 75, and a machine frame 76.

[0005] An attachment jig 75 is fixed onto a machine frame 76, and from above, an AC servo motor 71 for lifting, a ball screw 72, an attachment frame 73, three pressurizing air cylinders 74, three pressurizing sliders 77, and three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are provided on the side of the attachment jig 75.

[0006] The machine frame 76 can be moved horizontally (X direction) by a driving means not shown, and an AC servo motor 71 for lifting is fixed to the side of the mounting jig 75 having the XZ plane, which moves horizontally together with the machine frame 76.

[0007] The upper end (+Z direction) of the ball screw 72 is attached to the lifting AC servo motor 71, and the lower end of the ball screw 72 is attached to the lifting frame 73 in such a manner that it is connected to the lifting frame 73 via a nut (not shown).

[0008] In this configuration, when the lifting AC servo motor 71 is driven to rotate the ball screw 72 in a first rotation direction, a lowering operation can be performed to move the lifting frame 73 downward (in the −Z direction).

[0009] On the other hand, when the lifting AC servo motor 71 rotates the ball screw 72 in a second rotation direction (opposite to the first rotation direction), an upward movement can be performed to move the lifting frame 73 upward (in the +Z direction).

[0010] In this way, the lifting AC servo motor 71 functions as a lifting mechanism that doubles as a lowering mechanism that performs the above-mentioned lowering operation and a lifting mechanism that performs the above-mentioned lifting operation.

[0011] Three pressurizing air cylinders 74 are attached to the bottom surface of the lifting frame 73, which has an XY plane.

[0012] Three ultrasonic welding units 1 are provided corresponding to the three pressurizing air cylinders 74 , and the corresponding pressurizing air cylinders 74 and ultrasonic welding units 1 are connected via pressurizing sliders 77 .

[0013] 19 is a perspective view that schematically shows the overall configuration of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1. As shown in the drawing, the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 includes an ultrasonic bonding horn 8 and a converter 9 as main components.

[0014] 19, the object to be joined is an electrode material 91 arranged on the surface of a substrate 90. After the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is moved in a horizontal movement direction M1, the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of the ultrasonic bonding horn 8 is moved in a vertical movement direction V1 to bring the electrode material 91 into a joining-ready state where the joining position P91 and the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 are in contact with each other.

[0015] The movement along the horizontal movement direction M1 is performed by moving the machine frame 76 using a driving means (not shown), and the movement along the vertical movement direction V1 is performed by the lifting operation of the lifting AC servo motor 71.

[0016] In the bonding-enabled state, ultrasonic vibration operation is performed by the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 including the ultrasonic bonding horn 8. During the period in which the ultrasonic vibration operation is being performed, pressurization operation by the three pressurizing air cylinders 74 is also performed in parallel.

[0017] The three pressurizing air cylinders 74 each perform a pressurizing operation of pressing the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of the ultrasonic bonding horn 8 in the corresponding one of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 toward the substrate 90 .

[0018] As a result, the conventional electrode bonding device 70 can bond the electrode material 91 onto the surface of the substrate 90 at the bonding position P91 by causing the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 to perform the above-mentioned ultrasonic vibration operation and the pressurizing air cylinder 74 to perform the above-mentioned pressurizing operation. Because the electrode bonding device 70 has three ultrasonic bonding units 1 and three pressurizing air cylinders 74, it can bond the electrode material 91 to the substrate 90 at three application parts (three bonding locations). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0019] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2020 / 059061 [Patent Document 2] International Publication No. 2020 / 183641 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0020] A conventional ultrasonic vibration bonding device, typified by the above-mentioned electrode bonding device 70, is configured as described above, and requires a relatively large number of components, such as the mounting jig 75, the lifting AC servo motor 71, the ball screw 72, and the lifting frame 73, to realize the lifting function of raising and lowering the three ultrasonic bonding units 1.

[0021] Therefore, conventional ultrasonic vibration bonding devices have a problem in that the device size is relatively large.

[0022] Furthermore, conventional ultrasonic vibration bonding devices have adopted a bottom mounting method in which the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is mounted below the pressure slider 77. This means that the working space for mounting and dismounting the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is narrow, and it is necessary to access the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 from below, from the rear (+Y direction side) of the machine frame 76, through an opening in the machine frame 76.

[0023] Therefore, the conventional electrode bonding device 70 had the problem that the workability of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 attached by the bottom mounting method was poor, leading to longer work times and longer maintenance times for the ultrasonic bonding unit 1. In addition, the electrode bonding device 70 that adopted the bottom mounting method had the problem that attached parts such as the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 could fall off.

[0024] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above problems, and aims to provide an ultrasonic vibration bonding device that is at least reduced in size, and more preferably, an ultrasonic vibration bonding device that improves the workability of the ultrasonic bonding unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0025] The ultrasonic vibration bonding device according to the present disclosure includes a plurality of ultrasonic bonding units each performing an ultrasonic vibration operation, the ultrasonic vibration operation being performed by applying ultrasonic vibrations from an ultrasonic bonding section, a plurality of pressure mechanisms provided corresponding to the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, each performing a pressure operation on a corresponding one of the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, a position adjustment mechanism performing a position adjustment operation to adjust the position of the ultrasonic bonding section of each of the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units in the height direction, and a position adjustment mechanism provided below an ultrasonic bonding execution group including the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, the plurality of pressure mechanisms, and the position adjustment mechanism, performing a lifting operation for the ultrasonic bonding execution group. and a control unit that executes control operations to control the ultrasonic vibration operation by the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, the pressure application by the plurality of pressure mechanisms, the position adjustment operation by the position adjustment mechanism, and the lifting operation by the lifting mechanism, wherein the position adjustment mechanism includes a plurality of position adjustment cams corresponding to the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, the plurality of position adjustment cams being disposed below the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, the position adjustment operation including rotation of the plurality of position adjustment cams, and the height position of the ultrasonic bonding section in the corresponding ultrasonic bonding unit among the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units is determined by the attitude of each of the plurality of position adjustment cams. [Effects of the Invention]

[0026] The ultrasonic vibration bonding device of the present disclosure has a lifting mechanism that performs lifting operations for the ultrasonic bonding execution group. Therefore, by causing the lifting mechanism to perform lifting operations under the control of the control unit, it is possible to perform lifting operations for the multiple ultrasonic bonding units collectively and perform a bonding preparation process in which the multiple ultrasonic bonding units are positioned at bonding preparation positions close to the objects to be bonded.

[0027] After the above-mentioned bonding preparation process, the ultrasonic vibration bonding device of the present disclosure can perform ultrasonic bonding process to bond the objects to be bonded at multiple locations by causing the position adjustment mechanism to perform a position adjustment operation, causing multiple pressure mechanisms to perform a pressure operation, and causing multiple ultrasonic bonding units to perform an ultrasonic vibration operation under the control of the control unit.

[0028] Since the lifting mechanism is disposed below the ultrasonic bonding group, the relatively ample space below the ultrasonic bonding group can be utilized, thereby simplifying and downsizing the device configuration. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0029] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of an electrode bonding apparatus which is an ultrasonic vibration bonding apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] 2A to 2C are explanatory views (part 1) of the electrode bonding device shown in FIG. 1 viewed from various directions. [Figure 3] 2A to 2C are explanatory views (part 2) of the electrode bonding device shown in FIG. 1 viewed from various directions. [Figure 4] 1. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram (part 3) showing the electrode bonding apparatus shown in FIG. 1 viewed from various directions. [Figure 5] 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram (part 4) showing the electrode bonding device shown in FIG. 1 viewed from various directions. [Figure 6] 5 is an explanatory diagram (part 5) showing the electrode bonding device shown in FIG. 1 viewed from various directions. [Figure 7] 1. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram (part 6) showing the electrode bonding device shown in FIG. 1 viewed from various directions. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of the lifting air cylinder shown in FIGS. 1 to 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of the bracket shown in FIGS. 1 to 7. [Figure 10] 1 is an explanatory diagram (part 1) illustrating the operating principle of the position adjustment mechanism according to the first embodiment. [Figure 11] 4 is an explanatory diagram (part 2) illustrating the operating principle of the position adjustment mechanism according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 12] 10 is an explanatory diagram (part 3) illustrating the operating principle of the position adjustment mechanism according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram (part 4) illustrating the operating principle of the position adjustment mechanism according to the first embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a control system of the ultrasonic vibration bonding apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 15] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram comparing the dimensions of the electrode bonding apparatus of the first embodiment and a conventional electrode bonding apparatus. [Figure 16] 10 is an explanatory view schematically showing a position adjusting cam in the electrode bonding apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 17] 10 is a graph showing phase changes in the driven bearing heights of three position adjusting cams in the second embodiment. [Figure 18] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of a conventional ultrasonic vibration bonding device. [Figure 19] FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the overall configuration of an ultrasonic bonding unit. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0030] <First Embodiment> (Overall composition) Fig. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of an electrode bonding apparatus 50, which is an ultrasonic vibration bonding apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. Figs. 2 to 7 are explanatory views of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 shown in Fig. 1, viewed from various directions. An XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is depicted in each of Figs. 1 to 7.

[0031] FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 as viewed from the front (-Y direction side), and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 as viewed from the right side (+X direction side). FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 as viewed from the back (+Y direction side), and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 as viewed from above (+Z direction side). FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 as viewed from the left side (-X direction side), and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 as viewed from a diagonal right direction. Note that some components are intentionally omitted from FIG. 7.

[0032] As shown in these figures, the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment has three ultrasonic bonding units 1 as the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units. Three brackets 6 are provided corresponding to the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, and the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are attached to the corresponding brackets 6, respectively.

[0033] Each of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, which are multiple ultrasonic bonding units, has an ultrasonic bonding horn 8 and a converter 9, as shown in Figure 19, and has an ultrasonic bonding portion 81 below the tip of the ultrasonic bonding horn 8.

[0034] Each of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 transmits ultrasonic vibrations to the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 via the ultrasonic bonding horn 8, thereby performing an ultrasonic vibration operation in which the ultrasonic vibrations are applied from the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 to the application portion of the object to be bonded.

[0035] Three pressurizing air cylinders 33 are provided corresponding to the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, and each pressurizes a corresponding one of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1. The three pressurizing air cylinders 33, which are the multiple pressurizing mechanisms, are attached to a mounting surface of a pressurizing cylinder mount 43, which has an XZ plane. The pressurizing cylinder mount 43 is fixed onto the mounting surface 20F of the lifting frame 20, and the mounting surface of the pressurizing cylinder mount 43 is located above the mounting surface 20F. Therefore, the three pressurizing air cylinders 33, which are the multiple pressurizing mechanisms, are fixed above the mounting surface 20F.

[0036] The three pressurizing air cylinders 33 as the plurality of pressurizing mechanisms, the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 as the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, and the three brackets 6 as the plurality of brackets 6 correspond one-to-one to one another.

[0037] Between the corresponding pressurizing air cylinder 33, the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 and the bracket 6, the pressurizing air cylinder 33 performs a pressurizing operation to pressurize the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of the ultrasonic bonding horn 8 in the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 downward (in the -Z direction) via the bracket 6.

[0038] Next, we will explain the lifting mechanism's components, the lifting air cylinder 39 and the four lifting guide posts 42. The lifting air cylinder 39 is provided at the center of the surface of a traveling frame 41, which serves as the base of the lifting mechanism, and the four lifting guide posts 42 are provided discretely around the lifting air cylinder 39 on the surface of the traveling frame 41.

[0039] 8 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of the overall configuration of the lifting air cylinder 39. An XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is shown in the drawing.

[0040] The lifting air cylinder 39 has a plate 391 at its top. The plate 391 has a rectangular shape when viewed in plan on the XY plane, and a piston rod 392 is connected to the bottom surface of the plate 391.

[0041] Therefore, the lifting air cylinder 39 can lift and lower the plate 391 by extending and retracting the piston rod 392. For example, in the drawing, by extending the piston rod 392, the plate 391 can be moved from the plate 391 shown by the dashed line to the plate 391 shown by the solid line along the upward direction D39, which is the +Z direction.

[0042] The extension and contraction of the piston rod 392 is performed by injecting air A39 into the main body 390, which serves as a compressed air port.

[0043] The lifting air cylinder 39 supports the underside of the lifting frame 20 with a plate 391, and the four lifting guide posts 42 move up and down in conjunction with the height of the plate 391. Therefore, the frame lifting operation for raising and lowering the lifting frame 20 can be performed by the extension and contraction of the piston rod 392 described above.

[0044] In this way, the lifting mechanism, which includes the lifting air cylinder 39 and four lifting guide posts 42 as its main components, is positioned below the ultrasonic bonding execution group, which includes three ultrasonic bonding units 1, three pressurizing air cylinders 33, and a position adjustment mechanism described later, and by performing the frame lifting operation described above, the lifting operation for the ultrasonic bonding execution group can be performed.

[0045] The lifting frame 20 has a flat rectangular lower surface when viewed in plan in the XY plane and a U-shaped upper surface when viewed in plan in the XY plane. As shown in Fig. 5, the placement surface 20F, which is the upper surface of the U-shape, has an opening region 200. That is, the placement surface 20F is flat in the XY plane and has a U-shape with the -Y direction as the upward direction, and the opening of the U forms the opening region 200.

[0046] In the lifting frame 20, the cam rotation shaft 26, three position adjustment cams 37, and three position adjustment driven bearings 38 are accommodated in an accommodation space S20 between the mounting surface 20F and the underside. The three position adjustment cams 37, which are multiple position adjustment cams, correspond one-to-one to the three ultrasonic joining units 1. The accommodation space S20 is a space surrounded by the mounting surface 20F, the underside, side surfaces 20P (described later) of the lifting frame 20, etc.

[0047] On the mounting surface 20F of the lifting frame 20, a rotation drive device 34 and a swing support bearing mechanism 44 serving as a bracket support mechanism are attached.

[0048] 1, 3, and 6, the rotation drive device 34 is fixedly provided on the mounting surface 20F, and performs a rotation drive operation to rotate the drive pulley 35 via the drive rotation shaft 25. The drive pulley 35 is attached to the tip of the drive rotation shaft 25, and is provided at a position higher than the mounting surface 20F, and at a position slightly protruding from the side surface 20P on the +X direction side of the lifting frame 20 when viewed in plan on the XY plane.

[0049] Meanwhile, the cam rotating shaft 26 provided in the accommodation space S20 of the lifting frame 20 protrudes from the side surface 20P of the lifting frame 20, and a driven pulley 36 is attached to the tip of the cam rotating shaft 26 protruding from the side surface 20P. In other words, the driven pulley 36 is connected to the cam rotating shaft 26 outside the lifting frame 20.

[0050] 2 and 3, a timing belt 46, which is a power transmission belt, is attached between the drive pulley 35 and the driven pulley 36. Therefore, the rotational driving force of the driven pulley 36 is transmitted to the driven pulley 36 via the timing belt 46. In other words, the presence of the timing belt 46, which is a power transmission belt, allows the driven pulley 36 to rotate in conjunction with the rotational movement of the drive pulley 35. As the driven pulley 36 rotates, the cam rotating shaft 26 also rotates.

[0051] In this way, the rotation drive operation of the drive pulley 35 by the rotation drive device 34 can rotate the cam rotation shaft 26 via the timing belt 46 and the driven pulley 36.

[0052] Hereinafter, the assembly including the above-mentioned rotation drive device 34, drive pulley 35, timing belt 46, and driven pulley 36 will be defined as the "rotation drive member group." The rotation drive member group is an assembly of members for rotationally driving the cam rotation shaft 26. Note that the position adjustment mechanism, which will be described in detail later, includes the above-mentioned rotation drive member group in addition to the cam rotation shaft 26 and three position adjustment cams 37.

[0053] Next, we will explain the swing support bearing mechanism 44 and the three brackets 6. The swing support bearing mechanism 44, which is a bracket support mechanism, has a pair of support members 441 at both ends. The pair of support members 441 are fixed onto the mounting surface 20F, and the unit shaft 24 is attached in a fixed state between the pair of support members 441, 441.

[0054] Each of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 is attached to a corresponding one of the three brackets 6. Below, one corresponding ultrasonic bonding unit 1 and bracket 6 will be described as a representative example.

[0055] Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a schematic view of the overall configuration of the bracket 6. An XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is shown in Fig. 9. As shown in the figure, the bracket 6 includes an upper surface member 61, a pair of side surface members 62, a lower surface member 63, a bearing fixing member 64, and a rotating shaft holding member 65 as main components.

[0056] A pair of side surface members 62, 62 are provided on one end side (-Y direction side) of the upper surface of a bottom surface member 63, which is a unit installation member. Each of the pair of side surface members 62, 62 has an inclination facing the -Y direction in the height direction (+Z direction), and is formed into a parallelogram shape when viewed in plan on the YZ plane.

[0057] An upper surface member 61 is fixed to the upper portions of the pair of side surface members 62, 62. Therefore, the upper surface member 61 is disposed so as to protrude further in the -Y direction than the lower surface member 63 in plan view on the XY plane.

[0058] A rotating shaft holding member 65 is provided on the other end side (+Y direction side) of the upper surface of the lower surface member 63. The rotating shaft holding member 65 has a through hole 650 in the center of the upper part.

[0059] A bearing fixing member 64 is provided in the center of the underside of a lower surface member 63, which is a unit installation member. When viewed in plan on the YZ plane, the bearing fixing member 64 is shaped like an inverted triangle with the lower end at the apex. A through hole 640 is provided in the center of the bearing fixing member 64 near the apex.

[0060] 3, 6, and 7, the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is fixed onto the bottom surface member 63 of the bracket 6. The bottom surface member 63 of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 can be attached by screwing or the like. In this way, each of the three brackets 6, which are multiple brackets, fixes a corresponding one of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 onto the bottom surface member 63, which is a unit installation member.

[0061] 1 and 7, the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are arranged above the mounting surface 20F of the lift-up frame 20. The ultrasonic bonding portions 81 of the ultrasonic bonding units 1 attached to the lower surface member 63 of the bracket 6 are located below the tip ends on the -Y direction side of the upper surface member 61. In other words, the ultrasonic bonding portions 81 of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are arranged on one end side (-Y direction side) of the three brackets 6.

[0062] 7, the bracket 6 is swingably attached to the unit shaft 24 by inserting the unit shaft 24 into the through-hole 650 of the rotation shaft holding member 65. That is, a bearing (not shown) is incorporated between the through-hole 650 and the unit shaft 24. In this way, the swing support bearing mechanism 44, which is a bracket support mechanism, is provided on the mounting surface 20F of the lifting frame 20, and rotatably supports the three brackets 6 around the unit shaft 24 fixed to the other end side (+Y direction side) of each of the three brackets 6 as the rotation center.

[0063] Therefore, the bracket 6 and the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 attached to the bracket 6 can rotate around the unit shaft 24 as the center of rotation.

[0064] As shown in Figure 5, when viewed in a plane on the XY plane, the three brackets 6 and most of the unit shaft 24 are arranged within the opening area 200, so the rotational movement of the bracket 6 around the unit shaft 24 is not obstructed.

[0065] Next, the three pressurizing air cylinders 33 will be described. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, 6 and 7, a floating joint 32 is connected to the tip of the piston rod 332 of each pressurizing air cylinder 33, and the floating joint 32 is fixed to the upper surface member 61 of the bracket 6. Therefore, a pressure can be applied by the pressurizing air cylinder 33 to the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of the ultrasonic bonding horn 8 in the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 via the floating joint 32 and the bracket 6.

[0066] In this way, the three pressurizing air cylinders 33, which are multiple pressurizing mechanisms, are provided corresponding to the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, and each can perform a pressurizing operation on a corresponding one of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1.

[0067] (position adjustment mechanism) The position adjustment mechanism will be described below. In addition to the above-mentioned group of rotational drive members, cam rotating shaft 26, and three position adjustment cams 37, the position adjustment mechanism of the first embodiment is configured by three position adjustment driven bearings 38, three brackets 6, and a swing support bearing mechanism 44.

[0068] Since all of the components of the position adjustment mechanism described above are provided on the support surface 20F of the lifting frame 20 or within the storage space S20, the lifting mechanism, including the lifting air cylinder 39 and the four lifting guide posts 42 arranged below the underside of the lifting frame 20, is located below the position adjustment mechanism.

[0069] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the three position adjusting cams 37, the three position adjusting driven bearings 38, the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, and the three brackets 6 are in one-to-one correspondence with one another.

[0070] Figures 10 to 13 are explanatory diagrams showing the operating principle of the position adjustment mechanism. Figures 10 and 12 are diagrams showing the details of the relationship between the position adjustment cam 37 and the position adjustment driven bearing 38, and Figures 11 and 13 are explanatory diagrams showing the position adjustment operation. Each of Figures 11 to 13 shows an XYZ Cartesian coordinate system.

[0071] Below, we will explain one unit of the position adjustment cam 37, the position adjustment driven bearing 38, and the bracket 6 that correspond to each other, out of the three position adjustment cams 37, the three position adjustment driven bearings 38, and the three brackets 6.

[0072] The position adjustment driven bearing 38, which functions as a cam follower, is fixed to the bearing fixing member 64 of the bracket 6 by a nut 381 and a grease nipple 382. That is, the position adjustment driven bearing 38, the nut 381, and the grease nipple 382 are integrally formed. The grease nipple 382 is screwed to an end face on one end of a shaft (hereinafter abbreviated as the "rotation support shaft") that rotatably supports the position adjustment driven bearing 38. A thread is formed on the other end of the rotation support shaft, which functions as a bolt portion. The rotation support shaft including the bolt portion is provided so as to pass through a through-hole 640 of the bearing fixing member 64 and the through-hole of the position adjustment driven bearing 38.

[0073] In this way, the corresponding position adjustment driven bearings 38 out of the three position adjustment driven bearings 38 are fixed to the bearing fixing members 64 below the lower surface members 63 of the three brackets 6, respectively.

[0074] 12, the position adjustment cam 37 has a deformed structure including a convex portion 371, a concave portion 370, and an intermediate portion 372 when viewed in the YZ plane. A total of four concave portions 370, convex portions 371, and intermediate portions 372 are formed at 90° intervals. The deepest portion of the concave portion 370 is located closest to the rotation center C37 of the position adjustment cam 37, the apex of the convex portion 371 is located farthest from it, and the intermediate portion 372 is located midway between the concave portion 370 and the convex portion 371.

[0075] 12 and 13(b), when the deepest part of the recess 370 is located in the +Z direction, the position-adjustment driven bearing 38 is at its lowest position. This is because the entire recess 370, including the deepest part, is arranged to support the position-adjustment driven bearing 38. In this way, the state shown in FIG. 13(b) is the joinable state S1.

[0076] 13(a), when the top of the convex portion 371 is located in the +Z direction, the position-adjustment driven bearing 38 is at the highest position. This is because the top of the convex portion 371 is positioned to support the position-adjustment driven bearing 38. The state shown in FIG. 13(a) is included in the joining preparation state S0.

[0077] In this way, the height positions of the three position adjustment driven bearings 38 change in conjunction with the attitude of the corresponding one of the three position adjustment cams 37. The difference between the maximum height and minimum height of the position adjustment driven bearings 38 is set to be approximately 4 mm.

[0078] As described above, the state shown in Fig. 13(b) is defined as the "joinable state S1," and states other than the joinable state S1 are defined as the "joining preparation state S0." Therefore, the state shown in Fig. 13(a) is the joining preparation state S0.

[0079] Moreover, the following first to third attitudes are defined as the attitudes of the position adjusting cam 37 relative to the cam rotation shaft 26.

[0080] First attitude: attitude when the deepest part of the recess 370 is located in the +Z direction Second attitude: attitude when the top of the convex portion 371 is positioned in the +Z direction Third posture: posture when the intermediate portion 372 is positioned in the +Z direction Therefore, in the weldable state S1, the position adjusting cam 37 is in the first position, and in the weld preparation state S0, the position adjusting cam 37 is in the second position or the third position.

[0081] As shown in Figure 13(b), in the joining possible state S1, the position adjustment cam 37 is in the first posture, so the formed height of the position adjustment driven bearing 38 is at its minimum height, which is slightly lower than in the joining preparation state S0.

[0082] 13(b), in the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment, in the bondable state S1, an absolute horizontal line LH parallel to the Y direction and a center line CL of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 are set to coincide. That is, in the bondable state S1, the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is placed horizontally, and the center line CL is set to coincide with the Y direction. Specifically, the flatness in the XY plane of the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is adjusted to be 10 μm or less.

[0083] Furthermore, in the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment, the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 is not in contact with the objects to be bonded in the bonding preparation state S0, and is set so that the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 comes in contact with the objects to be bonded only in the bondable state S1.

[0084] Therefore, the position adjusting cam 37 is rotated by the group of rotational drive members, and the joining preparation state S0 and the joining possible state S1 are repeated, whereby the position adjusting mechanism can perform the position adjusting operation.

[0085] The position adjustment operation will be described in detail below. First, the operation of changing from the joinable state S1 to the join preparation state S0 will be described. As shown in Fig. 13(a), in the join preparation state S0, the position adjustment cam 37 is in the second or third position, so the formed height of the position adjustment driven bearing 38 is slightly higher than in the joinable state S1.

[0086] On the other hand, the rotating shaft holding member 65 of the bracket 6 is attached to the swing support bearing mechanism 44 so as to be rotatable around the unit shaft 24 as the center of rotation. Therefore, the bracket 6 and the ultrasonic joining unit 1 attached to the bracket 6 perform a rotational movement operation around the unit shaft 24 as the center of rotation in conjunction with the rise of the position adjustment driven bearing 38.

[0087] In this way, the rotational movement of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1, which is performed in conjunction with the position of the position adjustment driven bearing 38 being raised, causes the height of one end side (-Y direction side) of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 to rise slightly from the bonding possible state S1.

[0088] As a result, one end (-Y direction side) of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 rises along the unit up-and-down movement direction D1 (+Z direction), and the end of the center line CL of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 rises. Therefore, as shown in Figure 13(a), the absolute horizontal line LH does not coincide with the center line CL of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1. In this way, in the bonding preparation state S0, the ultrasonic bonding section 81 side of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is slightly higher than the converter 9 side, and the center line CL has an inclination that increases in height in the +Z direction as it moves in the -Y direction.

[0089] In the above-described bonding preparation state S0, the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is set so as not to be in contact with the objects to be bonded.

[0090] Next, the operation of changing from the joining preparation state S0 to the joining possible state S1 will be described. As shown in Fig. 13(b), in the joining possible state S1, the position adjustment cam 37 is in the first posture, so the formed height of the position adjustment driven bearing 38 is at its minimum height, which is slightly lower than in the joining preparation state S0.

[0091] Therefore, due to the rotational movement of the bracket 6 and the ultrasonic bonding unit 1, which is performed in conjunction with the lowering of the position of the position adjustment driven bearing 38, the height of one end of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is slightly lowered from the bonding preparation state S0.

[0092] As a result, the end portion on one end side (-Y direction side) of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 descends, and the end portion of the center line CL of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 descends. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 13(b), the absolute horizontal line LH and the center line CL of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 coincide with each other.

[0093] In the above-described bondable state S1, the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is set to be in contact with the objects to be bonded.

[0094] In this way, the position adjustment mechanism can perform a position adjustment operation that alternates between the joining preparation state S0 and the joining possible state S1 by rotating the cam rotation shaft 26 using a group of rotation drive members and performing the rotation operation of the three position adjustment cams 37, which are multiple position adjustment cams.

[0095] That is, the position adjusting mechanism in the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment can perform a position adjusting operation for adjusting the position of the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of each of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 in the height direction.

[0096] The position adjustment mechanism in the electrode bonding device 50 of the first embodiment is disposed below the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, and includes three position adjustment cams 37 corresponding to the three ultrasonic bonding units 1. Furthermore, the position adjustment operation by the position adjustment mechanism includes the rotational operation of the three position adjustment cams 37, and the position in the height direction of the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 in the corresponding ultrasonic bonding unit 1 among the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 can be determined depending on the posture (first to third postures) of each of the plurality of position adjustment cams.

[0097] As shown in FIG. 1, in the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment, the three position adjusting cams 37 that are the plurality of position adjusting cams 37 are set to have the same posture relative to the cam rotation shaft 26 .

[0098] That is, the three position adjusting cams 37 are simultaneously in any one of the first position, the second position, and the third position.

[0099] (Control unit) Fig. 14 is a block diagram schematically showing the control system of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 13. As shown in Fig. 14, the control unit 15 executes control operations to control the driving of the lifting air cylinder 39, the three pressurizing air cylinders 33, the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, and the rotary drive device 34. That is, the control operations by the control unit 15 include execution control of the lifting operation by the lifting air cylinder 39, the pressurizing operation by the three pressurizing air cylinders 33, the ultrasonic vibration operation by the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, and the rotary drive operation by the rotary drive device 34.

[0100] The control unit 15 also controls the movement process of the traveling frame 41 by a moving means (not shown), but this is not shown in FIG. 14 because it has little relevance to the features of the first embodiment.

[0101] As described above, each ultrasonic bonding unit 1 performs an ultrasonic vibration operation to apply ultrasonic vibration to the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 via the ultrasonic bonding horn 8 .

[0102] The control unit 15 raises the plate 391 to the highest position by controlling the raising and lowering operation of the lifting air cylinder 39. Since the lifting frame 20 is attached to the plate 391, the ultrasonic bonding execution group including the above-mentioned position adjustment mechanism, the three pressurizing air cylinders 33, and the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 can be raised together in conjunction with the raising of the lifting frame 20.

[0103] This is because the position adjustment mechanism including the three pressurizing air cylinders 33, the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, and the three position adjustment cams 37 is provided on the mounting surface 20F, in the storage space S20, etc., so as to be movable together with the lifting frame 20.

[0104] In this way, the control unit 15 controls the lifting mechanism including the lifting air cylinder 39 to perform lifting and lowering operations, thereby performing pre-bonding processing for bonding the objects to be bonded by the ultrasonic vibration action of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1. The pre-bonding processing is processing in which each of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 is positioned at a bonding preparation position near the application portion of the ultrasonic bonding section 81 on the objects to be bonded.

[0105] Each ultrasonic bonding unit 1 is connected to a corresponding pressurizing air cylinder 33 via a piston rod 332, and therefore the pressing force from the pressurizing air cylinder 33 becomes a pressing force applied to the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 via the bracket 6.

[0106] Therefore, the control unit 15 can apply a pressure-applying pressing force to the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 of each of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 by controlling the pressure-applying operations of the three pressure-applying air cylinders 33 .

[0107] Furthermore, the control unit 15 controls the execution of the ultrasonic vibration operation of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1. In addition, the control unit 15 controls the rotation drive operation of the rotation drive device 34, thereby controlling the execution of the position adjustment operation by the position adjustment mechanism.

[0108] The electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment having such a configuration can perform the ultrasonic bonding process consisting of the following steps ST11 to ST14 under the control of the control unit 15. That is, the control unit 15 executes the control operation consisting of steps ST11 to ST14.

[0109] Step ST11: The lifting mechanism including the lifting air cylinder 39 is controlled to lift the ultrasonic bonding group, and the ultrasonic bonding sections 81 of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are positioned at the bonding preparation positions above the three application sections of the objects to be bonded. At this time, the ultrasonic bonding sections 81 of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are in the above-mentioned bonding preparation state S0.

[0110] That is, by performing step ST11, a pre-bonding process can be performed in which the ultrasonic bonding parts 81 of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are placed at bonding preparation positions close to the objects to be bonded.

[0111] Step ST12: The three pressurizing air cylinders 33 are caused to perform pressurizing operations with respective pressurizing pressures. The processing of step ST12 is subsequently continued during the operations of steps ST13 and ST14.

[0112] Step ST13: The rotational drive operation of the rotary drive device 34 is controlled to rotate the three position adjustment cams 37, and all three position adjustment cams 37 are set to the first posture, bringing the ultrasonic welding portion 81 into contact with the object to be welded, and setting the weldable state S1.

[0113] The presence or absence of the weldable state S1 can be detected by, for example, the control unit 15 determining whether the position adjustment cam 37 has reached the first posture based on the rotation angle from the initial position of the cam rotation shaft 26. Also, the presence or absence of the weldable state S1 can be detected by providing the three pressurizing air cylinders 33 with an existing detection function that detects the presence or absence of contact between the ultrasonic welding part 81 and the workpieces to be welded.

[0114] Step ST14: The three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are caused to perform ultrasonic vibration operations. At this time, the timings at which the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 perform the ultrasonic vibration operations are synchronized. This is because the three position adjustment cams 37 are set to have the same orientation relative to the cam rotation shaft 26 in the electrode bonding device 50 of the first embodiment. On the other hand, if the orientations of the position adjustment cams 37 relative to the cam rotation shaft 26 are made different, as in the electrode bonding device 50B of the second embodiment described below, a time difference occurs in the ultrasonic vibration operations among the three ultrasonic bonding units 1.

[0115] Note that it is theoretically possible to omit the execution of step ST12 and execute the processing of step ST12 simultaneously with the execution of step ST14.

[0116] (effect) The electrode bonding apparatus 50 of embodiment 1, which is the ultrasonic vibration bonding apparatus of the present disclosure, has a lifting mechanism including a lifting air cylinder 39 that performs lifting operations on the ultrasonic bonding execution group including three ultrasonic bonding units 1, three pressurizing air cylinders 33, and a position adjustment mechanism.

[0117] Therefore, by causing the lifting mechanism to perform lifting operations under the control of the control unit 15, the lifting operations of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, which are multiple ultrasonic bonding units, can be performed simultaneously, and pre-bonding processing can be performed to position the three ultrasonic bonding units in a bonding preparation position close to the objects to be bonded.

[0118] After the above-mentioned pre-bonding process, the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of embodiment 1, under the control of the control unit 15, causes the three pressurizing air cylinders 33, which are the multiple pressurizing mechanisms, to perform a pressurizing operation in step ST12, causes the position adjustment mechanism to perform a position adjustment operation in step ST13, and then causes the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 to perform an ultrasonic vibration operation in step ST14.

[0119] As a result, by performing the above-described steps ST11 to ST14 once, ultrasonic bonding can be performed at three application parts of the object to be bonded. For example, if the object to be bonded is an electrode material 91 shown in Fig. 19, ultrasonic bonding can be performed to bond the electrode material 91 onto the substrate 90 at three application parts (bonding locations) of the electrode material 91.

[0120] Since the lifting air cylinder 39 is positioned below the ultrasonic bonding execution group, by utilizing the relatively ample space below the ultrasonic bonding execution group, the electrode bonding device 50 of embodiment 1 can simplify and downsize the device configuration.

[0121] 15 is an explanatory diagram comparing the dimensions of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment with the conventional electrode bonding apparatus 70. The values ​​in parentheses shown in the drawing are dimensional values ​​in mm (millimeters).

[0122] As shown in the figure, the conventional electrode bonding device 70 requires three pressure sliders 77, three pressure air cylinders 74, a lifting frame 73, a ball screw 72, and an AC servo motor 71 for lifting, etc. to be installed above the ultrasonic bonding unit 1, resulting in a device height of

[0990] (mm).

[0123] On the other hand, the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment only requires the pressurizing air cylinder 33 and the like to be provided above the ultrasonic bonding unit 1, and the lifting air cylinder 39, which is the main component of the lifting mechanism, is provided below the ultrasonic bonding unit 1. As a result, the height of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 can be kept to 460 mm.

[0124] The device width along the X direction of both the electrode bonding device 70 and the electrode bonding device 50 is

[0500] (mm), and the device depth along the Y direction of both is

[0530] (mm).

[0125] Therefore, the overall volume of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment can be reduced to half or less of that of the conventional electrode bonding apparatus 70.

[0126] Furthermore, the main component of the lifting mechanism in the electrode bonding apparatus 50 is only the lifting air cylinder 39, whereas the electrode bonding apparatus 70 requires a lifting frame 73, a ball screw 72, and a lifting AC servo motor 71 as its lifting mechanism. Furthermore, the lifting mechanism must be located above the pressurizing air cylinder 74. In this way, the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of embodiment 1 has a simpler device configuration than the conventional electrode bonding apparatus 70.

[0127] In the electrode bonding device 50 of the first embodiment, three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are arranged above the mounting surface 20F of the lifting frame 20 in a manner that the units are fixed onto the lower surface member 63, which is a unit installation member of the three brackets 6.

[0128] Therefore, a user of the electrode bonding device 50 can access the three ultrasonic bonding units from above and perform work on the three ultrasonic bonding units 1, such as attachment and detachment, relatively easily.

[0129] In addition, the lifting mechanism has as its main components a lifting air cylinder 39 and four lifting guide posts 42, which support the lifting frame 20 from below and raise and lower the lifting frame 20 to perform lifting operations relative to the ultrasonic bonding execution group, so the volume of the space below the lifting frame 20 can be kept to a necessary minimum.

[0130] The position adjustment mechanism in the electrode bonding device 50 of embodiment 1 can collectively rotate the three position adjustment cams 37, which are multiple position adjustment cams, by rotating one cam rotation shaft 26, so that the position adjustment operation of each of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 can be performed relatively easily.

[0131] In the electrode joining device 50 of embodiment 1, by providing a rotary drive device 34 that rotates and drives the drive pulley 35 on the mounting surface 20F of the lifting frame 20, the volume of the storage space S20 of the lifting frame 20 can be kept to a necessary minimum, and the cam rotating shaft 26 provided in the storage space S20 can be rotated by the rotation of the driven pulley 36.

[0132] In the electrode bonding device 50 of the first embodiment, the positions of the three position-adjusting driven bearings 38 in the height direction change in conjunction with the attitude of the corresponding one of the three position-adjusting cams 37. Then, the corresponding bracket 6 and ultrasonic bonding unit 1 perform a rotational movement operation with the unit shaft 24 as the center of rotation in conjunction with the positional change in the height direction of the position-adjusting driven bearings 38.

[0133] Therefore, the position adjustment mechanism of the electrode bonding device 50 of embodiment 1 can accurately set the height position of the ultrasonic bonding portion 81 in each of the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 by performing a position adjustment operation including the rotational movement of the three position adjustment cams 37 and the rotational movement of the bracket 6 and the ultrasonic bonding unit 1 described above.

[0134] <Embodiment 2> FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the configuration of the three position adjusting cams 37 of the electrode bonding apparatus 50B of the second embodiment. An XYZ Cartesian coordinate system is depicted in FIG. 16. The overall configuration of the electrode bonding apparatus 50B is the same as that of the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 14, except for the attitudes of the three position adjusting cams 37 relative to the cam rotation shaft 26. Furthermore, in the control system (see FIG. 14) of the electrode bonding apparatus 50B of the second embodiment, a control unit 15B is used instead of the control unit 15.

[0135] The following describes the characteristic features of the electrode bonding apparatus 50B of the second embodiment with reference to Fig. 16. For ease of explanation, the three position adjustment cams 37 are classified as position adjustment cams 37a to 37c from the left (-X direction) to the right (+X direction) in the figure. Similarly, the three position adjustment driven bearings 38 are classified as position adjustment driven bearings 38a to 38c, the three ultrasonic bonding units 1 are classified as ultrasonic bonding units 1a to 1c, and the three ultrasonic bonding sections 81 are classified as ultrasonic bonding sections 81a to 81c.

[0136] Therefore, the position adjustment cam 37a, the position adjustment driven bearing 38a, the ultrasonic bonding unit 1a, and the ultrasonic bonding portion 81a correspond to one another, the position adjustment cam 37b, the position adjustment driven bearing 38b, the ultrasonic bonding unit 1b, and the ultrasonic bonding portion 81b correspond to one another, and the position adjustment cam 37c, the position adjustment driven bearing 38c, the ultrasonic bonding unit 1c, and the ultrasonic bonding portion 81c correspond to one another.

[0137] As shown in FIG. 16, the position adjustment cams 37a to 37c, which are the plurality of position adjustment cams 37, are set to have different attitudes relative to the cam rotation shaft 26.

[0138] In the structure shown in FIG. 16, the position adjustment cam 37a is in the second position, the position adjustment cam 37b is in the third position, and the position adjustment cam 37c is in the first position.

[0139] Fig. 17 is a graph showing phase changes of the driven bearing heights of the three position adjusting cams 37 in the electrode bonding apparatus 50B of the second embodiment. Fig. 17 shows the phase changes of the driven bearing heights 17a to 17c. The phase (degrees) shown on the horizontal axis of Fig. 17 indicates the angle change due to the rotation of the cam rotating shaft 26 in the range of 0 to 360°, with the initial position of the cam rotating shaft 26 being 0°. The driven bearing heights 17a to 17c shown on the vertical axis of Fig. 17 are in mm.

[0140] Hereinafter, the position adjusting cams 37a to 37c may be collectively referred to simply as "position adjusting cam 37," and the driven bearing heights 17a to 17c may be collectively referred to simply as "driven bearing height 17."

[0141] Driven bearing heights 17a to 17c shown in Fig. 17 correspond to the heights of position adjustment cams 37a to 37c shown in Fig. 16. That is, driven bearing heights 17a to 17c correspond to position adjustment cams 37a to 37c. However, because Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram, the posture of position adjustment cam 37 shown in Fig. 16 does not exactly match the value of driven bearing height 17 shown in Fig. 17.

[0142] As shown in Fig. 17, the phase difference between driven bearing heights 17a and 17b is set to be 10°. The phase difference between driven bearing heights 17b and 17c is set to be 10°. Therefore, the phase difference between driven bearing heights 17c and 17a is 20°.

[0143] When the position adjustment cam 37 is in the first position, the driven bearing height 17 is approximately 17.00 mm, when the position adjustment cam 37 is in the second position, the driven bearing height 17 is approximately 23.00 mm, and when the position adjustment cam 37 is in the third position, the driven bearing height 17 is an intermediate value.

[0144] The electrode bonding apparatus 50B of the second embodiment having such a configuration can perform the ultrasonic bonding process consisting of the following steps ST21 to ST24 under the control of the control unit 15B. That is, the control unit 15B in the electrode bonding apparatus 50B of the second embodiment performs the control operation consisting of steps ST21 to ST24.

[0145] Step ST21: The lifting and lowering operation of the lifting mechanism including the lifting air cylinder 39 is controlled to perform the lifting and lowering operation by the lifting mechanism on the ultrasonic bonding execution group, and the ultrasonic bonding portions 81a to 81c of the ultrasonic bonding units 1a to 1c are positioned above the three application portions of the object to be bonded.

[0146] That is, by performing step ST21, a pre-bonding process can be performed in which the ultrasonic bonding units 1a to 1c are placed at bonding preparation positions close to the objects to be bonded.

[0147] Step ST22: The three pressurizing air cylinders 33 are caused to perform pressurizing operations with the respective pressurizing pressures. The processing of step ST22 is subsequently continued during the operations of steps ST23 and ST24.

[0148] Step ST23: The rotational drive operation of the rotary drive device 34 is controlled to rotate the position adjustment cams 37a to 37c, and only one of the position adjustment cams 37a to 37c, the position adjustment cam 37, is set to the first position, and only one of the ultrasonic welding units 81a to 81c, the ultrasonic welding unit 81, is brought into contact with the workpieces. At this time, the other two position adjustment cams 37 are set to the second or third position.

[0149] Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the position adjusting cam 37c out of the position adjusting cams 37a to 37c is set to the first position and the ultrasonic welding portion 81c of the ultrasonic welding unit 1c is brought into contact with the workpieces to be joined.

[0150] Step ST24: Of the ultrasonic bonding units 1a to 1c, only the ultrasonic bonding unit 1c is caused to perform ultrasonic vibration operation. That is, the ultrasonic bonding section 81c applies ultrasonic vibration to the application section of the object to be bonded. At this time, neither the ultrasonic bonding units 1a nor 1b perform ultrasonic vibration operation.

[0151] It is also possible to omit the execution of step ST22 and, when executing step ST24, selectively perform the pressurizing operation on only the pressurizing air cylinder 33 corresponding to the ultrasonic bonding unit 1c that performs the ultrasonic vibration operation, out of the three pressurizing air cylinders 33.

[0152] The electrode bonding apparatus 50B of the second embodiment can perform the ultrasonic bonding process on only one application portion of the bonding object by performing the above-mentioned steps ST21 to ST24 once.

[0153] Thereafter, at least steps ST23 and ST24 of the above-mentioned steps ST21 to ST24 are repeated. Specifically, under the control of the control unit 15B, the electrode bonding apparatus 50B of the second embodiment can cause only the ultrasonic bonding unit 1b to perform the ultrasonic vibration operation when step ST24 is executed for the second time, and can cause only the ultrasonic bonding unit 1a to perform the ultrasonic vibration operation when step ST24 is executed for the third time.

[0154] Therefore, under the control of the control unit 15B, the electrode bonding apparatus 50B of embodiment 2 repeats steps ST23 and ST24 three times, allowing the ultrasonic bonding units 81a to 81c to perform ultrasonic bonding processing at three different application units for the objects to be bonded.

[0155] The electrode bonding apparatus 50B of the second embodiment provides the same effects as the electrode bonding apparatus 50 of the first embodiment, and also provides the following effects that are unique to the second embodiment.

[0156] Since the position adjustment cams 37a to 37c have different attitudes relative to the cam rotation shaft 26, different heights can be set for the driven bearing heights 17a to 17c at the same time during the rotation of the position adjustment cams 37a to 37c.

[0157] As a result, the electrode bonding device 50B of embodiment 2 can set the contact timing at which the ultrasonic bonding sections 81a to 81c come into contact with the objects to be bonded so that there is no temporal overlap between the ultrasonic bonding units 1a to 1c, thereby enabling ultrasonic bonding to be performed efficiently and with high precision at multiple bonding locations (application sections) of the objects to be bonded.

[0158] This is because, since only one of the ultrasonic bonding units 1a to 1c performs the ultrasonic vibration operation, the ultrasonic wave motion generated when one of the three ultrasonic vibration operations is performed does not adversely affect the other two ultrasonic vibration operations. Therefore, the electrode bonding device 50B of the second embodiment can perform ultrasonic bonding at three bonding locations (multiple bonding locations) of the objects to be connected with high accuracy.

[0159] It should be noted that, within the scope of the present disclosure, it is possible to freely combine the embodiments, and to modify or omit the embodiments as appropriate.

[0160] For example, the electrode bonding device 50 of the first embodiment has the same attitude with respect to the cam rotation shaft 26 between the three position adjustment cams 37, while the electrode bonding device 50B of the second embodiment has different attitudes with respect to the cam rotation shaft 26 between the three position adjustment cams 37. As another aspect, a modified example may be adopted in which the attitude with respect to the cam rotation shaft 26 between two of the three position adjustment cams 37 is the same.

[0161] In the above-described embodiment, the "plurality of units" such as the ultrasonic bonding unit 1, the pressurizing air cylinder 33, the position adjusting cam 37, etc. is set to "3" as an example, but it goes without saying that the "plurality of units" can be set to any number equal to or greater than 2. [Explanation of symbols]

[0162] 1, 1a to 1c Ultrasonic bonding unit 6 Bracket 8 Ultrasonic welding horn 15,15B Control section 20 Lifting frame 24 Unit shaft 25 Drive shaft 26 Cam rotation shaft 33 Pressurized air cylinder 34 Rotational drive unit 35 Drive pulley 36 Driven pulley 37, 37a~37c Position adjustment cam 38, 38a to 38c Position adjustment driven bearing 39 Lifting air cylinder 42 Lifting guide post 44 Swing support bearing mechanism 46 Timing belt 50,50B,70 Electrode bonding equipment 63 Bottom member 81,81a~81c Ultrasonic joint S20 Storage Space

Claims

1. a plurality of ultrasonic bonding units each performing an ultrasonic vibration operation, the ultrasonic vibration operation being performed by applying ultrasonic vibrations from ultrasonic bonding portions; a plurality of pressure mechanisms provided corresponding to the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, each of which applies pressure to a corresponding one of the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units; a position adjustment mechanism that performs a position adjustment operation to adjust the position of the ultrasonic bonding portion of each of the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units in a height direction; a lifting mechanism that is disposed below an ultrasonic bonding execution group including the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, the plurality of pressure mechanisms, and the position adjustment mechanism, and that performs a lifting operation on the ultrasonic bonding execution group; a control unit that executes control operations to control the ultrasonic vibration operation by the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, the pressurizing operation by the plurality of pressurizing mechanisms, the position adjustment operation by the position adjustment mechanism, and the lifting operation by the lifting mechanism, the position adjustment mechanism includes a plurality of position adjustment cams corresponding to the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, the plurality of position adjustment cams are disposed below the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, the position adjustment operation includes a rotational operation of the plurality of position adjustment cams, and the position in the height direction of the ultrasonic bonding portion of a corresponding one of the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units is determined by the posture of each of the plurality of position adjustment cams. Ultrasonic vibration bonding equipment.

2. 2. The ultrasonic vibration bonding apparatus according to claim 1, a lifting frame having a mounting surface, the pressurizing mechanisms being fixed above the mounting surface, and the ultrasonic bonding units being disposed above the mounting surface; the lifting frame has an accommodation space for accommodating the plurality of position adjustment cams, The lifting mechanism includes: a lifting air cylinder that supports the lifting frame from below and lifts and lowers the lifting frame to perform the lifting operation on the ultrasonic welding execution group; the plurality of pressure mechanisms, the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, and the plurality of position adjustment cams are provided to be movable together with the lifting frame; Ultrasonic vibration bonding equipment.

3. 3. The ultrasonic vibration bonding apparatus according to claim 2, each of the plurality of pressure mechanisms includes a pressure-applying air cylinder; The position adjustment mechanism includes: a cam rotation shaft that serves as a rotation shaft for the plurality of position adjustment cams; a group of rotation drive members that rotate the cam rotation shaft, the rotation of the cam rotation shaft causes the rotation of the plurality of position adjustment cams. Ultrasonic vibration bonding equipment.

4. 4. The ultrasonic vibration bonding apparatus according to claim 3, The plurality of position adjustment cams have different attitudes relative to the cam rotation shaft. Ultrasonic vibration bonding equipment.

5. 5. The ultrasonic vibration bonding apparatus according to claim 3, The lifting frame further accommodates the cam rotation shaft in the accommodation space, The group of rotational drive members a rotation drive device that is provided on the mounting surface of the lifting frame and that rotates and drives a drive pulley; a driven pulley connected to the cam rotation shaft; a power transmission belt that transmits the rotational driving force of the drive pulley to the driven pulley, The cam rotation shaft is rotated via the power transmission belt and the driven pulley by the rotational drive of the drive pulley of the rotation drive device. Ultrasonic vibration bonding equipment.

6. The ultrasonic vibration bonding apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4, a plurality of brackets provided corresponding to the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units and the plurality of position adjustment cams; a plurality of position adjustment driven bearings provided corresponding to the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units, the plurality of position adjustment cams, and the plurality of brackets; Each of the plurality of brackets fixes a corresponding one of the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units to a unit installation member, and the ultrasonic bonding portions of the plurality of ultrasonic bonding units are arranged on one end side of the plurality of brackets, the plurality of brackets fix corresponding position adjustment driven bearings among the plurality of position adjustment driven bearings under the respective unit installation members; the positions of the plurality of position adjustment driven bearings in the height direction change in conjunction with the attitudes of the corresponding position adjustment cams among the plurality of position adjustment cams, The ultrasonic vibration bonding device includes: a bracket support mechanism provided on the mounting surface of the lifting frame and configured to rotatably support the plurality of brackets around a unit shaft provided on the other end side of the plurality of brackets; the position adjustment mechanism further includes the plurality of brackets, the plurality of position adjustment driven bearings, and the bracket support mechanism. Ultrasonic vibration bonding equipment.

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