Conveying claw and soldering device

Abstract

A conveying claw 600 is used to convey a substrate to which solder is supplied. The conveying claw 600 comprises: a claw body 620 made of resin material and having a claw portion 610 for holding the substrate; and a coating film 630 coating at least the claw portion 610.

Description

Conveying claw and soldering device

[0001] The present invention relates to a conveying claw for conveying a board onto which solder is to be supplied, and a soldering device using the conveying claw.

[0002] Conventionally, multiple conveying claws have been used to convey circuit boards in soldering devices such as jet soldering devices. Molten solder jetted during soldering can get on these conveying claws, solidify while still attached to the conveying claws, and cause the solder to adhere to the conveying claws. Therefore, it has been conventionally practiced to remove the solder adhering to the conveying claws. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-190666 discloses, as a conventional example, a method in which solder adhering to the conveying claws is removed with a removal brush, and proposes a method in which the solder is removed with hot air supplied from a blowing nozzle.

[0003] Depending on the solder composition used in the jet soldering apparatus, the solder may have a strong adhesive force, making it impossible to remove the solder that has adhered to the conveying claws.

[0004] The present invention provides a conveying claw that can more reliably remove solder adhering to the conveying claw, and a soldering device using the conveying claw.

[0005] [Concept 1] The transport claw of the present invention is a transport claw for transporting a substrate to which solder is supplied, and may include: a claw body made of a resin material or a material containing Ti and having a claw portion for gripping the substrate; and a coating film covering at least the claw portion.

[0006] [Concept 2] In the delivery nail according to Concept 1, the coating film may cover the entire nail body.

[0007] [Concept 3] In the conveying claw according to Concept 1 or 2, the resin material may be made of a liquid crystal polymer.

[0008] [Concept 4] In the conveying finger according to any one of Concepts 1 to 3, the liquid crystalline polymer may be made of a liquid crystalline wholly aromatic polyester.

[0009] [Concept 5] In the transport finger according to Concept 4, the liquid crystalline wholly aromatic polyester may use parahydroxybenzoic acid, biphenol, and terephthalic acid as monomer components.

[0010] [Concept 6] In the conveying claw according to any one of Concepts 1 to 5, the coating film may contain a fluororesin.

[0011] [Concept 7] The conveying claw according to Concept 6, wherein the fluororesin may be polytetrafluoroethylene.

[0012] [Concept 8] In the conveying finger according to Concept 6 or 7, the coating film may contain a polyimide compound.

[0013] [Concept 9] The transport pawl according to Concept 8, wherein the polyimide compound may be a polyamide-imide compound.

[0014] [Concept 10] The carrier finger according to any one of Concepts 6 to 9, wherein the coating film may include a pigment.

[0015] [Concept 11] A soldering apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a wave soldering apparatus that supplies solder containing Bi to a substrate; and a transport mechanism that transports the substrate, wherein the transport mechanism may have the transport claws described in any one of Concepts 1 to 10.

[0016] According to the present invention, solder adhering to the conveying claws can be removed more reliably.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a soldering apparatus according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the conveying claws and the contact body according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the conveying claws and the brush according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which the entire conveying claw is covered with a coating film. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an embodiment in which a portion of the conveying claw, including the claw portion, is covered with a coating film. FIG. 6 is a photograph showing the contact body and the brush according to this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a front view (viewed from the left side of FIG. 6) showing the contact body and the brush according to this embodiment. FIG. 8 is a side view showing an example of a solder removal mechanism according to this embodiment. FIG. 9 is a side view showing an example of a jet soldering apparatus according to this embodiment.

[0018] 1 is an apparatus for soldering a substrate 200 having electronic components, such as semiconductor elements, resistors, and capacitors, mounted on a circuit. Typically, the electronic components are positioned below the substrate 200. The soldering apparatus has a main body 1 and a transport unit 5 for transporting the substrate 200. The main body 1 has an inlet 2 for transporting the substrate 200 and an outlet 3 for transporting the substrate 200. The substrate 200 may be transported at a predetermined angle, for example, an inclination of approximately 3 to 6 degrees, as viewed from the side (see FIG. 9). In this case, the downstream side of the substrate transport direction A is positioned higher than the upstream side. However, this is not limited to this, and the substrate 200 may be transported horizontally, for example. The transport unit 5 may have a transport rail 6 (see FIG. 9), transport claws 600 (see FIGS. 2 and 3) that can move along the transport rail 6 while gripping the substrate 200, and a transport drive unit (not shown) that applies a driving force to move the transport claws 600 along the transport rail 6. The transport rail 6 may be made of aluminum, iron, stainless steel, or the like. The transport claws 600 have claw portions 610 for gripping the substrate 200 (see FIGS. 2 to 5).

[0019] 1, the main body 1 may be provided with a fluxer 10 that applies flux to the substrate 200, a preheater unit 15 that preheats the flux-coated substrate 200, a jet soldering device 100 that jets molten solder to contact the substrate 200, and a cooler 20 that cools the soldered substrate 200. The substrate 200 transported along the transport rails 6 of the transport unit 5 passes through the fluxer 10, the preheater unit 15, the jet soldering device 100, and the cooler 20 in that order. Note that in FIG. 1, the soldering apparatus is shown in a top plan view, except for the control unit 50, the memory unit 60, and the operation unit 70, which will be described later.

[0020] The fluxer 10 is used to apply flux to the transported substrate 200. The flux may contain a solvent, an activator, etc. The fluxer 10 may be provided with a plurality of application devices. Different types of flux may be used depending on the type of solder and the type of substrate 200.

[0021] The preheater unit 15 heats the substrate 200, thereby raising the temperature of the substrate 200 uniformly to a predetermined temperature. Heating the substrate 200 in this manner makes it easier for solder to adhere to predetermined locations on the substrate 200. The preheater unit 15 may be, for example, a halogen heater. The halogen heater can rapidly heat the substrate 200 to a set temperature. Alternatively, the substrate 200 may be heated by blowing gas (hot air) heated by the heater onto the substrate 200 using a fan. Alternatively, the preheater unit 15 may be a far-infrared panel heater or the like.

[0022] The cooler 20 has a cooling fan (not shown) and cools the board 200 that has been soldered by the jet soldering apparatus 100. The cooling fan may be controlled simply by turning it on and off, or the air speed may be adjusted. The cooler 20 may also be a chiller or the like that cools the board 200 to a predetermined temperature.

[0023] The control unit 50 shown in FIG. 1 is communicatively connected to the transport unit 5, the fluxer 10, the preheater unit 15, the jet soldering apparatus 100, the cooler 20, the operation unit 70, and the memory unit 60. The communicative connections include both wired and wireless connections. The operation unit 70 may include a liquid crystal display panel, a numeric keypad, or the like, and is typically a personal computer, smartphone, tablet, touch panel, or the like. When an operator operates the operation unit 70, the control unit 50 may control the transport speed of the transport unit 5, the timing of transporting the substrate 200, the temperature of the flux in the fluxer 10, the amount of flux applied, the temperature of the preheater unit 15, the temperature of the molten solder S in the jet soldering apparatus 100, the jet flow rate, the jet speed, and ON / OFF of the cooling fan of the cooler 20. The memory unit 60 may store information input via the operation unit 70, instructions from the control unit 50, the operating time of the jet soldering apparatus 100, and the like. The transport speed of the substrate 200 is, for example, about 1 to 3 cm per second.

[0024] Next, an example of a method for processing the substrate 200 will be described.

[0025] The substrate 200 is held between a plurality of conveying claws 600 (see FIGS. 2 and 3 ), and the conveying claws 600 move along the conveying rails 6 to convey the substrate 200. The substrate 200 is carried into the main body 1 through the carry-in entrance 2. When the substrate 200 reaches above the fluxer 10, the fluxer 10 applies flux to predetermined locations on the substrate 200.

[0026] The transport claws 600 transport the substrate 200, to which the flux has been applied by the fluxer 10, to the preheater section 15. The preheater section 15 heats the substrate 200 to a predetermined temperature.

[0027] Next, the transport claws 600 transport the substrate 200, which has been heated to a predetermined temperature by the preheater unit 15, to the jet soldering device 100. The jet soldering device 100 solders predetermined locations on the substrate 200 (see FIG. 9 ). While the jet soldering device 100 is supplying the molten solder S, the molten solder S supplied from the first supply port 125 in the first supply unit 120 and the molten solder S supplied from the second supply port 135 in the second supply unit 130 are mixed together, and the molten solder S is supplied up to above the transport rail 6. The molten solder S may be configured not to separate from the substrate 200 transported by the transport claws 600 between the first supply port 125 and the second supply port 135.

[0028] Next, the transport claws 600 transport the soldered board 200 to the cooler 20. For example, a cooling fan of the cooler 20 cools the soldered board 200 for a predetermined time. After the board 200 has been cooled, the transport claws 600 eject the board 200 from the discharge port 3, and the soldering process on the board 200 is completed.

[0029] After this, the transport claws 600 are bent back along the transport rails 6 outward from the periphery and return toward the carry-in entrance 2. Therefore, the board transport direction A and the transport direction B of the transport claws 600 are opposite in plan view (see FIG. 1). As the transport claws 600 move toward the carry-in entrance 2, they pass through the solder removal mechanism 520. As the transport claws 600 pass through the solder removal mechanism 520 in this way, the solder adhering to the transport claws 600 is removed by the solder removal mechanism 520. A pair of solder removal mechanisms 520 are provided, and are capable of removing solder adhering to each of the transport claws 600 that grip the board 200.

[0030] When the transport claw 600 that has passed through the solder removal mechanism 520 returns to the carry-in opening 2 , the transport claw 600 will transport another board 200 .

[0031] Typically, a number of conveying claws 600 are arranged along the conveying rails 6, and the substrates 200 are conveyed sequentially by the conveying claws 600 that are part of the many conveying rails 6.

[0032] Next, the solder removal mechanism 520 will be described.

[0033] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the solder removal mechanism 520 of this embodiment may have an abutment body 530 that can pass relatively within the claw portion 610 of the moving conveying claw 600 or below the moving conveying claw 600 after the board 200 has been removed from the conveying claw 600 and conveyed. In FIGS. 2 and 3 , the conveying claw 600 gripping the board 200 moves toward the front side of the paper, while the conveying claws 600 shown on both the left and right sides of FIGS. 2 and 3 that are not gripping the board 200 move toward the back side of the paper. In this application, "passable" means that they can pass relatively. Typically, when the conveying claw 600 is moving and the abutment body 530 is stopped, the conveying claw 600 passes through the abutment body 530, causing the abutment body 530 to pass relatively within the claw portion 610 of the moving conveying claw 600 or below the moving conveying claw 600.

[0034] The contact body 530 is intended to come into contact with and remove hardened solder adhering to the conveying claw 600. By employing such a contact body 530, it is possible to more reliably scrape off hardened solder adhering to the conveying claw 600. In this regard, a brush 590 may be used instead of the contact body 530 shown in FIG. 2 (see FIG. 3).

[0035] Since a pair of conveying claws 600 that hold the substrate 200 is provided, a pair of abutting bodies 530 and brushes 590 may also be provided. At least a portion of the solder removal mechanism 520 may be located above the reservoir 110 of the jet soldering device, as shown in Fig. 8. By installing the solder removal mechanism 520 above the reservoir 110 of the jet soldering device, the solder scraped off from the conveying claws 600 can be dropped directly into the reservoir 110, allowing it to be reused for soldering and also preventing the scraped off solder from accumulating inside the jet soldering device 100.

[0036] The conveying claw 600 of this embodiment may be made of a resin material or a material containing Ti, and may include a claw body 620 having a claw portion 610 for gripping the substrate 200, and a coating film 630 covering at least the claw portion 610 (see FIGS. 4 and 5 ). By providing the coating film 630 covering the claw portion 610 in this manner, solder adhering to the claw portion 610 can be efficiently removed. Furthermore, if the claw body 620 is made of a material containing a resin material, this is preferable because it further reduces the possibility of the conveying claw 600 scratching the substrate 200. More specifically, the material of the conveying claw 600 may be made of a resin material, a resin material and carbon black, or Ti or a Ti alloy. The Ti alloy may be an alloy mainly composed of Ti (an alloy in which Ti is the most significant component).

[0037] The inventors of the present application have confirmed that solder containing Bi, such as Sn-58Bi (58% by mass Bi, remainder Sn), tends to adhere strongly to the conveying claw 600, and therefore providing a coating film 630 that covers at least the claw portion 610, as in this embodiment, is extremely beneficial. More specifically, the adhesive strength of Sn-Bi based solder such as Sn-58Bi is significantly stronger than that of SAC (Sn-Ag-Cu) composition, and it may be difficult to remove the adhered solder. In this regard, by adopting the aspect of this embodiment, even Sn-Bi based solder, which has strong adhesive strength, can be easily removed.

[0038] As shown in Fig. 4, the coating film 630 may be provided so as to cover the entire nail body 620. By covering the entire nail body 620 with the coating film 630 in this manner, it becomes easier to remove solder that has adhered to any part of the nail body 620. In addition, by covering the entire nail body 620 with the coating film 630 in this manner, there is also the advantage that processing when providing the coating film 630 on the nail body 620 becomes easier. However, this is not limited to this embodiment, and the coating film 630 may be provided on a part of the nail body 620, including the nail portion 610, as shown in Fig. 5.

[0039] From the viewpoint of heat resistance, etc., it is preferable that the resin material constituting the nail main body 620 is made of a liquid crystal polymer (LCP) that has the properties of a liquid crystal.

[0040] The inventors have confirmed that, from the viewpoint of providing a suitable flexibility and heat resistance while facilitating the application of a coating film 630 (particularly a fluorine coating film), the liquid crystalline polymer is preferably a liquid crystalline wholly aromatic polyester. A wholly aromatic polyester is a polyester made from aromatic rings obtained by the polycondensation reaction of biphenol and aromatic dicarboxylic acid. The liquid crystalline wholly aromatic polyester is more preferably a polymer synthesized from parahydroxybenzoic acid, biphenol, and terephthalic acid, using parahydroxybenzoic acid, biphenol, and terephthalic acid as monomer components. 4,4'-Dihydroxybiphenol is preferably used as the biphenol.

[0041] Furthermore, the inventors have confirmed that the coating film 630 preferably contains a fluororesin. In particular, the fluororesin is preferably polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The coating film 630 more preferably contains a polyimide compound, and the polyimide compound is even more preferably a polyamide-imide compound. The coating film 630 more preferably contains a pigment. The coating film 630 more preferably contains a fluororesin and a polyimide compound, or a fluororesin, a polyimide compound, and a pigment. By providing such a coating film 630, hardened solder that has come into contact with the contact member 530 or the brush 590 can be very easily removed. From this perspective, the coating film 630 particularly preferably contains polytetrafluoroethylene and a polyamide-imide compound, or polytetrafluoroethylene, a polyamide-imide compound, and a pigment.

[0042] The abutting body 530 may have a first abutting body 540 that can relatively pass through the claw portion 610 of the moving conveying claw 600 and can come into contact with solder that has adhered to and hardened within the claw portion 610 of the conveying claw 600, and a second abutting body 550 that can relatively pass below the moving conveying claw 600 and can come into contact with solder that has adhered to and hardened below the conveying claw 600 (see FIG. 2 ). The first abutting body 540 may be slightly smaller than the claw portion 610 and have a shape that matches the shape of the claw portion 610. The first abutting body 540 may have a shape similar to the shape of the claw portion 610. By making the first abutting body 540 smaller than the claw portion 610 and having a shape that matches the shape of the claw portion 610 in this way, solder that has adhered to the claw portion 610 can be more reliably removed.

[0043] As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , both the contact body 530 and the brush 590 may be used. The first contact body 540 may be an abutment plate. The first contact body 540 may have a first base end 545, a first tip end 543, and a first bent portion 541 provided between the first base end 545 and the first tip end 543. The first tip end 543 may extend downstream (to the right in FIG. 6 ) from the first bent portion 541 in the movement direction B of the conveying claw 600. (Although the first contact body 540 is basically configured not to contact the conveying claw 600), if the first contact body 540 is linear and does not have the first bent portion 541, there is a possibility that the first contact body 540 may get caught on the conveying claw 600 for some reason, stopping the movement of the conveying claw 600. In contrast, by configuring the first tip portion 543 to extend downstream in the movement direction B of the conveying claw 600 as in the present embodiment, even if the first tip portion 543 of the first contact body 540 abuts against the conveying claw 600 for some reason, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the first tip portion 543 will be caught by the conveying claw 600 and stop the movement of the conveying claw 600. If the movement of the conveying claw 600 stops, the processing of the board 200 itself will stop, but by adopting the present embodiment, such an occurrence can be prevented. Note that the first tip portion 543 is configured to extend toward the inside of the soldering device, and in FIG. 2 , the first tip portion 543 of the right-side first contact body 540 extends toward the left, and the first tip portion 543 of the left-side first contact body 540 extends toward the right.

[0044] Like the first contact body 540, the second contact body 550 may also be formed of a contact plate. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the second contact body 550 may have a second base end 555, a second tip end 553, and a second bent portion 551 provided between the second base end 555 and the second tip end 553. The second tip end 553 may extend downstream (to the right in FIG. 6 ) in the movement direction B of the conveying claw 600, relative to the second bent portion 551. For the same reasons as those described for the first contact body 540, the second tip end 553 extending downstream in the movement direction B of the conveying claw 600 prevents the second contact body 550 from getting caught on the conveying claw 600. In other words, the second abutment body 550 is also basically configured not to abut against the conveying claw 600, but even if the second abutment body 550 abuts against the conveying claw 600 for some reason, the second abutment body 550 can be made not to interfere with the movement of the conveying claw 600.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 8 , a guide portion 580 may be provided below the contact body 530 to guide the solid solder that has fallen from the conveying claws 600 to the reservoir 110 of the jet soldering device. By providing such a guide portion 580, the solder that has come into contact with the contact body 530 and been scraped off can be more reliably guided to the reservoir 110, allowing the solder to be melted and reused. It also more reliably prevents the scraped solder from accumulating within the jet soldering device 100. Since a particular solder, such as an Sn—Bi-based solder, tends to adhere in large amounts to the conveying claws 600, adopting such an embodiment is extremely beneficial from the standpoints of both reuse and preventing the scraped solder from accumulating within the jet soldering device 100.

[0046] A cover 585 extending vertically may be provided, positioned downstream of the conveying claw 600 in the moving direction B (to the right in FIG. 8 ). The inventors of the present application have found that solder scraped off from the conveying claw 600 tends to splatter upstream of the moving direction B (to the left in FIG. 8 ). However, providing such a cover 585 can prevent the solder scraped off by contacting the contact body 530 from splattering upstream of the moving direction B of the conveying claw 600 (to the left in FIG. 8 ). In the embodiment shown in FIG. 8 , the cover 585 and the guide portion 580 are integrated and connected via a connecting portion 589. However, this is not a limitation, and the cover 585 and the guide portion 580 may be separate. However, when the cover 585 and the guide portion 580 are integrated as in this embodiment, it is advantageous in that the guide portion 580 can guide solid solder that hits the cover 585 directly to the storage tank 110.

[0047] When both the contact body 530 and the brush 590 are used, the brush 590 may be positioned downstream of the contact body 530 in the conveying direction B of the conveying claw 600 (to the right in FIG. 8 ). By providing such a brush 590, solder adhering to the conveying claw 600 can be more reliably removed. In other words, when the contact body 530 made of a metal plate or the like scrapes off solder adhering to the conveying claw 600, there is a possibility that the scraped solder may end up on the conveying claw 600. In this regard, by providing the brush 590 as in this embodiment, the solder on the conveying claw 600 can be removed.

[0048] The above-mentioned description of each embodiment and the disclosure of the drawings are merely examples for explaining the inventions described in the claims, and the inventions described in the claims are not limited by the above-mentioned description of each embodiment or the disclosure of the drawings. Furthermore, the description of the claims as originally filed is merely an example, and the description of the claims may be changed as appropriate based on the description in the specification, drawings, etc.

[0049] 100: Jet soldering device 600: Transport claw 610: Claw portion 630: Coating film

Claims

1. A conveying claw for conveying a board to which solder is to be supplied, comprising: a claw body made of a resin material or a material containing Ti, the claw body having a claw portion for gripping the board; and a coating film covering at least the claw portion.

2. The conveying claw according to claim 1, wherein the coating film covers the entire claw body.

3. The conveying claw according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the resin material is made of a liquid crystal polymer.

4. The conveying claw according to claim 3, wherein the liquid crystal polymer is made of a liquid crystal wholly aromatic polyester.

5. The conveying finger according to claim 4, wherein the liquid crystalline wholly aromatic polyester uses parahydroxybenzoic acid, biphenol and terephthalic acid as monomer components.

6. The conveying claw according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the coating film contains a fluororesin.

7. The conveying claw according to claim 6, wherein the fluororesin is polytetrafluoroethylene.

8. The carrier finger according to claim 6, wherein the coating film includes a polyimide compound.

9. The carrier finger according to claim 8, wherein the polyimide compound is a polyamide-imide compound.

10. The carrier finger of claim 6, wherein the coating includes a pigment.

11. A soldering apparatus comprising: a jet soldering device that supplies solder containing Bi to a substrate; and a transport mechanism that transports the substrate, the transport mechanism having the transport claws according to claim 1 or 2.

Images