Patent Application
20210016558
The present application relates to a screen printer for printing a cream solder on a board, and more particularly to a screen printer characterized by a clamping structure for fixing the board in place.
In a screen printer, a screen mask having a printing pattern (through holes for printing) is held inside a printer body, and a board, conveyed by a board conveyance device, is placed below the screen mask. Then, screen printing using a cream solder is performed on the board. In addition to the board conveyance device, the screen printer includes a board holding device for holding the conveyed board to dispose the conveyed board at a printing position, a screen mask holding device for disposing and holding the screen mask, and further a squeegee device for spreading the cream solder over an upper surface of the screen mask.
A line of paste-like cream solder is supplied onto the screen mask in a width direction, and the plate-shaped squeegee moves in a front and rear direction orthogonal to the width direction of the cream solder. Then, the squeegee forces the cream solder into the printing pattern while rolling it over the screen mask, thereby printing the cream solder onto the underlying board. In the screen printing using the cream solder, the board is disposed at the printing position directly below the screen mask. As a fixing method of fixing the board in place, a top clamping method and a side clamping method are known. In the top clamping method, an edge portion of the board is pressed down from thereabove, and an underside of the board is supported wholly, whereby the board is clamped vertically. On the other hand, in the side clamping method, the board is gripped so as to be held sideways from a horizontal direction.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2011-126078
In a screen printer of Patent Document 1, different types of clamping members are prepared to use, namely both the top clamping method and the side clamping method, so that the clamping members can be replaced depending upon the contents of printing to be done on the board. However, preparing a plurality of clamping members that can be adopted to the top clamping method and the side clamping method is likely to increase the number of parts, which turns out increasing production costs or labor cost for storing the clamping members. Further, the conventional screen printer has a problem with the service life of the clamping members.
A board 100 is lifted up by a backup mechanism 102 to be disposed between a pair of clamping members 101. As this occurs, to restore the board 100 that is curved downward as illustrated to a horizontal state, for example, end portions of the board 100 that is being lifted up are caused to slide on the clamping members 101. This is because it is considered that when the end portions of the board 10 slide on the clamping members, the end portions move slower than a central portion of the board 100 due sliding resistance to thereby eliminate the downward curving of the board 100. However, when the clamping members 101 are brought into sliding contact with the board 100 in a repeated fashion, clamping surfaces of the clamping members 101 wear, thereby reducing the service life of the clamping members 101. More overly, when the clamping surfaces wear, the board 100 tends to deviate from the proper printing position when it is clamped by the clamping members 101, causing a reduction in printing accuracy.
Then, an object of the disclosure is to provide a screen printing machine including a clamping member whose clamping surfaces can be converted.
According to an aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a screen printer including a squeegee device for spreading a cream solder over a mask having formed thereon a printing pattern configured of a plurality of through holes to force the cream solder through the printing pattern, a clamping device for holding a board that is conveyed to be placed under the mask and a lift device for vertically disposing the board with respect to the mask, wherein the clamping device includes a pair of clamping portions for holding the board therebetween from a width direction, wherein the pair of clamping portions include individually detachable clamping members that are brought into abutment with lateral end faces of the board, and wherein the clamping members individually have two or more clamping surfaces that are brought into abutment with the board.
According to the screen printer of the disclosure, the board is clamped from the width direction by the clamping device using the pair of clamping portions. Then, the clamping members of the clamping portions that are brought into abutment with the board are detachable, and the two or more clamping surfaces are formed individually on the clamping members. Thus, the clamping surfaces can be converted. Therefore, in case of the two or more clamping surfaces being clamping surfaces of different types, both the side clamping method and the top clamping method can be adopted. On the other hand, in case the two or more clamping surfaces are clamping surfaces of the same type, the service life of the clamping members can be more extended.
Next, an embodiment of a screen printer according to the disclosure will be described below by reference to the drawings.
In the screen printer 1, a board 10 is conveyed in and out by the board conveyor device 3. The conveyor device 3 has a pair of conveyor belts 11 that support both sides of the board 10, and the board 10 is fed in a normal direction of the sheet of paper on which
A line of cream solder is supplied onto the mask 8 set in place in the width direction of the printer body. The cream solder is spread over the mask 8 to be forced through a printing pattern while being rolled by the squeegee device 4 and is then applied to the board 10 located underneath the mask 8. The squeegee device 4 is mounted on a carriage 12 in such a state that a pair of squeegee heads 401 and 402 each having a squeegee can be lifted up and down by cylinders. The carriage 12 is slidably assembled to a guide rod 13 provided to extend in a horizontal direction in
Next, to hold and position the board 10 in place, the board conveyance device 3, the clamping device 5, the lift device 6 and the like are provided below the set mask 8. Firstly, in the lift device 6, a lifting table 22 is assembled so as to slide along a vertical guide rail 21, and the lifting table 22 is connected to a lifting motor 23 via a ball screw mechanism 24. Then, the board conveyor device 3, the clamping device 5 and the like are mounted on the lifting table 22 via a support table 25. Although a detailed description is omitted here, the support table 25 is capable of adjusting its position in an X direction, a Y direction and a 8 direction on an X-Y plane with respect to the lifting table 22.
A pair of mask supports 26 are disposed on the support table 25 in the front and rear direction of the printer body, and the clamping device 5 is disposed between the mask supports 26. The pair of mask supports 26 disposed at the front and rear direction include individually portal leg members 261 in the width direction of the printing machine body and mask supporting plates 262 fixed individually to upper surfaces of the leg members 261 for contact with the mask 8. One of the mask supports 26 includes a ball screw mechanism configured of a fixed nut inside the leg member 261 and a screw shaft 27 that is in a thread engagement with the fixed nut. Therefore, a distance between this mask support 26 and the other mask support 26 can be controlled by controlling a drive motor for rotating the screw shaft 27.
In the clamping device 5, a pair of side frames 33, 34 are disposed at the front and rear of a support table 31, and the side frame 34 includes a ball screw mechanism configured of a fixed nut therein and a screw shaft 36 that is in thread engagement with the fixed nut. A distance between the side frames 33, 34 can be controlled by driving a clamping motor for rotating the screw shaft 36. Then, clamping portions 35 are formed at upper end portions of the side frames 33, 34, and the board 10 can be gripped by controlling a distance therebetween. The conveyor belts 11 are assembled to lower sides of the clamping portions 35 of the side frames 33, 34, whereby the board conveyance device 3 for conveying the board 10 is disposed between the side frames 33 and 34.
A backup mechanism is provided between the side frames 33, 34. The backup mechanism includes a plurality of backup pins 38 that are attached to a backup table 37 so as to avoid electronic components that are to be mounted on the board 10. The support table 31 of the clamping device 5 is supported via a ball screw mechanism that converts a rotational output of a lifting motor 41 into a lifting motion. Further, a lifting motor 42 is fixed to the support table 31, and the backup table 37 is supported via a ball screw mechanism that converts a rotational output of the lifting motor 42 into a lifting motion.
In the screen printer 1 configured as described above, the board 10 is conveyed in between the side frames 33, 34 by the conveyor belts 11. Then, the backup table 37 is lifted up by driving the lifting motor 42, whereby the board 10 is thrust up by the backup pins 38 to thereby be lifted up from the conveyor belts 11. The side frame 34 moves as a result of the screw shaft 36 being rotated, whereby the board 10 is held by the clamping portions 35 of the side frames 33, 34 therebetween.
Then, when the lifting motor 41 is driven, the entire clamping device 5 that is holding the board 10 is lifted up, and the clamping portions 35 and the board 10 are aligned in height with the mask supporting plates 262 so that upper surfaces thereof are aligned in height with one another. Thereafter, the lifting table 22 is lifted up by driving the lifting motor 23 and stops in a printing position where the upper surfaces of the mask supporting plates 262, the clamping portions 35 and the board 10 are brought into light contact with a lower surface of the mask 8. On the other hand, on an upper surface side of the mask 8, the supplied cream solder is spread over the mask 8 to be forced through the printing pattern while being rolled by the squeegee device 4. As a result, the cream solder passes through the through holes of the printing pattern to be printed on the board 10 that is disposed underneath the mask 8.
Incidentally, in lifting up the board 10 using the backup pins 38, including a case where the downward curving of the board 100 is eliminated as shown in
When clamping the board 10, clamping surfaces of the clamping bars 52 are brought into direct abutment with the board 10. In this embodiment, the clamping bar 52 includes a plurality of clamping surfaces formed thereon, and specifically speaking, two types of clamping surfaces are formed on the clamping bar 52 so that the clamping bar 52 can function in two ways. Specifically, the clamping bar 52 includes a top clamping surface 521 and a side clamping surface 522.
The clamping bar 52 is a bar-shaped member having a rectangular cross section, and the side clamping surface 522 is formed on an opposite side to the side where the top clamping surface 521 is formed. Further, a flange portion 525 is formed on an upper surface of the clamping bar 52 so as to protrude towards the side where the top clamp surface 521 is formed. The clamping bar 52 is fitted in the detachably mounting recessed portion 53 of the base block 51 in a direction indicated by an arrow F, and as shown in
When the top clamping surface 521 is used, the clamping bar 52 is fitted in the detachably mounting recessed portion 53 so that the side clamping surface 522 abuts against a deeper side wall surface 531 thereof. On the other hand, when the side clamping surface 522 is used, the clamping bar 52 is fitted in the detachably mounting recessed portion 53 so that the top clamping surface 521 abuts against the deeper side wall surface 531 thereof. A step portion 532 is formed in an upper portion of the deeper side wall surface 531 so that the flange portion 525 fits therein. Then, a bolt passing through the clamping bar 52 from an upper side thereof is fastened to the base block 51. As this occurs, the top clamping surface 521 or the side clamping surface 522 is substantially flush with an inner surface 511 of the base block 51. Upper surfaces 523, 512 of the clamping bar 52 and the base block 51 are configured to be at the same height.
Incidentally, since there is some allowance in bolt holes formed in the clamping bar 52, there may be a case where the clamping bar 52 protrudes by an amount corresponding to the amount of allowance. In the cases where the top clamping surface 521 and the side clamping surface 522 protrude from the inner surface 511 of the base block 51, an end portion of the board 10 is caught by the protruding clamping bar 52 when the board 10 is lifted up by the backup pins 38. An operator of the screen printer 1 needs to be careful to mount the clamping bar 52 in the detachably mounting recessed portion 53 properly because the board 10 can be caught even by a slight step. However hard the operator attempts to mount the clamping bar 52 properly, a mounting error may still occur. Therefore, in this embodiment, a configuration is adopted which can avoid such a mounting error.
Namely, when the operator fits the clamping bar 52 into the detachably mounting recessed portion 53, the balls 552 are disposed immediately before deepest portions of the spherical depressions 535, whereby the balls 552 are each subjected to a reaction force from an inclined surface of the depression 535. Then, a component of the reaction force exerted in the direction indicated by the arrow F serves as a force for pressing the clamping bar 52 in the fitting direction. As a result of such a force acting on both the end portions of the clamping bar 52, the top clamping surface 521 or the side clamping surface 522 that is not in use is caused to abut against the deeper side wall surface 531 strongly, whereby the clamping bar 52 is fitted properly. It should be noted that the depressions 535 are to apply the reaction force in the fitting direction indicated by the arrow F to the clamping bar via the balls 552, and thus the depressions 535 may be formed not into the spherical surface but into a flat surface.
The clamping portions 35 can convert the two modes of use of two patterns as shown in
As shown in
Subsequently, in holding the board 10, in the case of the top clamping surface 521 being used, the board 10 is pushed up from therebelow by the backup pins 38 to be brought into abutment with the flange portions 525 at end portions of an upper surface thereof. Then, the board 10 is gripped by the clamping portions 35 while being held by the pair of top clamping surfaces 521 therebetween. Therefore, the top clamping surfaces 521 are effective in holding the board 10 in a horizontal state even when the board 10 curves as shown in
In this way, the top clamping method and the side clamping method have their advantages and disadvantages, respectively, and therefore, the methods need to be selectively used depending upon types and conditions of boards used for fabrication of final products. In this regard, in this embodiment, the clamping portions 35 can be converted to either of the two modes of use extremely easily only by changing the ways of mounting the clamping bars 52 on the clamping portions 35. In addition, since only the ways of mounting the clamping bars 52 on the clamping portions 35 have to be changed, changing the clamping methods is easy, and it is possible to reduce the number of parts involved, leading to a reduction in production costs.
Further, in mounting the clamping bar 52, the balls 552 of the ball plungers 55 enter the depressions 535 to generate the reaction force in the fitting direction with the inclined surfaces of the depressions 535, whereby the clamping bar 52 is naturally fitted into the proper position. This can prevent the occurrence of a mounting error by the operator. Furthermore, since the identification marks 57, 58 are attached to the clamping bar 52, which of the top clamping surface 521 and the side clamping surface 522 is used at the clamping portion 35 can automatically be determined by capturing the images of the identification marks 57, 58 with the camera 45. Therefore, even though the operator makes an error in mounting the clamping bar 52, the operator can be advised to mount the clamping bar 52 properly by stopping the operation of the screen printer 1 and displaying error information, thereby making it possible to avoid an operation failure and suppress the fabrication of defective products. In addition, it is effective to attach a 2D bar code to the clamping bar 52 in addition to the identification marks 57, 58. This is because it is possible to advise the operator to replace the clamping surface used with a new one by reading the 2D bar code with the camera 45 to manage the number of times of using the clamping surface in the clamping bar 52.
Incidentally, the clamping bar 52 has formed thereon the top clamping surface 521 and the side clamping surface 522 so as to handle the different clamping methods by itself. Alternatively, however, a single clamping bar may have formed thereon clamping surfaces of the same type. Namely, a single clamping bar may have two top clamping surfaces 521 or two side clamping surfaces 522 that are formed thereon. By having the clamping bar configured as described above, even if one of the two clamping surfaces gets so worn that it can no longer be used, the other clamping surface can be used. Thus, since the service life of one clamping member (one clamping bar) is extended, the number of spare parts can be reduced, thereby making it possible not only to reduce the production costs but also to reduce storage space.
In addition, in the clamping bar 52, the flange portion 525 that makes up the top clamping surface 521 is formed along a full length of the clamping bar 52. This is because the flange portion 525 is formed so as to match the size of the board 10 to be worked on. Then, in the case where the size of the board 10 is reduced, a clamping bar 62 shown in
This clamping bar 62 has also two modes of use using the top clamping surface, and using the side clamping surface, and the modes of use can easily be converted simply by changing ways of mounting the clamping bar 62 on the base block 51. Thus, the clamping bar 62 provides the same advantageous effect as that provided by the clamping bar 52 described before. Then, in the screen printer 1, although there may be a case where the operator has to remove the board 10, with the clamping bar 62, the removing operation becomes easier than with the clamping bar 52. Namely, in the case of the clamp bar 52, in removing the board 10, it is necessary to be careful in handling the board 10 so that the board 10 is not caught by the long flange portion 525, whereas in the case of the clamping bar 62, the board 10 can be removed more easily by such an extent that the flange portion 625 becomes shorter.
Next, in this embodiment, although the clamping members such as the clamping bars 52, 62 are designed variously so as to extend the service life or to function in the plurality of ways, the clamping bars 52, 62 can both be mounted in the detachably mounting recessed portion 53 of the base block 51. Therefore, the screen printer 1 of this embodiment can handle production of various types of boards with no additional cost involved by preparing the plurality of types of clamping bars.
In addition, the screen printer 1 can be used in a different way. A positioning plate can be mounted on the screen printer 1 as shown in
Thus, while the embodiment of the disclosure has been described heretofore, the disclosure is not limited thereto and hence can be modified variously without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. For example, in the above embodiment, the clamping bars 52, 62 are described as having the two clamping surfaces. However, in case only side clamping surfaces are given to a clamping bar, the clamping bar can include four clamping surfaces.
1 . . . Screen printer; 3 . . . board conveyance device; 4 . . . Squeegee device; 5 . . . Clamping device; 6 . . . Lift device; 8 . . . Mask; 10 . . . board; 33, 34 . . . Side frame; 35 . . . Clamping portion; 51 . . . Base block; 52 . . . Clamping bar; 53 . . . Detachably mounting recessed portion; 55 . . . Ball plunger; 57, 58 . . . Identification mark; 521 . . . Top clamping surface; 522 . . . Side clamping surface; 535 . . . depression; 552 . . . Ball
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/JP2016/055369 | 2/24/2016 | WO | 00 |
