JP3613091B2 - Jig for thin film formation of electronic parts - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a thin film forming jig used when forming an external electrode or the like on a chip-type electronic component by a thin film forming method such as sputtering or vacuum deposition.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when forming the external electrode 1a around the chip-type electronic component 1 as shown in FIG. 1, a thin film forming method such as sputtering or vacuum deposition may be used. In order to form such an external electrode 1a in a predetermined pattern, a thin film forming jig as shown in FIG. 2 is used.
[0003]
This jig includes a jig body 2 having an alignment hole 2a for aligning the electronic components 1, and an upper mask plate and a lower mask plate (not shown) attached to the upper and lower surfaces of the jig body 2. In the upper mask plate and the lower mask plate, slit-shaped mask holes each having a width corresponding to the external electrode 1a are formed. The alignment hole 2a penetrates in the vertical direction. With the lower mask plate attached to the lower surface of the jig body 2, a plurality of electronic components 1 are inserted into the alignment hole 2a, and a dummy block is formed at the end of the alignment hole 2a. 3 and the presser spring 4 are inserted to hold the electronic component 1 against one end of the alignment hole 2a. Thereafter, an upper mask plate is attached to the upper surface of the jig body 2 and sent to a sputtering apparatus or a vapor deposition apparatus to form a thin film on the electronic component 1.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, a plurality of rows (for example, several tens of rows) of alignment holes 2a are formed in the jig main body 2 so as to increase mass productivity. Therefore, the electronic components 1, the dummy blocks 3, and the presser springs 4 are arranged in rows in the alignment holes 2a. The insertion work is complicated and the workability is poor. In particular, after the dummy block 3 is inserted, the work of pushing the presser spring 4 into the alignment hole 2a while compressing it takes time, and the smaller the electronic component 1 is, the more difficult the work is. In addition, it is necessary to use the dummy block 3 in order to prevent the spring force of the presser spring 4 from directly acting on the electronic component 1 and to prevent film formation on the presser spring 4 side, which increases the number of components. In addition, since the dummy block 3 is not attached to the jig body 2, there is a drawback that it is easy to drop off and is troublesome to handle.
[0005]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a jig for forming a thin film of an electronic component that can efficiently perform the operation of inserting the electronic component into the alignment groove of the jig main body and can greatly reduce the insertion operation time.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a jig for forming a thin film of an electronic component that is easy to handle by eliminating a dummy block.
[0006]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a thin film forming jig for forming an electrode on a surface of a chip-type electronic component by a thin film forming method such as sputtering or vacuum vapor deposition. A jig body in which side holes are opened and alignment grooves for aligning a plurality of electronic components in a row are formed in parallel, and a lower surface of the jig body is attached to the lower surface of the jig body. A lower mask plate with an upper mask plate attached to the upper surface of the jig main body and having a mask hole at a position corresponding to the alignment groove, and attached to the rear end of each alignment groove so as to be movable in the groove direction only within a certain range. And a support block having a spring for biasing toward the opening end side, and a plurality of components inserted into the alignment groove and pressed against the support block while the electronic components are aligned in the alignment grooves. Providing a holding block having a pressing portion, and a retaining means for retaining the holding block relative to the jig body, the thin film-forming jig electronic component comprising the.
[0007]
A lower mask plate is attached to the lower surface of the jig body, and a plurality of electronic components are aligned and inserted into the alignment groove. Next, when the holding block is inserted from the opening end side of the alignment groove and the electronic component is pressed against the rear end portion of the alignment groove, the electronic component contacts the support block and compresses the spring. Therefore, the electronic component is elastically sandwiched between the support block and the presser block and is stably held at a predetermined position. Then, when the presser block is pushed in, the presser block is prevented from coming off from the jig main body by the retaining means, so that the presser block can be prevented from coming off. Thereafter, an upper mask plate is attached to the upper surface of the jig body, and the thin film corresponding to the shape of the mask hole formed in the upper and lower mask plates is formed on the electronic component by being sent to a sputtering device or a vapor deposition device.
[0008]
In this way, the alignment groove of the present invention is open on one side, and the presser block is inserted from this opening, and the electronic component is pressed against the support block to be held. There is no need to press-fit a presser spring into the end of the hole, and the operation is simplified. Therefore, even when a small electronic component is inserted into the jig, the insertion operation can be performed efficiently. In addition, since the support block and the presser block have a function of preventing the film wraparound by being in close contact with the electronic component, the conventional dummy block can be eliminated, the number of components can be reduced, and handling is facilitated. Furthermore, since the alignment grooves are formed in parallel with a plurality of rows, and the pressing block is formed with a plurality of pressing portions that simultaneously press the electronic components in the alignment grooves in the plurality of rows, by pressing the pressing blocks, the plurality of rows are arranged. Electronic components can be held at the same time, and work efficiency is greatly improved.
[0009]
If the lower mask plate and the upper mask plate are formed of a magnetic plate and a permanent magnet that attracts the lower mask plate and the upper mask plate with a magnetic force is attached to the jig body, The mask plate can be easily attached and removed.
If the upper and lower mask plates are provided with pin holes in parallel with the magnetic attraction force, and the pins that fit into the pin holes protrude from the jig body, the upper and lower mask plates Can be positioned with high accuracy.
[0010]
The pin hole for fitting the retaining means to the vertical pin protruding from one of the jig body and the holding block and the pin formed on the other of the jig body and the holding block as in claim 3 And the structure becomes simple. That is, the presser block is urged to the outside of the alignment groove by the support block, but since the fitting of the pin and the pin hole is in the vertical direction, the presser block is moved by fitting the pin into the pin hole. Can be securely retained.
[0011]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connecting portion for connecting a plurality of pressing portions to the presser block, and the upper mask plate is mounted on the upper surface of the presser block while the upper mask plate is attached to the upper surface of the jig body. The presser block can be prevented from coming off upward if it is pressed. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a special means for preventing the presser block from being lifted, and the structure is simplified.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
3 to 8 show an example of a jig for forming a thin film according to the present invention.
This jig is composed of a jig body 10, upper and lower mask plates 11 and 12, and a holding block 13. In order to form the external electrode 1a on the electronic component 1 as shown in FIG. 1 by sputtering or the like. used.
[0013]
The jig body 10 is made of a nonmagnetic metal plate, and a plurality of (in this case, 40) alignment grooves 10a for aligning the electronic components 1 in a row are formed in parallel. The alignment groove 10a is open in the vertical direction and on one side. A taper-shaped guide surface 10g in the outward opening direction is formed at the upper edge of the alignment groove 10a, and the opening end of the alignment groove 10a is in the outward opening direction. A tapered guide surface 10h is formed (see FIGS. 5 and 6).
[0014]
A support block 14 is attached to the rear end of each alignment groove 10a. As shown in FIG. 7, the support block 14 includes a contact portion 14a having substantially the same cross-sectional shape as that of the electronic component 1 on one end side, and a flange 14b on the other end side. These flanges 14b are formed on the alignment grooves 10a. The support block 14 is movable in the groove direction by a certain range by hitting the stepped portions 10b formed on both side surfaces of the rear end portion. A guide hole 14c for accommodating one end of the spring 15 is formed inside the support block 14, and the other end of the spring 15 is inserted into a shaft portion 10c protruding from the inner end of the alignment groove 10a. Is positioned. The support block 14 is urged by the spring 15 toward the opening end side of the alignment groove 10a. The support block 14 can be appropriately attached to and detached from the alignment groove 10a.
[0015]
The jig body 10 has a frame portion 10d having a predetermined width between the peripheral edge portion and the alignment groove 10a, and permanent magnets 16 (see FIG. 4) are fitted and fixed to the upper and lower surfaces of the frame portion 10d. A plurality of recesses 10e are formed, and positioning pins 10f for positioning the mask plates 11 and 12 are projected.
[0016]
The upper and lower mask plates 11 and 12 are each made of a thin magnetic metal plate, and a plurality of slit-shaped mask holes 11a and 12a are formed corresponding to the alignment grooves 10a. In this embodiment, three mask holes 11a and 12a correspond to one alignment groove 10a. Frame portions 11 b and 12 b are formed on the mask plates 11 and 12 at portions corresponding to the frame portion 10 d of the jig body 10, and the frame portions 11 b and 12 b are permanently fixed to the jig body 10. It is attracted by the magnet 16. In addition, positioning holes 11c and 12c are formed in the frame portions 11b and 12b so as to be fitted with positioning pins 10f protruding from the jig main body 10 so that the mask plates 11 and 12 are connected to the jig main body 10. Accurate positioning.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 8, the presser block 13 includes a plurality of (here, ten) pressing portions 13a inserted into the opening ends of the alignment grooves 10a and a connecting portion 13b that connects the pressing portions 13a in the width direction. I have. The pressing portion 13a has substantially the same cross-sectional shape as the electronic component 1 and can be inserted into the alignment groove 10a. The connecting portion 13b of the presser block 13 can freely come into contact with the upper surface of the jig body 10, and a plurality (three in this case) of fixing pins 13c project from the lower surface thereof. These fixing pins 13c are fitted into pin holes 10i formed in the frame part 10d of the jig body 10, and the fixing pins 13c and the pin holes 10i are used to prevent the holding block 13 from coming off in the groove direction of the alignment groove 10a. It constitutes a stopping means. When the upper mask plate 11 is attached to the upper surface of the jig body 10 with the pressing portion 13a of the presser block 13 inserted into the alignment groove 10a and the fixing pin 13c fitted in the pin hole 10i, the upper mask plate 11 Since a part restricts the lifting of the pressing portion 13a of the presser block 13, the presser block 13 is securely fixed.
[0018]
Next, a method of using the thin film forming jig having the above configuration will be described.
First, the lower mask plate 12 is attached to the lower surface of the jig body 10. At the time of attachment, the lower mask plate 12 is attracted by the attracting force of the permanent magnet 16 fixed to the lower surface of the jig main body 10, and the positioning pins 10 f and the lower mask plate 12 project from the lower surface side of the jig main body 10. By fitting the positioning hole 12c, the alignment groove 10a and the mask hole 12a are accurately positioned.
Next, a plurality of electronic components 1 aligned in a certain allowable length are inserted into each alignment groove 10a. At this time, the electronic component 1 may be inserted from the opening end side of the alignment groove 10a or may be inserted from above. Since the tapered guide surfaces 10g and 10h are formed on the upper edge and the opening end of the alignment groove 10a, the electronic component 1 is smoothly inserted.
Next, when the pressing portion 13a of the holding block 13 is inserted from the opening end side of the alignment groove 10a, the electronic component 1 inserted into each alignment groove 10a is simultaneously pressed by the pressing portion 13a and pressed against the support block 14, and the spring 15 is compressed. At this time, since the support block 14 can move in the groove direction by a certain range, this range becomes an absorption margin for the thickness variation of the electronic component 1. Then, the fixing pin 13c of the presser block 13 is fitted into the pin hole 10i, and the presser block 13 is prevented from coming off in the groove direction.
Next, the upper mask plate 11 is attached to the upper surface of the jig body 10 by the magnetic force of the permanent magnet 16. Thereby, a part of the upper mask plate 11 restricts the lifting of the pressing portion 13a of the presser block 13, so that the presser block 13 is securely fixed.
Thus, the electronic component 1 is supported by the upper and lower mask plates 11 and 12, positioned by the alignment groove 10 a in the width direction, and further sandwiched by the support block 14 and the presser block 13 in the groove direction. Stable positioning is maintained. For this reason, while the thin film forming jig is conveyed to a sputtering apparatus or the like, the electronic component 1 is not displaced even if vibration during conveyance is applied or the jig is turned upside down. Therefore, a highly accurate thin film can be formed.
[0019]
When the conventional jig for forming a thin film (see FIG. 2) is used, there is a backlash of about 0.15 mm with respect to the alignment hole of the electronic component 1, but by using the thin film forming jig of the present invention, Can be reduced to about 0.05 mm. As a result, it was possible to reduce film formation defects to about ½ compared to the conventional case.
In addition, since the electronic component 1 is simultaneously pressed by the presser block 13 against the plurality of rows of alignment grooves 10a, the alignment and holding operation of the electronic component 1 can be performed in a short time and efficiently. Since the surface is tightly supported by the support block 14 and the presser block 13, it is not necessary to use a dummy block for preventing the film wraparound as in the prior art. As a result, the time for maintaining the alignment of the electronic component 1 can be reduced to about 1/10 compared with the conventional case.
Further, since the support block 14 for applying a biasing force is attached to and attached to each alignment groove 10a of the jig body 10, the support block 14 is dropped from the alignment groove 10a when the electronic component 1 is taken out from the alignment groove 10a. It is easy to handle.
[0020]
In addition, this invention is not limited to the jig for thin film formation of the said Example, A various change is possible.
For example, the means for preventing the retainer block from coming off from the jig body is configured by the fitting structure of the fixing pin 13c and the pin hole 10i. For example, a retaining claw for retaining the retainer block is formed on the retainer block, You may prevent this nail | claw from engaging by engaging the recessed part of a jig | tool main body. In any case, it is sufficient if it has a locking force greater than the repulsive force of the support block.
Moreover, although the magnetic force of the permanent magnet was used to attach the upper and lower max plates to the jig body, they may be attached using screws or other fixing methods.
The tapered guide surfaces 10g and 10h formed in the alignment groove 10a may not be provided.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As is apparent from the above description, according to the invention described in claim 1, one side of the alignment groove of the jig body is open, and a holding block is inserted from this opening to support the electronic component. Since the block is pressed and held, there is no need to press-fit a presser spring into the end portion of the narrow alignment hole as in the prior art, and the operation is simplified. Therefore, even when a small electronic component is inserted into the jig, the insertion operation can be easily performed.
Further, since the support block and the presser block are brought into close contact with the electronic component to prevent the film from wrapping around, the conventional dummy block can be eliminated, the number of components can be reduced, and handling is facilitated.
Furthermore, since the alignment grooves are formed in parallel with a plurality of rows and the pressing block is formed with a plurality of pressing portions that simultaneously press the electronic components in the alignment grooves in the plurality of rows, the plurality of rows of electronic components can be held simultaneously, The alignment and holding work can be made more efficient.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an electronic component having a thin film external electrode.
FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of an example of a conventional thin film forming jig.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of an example of a thin film forming jig according to the present invention.
4 is an enlarged perspective view of a jig body and a holding block of the thin film forming jig shown in FIG. 4;
5 is an enlarged plan view in which the upper mask plate of the thin film forming jig shown in FIG. 4 is omitted. FIG.
6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.
7A is a plan view, FIG. 7B is a front view, and FIG. 7C is a side view.
8A is a plan view, FIG. 8B is a front view, and FIG. 8C is a side view.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Jig body 10a Alignment groove | channel 11 Upper mask board 12 Lower mask board 13 Presser block 13a Press part 14 Support block 15 Spring 16 Permanent magnet

Claims (4)

In a jig for forming a thin film for forming an electrode on the surface of a chip-type electronic component by a thin film forming method such as sputtering or vacuum deposition,
A jig body in which an up and down direction and one side are open, and an alignment groove for aligning a plurality of electronic components in a row is formed in parallel with a plurality of rows,
A lower mask plate attached to the lower surface of the jig body and having a mask hole at a position corresponding to the alignment groove;
An upper mask plate attached to the upper surface of the jig body and having a mask hole at a position corresponding to the alignment groove;
A support block that is attached to the rear end portion of each alignment groove so as to be movable in the groove direction only within a certain range, and is equipped with a spring for biasing toward the opening end side;
A presser block having a plurality of pressing portions that are inserted from the opening end side of the alignment groove and press the electronic component against the support block in a state where the electronic components are aligned in each alignment groove,
A jig for forming a thin film for an electronic component, comprising: retaining means for retaining the presser block with respect to the jig body. The lower mask plate and the upper mask plate are formed of a magnetic plate,
2. The jig for forming a thin film for an electronic component according to claim 1, wherein a permanent magnet that attracts the lower mask plate and the upper mask plate with a magnetic force is attached to the jig body. The retaining means includes a vertical pin projecting from one of the jig body and the holding block and a pin hole that fits into the pin formed on the other of the jig body and the holding block. The jig for forming a thin film of an electronic component according to claim 1 or 2, The presser block is provided with a connecting portion for connecting a plurality of pressing portions to each other,
The presser block is prevented from coming off upward by pressing the upper face of the pressing portion of the presser block with the upper mask plate in a state where the upper mask plate is attached to the upper face of the jig body. 4. A jig for forming a thin film of an electronic component according to any one of items 3 to 3.

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