JP6512419B2 - Filling device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a filling apparatus in which a circular plate material such as lithium tantalate crystal in a wafer state and powder are alternately charged into a container and a plurality of circular plate materials are embedded in the powder. The present invention relates to a filling apparatus that mechanically performs a powder input operation, a powder leveling operation, a circular plate material input operation, and the like.

  Lithium tantalate crystal (hereinafter, abbreviated as LT crystal) is used as a substrate material of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter used to remove signal noise of a cellular phone or the like.

However, in the surface acoustic wave device manufacturing process, there is a problem in that the yield is reduced due to the pyroelectricity which is the characteristic of the LT crystal. That is, since the volume resistivity of a typical LT crystal is about 10 ^-14 to 10 ^-15 Ω · cm, charge (charge due to pyroelectricity) is generated on the surface of the LT crystal substrate due to the temperature change received in the above process. Is charged up, and sparks generated thereby destroy patterns of electrodes etc. formed on the surface of the LT crystal substrate, further causing cracking of the LT crystal substrate and the like, causing a problem of yield reduction in the device manufacturing process. The

In order to solve this problem, in Patent Document 1, LT crystals in the wafer state are embedded in a mixed powder of Al and Al ₂ O ₃ and heat treated under a reduced pressure atmosphere in nitrogen gas to reduce the volume resistivity of the LT crystals. A method of manufacturing an LT crystal is disclosed in which the yield in the device manufacturing process is improved by suppressing the charge buildup on the crystal surface in the surface acoustic wave device manufacturing process.

Incidentally, for the embedding work LT crystals to mixed powder of Al and Al ₂ O ₃ in Patent Document 1, conventionally, it has been made by hand. That is, the mixed powder of Al and Al ₂ O ₃ is charged into the container and leveled so that the surface of the charged mixed powder is flat, and then the LT crystal in a wafer state is placed, and further, the LT crystal is The work of filling the mixed powder of Al and Al ₂ O ₃ was repeated so as to be hidden, but the work was performed manually.

  However, in the conventional method by manual operation, the amount of powder to be introduced, the degree of uniformity of the powder, the placement position of the wafer, and the like easily vary, which affects the processing result of the LT crystal and causes a large loss. Was present.

JP, 2005-119908, A

  The present invention has been made by paying attention to such problems, and the place to be made is mechanization of powder charging operation, powder leveling operation, circular plate material charging operation, etc. which were conventionally done manually. It is an object of the present invention to provide a filling device which solves the problem caused by the variation of work.

That is, the first invention according to the present invention is
In a cylindrical container having a circular opening at one end and closed at the other end, circular plate material having substantially the same shape as the opening and a fixed amount of powder are alternately charged to obtain a space between each circular plate In a filling device for embedding a circular plate material in a powder while interposing an equal amount of powder,
Transport means for transporting the cylindrical container horizontally;
Powder charging means provided on the transport path of the cylindrical container and charging a fixed amount of powder into the cylindrical container;
A leveling device is provided on the conveying path of the cylindrical container and has a leveling device and a rotary moving member for moving the leveling device downward while rotating the leveling device, and a leveling position of the powder introduced into the cylindrical container. Powder leveling means for leveling the powder horizontally in the horizontal direction;
A holder provided on the transport path of the cylindrical container and having a holder holding a single circular plate at its tip end, and a moving member for moving the holder downward, the holder being powder in the cylindrical container Circular plate input means for releasing the holding of the circular plate in synchronization with the timing of reaching the upper side;
The above-mentioned conveyance means is controlled, and a cylindrical container is repeatedly carried in to each installation place on the conveyance path provided with the powder charging means, the powder leveling means and the circular plate material charging means, and the powder charging means and the powder leveling means And control means for respectively controlling the powder board feeding, the powder leveling and the circular board loading by controlling the circular board loading means.
It is characterized by having.

The second invention according to the present invention is
In the filling device described in the first invention,
A measuring means for measuring the moving distance of the tip of the holder is attached to the moving member of the circular plate feeding means, and the measured moving distance of the tip of the holder, the inner diameter of the cylindrical container and the container are inserted into the container That the leveling position of the leveling means in the powder leveling means is set for each of the input of the powder , based on the thickness of the powder layer in the cylindrical container previously calculated from the amount of powder input and the bulk density It features.

Next, a third invention according to the present invention is
In the filling device described in the first invention or the second invention,
The powder is a mixed powder of Al and Al ₂ O ₃ , and the circular plate material is a wafer made of lithium tantalate crystals;
The fourth invention is
In the filling device according to any one of the first to third inventions,
It is characterized in that a cylindrical attachment is attached which is fitted to the opening edge of the cylindrical container and prevents scattering of the powder introduced into the cylindrical container.

  According to the filling apparatus of the present invention, the powder loading operation, the powder leveling operation, the circular plate material charging operation, and the like conventionally performed manually are mechanized, so that the above-mentioned problems caused by the dispersion of operations can be solved. Have an effect.

Explanatory drawing of the conveyance means in the filling apparatus which concerns on this invention. Explanatory drawing of the powder injection | throwing-in means in the filling apparatus which concerns on this invention. Explanatory drawing of the powder leveling means in the filling apparatus which concerns on this invention. The top view of the leveling tool in the powder leveling means which concerns on this invention. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of the leveling tool in the powder leveling means based on this invention. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of the leveling tool in the powder leveling means based on this invention. The top view of the leveling tool in the powder leveling means which concerns on the modification of this invention. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of the leveling tool in the powder leveling means based on the modification of this invention. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of the compression tool in the compression means which concerns on this invention. Explanatory drawing of the cylindrical attachment which concerns on this invention. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of a cylindrical attachment and a leveling tool. Explanatory drawing of the circular board | plate material injection | throwing-in means in the filling apparatus which concerns on this invention. Operation | movement explanatory drawing of the circular board material injection | throwing-in means in the filling apparatus which concerns on this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the filling device according to the present invention is
"Conveying means" for conveying the cylindrical container horizontally;
"Powder charging means" provided on the transport path of the cylindrical container and charging a fixed amount of powder into the cylindrical container;
The leveling device is provided on the conveying path of the cylindrical container and has a leveling device and a rotary moving member for moving the leveling device downward while rotating the leveling device, and at the leveling position of the powder introduced into the cylindrical container. "Powder leveling means" for leveling the powder horizontally in the horizontal direction,
A holder provided on the transport path of the cylindrical container and having a holding member holding a circular plate at the front end side, and a moving member for moving the holder downward, the holder is on the powder inside the cylindrical container “Circular board loading means” that releases holding of the circular board in synchronization with the timing of reaching
The cylindrical container is repeatedly carried in to each installation location on the conveying path provided with the powder charging means, the powder leveling means and the circular plate material charging means by controlling the above conveying means, and the powder charging means, the powder leveling means and "Control means" which controls the circular plate material charging means respectively to repeat the powder charging, the powder leveling and the circular plate material charging,
It is characterized by having.

1. Conveying Means As shown in FIG. 1, the conveying means of the filling apparatus according to the present invention is constituted by the conveyance table 1 rotated counterclockwise by a motor not shown, and the conveyance table 1 is stopped every 90 ° rotation. As controlled. Further, the transport table 1 has respective process stages of a powder loading unit 2, a powder leveling unit 3, a powder compressing unit 4, and a circular plate material (wafer) loading unit 5, and the powder loading unit 2 will be described later. A powder charging means (powder feeder) is provided, the powder leveling unit 3 is provided with a powder leveling means to be described later, the powder compressing section 4 is provided with a compression means to be described later, and the circular plate material The (wafer) loading unit 5 is provided with a circular plate loading unit to be described later.

  In the vicinity of the transfer table 1, container loading / unloading means for loading the cylindrical container 8 onto the transfer table 1 and unloading the cylindrical container 8 after the filling process may be provided. Further, in FIG. 1, the powder leveling unit 3 and the powder compacting unit 4 are separately provided, but the powder leveling unit 3 adopts a structure having both a powder leveling function and a powder compacting function. May be In this case, control may be performed so as to stop each time the transport table 1 rotates by 120 °.

  Then, the filling device according to the present invention having the transport means operates as follows.

  First, when the cylindrical container 8 is manually set at a predetermined position of the transport table 1 and the apparatus is started by the switch not shown, the powder from the powder charging means (powder feeder) in the powder charging section 2 is a cylindrical container It is thrown into 8 Next, the transport table 1 is rotated by 90 °, and the powder is leveled in the powder leveling unit 3, and then the transport table 1 is rotated by 90 °, and the powder is compressed in the powder compacting unit 4. Furthermore, after the transfer table 1 is rotated by 90 ° and the circular plate material (wafer) is inserted into the cylindrical container 8 at the circular plate material (wafer) input unit 5, the original powder insertion unit is rotated when the transfer table 1 is rotated 90 °. Position 2 By repeating this operation, it is possible to obtain a cylindrical container filled with the desired number of wafers. In addition, by processing a plurality of cylindrical containers simultaneously, the processing speed can be significantly increased. Also, by measuring the mounting position of the circular plate material (wafer) in the cylindrical container 8 in the middle of the operation and setting the “leveling height position of powder” in the next process based on the measured position data, Some variation in the amount of powder input in the powder input portion 2 is allowed, and it becomes possible to level out evenly.

2. Powder Loading Means The powder loading means (powder feeding machine) of the filling device according to the present invention is for loading a fixed amount of powder 7 into the cylindrical container 8 at the powder loading portion 2, and as shown in FIG. A powder feeder 9 equipped with a feeder (not shown) is illustrated. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 6 denotes a circular plate material (wafer) loaded into the cylindrical container 8.

  As for the thickness dimension of the seven layers of powder in the cylindrical container 8 which is required when determining (setting) the above-mentioned “powder leveling position of powder leveling means”, [(powder input amount / It can be calculated in advance from the bulk density of the powder) / the inner diameter area of the cylindrical container 8].

3. Powder leveling means The powder leveling means of the filling device according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, evenly flattens the powder introduced into the cylindrical container horizontally in the "powder leveling position". It comprises a smoothing device 10 and a rotary moving member 11 which moves the smoothing device 10 downward while rotating it.

  And the powder leveling means which has a powder leveling function and a powder compacting function, and the powder leveling means which does not have a powder compacting function only by a powder leveling function are illustrated.

(1) Powder leveling means having both a powder leveling function and a powder compacting function In this powder leveling means, as shown in FIGS. 4 to 5, the leveling tool 10 is a closed surface (bottom surface) of the cylindrical container 8. The tip of the rotational movement member 11 is attached to a portion A having a disc-like bottom surface of a smaller diameter and separated from the central portion of the leveling tool 10, and as shown in FIG. The leveling tool 10 is provided with a powder leveling function by eccentrically moving 10, and as shown in FIG. 6, the powder compacting function is provided by pressing the powder 7 with the disc-like bottom surface of the leveling element 10. .

  Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the rotational movement member 11 is a rotational movement member main body 13 whose tip is attached to the leveling tool 10, and a drive system movement member which moves the rotational movement member main body 13 downward while rotating it. The main portion is constituted by the sensor 14a provided on the lower end side of the drive system moving member 14 and the sensor 14a.

  First, the drive system moving member 14 has a motor 14 b at the upper center, and the entire drive system moving member 14 vertically moves by the action of a single-axis robot (not shown), and the lower end side A sensor 14a is attached.

  The rotary moving member main body 13 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is provided with a hollow portion 13a at the center thereof and a metal plate 13b called "dog" attached to the upper end, and the metal One end is attached to the motor 14b of the drive system moving member 14 and the other end is attached to the lower side of the main housing 13c through the plate 13b and an opening (not shown) provided in the main housing 13c. The shaft 13d is attached to the shaft 13d passing through the inside of the hollow portion 13a, and the rotational force of the shaft 13d is transmitted to the main body housing 13c to rotate the main body housing 13c and the upper surface is engaged with the ceiling surface of the hollow portion 13a. Interlocking member 13e for suspending and holding the main housing 13c on the drive system moving member 14, and the empty It is composed of a spring member 13f for pressing the disk-shaped bottom surface to act on attached and smoothing device 10 to the shaft 13d between the bottom and the 篏合 locking member 13e of the part 13a.

  Then, the leveling tool 10 is rotated while being moved to the "level position of powder leveling", and the powder 7 introduced into the cylindrical container 8 is leveled evenly (see FIG. 5), and the spring material 13f The disc-like bottom of the leveling tool 10 is pressed by the action of

  By the way, when the main housing 13c of the rotary moving member main body 13 moves downward and the disc-like bottom surface of the leveling tool 10 reaches the surface of the powder 7 in the cylindrical container 8, it is suspended by the drive system moving member 14. Although the downward movement of the held body housing 13c is stopped, the joint locking member 13e attached to the shaft 13d continues the downward movement along with the movement of the shaft 13d. Then, the spring member 13f is compressed by the movement of the interlocking locking member 13e, and the powder 7 in the cylindrical container 8 is pressed by the disc-like bottom surface of the leveling tool 10 (see FIG. 6). If the pressing force is too high, a circular plate material such as a wafer embedded in the powder 7 may be broken. For this reason, the above-described sensor 14a is incorporated in the powder leveling means of the filling apparatus shown in FIG. That is, when the interlocking locking member 13e of the rotational movement member main body 13 moves excessively downward with the movement of the shaft 13d, the sensor 14a of the drive system moving member 14 also moves downward together with the interlocking locking member 13e. In order to move, the position of the metal plate 13b called "dog" provided at the upper end of the main body housing 13c which has stopped and the sensor 14a are shifted, and control is performed so that the abnormality is detected.

  Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 4, a scraper 12 made of a flexible material is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the disk-like leveling tool 10 and attached to the inner wall surface of the cylindrical container 8. The powder 7 is to be scraped off by the scraper 12.

  When the powder in the cylindrical container is leveled horizontally in the horizontal direction by the above-mentioned powder leveling means, the leveling position by the leveling tool 10, that is, "the leveling position of the powder" is properly determined (set) It is important to do.

  And the data of the thickness dimension in 7 layers of powder beforehand calculated from [(the input amount of powder / bulk density of powder) / inner diameter area of cylindrical container 8] and circular plate material (wafer) charging means described later Based on the data of the movement distance at the tip of the holder, "the level position of powder" in the present filling device is properly determined (set).

(2) Powder leveling means having only a powder leveling function and not having a powder compacting function As shown in FIGS. 7 to 8, in the powder leveling means, the leveling tool 10 has an elongated rectangular bottom surface. And, the rotary moving member 11 is attached to a substantially central portion of the leveling device 10, and as shown in FIG. 8, a powder leveling function is provided by the action of the rectangular shape leveling device 10.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a scraper 12 made of a flexible material is attached to both ends of the rectangular leveling tool 10, and the powder 7 adhered to the inner wall surface of the cylindrical container 8 is scraped. It is to be scraped off at 12.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the bottom surface of the cylindrical container 8 is substantially the same between the powder leveling portion (powder leveling means) 3 and the circular plate material (wafer) feeding portion 5 (circular plate material feeding means) 5 in the transfer table 1. A compression tool 15 having a disc-like bottom surface of a diameter and a compression means having a moving member 16 for moving the compression tool 15 downward are additionally provided to supplement the above-mentioned powder leveling means having no powder compression function, As shown in FIG. 9, the disk-shaped bottom of the compression tool 15 is configured to press the powder 7 evenly leveled by the powder leveling means.

(3) Cylindrical Attachment The cylindrical attachment 17 is fitted to the opening edge of the cylindrical container 8 as shown in FIGS. 10 to 11 to prevent the scattering of the powder 7 introduced into the cylindrical container 8 Member.

  Although the above-mentioned cylindrical attachment 17 is not an essential member because extra work to be fitted to the opening edge of the cylindrical container 8 is added, the cylindrical attachment 17 is applied from the viewpoint of preventing the powder 7 from scattering. Is desirable.

4. Circular plate material loading means The circular plate material loading means of the filling device according to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 13, is a holder 18 for holding one circular plate material (wafer) 6 on the tip side by vacuum suction; The moving member 19 is provided to move the holder 18 downward, and the vacuum suction is stopped in synchronization with the timing when the holder 18 reaches the powder 7 in the cylindrical container 8, and the circular plate material (Wafer) 6 is configured to be released.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 12 to 13, the moving member 19 includes a moving member main body 20 having a tip attached to the holder 18 and a drive system member 21 for moving the moving member main body 20 downward. The main portion is configured, and the sensor 21a is attached to the lower end side of the drive system member 21, and the entire drive system member 21 is vertically moved by the action of a single-axis robot (not shown). Is configured.

  Furthermore, the moving member main body 20 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is provided with a hollow portion 20a at the center thereof and a metal plate 20b called "dog" attached to the upper end, and the metal plate 20b and a shaft 20d fitted into the hollow portion 20a through an opening (not shown) provided in the main body housing 20c, one end of which is attached to the drive system member 21 and the other end is attached to the lower side of the main body housing 20c A coupling locking member 20e attached to the shaft 20d passing through the inside of the hollow portion 20a and having the upper surface side engaged with the ceiling surface of the hollow portion 20a to suspend and hold the main housing 20c to the drive system member 21; It is configured.

  Then, when the main plate housing 20c of the moving member main body 20 moves downward and the circular plate material (wafer) 6 held by the holder 18 reaches the surface of the powder 7 in the cylindrical container 8, as shown in FIG. The downward movement of the main housing 20c suspended and held by the drive system member 21 is stopped, but the joint locking member 20e attached to the shaft 20d is moved downward with the movement of the shaft 20d. Continue moving. Then, when the engagement locking member 20e of the moving member main body 20 continues the downward movement along with the movement of the shaft 20d, the sensor 21a of the drive system member 21 also moves downward together with the engagement engagement member 20e. As a result of shifting the position of the metal plate 20b called "dog" and the sensor 21a provided on the upper end of the main body housing 20c stopped as shown in 13, the circular plate material (wafer) 6 is in the cylindrical container 8. The timing at which the powder 7 surface is reached can be detected, and by stopping the vacuum suction at this timing, the holding of the circular plate material (wafer) 6 is released.

  Incidentally, in order to reliably detect the positional deviation between the metal plate 20b called "dog" and the sensor 21a, the lower side attachment portion of the main body housing 20c to which the other end side of the shaft 20d is attached is A play is provided to allow downward movement.

  By the way, when measuring means for measuring and storing the moving distance of the tip of the holder 18 is attached to the single-axis robot (not shown) of the moving member 19, the circular shape in the cylindrical container 8 in the circular plate inserting step. Since the position data of the plate (wafer) mounting surface can be known, the above-mentioned position is used when powder is introduced in the next step and the “leveling position of powder leveling” is determined (set) in the powder leveling process. It has the advantage of being able to use data. That is, data of the thickness dimension of the seven layers of powder calculated in advance from the above-mentioned [(amount of input of powder / bulk density of powder) / inner diameter area of cylindrical container 8], and circular plate material determined by the above measuring means (Wafer) The above-mentioned "powder leveling position" can be appropriately determined (set) based on the position data of the mounting surface.

5. Control Means The control means of the filling device according to the present invention comprises at least the following two control systems.

(1) Powder loading section 2 and powder leveling section 3 (or powder leveling section of transport table 1 provided with the above powder loading means, powder leveling means (or powder leveling means and compression means) and circular plate material loading means respectively It is necessary to provide a control system for the transfer means (transfer table 1) for repeatedly loading the cylindrical container 8 at each location of the feeding section 3 and the powder compacting section 4 and the circular plate material (wafer) loading section 5, and filling In the case where a loading / unloading device for unloading the cylindrical container 8 for which processing has been completed and loading the cylindrical container 8 before the filling processing is incorporated, it is preferable to have a control system.

(2) In each portion of the powder loading unit 2, the powder leveling unit 3 (or the powder leveling unit 3 and the powder compressing unit 4), and the circular plate material (wafer) loading unit 5 in the transport table 1, powder loading means, powder It is necessary to control the leveling means (or the powder leveling means and the compressing means) and the circular plate feeding means respectively to provide a control system for repeating the powder charging, the powder leveling and the circular plate charging.

According to the filling apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to solve various problems caused by the dispersion of work because the powder loading operation, the powder leveling operation, the circular plate material loading operation, etc., which are conventionally done manually, can be mechanized. It has industrial applicability to be used in a processing method of embedding and heat treating LT crystals in the mixed powder of Al and Al ₂ O ₃ to reduce the volume resistivity of the LT crystals.

1 Transfer Table 2 Powder Loading Section 3 Powder Leveling Section 4 Powder Compression Section 5 Circular Plate Material (Wafer) Loading Section 6 Circular Plate Material (Wafer)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 7 Powder 8 Cylindrical container 9 Powder supply machine 10 Leveling tool 11 Rotational movement member 12 Scraper 13 Rotational movement member main body 13a Hollow part 13b Metal plate 13c called "dog" Main body housing 13d Shaft 13e Joint locking member 13f Spring member 14 Drive system moving member 14a Sensor 14b Motor 15 Compression tool 16 Moving material 17 Cylindrical attachment 18 Holder 19 Moving member 20 Moving member body 20a Hollow portion 20b Metal plate 20c called "dog" Body housing 20d Shaft 20e Joint locking member 21 Drive system member 21a Sensor

Claims (4)

In a cylindrical container having a circular opening at one end and closed at the other end, circular plate material having substantially the same shape as the opening and a fixed amount of powder are alternately charged to obtain a space between each circular plate In a filling device for embedding a circular plate material in a powder while interposing an equal amount of powder,
Transport means for transporting the cylindrical container horizontally;
Powder charging means provided on the transport path of the cylindrical container and charging a fixed amount of powder into the cylindrical container;
A leveling device is provided on the conveying path of the cylindrical container and has a leveling device and a rotary moving member for moving the leveling device downward while rotating the leveling device, and a leveling position of the powder introduced into the cylindrical container. Powder leveling means for leveling the powder horizontally in the horizontal direction;
A holder provided on the transport path of the cylindrical container and having a holder holding a single circular plate at its tip end, and a moving member for moving the holder downward, the holder being powder in the cylindrical container Circular plate input means for releasing the holding of the circular plate in synchronization with the timing of reaching the upper side;
The above-mentioned conveyance means is controlled, and a cylindrical container is repeatedly carried in to each installation place on the conveyance path provided with the powder charging means, the powder leveling means and the circular plate material charging means, and the powder charging means and the powder leveling means And control means for respectively controlling the powder board feeding, the powder leveling and the circular board loading by controlling the circular board loading means.
A filling apparatus comprising: A measuring means for measuring the moving distance of the tip of the holder is attached to the moving member of the circular plate feeding means, and the measured moving distance of the tip of the holder, the inner diameter of the cylindrical container and the container are inserted into the container That the leveling position of the leveling means in the powder leveling means is set for each of the input of the powder , based on the thickness of the powder layer in the cylindrical container previously calculated from the amount of powder input and the bulk density A filling device according to claim 1, characterized in that. The powder is constituted by mixed powder of Al and Al ₂ O _3, the filling apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the circular plate member is a wafer made of lithium tantalate crystals.   The cylindrical attachment fitted in the opening edge part of the said cylindrical container and preventing scattering of the powder thrown in in the cylindrical container is attached, The claim in any one of the Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Filling device.

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