JP7689911B2 - Component recognition device and component mounting machine - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a component recognition device and a component mounter that recognize electronic components having electrodes on which a transfer material layer is formed.

As a component mounting machine for mounting electronic components on a substrate such as a printed wiring board to produce an electronic circuit board, a configuration equipped with a transfer device that transfers a transfer material such as flux to the electrodes of the electronic components is known. The transfer material is a liquid with flowability, and has the functions of removing oxide films and dirt from the electrode surface and improving the wettability of the solder to the electrode surface. The transfer device transfers the transfer material to the electrodes of the electronic component before it is mounted on the substrate, thereby forming a transfer material layer on the electrodes.

If too little transfer material layer is formed on the electrode, the effect of improving the wettability of the solder on the electrode surface may not be sufficient, and defects such as insufficient solder bonding may occur. On the other hand, if too much transfer material layer is formed on the electrode, the solder may wet and spread excessively, causing defects such as the gap between the component body and the board becoming too narrow. For this reason, there is a demand for technology that can determine whether the state of the transfer material layer formed on the electrode is appropriate.

Patent document 1 discloses a technique for determining whether or not the transfer of a transfer material to an electrode of an electronic component is appropriate. In this technique, a transfer material layer is formed on the electrode using a transfer material containing a fluorescent substance that absorbs ultraviolet light and emits visible light. Then, an image of the electronic component is taken while irradiating it with ultraviolet light, and it is determined whether or not the formation state of the transfer material layer is appropriate based on the image information of the transfer material transferred to the electrode.

JP 2008-235739 A

When using a transfer material containing additives such as fluorescent substances, as in the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, the effect of improving the wettability of the solder on the electrode surface is reduced, and there is a risk that the quality of the electronic circuit board will be reduced due to the influence of residues derived from the additives.

The object of the present invention is to accurately determine the state of formation of a transfer material layer on the electrodes of an electronic component.

The component recognition device according to one aspect of the present invention is a device for recognizing an electronic component having an electrode on which a transfer material layer is formed by transferring a transfer material. This component recognition device includes a light irradiation unit that irradiates light onto the electronic component, a polarized image acquisition unit that, when the transfer material layer is formed on the surface of the electrode, acquires multiple polarized images with different polarization directions by receiving polarized light reflected by the transfer material layer in response to the incidence of light irradiated from the light irradiation unit, and a processing unit that performs processing to determine the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the multiple polarized images and outputs the determination result as a component recognition result.

According to this component recognition device, the polarized image acquisition unit acquires multiple polarized images of an electronic component having an electrode on which a transfer material layer is formed, and the processing unit determines the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the multiple polarized images. At this time, the polarized image acquisition unit receives polarized light reflected by the transfer material layer in response to the incidence of light irradiated from the light irradiation unit. As a result, the polarized image acquisition unit acquires multiple polarized images with different polarization directions.

When an electronic component having an electrode on which a transfer material layer is formed is imaged using a normal imaging camera, a phenomenon may occur in which it is difficult to distinguish, for example, the presence or absence of a transparent transfer material layer from the image acquired by the imaging. In response to this, the polarized image acquisition unit is capable of acquiring polarization information possessed by the electronic component from which the image is to be acquired, and receives polarized light reflected by the transfer material layer and acquires multiple polarized images with different polarization directions according to the received polarized light. As a result, the multiple polarized images acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit contain image information related to the transfer material layer based on the received polarized light reflected by the transfer material layer. Therefore, the processing unit can accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the image information related to the transfer material layer contained in the multiple polarized images.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, the light irradiation unit and the polarized image acquisition unit are arranged in a positional relationship such that the light irradiated from the light irradiation unit is incident on at least a portion of the transfer material layer at an incident angle of Brewster's angle, and the polarized S-wave reflected by the transfer material layer in response to the incidence of the light can be received by the polarized image acquisition unit.

When the light irradiated from the light irradiation unit is incident on the transfer material layer, the reflectance of the polarized light of the P wave reflected by the transfer material layer decreases as the angle of incidence of the light approaches the Brewster angle. In this case, when the light is incident on the transfer material layer at an incident angle of the Brewster angle, only the polarized light of the S wave is reflected by the transfer material layer. In consideration of this phenomenon, the positional relationship between the light irradiation unit and the polarized image acquisition unit is set. Specifically, the light irradiation unit and the polarized image acquisition unit are arranged in a positional relationship such that the light irradiated from the light irradiation unit is incident on at least a part of the region of the transfer material layer at an incident angle of the Brewster angle, and the polarized light of the S wave reflected by the transfer material layer in response to the incidence of the light can be received by the polarized image acquisition unit. Due to such a positional relationship between the light irradiation unit and the polarized image acquisition unit, the multiple polarized images acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit reliably contain image information related to the transfer material layer based on the reception of the polarized light of the S wave reflected by the transfer material layer. As a result, the processing unit can more accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the image information related to the transfer material layer contained in the multiple polarized images.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, the processing unit performs an image generation process that calculates the degree of linear polarization for each pixel based on the multiple polarized images and generates a linear polarization degree image consisting of a group of pixels having a luminance value corresponding to the linear polarization degree, and a judgment process that judges the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the linear polarization degree image.

In this embodiment, the processing unit performs an image generation process and a determination process. In the image generation process, the processing unit calculates the degree of linear polarization for each pixel based on a plurality of polarized images, and generates a linear polarization degree image consisting of a pixel group having a luminance value corresponding to the linear polarization degree. The linear polarization degree image consisting of a pixel group having a luminance value corresponding to the linear polarization degree includes image information related to the transfer material layer based on the luminance value of each pixel. Therefore, in the determination process, the processing unit can accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the luminance value of each pixel of the pixel group that constitutes the linear polarization degree image.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, the processing unit, in the judgment process, extracts a pixel of interest having a luminance value equal to or greater than a predetermined luminance threshold from a group of pixels constituting the linear polarization degree image, calculates a pixel of interest group area indicating the area of the group of pixels of interest, and judges the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the pixel of interest group area.

In this aspect, in the determination process, the processing unit extracts a pixel of interest having a luminance value equal to or greater than a predetermined luminance threshold from the group of pixels constituting the linear polarization degree image. The pixel of interest in the linear polarization degree image is a pixel that has a luminance value equal to or greater than a predetermined luminance threshold and contains image information related to the transfer material layer. Therefore, the processing unit can accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the pixel of interest group area indicating the area of the group of pixels of interest in the linear polarization degree image.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, the processing unit performs a region setting process to set an electrode region corresponding to the electrode and an outer region adjacent to the outside of the electrode region in the linear polarization degree image. In this case, in the determination process, the processing unit determines that the formation state of the transfer material layer for the electrode is appropriate if the pixel of interest is present in the electrode region, the area of interest within the electrode region indicating the area of the pixel of interest corresponding to the pixel of interest is equal to or greater than a predetermined area tolerance, and the pixel of interest is not present in the outer region.

In this embodiment, the processing unit performs an area setting process to set an electrode area and an outer area in the linear polarization degree image, and performs a judgment process after the area setting process. It is possible to recognize the formation position of the transfer material layer relative to the electrode depending on whether or not a pixel of interest exists in each area of the electrode area corresponding to the electrode of the electronic component set in the linear polarization degree image and the outer area outside the electrode area. Specifically, if a pixel of interest having a luminance value equal to or greater than a predetermined luminance threshold exists in the electrode area in the linear polarization degree image, it can be recognized that the transfer material layer is formed in an appropriate position relative to the electrode. On the other hand, if a pixel of interest having a luminance value equal to or greater than a predetermined luminance threshold exists in the outer area outside the electrode area in the linear polarization degree image, it can be recognized that the transfer material layer is formed so as to protrude excessively outward from the electrode, and that the transfer material layer is formed in an inappropriate position relative to the electrode.

In addition, when a pixel of interest exists within the electrode region in the linear polarization degree image, it is possible to recognize the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrode depending on whether the area of interest in the electrode region, which indicates the area of the pixel of interest corresponding to the pixel of interest in the electrode region, is equal to or greater than a predetermined area tolerance. Specifically, when the area of interest in the electrode region of the pixel of interest in the electrode region in the linear polarization degree image is equal to or greater than a predetermined area tolerance, it can be recognized that the amount of the transfer material layer formed is within the appropriate range. On the other hand, when the area of interest in the electrode region of the pixel of interest in the electrode region in the linear polarization degree image is less than the predetermined area tolerance, it can be recognized that although the transfer material layer is formed in the appropriate position relative to the electrode, the amount of the transfer material layer formed is below the appropriate range.

In the determination process, the processing unit determines that the state of formation of the transfer material layer on the electrode is appropriate if, based on the linear polarization degree image, a pixel of interest is present within the electrode region, the area of interest of the pixel of interest within the electrode region is equal to or greater than a predetermined area tolerance, and no pixel of interest is present within the outer region. This allows the processing unit to accurately determine the state of formation of the transfer material layer on the electrode.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, when the pixel of interest is present in the outer region, the processing unit determines the state of formation of the transfer material layer for the electrode using the area of interest in the outer region that indicates the area of the pixel of interest group corresponding to the pixel of interest. In this case, the processing unit determines that the state of formation of the transfer material layer for the electrode is appropriate when the area of interest in the electrode region is equal to or greater than the area tolerance and the area of interest in the outer region is equal to or less than a predetermined infinitesimal area value.

In this aspect, when a pixel of interest exists in the outer region in the linear polarization degree image, the processing unit determines the state of formation of the transfer material layer on the electrode using the area of interest in the outer region, which indicates the area of the pixel of interest group corresponding to the pixel of interest. Even when a pixel of interest exists in the outer region in the linear polarization degree image, if the area of interest in the outer region is equal to or smaller than a predetermined micro area value, it is highly likely that the pixel of interest in the outer region does not originate from the transfer material layer, but from noise, microscopic dust, or the like. Therefore, the processing unit determines that the state of formation of the transfer material layer on the electrode is appropriate when the area of interest in the electrode region is equal to or larger than the area allowable value and the area of interest in the outer region is equal to or smaller than a predetermined micro area value, based on the linear polarization degree image. This allows the processing unit to accurately determine the state of formation of the transfer material layer on the electrode.

The component recognition device further includes a storage unit that stores the brightness threshold, the area tolerance, and the infinitesimal area value in association with component data for each type of electronic component, the component data being configured from parameter data related to the characteristics of the electronic component.

In this aspect, the processing unit can refer to the brightness threshold value, area tolerance value, and minute area value associated with the component data stored in the memory unit when performing a determination process to determine the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode.

In the component recognition device, the parameters include information about the shape of the electrodes in the electronic component.

The state of formation of the transfer material layer on the electrode may differ depending on the shape of the electrode. Therefore, the brightness threshold, area tolerance, and minute area value are associated with component data that includes information on the shape of the electrode as parameter data related to the characteristics of the electronic component and stored in the memory unit. As a result, when performing a determination process to determine the state of formation of the transfer material layer on the electrode, the processing unit can refer to the brightness threshold, area tolerance, and minute area value associated with the component data stored in the memory unit depending on the shape of the electrode.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, in the image generation process, the processing unit generates a composite image by combining the multiple polarized images in addition to the linear polarization degree image, and in the area setting process, sets the electrode area and the outer area in the linear polarization degree image based on the composite image.

In this aspect, in the image generation process, the processing unit generates a composite image by synthesizing multiple polarized images acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit. This composite image contains image information similar to that of an image captured by a normal imaging camera based on the reception of unpolarized light. Therefore, the processing unit can set the electrode region and the outer region in the linear polarization degree image based on the image information contained in the composite image.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, the processing unit detects component parameter data related to the characteristics of the electronic component, including electrode parameters related to the characteristics of the electrodes, based on the composite image, and performs a recognition process to recognize the center position and orientation of the electronic component from the detection results. In this case, in the region setting process, the processing unit sets the electrode region and the outer region in the linear polarization degree image based on the recognition results of the recognition process.

In this aspect, the processing unit performs a recognition process to recognize the center position and orientation of the electronic component based on the composite image. In this case, in the region setting process, the processing unit can set the electrode region and the outer region in the linear polarization degree image based on the recognition result of the recognition process.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, the light irradiation unit has a shape that allows light to be irradiated from the side all around the electronic component.

In this embodiment, the light irradiation unit can irradiate the electronic component with light from the side over the entire circumference. In this case, the polarized image acquisition unit receives non-polarized light that is transmitted through the transfer material layer and reflected on the entire lateral circumference of the electrode in response to the incidence of light irradiated from the light irradiation unit, and receives polarized light reflected by the transfer material layer in correspondence with the entire lateral circumference of the electrode. As a result, the multiple polarized images acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit include not only image information about the electrode based on reception of non-polarized light reflected on the entire lateral circumference of the electrode, but also image information about the transfer material layer based on reception of polarized light reflected by the transfer material layer in correspondence with the entire lateral circumference of the electrode. Therefore, the processing unit can more accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the image information about the transfer material layer included in the multiple polarized images.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, the processing unit generates the linear polarization degree images for each of the two states, a state in which the transfer material layer is not formed on the electrode and a state in which the transfer material layer is formed on the electrode, based on the multiple polarized images for each of the two states in the image generation process, and then generates a difference image that shows the difference between each of the linear polarization degree images. In this case, in the judgment process, the processing unit judges the formation state of the transfer material layer in the state in which the transfer material layer is formed on the electrode based on the difference image.

In this aspect, in the image generation process, the processing unit generates linear polarization degree images for each of the two states, before and after the transfer material layer is formed on the electrode, based on multiple polarized images for each of the two states, and then generates a difference image that shows the difference between each linear polarization degree image. In this case, in the determination process, the processing unit determines the formation state of the transfer material layer when the transfer material layer is formed on the electrode, based on the difference image. This allows the processing unit to accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode, based on image information about the transfer material layer contained in the difference image.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, the polarized image acquisition unit is composed of a polarized camera equipped with a polarizer stacked imaging element in which polarizers with different polarization directions are stacked on each pixel of the imaging element.

In this aspect, the polarized image acquisition unit is configured with a polarized camera equipped with a polarizer stacked imaging element. Each pixel that constitutes the polarizer stacked imaging element is provided with a polarizer that functions as an optical filter that passes only light polarized in a specific direction. An imaging element that receives light that has passed through the polarizer is provided below the polarizer. By configuring the polarized image acquisition unit with a polarized camera, multiple polarized images with different polarization directions can be acquired with a single image capture of the electronic component. This allows the polarized image acquisition unit to reduce the time required to acquire multiple polarized images.

In the above-mentioned component recognition device, the polarized image acquisition unit is composed of a camera in which a rotatable polarizing filter and an image sensor are arranged side by side on the optical axis.

In this aspect, the polarized image acquisition unit is configured with a camera in which a rotatable polarizing filter and an image sensor are arranged side by side on the optical axis. In this case, in the polarized image acquisition unit, the polarizing filter is rotated by a predetermined rotation angle for each image capture by the image sensor. In this case, multiple polarized images with different polarization directions can be acquired by capturing images multiple times by the image sensor. As a result, the polarized image acquisition unit takes longer to acquire multiple polarized images compared to when it is configured with the above-mentioned polarized camera, but can acquire polarized images with high resolution.

A component mounter according to another aspect of the present invention includes a head unit that is movable while holding an electronic component having electrodes and that mounts the electronic component on a substrate at a predetermined component mounting position, a transfer device that forms a transfer material layer on the electrodes of the electronic component held by the head unit by transferring a transfer material to the electrodes, the component recognition device described above that recognizes the electronic component held by the head unit, and a head control unit that controls the movement of the head unit based on the component recognition result output from the processing unit of the component recognition device.

According to this component mounter, the head unit moves while holding an electronic component with a transfer material layer formed on the electrodes in the transfer device, and mounts the electronic component on the board at a predetermined component mounting position. The movement of this head unit is controlled by a head control unit. The head control unit controls the movement of the head unit based on the component recognition results output from the processing unit of the component recognition device. This improves the accuracy of mounting components on the board.

In the above component mounting machine, when a determination result indicating that the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrode exceeds the appropriate range is output from the processing unit, the head control unit moves the head unit to a predetermined disposal location in order to dispose of the electronic component held by the head unit at the disposal location.

In this aspect, when a determination result indicating that the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrodes exceeds the appropriate range is output from the processing unit of the component recognition device, the head unit moves to a disposal location and disposes of the electronic component held by the head unit at the disposal location. This allows the electronic component to be disposed of at the disposal location when the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrodes is too much and exceeds the appropriate range, and there is a risk of a defect occurring, such as the solder spreading excessively and causing the gap between the component body and the board to become too narrow. In addition, by disposing of electronic components in which the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrodes exceeds the appropriate range at a dedicated disposal location, it is possible to prevent, for example, a normal component disposal location from becoming dirty with the transfer material.

In the above component mounting machine, when a determination result indicating that the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrode falls below an appropriate range is output from the processing unit, the head control unit moves the head unit to the transfer device to re-transfer the transfer material to the electrode of the electronic component held by the head unit.

In this embodiment, when a determination result indicating that the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrode falls below the appropriate range is output from the processing unit of the component recognition device, the head unit moves to the transfer device and transfers the transfer material again to the electrode of the electronic component held by the head unit. This allows the transfer material to be transferred again to the electrode of the electronic component when the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrode falls below the appropriate range and is too small, or when no transfer material layer is formed, and there is a risk of a defect occurring such as an insufficient solder joint being obtained due to an insufficient effect of improving the wettability of the solder on the electrode surface.

In the above component mounting machine, the transfer device has a storage tank for storing the transfer material, a blade for spreading the transfer material in the storage tank into a film, and a film thickness adjustment mechanism for adjusting the thickness of the transfer material spread into a film in the storage tank by adjusting the gap dimension between the blade and the storage tank. The film thickness adjustment mechanism adjusts the film thickness of the transfer material in the storage tank based on the determination result of the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode by the processing unit.

In this embodiment, the film thickness adjustment mechanism of the transfer device adjusts the gap dimension between the blade and the storage tank to adjust the film thickness of the transfer material spread in a film-like form in the storage tank. In this case, the film thickness adjustment mechanism adjusts the film thickness of the transfer material in the storage tank based on the determination result of the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrodes by the processing unit of the component recognition device. This makes it possible to adjust the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrodes of the electronic components held by the head unit.

As described above, the present invention makes it possible to accurately determine the state of formation of a transfer material layer on the electrodes of an electronic component.

1 is a block diagram of a component mounter to which a component recognition device according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied; 2 is a plan view showing a configuration of a mounter body in the component mounter. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic diagram of a light irradiation unit and a polarized image acquisition unit provided in the component recognition device. FIG. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a modified example of the polarization image acquisition unit. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining the relationship between incidence and reflection of light on an electrode on which a transfer material layer is formed. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing polarized images acquired by a polarized image acquisition section; 4A to 4C are diagrams for explaining image generation processing, recognition processing, and area setting processing by a processing unit of the part recognition device. 11 is a diagram for explaining a determination process performed by a processing unit of the part recognition device. FIG.

The following describes a component recognition device and a component mounter equipped with the same according to an embodiment of the present invention, with reference to the drawings. Note that in the following, directional relationships are described using XY Cartesian coordinates that are mutually orthogonal on a horizontal plane.

The component mounter 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is a device that mounts (mounts) electronic components on a substrate PP to produce an electronic circuit board. Examples of electronic components include chip components with electrodes on one end and the other end of the component body, SOP (Small Outline Package), QFP (Quad Flat Package), PLCC (Plastic Leaded Chip Carrier), BGA (Ball Grid Array), and other types of components. The SOP is a component in which multiple electrodes are arranged on one end and the other end of the component body in the X-axis direction. The QFP and PLCC are components in which multiple electrodes are arranged on one end and the other end of the component body in the X-axis direction, and multiple electrodes are arranged on one end and the other end of the component body in the Y-axis direction. The BGA is a component in which multiple ball-shaped electrodes are provided on the underside of the component body.

The component mounter 1 comprises a mounter body 2, a control device 3, and a component recognition device 4.

The mounting machine main body 2 constitutes a structural portion that performs operations such as component mounting, which mounts electronic components on the substrate PP during the production of electronic circuit boards. A solder paste pattern is printed on the substrate PP before the mounting machine main body 2 mounts the electronic components. In other words, the mounting machine main body 2 mounts electronic components on the substrate PP on which the solder paste pattern has been printed. The mounting machine main body 2 comprises a main body frame 21, a substrate transport device 22, a component supply device 23, a transfer device 24, a head unit 25, and a substrate support device 28.

The main body frame 21 is a structure in which each part constituting the mounting machine main body 2 is arranged, and is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in a plan view seen from a direction (vertical direction) perpendicular to both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. The board transport device 22 is constituted by a conveyor, and is arranged on the main body frame 21 so as to extend in the X-axis direction. The board transport device 22 transports the board PP in the X-axis direction. The board PP transported by the board transport device 22 is positioned by the board support device 28 at a predetermined work position (a component mounting position where components are mounted on the board PP). The board support device 28 positions the board PP at the component mounting position by supporting the board PP from below.

The component supply devices 23 are disposed in the respective regions at both ends of the main frame 21 in the Y-axis direction. The component supply device 23 is not particularly limited in the component supply method as long as it is configured to be able to supply electronic components. For example, the component supply device 23 may be a tape feeder that supplies electronic components using a tape as a carrier, a tray feeder that supplies electronic components by moving a pallet including a tray on which electronic components are placed, or a stick feeder that supplies electronic components stored in a cylindrical stick while pushing the electronic components out of the stick.

The head unit 25 is held by the moving frame 27. On the main frame 21, a fixed rail 261 extending in the Y-axis direction and a ball screw shaft 262 rotated by a Y-axis servo motor 263 are arranged. The moving frame 27 is arranged on the fixed rail 261, and a nut portion 271 provided on the moving frame 27 is screwed onto the ball screw shaft 262. In addition, a guide member 272 extending in the X-axis direction and a ball screw shaft 273 driven by an X-axis servo motor 274 are arranged on the moving frame 27. The head unit 25 is movably held by the guide member 272, and a nut portion provided on the head unit 25 is screwed onto the ball screw shaft 273. The moving frame 27 moves in the Y-axis direction by the operation of the Y-axis servo motor 263, and the head unit 25 moves in the X-axis direction relative to the moving frame 27 by the operation of the X-axis servo motor 274. That is, the head unit 25 can move in the Y-axis direction in conjunction with the movement of the moving frame 27, and can move in the X-axis direction along the moving frame 27. The head unit 25 can move between the component supply device 23 and the substrate PP supported by the substrate support device 28 via the transfer device 24.

The head unit 25 is equipped with a plurality of mounting heads 251. Each mounting head 251 has a suction nozzle attached to its tip (lower end). Each mounting head 251 suctions and holds an electronic component supplied by the component supply device 23 with the suction nozzle. The head unit 25 moves to the transfer device 24 while each mounting head 251 holds an electronic component P (Figure 3) supplied by the component supply device 23, and then performs a component mounting process in which the electronic component P is mounted on the substrate PP at a predetermined component mounting position.

2, the head unit 25 is provided with a first imaging camera 252 and a second imaging camera 253. The first imaging camera 252 and the second imaging camera 253 are cameras equipped with imaging elements such as a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) or a charged-coupled device (CCD). The first imaging camera 252 captures an image of the mark from above in order to recognize various marks attached to the upper surface of the substrate PP transported to the component mounting position by the substrate transport device 22. The amount of positional deviation from the origin coordinates of the substrate PP is detected by the recognition of the mark on the substrate PP by the first imaging camera 252. The second imaging camera 253 captures an image of the supply position of the electronic component P in the component supply device 23 from diagonally above. The image captured by the second imaging camera 253 is referenced when recognizing the posture of the electronic component P supplied to the component supply position by the component supply device 23.

The transfer device 24 is a device that transfers a transfer material onto the surface of an electrode P1 of an electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25, thereby forming a transfer material layer P2 (Figure 5) on the surface of the electrode P1. The transfer material is a transparent liquid such as a flux having fluidity. Transfer materials are broadly divided into two types: rosin-based flux and water-soluble flux. The transfer material has the function of removing oxide films and dirt from the electrode surface, and the function of improving the wettability of solder to the electrode surface.

2, the transfer device 24 has a bottomed cylindrical storage tank 241 for storing the transfer material, a blade 242 for spreading the transfer material in the storage tank 241 into a film, and a film thickness adjustment mechanism 243. The film thickness adjustment mechanism 243 adjusts the gap dimension between the blade 242 and the storage tank 241 to adjust the film thickness of the transfer material spread into a film in the storage tank 241. This makes it possible to adjust the amount of transfer material layer P2 formed on the surface of the electrode P1 of the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25. In other words, the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25 is immersed in the transfer material spread into a film in the storage tank 241 with the surface on which the electrode P1 is provided facing downward and the lower end of the electrode P1 abutting the bottom surface of the storage tank 241. Therefore, the transfer material layer P2 is formed on the surface of the electrode P1 of the electronic component P up to a height position corresponding to the film thickness of the transfer material in the storage tank 241. For example, in the case of an electronic component P configured as a BGA, the appropriate amount of the transfer material layer P2 is considered to be formed to a height position that is about 50 to 70% of the electrode height from the bottom surface of the component body to the bottom end of the ball-shaped electrode P1. The appropriate range of the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed for the electrode P1 of the electronic component P is set individually for each type of electronic component P.

The control device 3 is composed of a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores a control program, a RAM (Random Access Memory) that is used as a working area for the CPU, and the like. The control device 3 controls the operation of each component of the mounting machine main body 2 by the CPU executing the control program stored in the ROM. As shown in FIG. 1, the control device 3 includes, as its main functional components, a board transport control unit 31, a component supply control unit 32, and a head control unit 33.

The board transport control unit 31 controls the transport operation of the board PP by the board transport device 22. The component supply control unit 32 controls the supply operation of the electronic components P by the component supply device 23. The head control unit 33 controls the mounting head 251 by controlling the head unit 25 based on the component recognition results by the component recognition device 4. As a result, the head control unit 33 causes the mounting head 251 to perform a component mounting operation to mount the electronic components P held by the mounting head 251 onto the board PP in accordance with each of a plurality of target mounting positions set on the board PP.

The component recognition device 4 is a device that recognizes the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25. The component recognition device 4 recognizes the electronic component P in a state in which the transfer material layer P2 has been formed on the electrode P1 by the transfer device 24 before the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25 is mounted on the substrate PP. The component recognition device 4 determines the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 on the electrode P1 for the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25, and recognizes the position and posture of the electronic component P relative to the mounting head 251.

As shown in FIG. 1, the part recognition device 4 includes a light irradiation unit 41, a polarized image acquisition unit 42, a part image acquisition unit 43, a processing unit 44, and a memory unit 45. The light irradiation unit 41, the polarized image acquisition unit 42, and the part image acquisition unit 43 are arranged on the main body frame 21 (see FIG. 2). On the other hand, the processing unit 44 and the memory unit 45 may be configured by a microcomputer separate and independent from the control device 3 described above, or may be integrated into the control device 3.

The storage unit 45 stores, for each type of electronic component P, component data DP consisting of data on component parameters PP0 relating to the characteristics of the electronic component P. The component parameters PP0 include basic parameters PP1 and electrode parameters PP2. The basic parameters PP1 are parameters that indicate basic characteristics of the electronic component P, such as the external dimensions of the electronic component P. The electrode parameters PP2 are parameters that indicate characteristics relating to the electrodes P1 of the electronic component P. The electrode parameters PP2 include information such as the size of the electrodes P2, the shape of the electrodes P2, and, in the case of an electronic component P in which multiple electrodes P2 are arranged in a predetermined arrangement direction, the pitch between the electrodes P2.

The memory unit 45 also stores the brightness threshold value D1, the area tolerance value D2, and the minute area value D3 as judgment reference values used by the processing unit 44 described below when judging the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1, in association with the component data DP for each type of electronic component P.

As shown in FIG. 3, the light irradiation unit 41 irradiates light from the side to the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25. The light irradiation unit 41 is provided corresponding to each of the polarized image acquisition unit 42 and the component image acquisition unit 43 (see FIG. 2). It is desirable that the light irradiation unit 41 has a shape that can irradiate light from the side to the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25 over the entire circumference of the electronic component P. This allows the light irradiation unit 41 to irradiate light from the side to the entire circumference of the electronic component P. In this case, the light irradiation unit 41 can be configured, for example, by an annular lighting member whose outer shape is a regular polygon or a circle in a plan view.

While moving from the transfer device 24 toward the substrate PP transported by the substrate transport device 22 to the component mounting position, the head unit 25 passes above the polarized image acquisition unit 42 and the component image acquisition unit 43 while holding the electronic component P with the mounting head 251.

The component image acquisition unit 43 is, for example, an imaging camera equipped with an imaging element such as a CMOS or CCD. While the head unit 25 is moving from the transfer device 24 toward the substrate PP, the component image acquisition unit 43 captures an image of the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 from below to acquire a component image. The component image acquired by the component image acquisition unit 43 is input to the processing unit 44.

As shown in FIG. 5, when light L1 irradiated from the light irradiation unit 41 is incident on the electrode P1 on which the transfer material layer P2 is formed in the electronic component P, the light L1 that passes through the transparent transfer material layer P2 and reaches the electrode P1 is diffusely reflected by the electrode P1, and the light L1 is specularly reflected on the surface of the transparent transfer material layer P2. The closer the incident angle α of the light L1 incident on the surface of the transparent transfer material layer P2 is to the Brewster angle α1, the lower the reflectance of the polarized P wave reflected by the transfer material layer P2, and when the light L1 is incident on the transfer material layer P2 at an incident angle α of Brewster angle α1, only the polarized S wave is reflected by the transfer material layer P2. In other words, the incident angle α of the light L1 when the reflectance of the P wave is almost zero and only the polarized S wave is reflected is called the Brewster angle α1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the polarized image acquisition unit 42 is positioned below the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25, and receives unpolarized light L2 diffusely reflected by the electrode P1 in response to the incidence of light L1 irradiated from the light irradiation unit 41, and receives polarized light L3 specularly reflected by the transfer material layer P2. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the polarized image acquisition unit 42 acquires multiple polarized images G1 with different polarization directions.

When an electronic component P having an electrode P1 on which a transfer material layer P2 is formed is imaged using a normal imaging camera constituting the component image acquisition unit 43, a phenomenon may occur in which it is difficult to distinguish, for example, the presence or absence of a transparent transfer material layer P2 from the image acquired by the imaging. In contrast, the polarized image acquisition unit 42 is capable of acquiring polarization information of the electronic component P whose image is to be acquired, and receives not only the unpolarized light L2 reflected by the electrode P1 but also the polarized light L3 reflected by the transfer material layer P2, and acquires multiple polarized images G1 with different polarization directions according to the received polarized light L3. As a result, the multiple polarized images G1 acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit 42 include not only image information on the electrode P1 based on the reception of the unpolarized light L2 reflected by the electrode P1, but also image information on the transfer material layer P2 based on the reception of the polarized light L3 reflected by the transfer material layer P2.

The light irradiation unit 41 and the polarized image acquisition unit 42 are arranged in a positional relationship such that the light L1 irradiated from the light irradiation unit 41 is incident on at least a portion of the transfer material layer P2 at an incidence angle α of Brewster's angle α1, and the polarized image acquisition unit 42 can receive the polarized S-wave L3 reflected by the transfer material layer P2 in response to the incidence of the light L1. Due to this positional relationship between the light irradiation unit 41 and the polarized image acquisition unit 42, the multiple polarized images G1 acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit 42 reliably contain image information regarding the transfer material layer P2 based on the reception of the polarized S-wave L3 reflected by the transfer material layer P2.

The polarized image acquisition unit 42 for acquiring multiple polarized images G1 with different polarization directions may have a variety of structures. For example, FIG. 3 shows an example of the polarized image acquisition unit 42 configured with a polarized camera. In this case, the polarized image acquisition unit 42 is configured with a polarized camera equipped with a polarizer stacked imaging element 421 in which polarizers 4212 with different polarization directions are stacked on each pixel of an imaging element 4211 such as a CMOS or CCD. Each pixel that configures the polarizer stacked imaging element 421 is provided with a polarizer 4212 that functions as an optical filter that passes only light polarized in a specific direction. An imaging element 4211 that receives light that has passed through the polarizer 4212 is provided below the polarizer 4212.

The polarizer 4212 set in each pixel constituting the polarizer stack imaging element 421 is configured so that a plurality of pixels (for example, four pixels) are treated as one unit and each of these plurality of pixels (four pixels) passes only light of a different polarization direction. In the case of a polarizer stack imaging element 421 in which the polarizer 4212 is stacked with four pixels as one unit, the polarization directions of the four pixels a, b, c, and d of the polarizer stack imaging element 421 are set, for example, as follows. That is, the polarization direction of pixel a is the horizontal direction of 0 degrees, and in this case, pixel a receives only light polarized in the 0 degree direction. The polarization direction of pixel b is the upper right diagonal direction of 45 degrees, and in this case, pixel b receives only light polarized in the 45 degree direction. The polarization direction of pixel c is the vertical direction of 90 degrees, and in this case, pixel c receives only light polarized in the 90 degree direction. The polarization direction of pixel d is the lower right diagonal direction of 135 degrees, and in this case, pixel d receives only light polarized in the 135 degree direction.

In the above explanation, the horizontal direction, upper right diagonal direction, lower right diagonal direction, and vertical direction are directions relative to the polarization camera that constitutes the polarization image acquisition unit 42, and the direction perpendicular to the optical axis of the polarization camera is the horizontal direction, and the direction parallel to the optical axis of the polarization camera is the vertical direction. Therefore, the polarization direction of each pixel changes depending on the tilt of the polarization camera.

The polarized image acquisition unit 42, which is configured with a polarized camera equipped with a polarizer stacked imaging element 421 in which polarizers 4212, each of which has four pixels as one unit, receives non-polarized light L2 diffusely reflected by the electrode P1 in response to the incidence of light L1 irradiated from the light irradiation unit 41, and receives polarized light L3 specularly reflected by the transfer material layer P2, thereby acquiring polarized images G1 with polarization directions of 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees. By configuring the polarized image acquisition unit 42 with a polarized camera, it is possible to acquire four polarized images G1 with different polarization directions in a single image capture from below the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251. This allows the polarized image acquisition unit 42 to shorten the time required to acquire multiple polarized images G1.

The polarized image acquisition unit 42 may also be a camera having a structure shown in FIG. 4. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the polarized image acquisition unit 42 is configured by a camera in which a polarizing filter 423 rotatable around an axis 4231 parallel to the optical axis and an image sensor 422 such as a CMOS or CCD are arranged side by side on the optical axis at a predetermined interval. In this case, the polarizing filter 423 is partitioned into a plurality of regions (for example, four regions) that pass light of different polarization directions. For example, the polarizing filter 423 is partitioned into four regions that pass light of polarization directions of 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees. In the polarized image acquisition unit 42 configured in this way, the polarizing filter 423 is rotated by a rotation angle of 45 degrees for each image capture by the image sensor 422. In this case, four polarized images G1 with different polarization directions can be acquired by four images captured by the image sensor 422. As a result, the polarized image acquisition unit 42 takes longer to acquire multiple polarized images G1 than when configured with the above-mentioned polarized camera, but can acquire polarized images G1 with high resolution.

The component image acquired by the component image acquisition unit 43 and the multiple polarized images G1 acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit 42 are input to the processing unit 44.

The processing unit 44 determines the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 on the electrode P1 for the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 of the head unit 25 based on the multiple polarized images G1 acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit 42, and in some cases recognizes the position and orientation of the electronic component P relative to the mounting head 251. The processing unit 44 also recognizes the position and orientation of the electronic component P relative to the mounting head 251 based on the component images acquired by the component image acquisition unit 43. Note that, although details will be described later, if the processing unit 44 is configured to recognize the position and orientation of the electronic component P relative to the mounting head 251 based on the multiple polarized images G1 acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit 42, the installation of the component image acquisition unit 43 can be omitted.

The processing unit 44 performs processing to determine the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 on the electrode P1 based on the multiple polarized images G1 acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit 42, and outputs the determination result as a component recognition result for the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251. As described above, the multiple polarized images G1 acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit 42 include not only image information on the electrode P1 based on reception of non-polarized light L2 reflected by the electrode P1, but also image information on the transfer material layer P2 based on reception of polarized light L3 reflected by the transfer material layer P2. Therefore, the processing unit 44 can accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 on the electrode P1 based on the image information on the transfer material layer P2 included in the multiple polarized images G1.

As described above, the light irradiation unit 41 and the polarized image acquisition unit 42 are arranged in a positional relationship such that the light L1 irradiated from the light irradiation unit 41 is incident on at least a portion of the transfer material layer P2 at an incidence angle α of the Brewster angle α1, and the polarized S-wave reflected by the transfer material layer P2 in response to the incidence of the light L1 can be received by the polarized image acquisition unit 42. Due to such a positional relationship between the light irradiation unit 41 and the polarized image acquisition unit 42, the multiple polarized images G1 acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit 42 reliably contain image information regarding the transfer material layer P2 based on the reception of the polarized S-wave L3 reflected by the transfer material layer P2. As a result, the processing unit 44 can more accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 relative to the electrode P1 based on the image information regarding the transfer material layer P2 contained in the multiple polarized images G1.

As described above, the light irradiation unit 41 has a shape capable of irradiating the electronic component P held by the mounting head 251 with light from the side over the entire circumference. This allows the light irradiation unit 41 to irradiate the electronic component P with light from the side over the entire circumference. In this case, the polarized image acquisition unit 42 receives non-polarized light L2 that is transmitted through the transfer material layer P2 and reflected on the entire lateral circumference of the electrode P1 in response to the incidence of light L1 irradiated from the light irradiation unit 41, and receives polarized light L3 that is reflected on the transfer material layer P2 in correspondence with the entire lateral circumference of the electrode P1. As a result, the multiple polarized images G1 acquired by the polarized image acquisition unit 42 include not only image information on the electrode P1 based on reception of non-polarized light L2 reflected on the entire lateral circumference of the electrode P1, but also image information on the transfer material layer P2 based on reception of polarized light L3 that is reflected on the transfer material layer P2 in correspondence with the entire lateral circumference of the electrode P1. Therefore, the processing unit 44 can more accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 on the electrode P1 based on the image information about the transfer material layer P2 contained in the multiple polarized images G1.

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, the processing unit 44 performs image generation processing, recognition processing, area setting processing, and determination processing.

In the image generation process, the processing unit 44 calculates the degree of linear polarization (DoLP) for each pixel based on the multiple polarized images G1, and generates a linear polarization degree image G2 consisting of a pixel group having a luminance value according to the linear polarization degree. In the following, a case where the multiple polarized images G1 with different polarization directions are used, that is, the polarized images G1 with polarization directions of 0 degrees, 45 degrees, 90 degrees, and 135 degrees, will be described as an example. The processing unit 44 calculates the incident luminous intensity I for each pixel, which is expressed by the following formula (1).
Incident luminous intensity I=p0+p90+p45+p135...(1)

In the above formula (1), "p0" indicates the luminous intensity of the polarized component whose polarization direction is 0 degrees, "p90" indicates the luminous intensity of the polarized component whose polarization direction is 90 degrees, "p45" indicates the luminous intensity of the polarized component whose polarization direction is 45 degrees, and "p135" indicates the luminous intensity of the polarized component whose polarization direction is 135 degrees.

Next, the processing unit 44 calculates the advantage Q of the 90-degree polarization component over the 0-degree polarization component for each pixel according to the formula "Q = p0 - p90". The processing unit 44 also calculates the advantage U of the 135-degree polarization component over the 45-degree polarization component for each pixel according to the formula "U = p45 - p135".

Next, the processing unit 44 calculates the degree of linear polarization DoLP for each pixel according to the following formula (2).
Degree of linear polarization DoLP=((Q ² +U ² ) ^1/2 )/I (2)

Then, the processing unit 44 calculates a luminance value corresponding to the linear polarization degree DoLP for each pixel according to the formula "I x DoLP". In this way, the processing unit 44 generates a linear polarization degree image G2 consisting of a group of pixels having luminance values corresponding to the linear polarization degree based on the multiple polarization images G1.

In addition, in the image generation process, the processing unit 44 generates a composite image G3 by combining multiple polarization images G1 in addition to the linear polarization degree image G2. This composite image G3 contains image information similar to that of an image captured by a normal imaging camera based on receiving unpolarized light, such as the component image acquisition unit 43.

In the recognition process, the processing unit 44 detects data of component parameters PP0 related to the characteristics of the electronic component P, including electrode parameters PP2 related to the characteristics of the electrode P1, based on the composite image G3, and recognizes the center position and orientation of the electronic component P from the detection result. In other words, the processing unit 44 detects data of component parameters PP0 (see FIG. 1) included in the component data DP stored in the storage unit 45 based on the composite image G3, and recognizes the center position and orientation of the electronic component P from the detection result. Note that in the recognition process, the processing unit 44 may be configured to detect data of component parameters PP0 based on the component image acquired by the component image acquisition unit 43, and recognize the center position and orientation of the electronic component P from the detection result. When the processing unit 44 detects data of component parameters PP0 based on the composite image G3 and recognizes the center position and orientation of the electronic component P, the installation of the component image acquisition unit 43 can be omitted.

In the region setting process, the processing unit 44 sets an electrode region AR1 corresponding to the electrode P1 and an outer region AR2 adjacent to the outside of the electrode region AR1 in the linear polarization degree image G2. Specifically, the processing unit 44 sets the electrode region AR1 and the outer region AR2 in the linear polarization degree image G2 based on the recognition result of the recognition process based on the composite image G3. The processing unit 44 can set the electrode region AR1 and the outer region AR2 in the linear polarization degree image G2 by referring to the data of the component parameter PP0 and the center position and orientation of the electronic component P included in the recognition result of the recognition process based on the composite image G3.

In the determination process, the processing unit 44 determines the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 based on the linear polarization degree image G2. The linear polarization degree image G2, which is composed of a group of pixels having a luminance value corresponding to the linear polarization degree, contains image information regarding the transfer material layer P2 based on the luminance value of each pixel. Therefore, the processing unit 44 can accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 based on the luminance value of each pixel of the group of pixels that constitute the linear polarization degree image G2.

Specifically, in the determination process, the processing unit 44 reads out from the storage unit 45 the brightness threshold D1 associated with the part data DP stored in the storage unit 45, and extracts a pixel of interest having a brightness value equal to or greater than the brightness threshold D1 from the group of pixels constituting the linear polarization degree image G2. The brightness threshold D1 is set to, for example, "128", which is half of the 256 gradations. The processing unit 44 then calculates a pixel of interest group area indicating the area of the group of pixels of interest in the linear polarization degree image G2, and determines the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 based on the pixel of interest group area. The pixel of interest in the linear polarization degree image G2 is a pixel that has a brightness value equal to or greater than a predetermined brightness threshold D1 and contains image information related to the transfer material layer P2. Therefore, the processing unit 44 can accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 based on the pixel of interest group area indicating the area of the group of pixels of interest in the linear polarization degree image G2.

To explain in more detail, the processing unit 44 performs a judgment process after a region setting process for setting an electrode region AR1 and an outer region AR2 in the linear polarization degree image G2. Depending on whether or not a pixel of interest exists in each region of the electrode region AR1 corresponding to the electrode P1 of the electronic component P set in the linear polarization degree image G2 and the outer region AR2 outside the electrode region AR1, the processing unit 44 can recognize the formation position of the transfer material layer P2 relative to the electrode P1. Specifically, if a pixel of interest having a luminance value equal to or greater than a predetermined luminance threshold D1 exists in the electrode region AR1 in the linear polarization degree image G2, the processing unit 44 can recognize that the transfer material layer P2 is formed in an appropriate position relative to the electrode P1. On the other hand, if a pixel of interest having a luminance value equal to or greater than a predetermined luminance threshold D1 exists in the outer region AR2 outside the electrode region AR1 in the linear polarization degree image G2, the processing unit 44 can recognize that the transfer material layer P2 is formed so as to excessively protrude outward from the electrode P1, and that the transfer material layer P2 is formed in an inappropriate position relative to the electrode P1.

In addition, when a pixel of interest exists in the electrode region AR1 in the linear polarization degree image G2, the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed on the electrode P1 can be recognized depending on whether the electrode region attention area SA1 indicating the area of the pixel of interest group corresponding to the pixel of interest in the electrode region AR1 is equal to or greater than the area tolerance D2 associated with the component data DP stored in the storage unit 45. The area tolerance D2 is set to, for example, 80% of the appropriate area of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1. For example, when the electrode P1 is a ball-shaped electrode with an outer diameter of 0.5 mm, the appropriate area of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 is 0.04 ^mm2 , which indicates 70% to 90% of the surface area of the ball-shaped electrode P1. In this case, the area tolerance D2 is set to 0.032 ^mm2 , which indicates 80% of 0.04 ^mm2 .

When the electrode area of interest SA1 of the pixel of interest in the electrode area AR1 in the linear polarization degree image G2 is equal to or greater than the predetermined area tolerance D2, the processing unit 44 can recognize that the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed is within the appropriate range. On the other hand, when the electrode area of interest SA1 of the pixel of interest in the electrode area AR1 in the linear polarization degree image G2 is less than the predetermined area tolerance D2, the processing unit 44 can recognize that although the transfer material layer P2 is formed in the correct position relative to the electrode P1, the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed is below the appropriate range.

In the determination process, the processing unit 44 determines that the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 is appropriate based on the linear polarization degree image G2 if a pixel of interest is present in the electrode region AR1, the pixel of interest's area of interest SA1 in the electrode region is equal to or greater than a predetermined area tolerance D2, and no pixel of interest is present in the outer region AR2. This allows the processing unit 44 to accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1.

In addition, in the determination process, when a pixel of interest exists in the outer region AR2 in the linear polarization degree image G2, the processing unit 44 determines the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 using the outer region attention area SA2 indicating the area of the pixel of interest group corresponding to the pixel of interest. Even if a pixel of interest exists in the outer region AR2 in the linear polarization degree image G2, if the outer region attention area SA2 is equal to or less than the minute area value D3 associated with the part data DP stored in the storage unit 45, the pixel of interest in the outer region AR2 is likely not derived from the transfer material layer P2 but from noise, minute dust, or the like. Therefore, the processing unit 44 determines that the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 is appropriate based on the linear polarization degree image G2 when the electrode region attention area SA1 is equal to or more than the area allowable value D2 and the outer region attention area SA2 is equal to or less than the predetermined minute area value D3. This allows the processing unit 44 to accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1.

If the area of interest SA1 in the electrode region is equal to or larger than the area tolerance D2, and the area of interest SA2 in the outer region exceeds a predetermined infinitesimal area value D3, the processing unit 44 determines that the amount of transfer material layer P2 formed is greater than the appropriate range and is too large, and determines that the state of formation of the transfer material layer P2 on the electrode P1 is inappropriate.

In addition, if the area of interest SA1 in the electrode region is less than the area tolerance D2, the processing unit 44 determines that the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed is below the appropriate range and is too small, and determines that the state of the transfer material layer P2 formed on the electrode P1 is inappropriate.

In addition, if the area of interest SA1 in the electrode region is equal to or smaller than the infinitesimal area value D3, the processing unit 44 determines that the transfer material layer P2 has not been formed and that the state of formation of the transfer material layer P2 with respect to the electrode P1 is inappropriate.

The state of formation of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 may differ depending on the shape of the electrode P1. As described above, the component data DP, which includes information on the shape of the electrode P1 as a parameter related to the characteristics of the electronic component P, is stored in the memory unit 45 in association with the brightness threshold value D1, the area tolerance value D2, and the minute area value D3, which are used as judgment reference values when the processing unit 44 judges the state of formation of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1. As a result, when performing the judgment process to judge the state of formation of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1, the processing unit 44 can refer to the brightness threshold value D1, the area tolerance value D2, and the minute area value D3 associated with the component data DP stored in the memory unit 45 according to the shape of the electrode P1.

The processing unit 44 outputs to the head control unit 33 the component recognition results, which include the determination result of the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 on the electrode P1 and the recognition result of the position and posture of the electronic component P relative to the mounting head 251.

The head unit 25 moves while holding an electronic component P with a transfer material layer P2 formed on the electrode P1 in the transfer device 24, and places the electronic component P on the substrate PP at a predetermined component placement position. This movement of the head unit 25 is controlled by the head control unit 33. The head control unit 33 controls the movement of the head unit 25 based on the component recognition results output from the processing unit 44 of the component recognition device 4 and the component data DP stored in the memory unit 45. This improves the placement accuracy of the electronic component P on the substrate PP.

When a determination result indicating that the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed on the electrode P1 exceeds the appropriate range is output from the processing unit 44, the head control unit 33 moves the head unit 25 to a designated disposal location to dispose of the electronic component P held by the head unit 25. This allows the electronic component P to be disposed of at the disposal location when the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed on the electrode P1 is too much and exceeds the appropriate range, and there is a risk of a malfunction such as the solder spreading excessively and causing the gap between the component body and the substrate PP to become too narrow. In addition, by disposing of the electronic component P with the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed on the electrode P1 exceeding the appropriate range at a dedicated disposal location, it is possible to prevent, for example, a normal component disposal location from being soiled with the transfer material.

In addition, when a determination result indicating that the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed on the electrode P1 falls below the appropriate range is output from the processing unit 44, the head control unit 33 moves the head unit 25 to the transfer device 24 in order to transfer the transfer material again to the electrode P1 of the electronic component P held by the head unit 25. This allows the transfer material to be transferred again to the electrode P1 of the electronic component P when the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed on the electrode P1 falls below the appropriate range and is too small, or when the transfer material layer P2 is not formed, and there is a risk of a malfunction such as an insufficient solder joint being obtained due to an insufficient improvement effect of the solder on the surface of the electrode P1.

The film thickness adjustment mechanism 243 of the transfer device 24 adjusts the thickness of the transfer material spread into a film in the storage tank 241 by adjusting the gap dimension between the blade 242 and the storage tank 241. In this case, the film thickness adjustment mechanism 243 adjusts the film thickness of the transfer material in the storage tank 241 based on the determination result of the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 on the electrode P1 by the processing unit 44 of the component recognition device 4. This makes it possible to adjust the amount of the transfer material layer P2 formed on the electrode P1 of the electronic component P held by the head unit 25.

The above describes the component recognition device 4 and the component mounter 1 equipped with the same according to an embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the following modified embodiments can be adopted.

In the above embodiment, the processing unit 44 of the component recognition device 4 generates a linearly polarized image G2 based on a plurality of polarized images G1 corresponding to an electronic component P having a transfer material layer P2 formed on an electrode P1, and determines the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 on the electrode P1 based on the linearly polarized image G2. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.

In a modified embodiment, in the image generation process, the processing unit 44 is configured to generate linear polarization degree images G2 for each of the two states, a state in which the transfer material layer P2 is not formed on the electrode P1, and a state in which the transfer material layer P2 is formed on the electrode P1, based on a plurality of polarized images G1 for each of the two states, and then generate a difference image showing the difference between each linear polarization degree image G2. In this case, in the determination process, the processing unit 44 determines the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 in the state in which the transfer material layer P2 is formed on the electrode P1 based on the difference image. This allows the processing unit 44 to accurately determine the formation state of the transfer material layer P2 for the electrode P1 based on the image information regarding the transfer material layer P2 contained in the difference image.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Component mounter 2 Mounter body 24 Transfer device 25 Head unit 3 Control device 33 Head control unit 4 Component recognition device 41 Light irradiation unit 42 Polarized image acquisition unit 421 Polarizer stacked imaging element 422 Imaging element 423 Polarizing filter 43 Component image acquisition unit 44 Processing unit 45 Storage unit G1 Polarized image G2 Linear polarization degree image G3 Composite image P Electronic component P1 Electrode P2 Transfer material layer

Claims (17)

A component recognition device for recognizing an electronic component having an electrode on which a transfer material layer is formed by transferring a transfer material, comprising:
a light irradiation unit that irradiates the electronic component with light;
a polarization image acquisition unit that, when the transfer material layer is formed on a surface of the electrode, acquires a plurality of polarization images having different polarization directions by receiving polarized light reflected by the transfer material layer in response to the incidence of light irradiated from the light irradiation unit;
a processing unit that performs a process of determining a formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the plurality of polarized images, and outputs the determination result as a component recognition result ,
The processing unit includes:
an image generation process for calculating a degree of linear polarization for each pixel based on the plurality of polarization images and generating a linear polarization degree image composed of a pixel group having a luminance value according to the degree of linear polarization;
and determining a state of formation of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the linear polarization degree image . The component recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the light irradiation unit and the polarized image acquisition unit are arranged in a positional relationship such that light irradiated from the light irradiation unit is incident on at least a portion of the transfer material layer at an incident angle of Brewster's angle, and the polarized image acquisition unit can receive polarized S-waves reflected by the transfer material layer in response to the incidence of the light. 3. The component recognition device of claim 1, wherein the processing unit, in the judgment process, extracts a pixel of interest having a brightness value equal to or greater than a predetermined brightness threshold from a group of pixels constituting the linear polarization degree image, calculates a pixel of interest group area indicating an area of the group of pixels of interest, and judges the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the pixel of interest group area. The processing unit includes:
performing a region setting process for setting an electrode region corresponding to the electrode and an outer region adjacent to the outside of the electrode region in the linear polarization degree image;
4. The component recognition device of claim 3, wherein the determination process determines that the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode is appropriate when the pixel of interest is present within the electrode region, and an area of interest within the electrode region indicating the area of the pixel of interest group corresponding to the pixel of interest is equal to or greater than a predetermined area tolerance, and the pixel of interest is not present within the outer region. The processing unit includes:
When the pixel of interest is present within the outer region, a state of formation of the transfer material layer on the electrode is determined using an area of interest within the outer region that indicates an area of the pixel of interest that corresponds to the pixel of interest;
5. A component recognition device according to claim 4, wherein the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode is determined to be appropriate when the area of interest within the electrode region is equal to or greater than the area tolerance and the area of interest within the outer region is equal to or less than a predetermined micro area value. 6. The component recognition device according to claim 5, further comprising a storage unit that stores the brightness threshold value, the area tolerance value, and the infinitesimal area value in association with component data for each type of electronic component, the component data being configured by parameter data relating to the characteristics of the electronic component. The component recognition device according to claim 6 , wherein the parameters include information on the shape of the electrodes of the electronic component. The processing unit includes:
In the image generation process, a composite image is generated by combining the plurality of polarization images in addition to the linear polarization degree image;
8. The component recognition device according to claim 4 , wherein in the region setting process, the electrode region and the outer region in the linear polarization degree image are set based on the composite image. The processing unit includes:
detecting data of component parameters related to features of the electronic component, including electrode parameters related to features of the electrodes, based on the composite image, and performing recognition processing to recognize a center position and an orientation of the electronic component from the detection results;
The component recognition device according to claim 8 , wherein in the region setting process, the electrode region and the outer region in the linear polarization degree image are set based on a recognition result of the recognition process. The component recognition device according to claim 1 , wherein the light irradiation unit has a shape capable of irradiating the electronic component with light from a side thereof over the entire periphery. The processing unit includes:
In the image generation process, based on the plurality of polarized images for each of two states, a state in which the transfer material layer is not formed on the electrode and a state in which the transfer material layer is formed on the electrode, a linear polarization degree image for each of the two states is generated, and then a difference image showing a difference between each of the linear polarization degree images is generated;
The component recognition device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination process determines a formation state of the transfer material layer in a state where the transfer material layer is formed on the electrode based on the difference image. The component recognition device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 , wherein the polarized image acquisition unit is configured by a polarization camera equipped with a polarizer stacked imaging element in which polarizers with different polarization directions are stacked on each pixel of the imaging element. 12. The component recognition device according to claim 1, wherein the polarized image acquisition unit is configured with a camera in which a rotatable polarizing filter and an image sensor are arranged side by side on an optical axis. a head unit that is movably provided while holding an electronic component having electrodes, and that mounts the electronic component on a substrate at a predetermined component mounting position;
a transfer device for transferring a transfer material onto the electrodes of the electronic component held by the head unit to form a transfer material layer on the electrodes;
The component recognition device according to any one of claims 1 to 13 , which recognizes the electronic component held by the head unit;
a head control unit that controls movement of the head unit based on a component recognition result output from the processing unit of the component recognition device. The component mounter of claim 14, wherein when a determination result indicating that the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrode exceeds an appropriate range is output from the processing unit, the head control unit moves the head unit to a predetermined disposal location in order to dispose of the electronic component held by the head unit at the disposal location. a head unit that is movably provided while holding an electronic component having electrodes, and that mounts the electronic component on a substrate at a predetermined component mounting position;
a transfer device for transferring a transfer material onto the electrodes of the electronic component held by the head unit to form a transfer material layer on the electrodes;
a component recognition device that recognizes the electronic components held by the head unit and outputs a component recognition result;
a head control unit that controls movement of the head unit based on the component recognition result output from the component recognition device,
The part recognition device includes:
a light irradiation unit that irradiates the electronic component with light;
a polarization image acquisition unit that, when the transfer material layer is formed on a surface of the electrode, acquires a plurality of polarization images having different polarization directions by receiving polarized light reflected by the transfer material layer in response to the incidence of light irradiated from the light irradiation unit;
a processing unit that performs a process of determining a formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode based on the plurality of polarized images, and outputs the determination result as the component recognition result,
The head control unit of a component mounting machine moves the head unit to the transfer device in order to re-transfer the transfer material to the electrode of the electronic component held by the head unit when a judgment result indicating that the amount of the transfer material layer formed on the electrode falls below an appropriate range is output from the processing unit as the component recognition result . The transfer device is
a storage tank for storing the transfer material;
a blade for spreading the transfer material in the storage tank into a film;
a film thickness adjustment mechanism that adjusts a gap dimension between the blade and the storage tank to adjust a film thickness of the transfer material spread in a film shape in the storage tank,
The component mounting machine according to any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the film thickness adjustment mechanism adjusts the film thickness of the transfer material in the storage tank based on the result of the processing unit's determination of the formation state of the transfer material layer on the electrode.