JP2001125274A - Exposure device for manufacturing circuit board - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an exposure device for manufacturing circuit board which capable of successively exposing long-sized base materials provided with photosensitive materials, constantly holding their exposure accuracy and taking up the base materials after processing to a roll form which making the side end faces flush with each other. SOLUTION: This device is provided with a base material delivery section 2 which delivers the base materials 1 wound to the roll form to a distributing path which applying a fixed braking force thereto according to the transportation of the base material 1 in the distributing path of the base material 1, a base material feed drive section 3 which intermittently transports the base materials 1 onto the distributing path, an exposure section 4 which successively exposes the base materials 1 on the distributing path in tune with the base material 1 feed by the base material feed drive section 3, and a base material take-up section 5 which takes up the base materials 1 on the distributing path to the roll form while applying specified tension thereto according to the transportation of the base materials 1 in the distributing path.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to the manufacture of a circuit board for exposing a substrate provided with a photosensitive material for forming a resist when manufacturing a circuit board used for manufacturing a printed wiring board. The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus for use.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A circuit board used as an inner layer material of a printed wiring board is manufactured by subjecting a substrate such as a double-sided metal foil-clad laminate to an additive method or a subtractive method. At this time, a resist layer serving as an etching resist or a plating resist is formed on the base material,
In this case, a photosensitive material such as a dry film is provided on the surface of the base material, and the base material provided with the photosensitive material is exposed and developed.

Conventionally, in forming a resist layer on a base material, a photosensitive material is provided on a base material formed in a product size, and the base material is conveyed one by one to an exposure device to expose the photosensitive material. I was going.

[0004]

However, when the substrate is conveyed one by one and exposed as described above, the steps of conveying the substrate and aligning the substrate with the exposure apparatus become complicated. The processing efficiency is poor, and in order to transfer the processed base material to the next step, the processed base material must be stacked and moved, and this transferring step is also troublesome.

On the other hand, in recent years, in manufacturing a base material, a continuous method of manufacturing a long base material by continuously laminating and integrating a long metal foil and a resin sheet has been adopted. However, when manufacturing a circuit board from such a long base material, a conventional method cuts out a short base material of a product size from this base material, and provides a photosensitive material on the short base material. Exposure must be performed, and the positioning of the base material in the exposure apparatus and the transfer of the processed base material to the next step also become complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in manufacturing a circuit board from a long base material provided with a photosensitive material, it is possible to efficiently perform an exposure process, It is an object of the present invention to provide an exposure apparatus for manufacturing a circuit board, which can improve the positional accuracy at the time of processing, and can easily transfer the base material after the exposure processing to the next step. is there.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exposure apparatus for manufacturing a circuit board, comprising: a route for transporting a long base material 1 having a photosensitive material provided on a surface thereof; A base material feeding portion 2 for feeding the base material 1 wound in a roll shape in accordance with the conveyance of the base material 1 into a path while applying a constant braking force in a direction opposite to the conveyance direction, and a base material on the path A substrate feeding drive unit 3 for intermittently transporting the substrate 1 by a predetermined length; an exposure unit 4 for sequentially exposing the substrate 1 on a route in synchronization with the substrate 1 feeding by the substrate feed driving unit 3; And a substrate winding section 5 that winds the substrate 1 on the routing in a roll shape while applying a constant tension in the transport direction in accordance with the transport of the substrate 1 in the above. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, there is provided a position detecting means for detecting a displacement of an arrangement position of the base material 1 on a route in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, and the position detecting means. And a position adjusting means for adjusting an arrangement position of the base material 1 on the route in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction based on a detection result by the means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the base material 1 is supported from below on the upstream side and the downstream side of the route of the base material 1 from the exposure unit 4, respectively. A height adjusting roll 29 whose height can be adjusted in the vertical direction is provided, and an exposure mask 24 is provided on at least one of the upper side and the lower side of the route of the substrate 1 in the exposure section 4. It is assumed that.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to third aspects, the route of the base material 1 between the base material feeding portion 2 and the base material feeding drive portion 3 and the base material Feed drive unit 3
In the path of the base material 1 between the base material take-up part 5 and the base material take-up part 5, a step roll 6 that can be moved up and down to apply a constant tension to the upstream side and the downstream side of the base material 1 is provided. Things.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

As the substrate 1, those conventionally used in the manufacture of printed wiring boards can be used, and a resin composition containing an epoxy resin or the like in a sheet-like fiber material such as paper, glass woven fabric, or glass non-woven fabric is used. To form a prepreg by impregnating the resin into a semi-cured state, stacking a metal foil such as a copper foil on both sides of one or more prepregs, heating and laminating under pressure or without pressure By doing so, a metal foil-clad laminate in which the prepreg has become an insulating layer can be formed.

The substrate 1 used in the present invention is formed in a long sheet shape, and the surface of the metal foil of the outer layer is
A photosensitive material is provided. As the photosensitive material, a photosensitive resist film (dry film) made of an ultraviolet curable resin or the like can be used. In this case, the resist film is attached to the surface of the metal foil.

FIG. 1 shows an example of an exposure apparatus for manufacturing a circuit board according to the present invention.

In the exposure apparatus for manufacturing a circuit board, a route through which the base material 1 is conveyed in the longitudinal direction is set, and the base material 1 is sequentially arranged from the upstream side along the route of the base material 1. Feeding part 2,
The bonding table 7, the feeding side accumulator 8, the substrate cleaning unit 9, the substrate end detecting unit 10, the exposing unit 4, the substrate feed driving unit 3, the winding side accumulator 11, the separation table 12, And a substrate winding section 5.

The base material feeding section 2 is provided with a base material feeding reel 13 around which the base material 1 is wound so as to be rotatable about an axis, and a support shaft 14 of the base material feeding reel 13 is provided on a support base 14. It is composed. The support shaft 15 has an air formed such that lugs and the like provided on the outer peripheral surface thereof project outward by air being injected into the inside thereof to elastically contact the inner peripheral surface of the shaft core of the base material feeding reel 13. It can be constituted by a shaft, and stably holds the base material feeding reel 13 so that its rotation axis does not shake.

The support base 14 is provided with a drive source such as a motor capable of transmitting a rotational driving force to the support shaft 15 and preventing rotation of the support shaft 15. An AC servomotor can be used as the drive source. In this case, the spindle 15 is driven by the servo lock force of the AC servomotor.
Rotation can be prevented. The operation of rotating and stopping the rotation of the support shaft 15 by the drive source is controlled based on the operation of the feeding-side accumulator 8.
Details of the control operation will be described later.

The drive source includes a support shaft 15 which is a drive source.
A brake means, such as a powder brake, for rotating the support shaft 15 while applying an arbitrary braking force within a certain range when the is driven to rotate, is connected. When the powder brake is used, a desired braking force can be transmitted to the support shaft 15 by outputting a voltage proportional to the desired braking force to the powder brake. And, for example, FIG.
When a desired braking force is input to the control amplifier 45a connected to the drive source 46a, an output voltage proportional to the input braking force is generated by the control amplifier 45a, and this output voltage is The desired braking force is output to the powder brake of the drive source 46a,
5 is transmitted.

An actuator 16 is provided below the support table 14 for moving the support table 14 in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction in which the base material 1 is fed from the base material feeding reel 13 on the routing. The actuator 16 moves the support base 14 based on a detection result from a position detection unit described later. The base material feeding section 2 is provided as position adjusting means for adjusting the arrangement position of the base material 1 on a route based on a detection result from a position detecting means described later.

The bonding table 7 is arranged below the base material 1 on the route and close to the base material 1, and the upper surface thereof is formed in a substantially horizontal plane along the base material 1 on the route.

The base material end detecting section 10 is provided as a position detecting means for detecting a displacement of the arrangement position of the base material 1 on the distribution route. This is for detecting a position shift. As the base end detection unit 10, a base having a configuration schematically shown in FIG. 4 can be used. 4 is provided with a detection medium transmitting unit 17 and a detection medium receiving unit 18 above and below, respectively, at a position where one side end of the base material 1 is disposed in the distribution path, and constitutes a detection device 19. The plurality of the detection devices 19 are arranged side by side in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the substrate 1 is conveyed. When the base material 1 is disposed between the detection medium transmitting unit 17 and the detection medium receiving unit 18 of the detection device 19, the detection medium transmitted from the detection medium transmitting unit 17 is detected by the detection medium receiving unit 18. In a case where the signal is not received by being blocked by the side end, the presence of the base material 1 is detected, and the side end of the base material 1 is not arranged between the detection medium transmission unit 17 and the detection medium reception unit 18. The detection medium from the detection medium transmitting unit 17 is received by the detection medium receiving unit 18 of the detection device 19, and the base material 1
Is not detected. Here, in the figure, five detection devices 19 are provided. The position of the base material 1 on the route in the base material end detection unit 10 provided with such a detection device 19 is determined by the detection device 19
For example, two detection devices 19 (hereinafter, referred to as a normal position detection device 19a) are provided in a region where the base material 1 is disposed at a correct position, and the outside of the detection device 19 is provided. When the remaining three detection devices 19 (hereinafter, referred to as the outside position detection devices 19b) are disposed in the route, when the position of the substrate 1 on the route is at the correct position,
Are detected by one or two normal position detectors 19a and not detected by the outer position detector 19b, and when the base material 1 on the route is at a position shifted outward from a correct position. , The substrate 1 has two normal position detecting devices 19
a and one or more external position detectors 19
b, or when the base material 1 on the route is in a position shifted inward from the correct position, the base material 1 is not detected by any of the detection devices 19.

The detection device 19 includes a photoelectric switch using light as a detection medium, a light emitting element as a detection medium transmitting unit 17, and a light receiving element as a detection medium receiving unit 18. Air is used as the detection medium transmitting unit 17 is provided with an air ejection device,
Using an air detection device 19 configured as a detection medium receiving unit 18 provided with a pressure-sensitive element that detects the pressure of air ejected from the air ejection device, or using an ultrasonic wave as a detection medium,
An ultrasonic oscillator may be used as the detection medium transmitting unit 17, and an ultrasonic detection device 19 configured to include an ultrasonic detection device that detects ultrasonic waves oscillated from the ultrasonic oscillator may be used as the detection medium receiving unit 18. it can.

Further, the delivery-side accumulator 8 includes the base material 1.
And two stepped rolls 6 disposed below the gap between the fixed rolls 20 and capable of moving up and down. As shown in FIG. 7, the step roll 6 includes a shaft support portion 40 that supports both ends of the step roll 6 and a vertical rail 4.
A weight 42 having an arbitrary weight is detachably attached to the shaft support portion 40.

The route of the substrate 1 is set in a V-shape along the fixed roll 20 and the step roll 6. That is, the base material 1 sent from the exposure unit 4 is located above the fixed roll 20 disposed below the route of the base material 1, below the step roll 6, and downstream of the route of the base material 1. Fixed roll 2 arranged in
It is suspended in the order of 0 above. Here, the step roll 6 applies a constant tension to the base material 1 on the upstream side and the downstream side of the step roll 6 by applying a load due to its own weight to the base material 1. The tension of the substrate 1 is
It can be adjusted by attaching a weight 42 to the step roll 6. Also, the step-up roll 6 is provided on the delivery side accumulator 8.
Is provided at the lower limit position. The lower limit detection sensor 32 can be configured by disposing a proximity switch or the like near the step roll 6 at the lower limit position of the step roll 6. The control of the operation of the driving source of the base material feeding section 2 is performed by the lower limit detection sensor 32.
Is performed based on the detection result, and the details of the control operation will be described later.

The substrate cleaning section 9 includes a contact roll 2
1 and an adhesive roll 22 are provided. Contact roll 21
Are arranged in parallel and parallel at an interval along the transport direction of the base material 1 above and below the route of the base material 1. Here, on each of the upstream side and the downstream side of the distribution path of the base material 1, the upper contact roll 21 and the lower contact roll 21 are disposed so as to face up and down via the distribution path. The contact rolls 21 can be formed of a silicone resin, and each contact roll 21 is disposed so as to be vertically movable. The adhesive rolls 22 are provided one above the upper contact roll 21 and one below the lower contact roll 21. As the pressure-sensitive adhesive roll 22, a double-sided pressure-sensitive adhesive tape wound around the peripheral surface in multiple windings can be used. The lower adhesive roll 22 is disposed in a state where it is fixed at a predetermined height, and is disposed so as to simultaneously contact each contact roll 21 when the two lower contact rolls 21 descend. . The upper adhesive roll 22 is connected to a cylinder mechanism 39 and the like, and is disposed so as to be able to vertically move up and down. When the lower adhesive roller 22 is moved down by the cylinder mechanism 39, it comes into contact with the upper two contact rolls 21 and lowers. It is arranged so as to be pressed toward. Here, the contact roll 21 is formed slightly wider than the adhesive roll. Further, on the downstream side of the path of the substrate 1 from the contact roll 21, grounding electrodes 23 for grounding are disposed above and below the path.

In a state where the base material 1 is disposed on the distribution path, the upper adhesive roll 22 is moved downward to come into contact with the upper contact roll 21 and to contact the upper contact roll 21.
1 is pressed at a predetermined pressure. At this time, the base material 1 on the path is held between the upper contact roll 21 and the lower contact roll 21, and the lower contact roll 21 comes into contact with the lower adhesive roll 22. When the substrate 1 is transported in this state, the transport of the substrate 1 causes the contact roll 2 to move.
1 rotates, and foreign matter on the surface of the substrate 1
1 and is removed. The foreign matter adhering to the contact roll 21 is transferred to the adhesive roll 22 rotating while contacting the contact roll 21 and removed from the contact roll 21. Therefore, the contact portion of the contact roll 21 with the substrate 1 is always cleaned, and foreign matter on the substrate 1 is continuously removed. In addition, static electricity generated on the substrate 1 due to contact with the contact roll 21 is removed by the charge removing electrode 23. When the adhesive force on the surface of the adhesive roll 22 is reduced by cleaning the surface of the base material 1 in this manner, the outer peripheral surface of the adhesive roll 22 is renewed by removing the double-sided adhesive tape on the outer surface of the adhesive roll 22 for one round. Restores adhesion.

In the exposure section 4, exposure masks 24 are provided above and below the route of the substrate 1, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 11, each exposure mask 24 is provided with a mask pattern on a film mounting frame 27 in which a metal outer frame 26 is provided around an inner plate 25 made of a transparent glass plate or an acrylic plate. Is formed by attaching the mask film 28 on which the mask film 28 is drawn, and the surface on which the mask film 28 is provided is arranged to face the route of the substrate 1. Here, the lower exposure mask 24 is fixedly disposed by a clamp 50 fixed to a predetermined height of the exposure unit 4.
The upper exposure mask 24 is fixed to a clamp 48 which is connected to a cylinder 49 and is movably moved up and down. The cylinder 49 is used to move the clamp 48 up and down. Thereby, the arrangement position of the exposure mask 24 on the upper side can be adjusted vertically.
Although not shown, ultraviolet light for irradiating the substrate 1 on the route with parallel ultraviolet light via the exposure mask 24 is provided above the upper exposure mask 24 and below the lower exposure mask 24, respectively. A light source such as an irradiation device is provided.
In addition, height adjustment rolls 29 that support the base material 1 from below on the upstream and downstream sides of the route of the base material 1 from the exposure unit 4 are arranged in parallel and parallel, and the height position thereof is set in the vertical direction. It is arranged to be adjustable. Here, both ends of each height adjusting roll 29 are pivotally supported by a shaft support 51 which is connected to a cylinder 52 and is arranged to be vertically movable. By raising and lowering, the arrangement position of each height adjusting roll 29 can be adjusted vertically.

The substrate feed drive section 3 is disposed downstream of the exposure section 4 in the path of the substrate 1. The substrate feed drive unit 3 includes a feed roll 3 disposed below a route of the substrate 1.
1, a drive roll 30 is disposed above the substrate 1 via a path. The driving roll 30 includes an operation of transmitting a rotational driving force to the driving roll 30 so that the driving roll 30 rotates by a predetermined number of rotations.
A drive source is connected which can alternately and alternately prevent the rotation of the substrate for a predetermined time. By driving this drive source, the base material 1 on the route is intermittently conveyed by a fixed length. be able to. The drive source can also perform an operation of transmitting rotational power to the drive roll 30 so that the drive roll 30 continuously rotates by an arbitrary number of rotations. An AC servomotor can be used as the drive source. In this case, the rotation of the drive roll 30 can be prevented by the servo lock force of the AC servomotor.

The winding-side accumulator 11 has two fixed rolls 20 arranged in parallel and parallel along the route of the base material 1, and is disposed below a gap between the fixed rolls 20. And a step roll 6 which can be moved up and down. This step roll 6 is arranged as shown in FIG. 7, similarly to the step roll 6 of the feeding-side accumulator 8.
Here, in the drawing, the fixed roll 20 on the upstream side of the distribution path is constituted by the feed roll 31 described above.

The route of the substrate 1 is set in a V-shape along the fixed roll 20 and the step roll 6. That is, the base material 1 sent from the exposure unit 4 is located above the fixed roll 20 disposed below the route of the base material 1, below the step roll 6, and downstream of the route of the base material 1. Fixed roll 2 arranged in
It is suspended in the order of 0 above. Here, the step roll 6 applies a constant tension to the base material 1 on the upstream side and the downstream side of the step roll 6 by applying a load due to its own weight to the base material 1. The tension of the substrate 1 is
It can be adjusted by attaching a weight 42 to the step roll 6. Further, the winding-side accumulator 11 is provided with an upper limit detection sensor 33 for detecting that the step roll 6 is disposed at the upper limit position. The upper limit detection sensor 33 can be configured by disposing a proximity switch or the like near the step roll 6 at the upper limit position of the step roll 6. The operation of the drive source of the base material winding unit 5 described later is performed based on the detection result of the upper limit detection sensor 33, and the details of the control operation will be described later.

The bonding table 7 is disposed below the base material 1 on the route and close to the base material 1, and the upper surface thereof is formed in a substantially horizontal plane along the base material 1 on the route.

The substrate take-up section 5 has a substrate take-up reel 35 around which the substrate 1 is wound, and is rotatably mounted on the support base 14. 15 are arranged. The support shaft 15 is formed such that lugs and the like provided on an outer peripheral surface thereof project outward by air being injected into the inside, and elastically contact the inner peripheral surface of the shaft core of the base material take-up reel 35. It can be constituted by an air shaft, and stably holds the substrate take-up reel 35 so that its rotation axis does not shake.

The support base 14 is provided with a drive source for transmitting the shaft rotation to the support shaft 15 and applying an arbitrary torque to the shaft rotation of the support shaft 15 within a certain range.
As this drive source, a motor having a stepless clutch such as a powder clutch can be provided. Here, the torque of the rotational movement applied to the support shaft 15 is equal to the base material take-up reel 35.
It is controlled in accordance with the winding diameter of the base material 1 wound around, and by controlling the stepless clutch as the support shaft 15 rotates to increase the winding diameter, this torque is increased. This is to keep the tension applied to the substrate 1 constant when the substrate 1 is wound. When a powder clutch is used, a voltage proportional to a desired torque is output to the powder clutch so that a desired braking force is applied to the shaft 1.
5 can be transmitted. For example, as shown conceptually in FIG. 9, the support shaft 15 is provided with a protruding needle 43 that rotates according to the rotation of the support shaft 15, and
A proximity switch 44 is provided near the locus of the rotation of the third rotation so that the protruding needle 43 is detected by the proximity switch 44 every time the support shaft 15 makes one rotation. This detection result is output to the winding diameter detecting device 47, and the winding diameter is derived from the number of detections by the proximity switch 44 by the winding diameter detecting device 47. Here, the winding diameter increases by a value obtained by multiplying the rotation speed of the support shaft by the plate thickness of the base material 1. When the winding diameter is output from the winding diameter detecting device 47 to the control amplifier 45b connected to the winding diameter detecting device 47, an output voltage proportional to the winding diameter is generated by the control amplifier 45b. The desired torque is output to the powder clutch 46b and transmitted to the support shaft 15.

In the path of the substrate 1 between the feeding-side accumulator 8 and the winding-up accumulator 11, a transport length measuring device 34 for measuring the transport length of the substrate 1 is provided. The transport length measuring device 34 can be constituted by a rotary encoder or the like, and is disposed above the fixed roll 20 downstream of the exposure unit 4 via the substrate 1 in the figure.

When the substrate 1 is transported by driving the substrate feed drive unit 3 of the exposure apparatus thus configured, the substrate 1 is pulled out from the delivery-side accumulator 8 to the downstream side. The step roll 6 of the accumulator 8 rises. At this time, it is detected by the lower limit detection sensor 32 that the step roll 6 has risen from the lower limit position, and accordingly, the operation proceeds to the operation in which the base material feeding unit 2 rotates the support shaft 15, and the base material feeding reel 13 1 is delivered to the routing. In this state, the step roll 6 of the feeding-side accumulator 8 moves down to the lower limit position, and the lower limit detection sensor 3
When it is detected by Step 2 that the step roll 6 is disposed at the lower limit position, the base material feeding unit 2 shifts to an operation of preventing rotation of the support shaft 15 and stops feeding the base material 1. In this way, the base material feeding unit 2 stops the rotation of the support shaft 15 and stops the feeding of the base material 1 while the step roll 6 is disposed at the lower limit position, and the step roll 6 is moved from the lower limit position. While it is arranged above, it is configured to operate to rotate the support shaft 15 to feed the base material 1 to the distribution path. For this reason, the substrate 1 can be smoothly fed from the substrate feeder 2 to the distribution route, regardless of the setting of the transport operation of the substrate 1 in the substrate feed drive unit 3.

On the other hand, in the take-up accumulator 11, when the base material feed drive unit 3 is driven to convey the base material 1, the base material 1 is transferred from the upstream side to the take-up accumulator 11.
Is fed out, and accordingly, the winding-side accumulator 11
Step roll 6 descends. At this time, the upper limit detection sensor 3
3, it is detected that the step roll 6 has dropped below the upper limit position, and accordingly, the substrate winding unit 5 shifts to the operation of rotating the support shaft 15, and the substrate 1 is wound around the substrate winding reel 35. Taken. In this state, the winding-side accumulator 1
When the first step roll 6 rises to the upper limit position and the upper limit detection sensor 33 detects that the step roll 6 has been disposed at the upper limit position, the base material winding unit 5 performs an operation of preventing the rotation of the support shaft 15. Then, the winding of the substrate 1 is stopped. In this way, the substrate winding unit 5 prevents the rotation of the support shaft 15 while the
Is stopped, and while the step roll 6 is disposed below the upper limit position, the support shaft 15 is rotated to operate to wind the substrate 1 from the distribution path. . Therefore, no matter how the transport operation of the substrate 1 is set in the substrate feed drive unit 3, the substrate winding unit 5 can smoothly wind the substrate 1 from the route.

The base material feeding section 2 prevents the rotation of the support shaft 15 when the feeding of the base material 1 is stopped, and prevents the rotation of the support shaft 15 when the base material 1 is being fed. By applying power, a braking force is applied to the substrate 1 in a direction opposite to the transport direction. On the other hand, the substrate winding section 5 stops the support shaft 15 when the winding of the substrate 1 is stopped. The rotation of the substrate 1 is prevented, and when the substrate 1 is being wound, the substrate 1
In order to rotate the support shaft 15 by applying a predetermined torque so that a constant tension is applied to the substrate 1, excessive tension is applied to the substrate 1 when the substrate 1 is extended, or the substrate 1 is excessively extended to a route. In addition to preventing the substrate 1 on the route from being loosened, excessive tension is applied to the substrate 1 during winding of the substrate 1 or the substrate 1 sent from the route is wound. It is possible to prevent the base material 1 from being loosened without being cut off.
And the substrate 1 can be smoothly wound out of the distribution path, and the displacement and loosening of the substrate 1 on the distribution path can be prevented. Moreover, since the step rolls 6 of the feeding-side accumulator 8 and the winding-side accumulator 11 apply a constant tension to the base material 1 on the upstream side and the downstream side, the path of the base material 1 is curved by the step rolls 6. Even if it does, loosening of the base material 1 can be prevented.

The position of the substrate 1 on the route is
As shown in FIG. 10, when the shift in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the base material 1 is detected by the base end detection unit 10, the shift of the arrangement position of the base 1 side end on the route is detected. The actuator 16 of the base material feeding unit 2 is operated to move the support 14 of the base material feeding unit 2 in a substantially horizontal direction, and accordingly, the base material feeding reel 1 attached to the support shaft 15 on the support 14.
The actuator 16 is controlled so as to move the substrate 3 substantially horizontally in a direction in which the arrangement position of the base material 1 is corrected. 1 further improves the positional accuracy.

In this way, since the positional accuracy of the arrangement position of the base material 1 on the route is improved, the positional accuracy of the base material 1 in the exposure unit 4 is improved, and the exposure processing of the base material 1 is performed with high positional accuracy. This is performed accurately, and also when the substrate 1 is wound on the substrate winding reel 35, the side end of the substrate 1 is not shifted, and the substrate 1 is placed on the substrate winding reel 35. It can be wound up with its ends aligned. Here, the braking force applied to the base material 1 at the base material feeding section 2 when the base material 1 is fed, the tension applied to the upstream side of the base material 1 by the step roll 6, and the support shaft 15 at the base material winding section 5. It is preferable to adjust the tension applied to the base material 1 by applying a predetermined torque to the base material 1 so that an optimum tension proportional to the plate thickness is applied to the base material 1. The optimum tension applied to the substrate 1 is as shown in FIG. 12, and is 162 N / m when the plate thickness is 0.1 mm and 240 N / m when the plate thickness is 0.2 mm.

When exposing the substrate 1 using the exposure apparatus having such a configuration, first, the substrate feeding section 2 is exposed.
From the base material feeding reel 13 attached to the support shaft 15 of the base material 1
And the end of the substrate 1 is connected to a substrate winding reel 35 attached to the support shaft 15 of the substrate winding section 5. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the exposure section 4, the arrangement position of the height adjusting roll 29 is adjusted to separate the base material 1 in the exposure section 4 upward from the lower exposure mask 24. It is arranged, and the arrangement position of the exposure mask 24 on the upper side is further adjusted so as to be spaced above the substrate 1. At this time, for example, the substrate 1 is placed 25 mm above the lower exposure mask 24, and the upper exposure mask 24 is placed 50 mm above the lower exposure mask 24. At this time, the step roll 6 of the feeding-side accumulator 8 is disposed at the lower limit position, and the step roll 6 of the winding-side accumulator 11 is disposed at the upper limit position.

In this state, the substrate feeding drive unit 3 is
Is driven so as to intermittently convey it, the state shown in FIG. At this time, while the substrate 1 is being conveyed by rotating the drive roll 30 of the substrate feed drive unit 3, the exposure unit 4
The arrangement positions of the exposure mask 24 and the substrate 1 in the above are set to the initial state shown in FIG. Also, at this time, the step roll 6 of the feeding-side accumulator 8 moves upward in accordance with the transport of the base material 1, whereby the support shaft 15 of the base material feeding section 2 is driven to rotate, and the base material 1 is fed to the distribution path, Further, the step roll 6 of the winding-side accumulator 11 moves down in accordance with the transport of the substrate 1, whereby the support shaft 15 of the substrate winding section 5 is driven to rotate, and the substrate 1 is wound up from the path. .

While the rotation of the drive roll 30 of the base material feed drive unit 3 is stopped to stop the transfer of the base material 1, as shown in FIGS. In the section 4, the arrangement position of the height adjusting roll 29 is adjusted to arrange the base material 1 in the exposure section 4 in close contact with the upper surface of the lower exposure mask 24, and further adjust the arrangement position of the upper exposure mask 24. Then, it is disposed in close contact with the upper surface of the substrate 1. Then, in this state, the base 1
Is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to expose the dry film on the surface of the substrate 1. Then, after the exposure, the arrangement positions of the exposure mask 24 and the base material 1 in the exposure unit 4 are restored to the initial state shown in FIG.

As described above, the substrate 1 is sequentially exposed while the operation of transporting the substrate 1 in the substrate feed drive unit 3 and the operation of exposing the substrate 1 in the exposure unit 4 are synchronized. At this time, in the intermittent transfer operation of the base material 1 in the base material feed drive unit 3, in one transfer operation of the base material 1, the base material 1 is the base material of the mask pattern formed on the exposure mask 24. As shown in FIG. 6, the circuit forming area 36 exposed on the base material 1 is separated by a predetermined distance 3 from the length of the long direction 1 by a predetermined value.
7 is opened so that the base materials 1 are arranged in the longitudinal direction.

In the base material 1 supplied to the exposure unit 4, foreign matters adhering to the surface of the base material 1 are removed by the base material cleaning unit 9. Is prevented.

During the exposure of the substrate 1 in this manner, if most of the substrate 1 wound on the substrate feeding reel 13 is consumed, the substrate 1
Is temporarily stopped, and the arrangement positions of the exposure mask 24 and the base material 1 in the exposure unit 4 are restored to the initial state shown in FIG. Here, based on the length of the base material 1 wound on the base material feeding reel 13, when the cumulative value of the transfer length of the base material 1 in the route exceeds any length, the transfer of the base material 1 is performed. Is to be temporarily determined to be stopped, and when the transport length of the substrate 1 by the transport length measuring device 34 exceeds the previously derived transport length, the transport of the substrate 1 is temporarily stopped.

Next, in this state, while checking the remaining amount of the base material 1 on the base material feeding reel 13,
Until the third substrate 1 is almost fed out to the distribution route, the transport of the substrate 1 by the substrate feed drive unit 3 and the exposure of the substrate 1 in the exposure unit 4 are performed once.

Next, the substrate 1 is fixed on the bonding table 7 with a clamp or the like, and the substrate 1 is cut on the bonding table 7. Here, when it is desired to set the cutting position of the base material 1 to a specific position, the base material feeding reel 13 is manually rotated, and the height of the step roll 6 of the feeding-side accumulator 8 is adjusted. It is arranged on the bonding table 7.

After the substrate 1 is cut, the substrate feeding reel 13 is cut.
Is removed from the support shaft 15, and is replaced with a new base material feeding reel 13. The base material 1 is fed from the new base material feeding reel 13 to the bonding table 7 and fixed on the bonding table 7 with a clamp or the like.
The ends of the base material 1 are bonded to each other on the bonding table 7. Here, if two support shafts 15 are provided in the base material feeding portion 2,
The base material feeding reel 13 can be attached to each support shaft 15 in advance, and the base material 1 is pulled out from the new base material feeding reel 13 and fed to the bonding table 7 without replacing the base material feeding reel 13. The workability is good.
After the base materials 1 are bonded to each other, the clamps and the like are removed to remove the base material 1.
Is fixed to the bonding table 7.

Next, until the exposure of the substrate 1 at the portion downstream of the bonded portion between the substrates 1 is completed, the transport of the substrate 1 by the substrate feed drive unit 3 and the substrate One exposure is sequentially performed one time at a time. The number of times of transporting and exposing the substrate 1 depends on the length of the substrate 1 from the exposure unit 4 to the connection of the substrate 1 on the bonding table 7 and the substrate 1 by the substrate feed drive unit 3.
Is derived in advance based on the transport length for one time.

Next, in this state, if necessary, the exposure mask 24 is washed or the exposure mask 24 is replaced. When the cleaning or replacement of the exposure mask 24 is performed, when the cleaning or replacement of the upper exposure mask 24 is performed, the arrangement position of the height adjusting roll 29 is adjusted in the exposure unit 4 to set the base in the exposure unit 4. The process is performed in a state where the material 1 is arranged to be separated upward from the lower exposure mask 24, and the arrangement position of the upper exposure mask 24 is further adjusted so as to be separated above the substrate 1. At this time, for example, the base material 1 is placed 25 mm above the lower exposure mask 24, and the upper exposure mask 24 is placed 50 m above the lower exposure mask 24.
m above. When the lower exposure mask 24 is to be cleaned or replaced, the arrangement of the upper exposure mask 24 is adjusted in the exposure unit 4 so that the lower exposure mask 24 is spaced apart from the lower exposure mask 24 by a wide space. And the position of the height adjusting roll 29 is adjusted so that the substrate 1 in the exposure unit 4 is separated from the lower exposure mask 24 at a wide interval, and is close to the upper exposure mask 24. It is performed in the state where it is arranged. At this time, for example, the substrate 1
Is placed 250 mm above the lower exposure mask 24,
The upper exposure mask 24 is replaced with the lower exposure mask 24
It is arranged 00 mm above.

Next, the driving roll 30 of the substrate feeding drive unit 3
Is continuously rotated, and the base material 1 is transported until the connection portion between the base materials 1 is disposed downstream of the exposure unit 4. The transport length at this time is derived in advance from the set position of the bonding portion between the substrates 1.

Next, the transport of the substrate 1 by the substrate feed drive unit 3 and the exposure of the substrate 1 in the exposure unit 4 are performed once each time the adhesive portion between the substrates 1 is disposed on the separation table 12. Do. The number of times the substrate 1 is transported by the substrate feed drive unit 3 is derived in advance from the length of the substrate 1 in the route from the exposure unit 4 to the separation table 12. The connection between the substrates 1 is separated
Once placed on the top, the base material 1 is
The base material 1 is fixed at the top, and in this state, the substrate 1 is separated at the bonding portion.

When the base materials 1 are separated from each other, the clamp or the like is removed to release the fixed state of the base material 1 to the separation table 12, the base material take-up reel 35 is removed from the support shaft 15, and a new base material take-up is performed. This new substrate take-up reel 35 is replaced with a reel 35.
The base material 1 is fed out and connected. The feeding of the base material 1 is performed by raising the step roll 6 of the winding-side accumulator 11 and the feeding-side accumulator 8. Here, if two support shafts 15 are provided in the base material winding unit 5, the base material winding reel 35
Can be attached, and the base material 1 can be pulled out and connected to a new base material take-up reel 35 without exchanging the base material take-up reel 35, thereby improving workability.

When all the substrates 1 on the route are replaced with new substrates 1, the operation of transporting the substrate 1 in the substrate feed drive unit 3 and the operation of exposing the substrate 1 in the exposure unit 4 are synchronized. The operation returns to the normal exposure operation for sequentially exposing the substrate 1.

The substrate 1 thus exposed
Then, a circuit board is manufactured by performing post-processing such as development processing, etching processing, and cutting processing.

In performing the exposure processing as described above, the exposure mask 24 may be replaced in order to manufacture a circuit board having a different circuit pattern than before, or the lot number may be the same circuit pattern. In order to distinguish the front and rear circuit patterns on the base material 1 in the case of manufacturing a circuit board having a different size, as shown in FIG. May form a space 38 with a large interval. In this case, after the exposure operation is performed a predetermined number of times, the transport of the base material 1 by the base material feed drive unit 3 is temporarily stopped, and in this state, the exposure mask 24 is moved as described above as necessary. Perform cleaning and replacement.
Next, the drive roll 30 of the base material feed drive unit 3 is continuously rotated to convey the base material 1 by a predetermined space 38. Then, the operation returns to the normal exposure operation of sequentially exposing the substrate 1 while synchronizing the operation of transporting the substrate 1 in the substrate feed drive unit 3 and the operation of exposing the substrate 1 in the exposure unit 4.

[0057]

As described above, the exposure apparatus for manufacturing a circuit board according to the first aspect of the present invention has a route in which a long base material having a photosensitive material provided on its surface is transported, and a route in the route. A base material feeding unit that feeds a base material wound in a roll shape in accordance with the transfer of the base material to a route while applying a constant braking force in a direction opposite to the transfer direction, and a predetermined length of the base material on the route. A substrate feed drive unit that intermittently conveys, an exposure unit that sequentially exposes a substrate on a route in synchronization with the substrate feed by the substrate feed drive unit, and a route on the route according to the transport of the substrate in the route. Since a base material take-up unit that winds the base material in a roll shape while applying a constant tension in the transport direction is provided, it is possible to sequentially expose a long base material, and the processing efficiency is high. The substrate after the treatment can be transferred to the next step in a roll shape, and the transfer of the substrate is easy. In addition, it is possible to prevent excessive tension on the base material when the base material is fed from the base material feeding portion, prevent the base material from being excessively fed into the distribution route, and to loosen the base material on the distribution route. When the substrate is wound by the take-up part, excessive tension is applied to the substrate, and it is possible to prevent the substrate from being slackened because the substrate sent from the route cannot be completely wound. The substrate can be smoothly transported by applying a constant tension to the substrate by the substrate feeding section and the substrate winding section,
Therefore, the exposure position accuracy of the substrate in the exposure section can be improved, and the exposure position accuracy of the substrate can be improved.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, there is provided a position detecting means for detecting a displacement of the arrangement position of the base material on the route in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction, and the position detecting means. Position adjusting means for adjusting the arrangement position of the base material on the route based on the detection result by the direction perpendicular to the transport direction, so that the arrangement position of the base material on the route is orthogonal to the transport direction of the base material. In the case of deviation in the direction in which the substrate is displaced, the arrangement position can be corrected by the position adjustment means, and the position accuracy of the arrangement position of the substrate in the exposure unit is improved to improve the exposure position accuracy on the substrate. In addition to being able to further improve, when the processed base material is wound into a roll, it can be wound with the side edges aligned, and protruded from the side of the roll-shaped base material in a transfer process or the like. Part hits obstacle and is damaged It is possible to prevent such a situation from occurring. In addition to the configuration of claim 1 or 2, the invention of claim 3 further includes, on the upstream side and the downstream side of the route of the base material from the exposure unit, Each of the substrates is supported from below, and a height adjusting roll capable of adjusting a height position thereof in a vertical direction is provided, and an exposure mask is disposed on at least one of an upper side and a lower side of a path of the substrate in the exposure section. Therefore, by adjusting the arrangement position of the height adjustment roll, it is possible to change the arrangement position of the base material in the exposure unit to a state in which the substrate is in close contact with the exposure mask and a state in which the arrangement position is away from the exposure mask,
When transporting the substrate, the substrate can be transported smoothly by separating the substrate from the exposure mask, and when exposing the substrate, the substrate and the exposure mask can be brought into close contact with each other to accurately expose the substrate. Further, at the time of cleaning or replacing the exposure mask, the base material is separated from the exposure mask, so that the exposure mask can be easily cleaned or replaced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to any one of the first to third aspects, a route of the base material between the base material feeding portion and the base material feed drive portion and the base material feed drive portion are provided. In the route of the substrate between the and the substrate winding unit, the step roll that can be raised and lowered to apply a constant tension on the upstream side and the downstream side of the substrate, respectively, is provided. Transport and
Even when the feeding of the base material by the base material feeding unit and the winding of the base material by the base material winding unit are not completely synchronized, the error in the feeding of the base material can be absorbed by the elevation of the step roll. The substrate is smoothly and intermittently conveyed on the route, the substrate is smoothly fed out from the substrate feed drive unit to the route, and the substrate on the route is smoothly wound on the substrate winding unit. Something that can be taken. In addition, the tension applied to the base material by the step roll can prevent the base material from becoming loose even if the path of the base material is curved by the step roll.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B show the same operation as above, and FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic front views.

FIG. 3 shows the operation of the above, and (a) to (c) are partial cross-sectional views.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a substrate end detection unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 shows a substrate cleaning section, and (a)
Is a schematic front view, and (b) is a schematic side view.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a base material.

FIG. 7 is a partial perspective view showing a step roll.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram showing a control operation of a braking force in a base material feeding section.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a torque control operation in a substrate winding section.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing an operation for correcting the arrangement position of the base material.

FIG. 11 is a schematic front view showing a configuration of an exposure mask and a height adjusting roll.

FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the thickness of a substrate and the optimal tension applied to the substrate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 base material 2 base material feeding section 3 base material feed drive section 4 exposure section 5 base material winding section 6 step roll 24 exposure mask 29 height adjustment roll

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A path through which a long substrate having a photosensitive material provided on its surface is transported, and a substrate wound in a roll shape according to the transport of the substrate in the path is transported in a transport direction. Is a base material feeding unit that feeds the base material on the route while applying a constant braking force in the opposite direction, a base material feed drive unit that intermittently conveys the base material on the route by a predetermined length, and a base material that is provided by the base material feed drive unit. An exposure unit that sequentially exposes the base material on the routing in synchronization with the feeding, and a base material that winds the base material on the routing in a roll shape while applying a constant tension in the transport direction according to the transport of the substrate in the routing. An exposure apparatus for manufacturing a circuit board, comprising: a winding unit. 2. A position detecting means for detecting a displacement of an arrangement position of a base material on a route in a direction orthogonal to a transport direction;
2. The circuit according to claim 1, further comprising a position adjusting means for adjusting an arrangement position of the base material on the route in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction based on a detection result by the position detecting means. Exposure equipment for plate manufacturing. 3. A height adjusting roll is provided on the upstream and downstream sides of the route of the base material from the exposure unit to support the base material from below and adjust the height thereof in a vertical direction.
3. The exposure apparatus for manufacturing a circuit board according to claim 1, wherein an exposure mask is provided on at least one of an upper side and a lower side of a route of the base material in the exposure section. 4. A base material route between a base material feeding unit and a base material feed drive unit and a base material route between a base material feed drive unit and a base material winding unit, respectively. 4. An exposure apparatus for manufacturing a circuit board according to claim 1, further comprising a step roll which can be moved up and down to apply a constant tension on an upstream side and a downstream side of the step.