JP2019064171A - Printer and printing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To accurately print a printing material onto each individual piece of substrate, in a printing technique for printing the printing material supplied to a mask onto plural pieces of individual substrates held by a carrier.SOLUTION: A printer comprises: a support unit (23) which supports individual pieces of substrates (B) in individual substrate units; a conveyance mechanism which conveys carriers (C) so that one piece of the plural pieces of individual substrates (B) is positioned on the support unit (23); a support drive unit (242) which moves the support unit (23) to a mask (M); and an aligning mechanism which performs relative alignment between an individual substrate (B) positioned on the support unit (23) and the mask (M). In the printer, the individual substrate (B) positioned on the support unit (23) is aligned with the mask (M) every time a carrier (C) is conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, and then the individual substrate is moved to the mask (M), thereby printing the printing material.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and printing method for printing a printing material supplied to a mask on a plurality of individual substrates held by a carrier.

  As an example of this type of printing apparatus, for example, a screen printing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is known. The screen printing apparatus collectively prints pastes (corresponding to an example of the “printing material” of the present invention) for bonding electronic components on a plurality of individual substrates held by a carrier.

Patent No. 5310864 gazette

  When holding a plurality of individual substrates on a carrier, it is difficult to completely eliminate the variation in arrangement among the individual substrates. Therefore, there is a problem that the printing accuracy is poor in the printing apparatus which prints the paste collectively on a plurality of individual substrates held by the carrier.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a printing technique for printing a printing material supplied to a mask on a plurality of individual substrates held by a carrier, printing of the printing material on each individual substrate is performed The goal is to do

  A first aspect of the present invention is a printing apparatus for printing a printing material supplied to a mask on a plurality of individual substrates held by a carrier, which can support the individual substrates in individual substrate units. A support portion, a transport mechanism for transporting a carrier such that one of a plurality of individual substrates is located at the support portion, a support drive portion for moving the support portion to a mask, and an individual substrate located at the support portion And an alignment mechanism that performs relative alignment between the mask and the mask, and each time the carrier is transported by the transport mechanism, the individual substrate positioned on the support portion is aligned with the mask and then moved to the mask to print the printing material It is characterized by printing.

  The second aspect of the present invention is a printing method for printing a printing material supplied to a mask on a plurality of individual substrates held by a carrier, wherein the individual substrates are supported in individual substrate units. The carrier is transported so that one of the plurality of individual substrates is positioned on the possible support portion, and the individual substrate located in the support portion is aligned with the mask and then moved to the mask while being supported by the support portion It is characterized in that the individual piece printing step of printing and printing the printing material is repeatedly performed.

  In the invention (the printing apparatus and the printing method) configured as described above, the carrier is conveyed so that one individual substrate is positioned on the support portion capable of supporting the individual substrate in the individual substrate unit, and then the individual After the single substrate is aligned with the mask, it is supported by the support portion and transferred to the mask to print the printing material. Since the individual printing step is performed for each individual substrate, even if there is variation in the arrangement among the plurality of individual substrates held by the carrier, each individual substrate should be aligned with the mask. Since printing is performed after receiving, the printing material can be printed with high accuracy on the individual substrate.

  Here, the support drive unit may be configured to selectively lift the individual substrate located in the support unit from the carrier and move it to the mask by moving the support unit. The individual substrates other than the individual substrates supported by the support portion in this way, that is, while the residual individual substrates are held by the carrier, the individual substrates supported by the support portion are selectively lifted from the carrier to form the printing material Since printing (hereinafter referred to as “printing process”) is performed, adhesion of the printing material to the remaining individual piece substrate can be reliably prevented during this printing process, and high quality printing can be performed.

  In addition, the transport mechanism may be configured to stop the transport of the carrier each time the individual substrate is positioned in the support portion. Thus, the individual printing step can be reliably performed in individual substrate units. In addition, the desired individual substrate is positioned at the support portion by stopping the transport of the carrier, and preliminary alignment (pre-alignment) between the individual substrate and the mask is performed at this point, and the alignment mechanism High-accuracy alignment (fine alignment) may be performed, which allows stable high-accuracy alignment.

  In order to transport the carrier, the transport mechanism has a stopper portion movably provided parallel to the transport path along which the carrier is transported, and a stopper drive portion for driving the stopper portion, and the stopper drive is performed. The unit moves and positions the stopper portion downstream of the carrier in the transport path every time the printing material is printed on the individual substrate, and engages with the carrier transported along the transport path at the positioned position. Alternatively, the individual substrate may be positioned on the support portion by stopping the transport of the carrier. By using the stopper portion as described above, the carrier can be stably and accurately stopped.

  As described above, according to the present invention, after the individual substrates are aligned with the mask in individual substrate units and then moved to the mask while being supported by the support portion, the printing material is printed, so each individual substrate The printing of the printing material can be performed precisely.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main configuration of an embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a BB arrow line view of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement which prints solder paste on the several piece board | substrate hold | maintained at the carrier by the printing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a view schematically showing the progress of the printing operation shown in FIG. 4; FIG. 5 is a view schematically showing the progress of the printing operation shown in FIG. 4;

  FIG. 1 is a view showing the main configuration of an embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention. Moreover, FIG. 2 is a BB arrow line view of FIG. Further, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the printing apparatus shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, this printing apparatus 100 uses solder paste with an opening pattern (not shown) formed on a mask M on a plurality of (two in the present embodiment) individual substrates B held by a carrier C. Is an apparatus for printing as an example of the "printing material" of the present invention. In the present specification, in the horizontal direction, the transport direction of the carrier C is referred to as “X direction”, and the horizontal direction orthogonal thereto is referred to as “Y direction”. Further, the vertical direction is referred to as "Z direction", and the rotation direction about the vertical axis is referred to as "R direction". Furthermore, when the two discrete substrates B and B are separately indicated, the upstream discrete substrate B in the transport direction X of the carrier C is referred to as “discrete substrate B1” on the downstream side, as appropriate. The individual substrate B is referred to as “an individual substrate B2”.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printing apparatus 100 includes a base 1, a substrate table 2 provided on the base 1 for carrying the carrier C and aligning the individual substrates B with respect to the mask M, and the substrate The squeegee unit 3 which prints the solder paste supplied on the mask M arrange | positioned above the table 2 on each piece board | substrate B1 and B2 through the mask M is provided. Then, the printing apparatus 100 performs the individual-piece printing process for each individual piece substrate B held by the carrier C carried in by the carry-in conveyor 4a, and when printing of the solder paste is completed for all the individual substrates B, these printed The carrier C holding the individual substrate B is carried out by the carry-out conveyor 4b.

  The substrate table 2 includes a pair of conveyors 21 and 21, a pair of clamp plates 22 and 22, a support portion 23, and a stopper portion 24.

  Among these, the pair of conveyors 21 and 21 are connected to the conveyor drive unit 211, and the conveyor drive unit 211 operates in response to a conveyance command from the control unit 9 that controls the entire apparatus. As a result, the carrier C carried in from the carry-in conveyor 4a by the pair of conveyors 21 and 21 is carried in the carrying direction X, and the carrier C holding the printed individual substrate B is carried out onto the carry-out conveyor 4b.

  Further, the pair of clamp plates 22 is connected to the clamp drive unit 221, and the clamp drive unit 221 operates in response to a clamp command from the control unit 9. By this, the carrier C on the conveyor 21 is clamped and fixed. Conversely, when the clamp release command is given, the clamp drive unit 221 releases the clamp of the carrier C, and the carrier C can be transported by the conveyor 21.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the support portion 23 has a convex shape in the XZ cross section, and the upper end portion 231 of the support portion 23 is insertable into and removable from the opening C1 of the carrier C. Here, the configuration of the carrier C will be described. The carrier C used in the present embodiment is formed of a metal plate such as aluminum as shown in FIG. 1 (and FIGS. 5 and 6 described later), and the individual substrate B is formed on the upper surface of the carrier C. And a substrate positioning portion C2 having a shape corresponding to. That is, the individual substrate B is held by the upper surface of the carrier C and the substrate positioning portion C2 by placing the individual substrate B in the substrate holding area defined by the substrate positioning portion C2 of the carrier C. Further, the opening C1 is provided inside the substrate holding area. Therefore, when the carrier C is transported in the X direction by the conveyor 21 and the individual substrate B1 (or B2) is positioned on the support portion 23, the upper end portion 231 of the support portion 23 is an individual substrate through the opening C1. It opposes the bottom central area of B1 (or B2). In this state, when an elevation command is given from the control unit 9 to the support drive portion 232 connected to the support portion 23, the support portion 23 ascends and the upper end portion 231 contacts the individual substrate B1 (or B2). By contacting and further raising, the support portion 23 selectively lifts the individual substrate B1 (or B2) from the carrier C and moves it to the mask M. Conversely, when the support portion 23 descends vertically downward in response to a descent command from the control unit 9, the individual substrate B1 (or B2) which has been moved to the mask M descends and returns to the substrate holding area of the carrier C. Be

  In this support portion 23, as shown in FIG. 1, a manifold space 234 is formed inside the lower end portion 233, and a plurality of suction holes 235 are formed in the upper end portion 231, and these suction holes 235 are formed. It is in communication with the manifold space 234. Also, the manifold space 234 is connected to the support suction drive 236 (FIG. 3). Therefore, when the support suction drive unit 236 operates according to the suction command from the control unit 9, the support suction drive unit 236 exhausts the manifold space 234 and the suction holes 235, and supports the individual substrate B1 supported by the support unit 23 (see FIG. Or B2) is adsorbed and held from the lower surface side.

  The stopper portion 24 is movable in parallel with the transport path 241 (FIG. 2) of the carrier C by the pair of conveyors 21. The stopper portion 24 is connected to the stopper drive portion 242, and when the stopper drive portion 242 operates in accordance with a movement command from the control unit 9, the stopper portion 24 moves in the transport direction X and is positioned at a plurality of transport stop positions. In the present embodiment, as described above, the carrier C holds the two separate substrates B1 and B2, and positions the carrier C at two places in order to execute the individual printing process on each of the individual substrates B1 and B2. Therefore, two conveyance stop positions P1 and P2 are set. That is, when performing the individual-piece printing process on the upstream individual substrate B1 as described in detail later, the stopper portion 24 is moved to and positioned at the upstream conveyance stop position P1, and the carrier C is conveyed along the conveyance path. Wait for being transported along 241. Then, when the downstream end of the carrier C moves to the upstream conveyance stop position P1, the carrier C is locked by the stopper portion 24 to stop the conveyance. As a result, the upstream individual substrate B1 is positioned at a position immediately above the support portion 23. When the individual printing step is performed on the downstream individual substrate B2, the stopper portion 24 is moved to the downstream transfer stop position P2 and supports the downstream individual substrate B2 in the same manner as the upstream side. Positioning at a position immediately above the part 23 In the present embodiment, the stopper drive unit 242 not only moves the stopper portion 24 in the conveyance direction X, but also retracts the stopper portion 24 from the conveyance path 241 and carries the carrier C conveyed along the conveyance path 241 It also has a function to avoid the interference of The save operation will be described in detail later.

  The substrate table 2 has a moving mechanism (not shown) for integrally rotating the conveyor 21, the clamp plate 22, the support portion 23 and the stopper portion 24 configured in this way in the X direction, Y direction, Z direction and R direction. doing. This moving mechanism is connected to the table X-axis drive unit 251, the table Y-axis drive unit 252, the table Z-axis drive unit 253, and the table R-axis drive unit 254. Then, the table X-axis drive unit 251, the table Y-axis drive unit 252, the table Z-axis drive unit 253, and the table R-axis drive unit 254 operate in response to a movement command from the control unit 9 to move the carrier C in the X direction. The piece substrates B1 and B2 held on the carrier C can be aligned with the mask M by moving in the Y, Z, and R directions.

  In order to perform this alignment, the printing apparatus 100 includes two types of cameras. One of them is a mask imaging camera 26 for imaging a position correction mark (not shown) on the mask side provided on the mask M, and the other is a discrete substrate B1 (or B2) located immediately above the support portion 23 It is a substrate imaging camera 27 for imaging the provided position correction mark MKb. Position correction mark images captured by the mask imaging camera 26 and the substrate imaging camera 27 are provided to the control unit 9. Then, based on the image information, the control unit 9 calculates the correction amount for correcting the relative positional deviation of the individual substrate B1 (or B2) with respect to the mask M, and the movement command corresponding thereto is calculated on the table X axis The drive unit 251, the table Y-axis drive unit 252, the table Z-axis drive unit 253, and the table R-axis drive unit 254 are supplied. Thereby, alignment of the individual substrate B1 (or B2) with respect to the mask M is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the mask M is disposed vertically above the substrate table 2, and a squeegee unit 3 having a squeegee 31 vertically above the mask M is disposed. The squeegee unit 3 moves a squeegee Y-axis drive unit 32 that moves the squeegee 31 in the printing direction (Y direction), a squeegee Z-axis drive unit 33 that moves the squeegee 31 in the vertical direction (Z direction), and the squeegee 31 in the X-axis direction And a squeegee R-axis drive unit 34 for rotating the rotary shaft around the rotation center. The squeegee Y-axis drive unit 32, the squeegee Z-axis drive unit 33, and the squeegee R-axis drive unit 34 are connected to a squeegee moving mechanism (not shown) for moving the squeegee 31 and operate according to a movement command from the control unit 9. The squeegee 31 is moved by that. Thereby, the solder paste supplied on the upper surface of the mask M moves rolling along the upper surface of the mask M, and the individual substrate B1 (or B2) is moved through the opening (not shown) formed in the mask M. Solder paste is printed on the surface of.

  The control unit 9 includes an arithmetic processing unit 91, a storage unit 92, a drive control unit 93, a suction control unit 94, an image processing unit 95, and an IO control unit 96. The arithmetic processing unit 91 comprises a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and controls the drive control unit 93, the suction control unit 94, the image processing unit 95, and the IO control unit 96 based on the print program stored in the storage unit 92. Execute the printing operation described in. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 5 denotes an input / display unit, which causes the operation state of the printing apparatus 100 to be displayed on the input / display unit 5 via the IO control unit 96, and an operator via the input / display unit 5. It is configured to receive various information to be input through the IO control unit 96.

  FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an operation of printing solder paste on a plurality of individual substrates held by the carrier by the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 5 and 6 schematically show the progress of the printing operation shown in FIG. When printing becomes possible, the control unit 9 controls the respective units of the apparatus as follows in accordance with the printing program stored in the storage unit 92. That is, the carrier C holding the individual substrates B1 and B2 not subjected to the printing process is carried in from the carry-in conveyor 4a to the pair of conveyors 21 and 21 and further conveyed in the conveyance direction X by the pair of conveyors 21 and 21 Step S1). Thus, the loading of the upstream individual substrate B1 into the support portion 23 is started. Simultaneously with or before or after this, the stopper drive unit 242 receives the movement command from the control unit 9, moves the stopper unit 24 to the first upstream conveyance stop position P1, and positions it (step S2). Then, as shown in the column (a) of FIG. 5, it waits for the conveyor C to be conveyed to the upstream conveyance stop position P1 by the conveyors 21 and 21.

  Then, when the carrier C is conveyed to the upstream conveyance stop position P1 ("YES" in step S3), the upstream individual substrate B1 of the individual substrates B held by the carrier C is located immediately above the support portion 23. Located in Therefore, as shown in the column (b) of FIG. 5, the clamp drive section 221 operates to clamp the carrier C by the pair of clamp plates 22 (note that this clamping operation will be described on the upstream side of individual printing described later) It is continued until the process is completed). Subsequently, the support drive unit 232 operates to raise the support unit 23. Then, when the upper end portion 231 abuts on the individual substrate B1, the support drive unit 232 stops rising of the support unit 23, and the support suction drive unit 236 starts to operate, as shown in the column (b) of FIG. As shown, the individual substrate B <b> 1 is adsorbed and held on the support portion 23.

  Subsequently, the control unit 9 aligns the upstream individual substrate B1 with the mask M as follows (step S4). Specifically, the control unit 9 temporarily moves the mask imaging camera 26 and the substrate imaging camera 27 to the imaging possible position, respectively, and images position correction marks provided in advance on the mask M and the individual substrate B1. Then, based on these image data, the arithmetic processing unit 91 of the control unit 9 calculates the correction amount for correcting the relative positional deviation of the individual substrate B1 with respect to the mask M, and further, based on them, the table X axis The substrate table 2 is moved together with the carrier C by controlling the drive unit 251, the table Y-axis drive unit 252, the table Z-axis drive unit 253, and the table R-axis drive unit 254, whereby the position of the individual substrate B1 with respect to the mask M Make a match.

  After this alignment, the raising operation of the support portion 23 which suction-holds only the individual substrate B1 is resumed by the support drive portion 232. As a result, as shown in column (c) of FIG. 5, only the individual substrate B1 is lifted from the carrier C and moved to the mask M. Then, the squeegee Y-axis drive unit 32 moves the squeegee 31 in the printing direction (Y direction), and thereby the solder paste supplied on the upper surface of the mask M is formed through the opening (not shown) formed in the mask M. Printing is performed on the surface of the individual substrate B1 (step S5). Such carrier conveyance (step S1), alignment (step S4) and printing on the individual substrate B1 (step S5) correspond to an example of the “single-piece printing step” of the present invention, and the upstream individual Printing of the solder paste on the single substrate B1 is completed.

  After the completion of the first individual printing step, when the support driving unit 232 descends the support 23 holding the printed individual substrate B1 by suction and the individual substrate B1 is held by the carrier C, the support adsorption driving is performed. The part 236 stops its operation to release the suction holding of the individual substrate B1. Thereafter, the support portion 23 is lowered by the support drive portion 232 and moved to the lower position of the carrier C via the opening C1 of the carrier C. Thus, the printed individual substrate B1 is transferred onto the carrier C. Then, the clamp driving unit 221 operates to release the clamp of the carrier C by the pair of clamp plates 22. Thereafter, the carrier C resumes the transport of the carrier C in the transport direction X by the conveyors 21 and 21 (see FIG. 5 (c) column). At the same time or before or after this, the stopper drive unit 242 receives the movement command from the control unit 9, moves the stopper unit 24 to the second downstream conveyance stop position P2, and positions it (step S6). Then, as shown in the (d) column of FIG. 5, it is waited for the carrier C to be transported to the downstream transport stop position P2 by the conveyors 21 and 21.

  Then, when the carrier C is conveyed to the downstream conveyance stop position P2 (“YES” in step S7), the individual substrate B2 on the downstream side of the individual substrates B and B held by the carrier C is the support portion 23 Located directly above. Therefore, as shown in the column (a) of FIG. 6, the clamp drive unit 221 operates to clamp the carrier C again by the pair of clamp plates 22 (note that this clamping operation will be described later on the downstream side) Continued until the printing process is complete). Subsequently, the same process as that performed on the upstream individual substrate B1 is performed, that is, alignment of the individual substrate B2 with the mask M (step S8) and the downstream individual substrate B2 are performed. Printing of solder paste (step S9) is performed (see column (b) of FIG. 6).

  Such carrier conveyance (step S6), alignment (step S8), and printing on the individual substrate B2 (step S9) also correspond to an example of the "individual printing step" of the present invention. Printing of the solder paste on the single substrate B2 is completed.

  After the completion of the downstream individual printing step, when the support driving unit 232 descends the support 23 holding the printed individual substrate B2 by suction and the individual substrate B2 is held by the carrier C, the support adsorption driving is performed. The part 236 stops its operation to release the suction holding of the individual substrate B2. After that, the stopper driving unit 242 retracts the stopper portion 24 from the conveyance path 241 (step S10), and thus the interference with the carrier C is avoided, and the conveyance of the carrier C in the conveyance direction X by the conveyors 21 and 21 is performed. It is resumed (see column (c) of FIG. 6). As a result, the carrier C holding the printed individual substrates B1 and B2 is sent to the carry-out conveyor 4b and carried out of the printing apparatus 100 (step S11).

  As described above, in the present embodiment, after the carrier C is conveyed such that one individual substrate B is positioned immediately above the support portion 23, the individual substrate B is aligned with the mask M and the support is It is supported by the portion 23 and moved to the mask M to print the solder paste on the individual substrate B. Since such an individual printing process is performed for each individual substrate B1 and B2, that is, for each individual substrate, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the arrangement between the individual substrates B1 and B2 held by the carrier C is performed. Even if variations occur, the solder paste can be printed with high accuracy on the individual substrates B1 and B2.

  In addition, when printing is performed on the individual substrate B1 (or B2), the individual substrate B1 (or B2) is selectively carrier-selected while the other individual substrate B2 (or B1) is held by the carrier C. The printing process is performed in a state of being lifted and separated from C. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the solder paste from adhering to the other individual substrate B2 (or B1) at the time of the printing process, and high quality printing can be performed.

  Further, the transport mechanism stops the transport of the carrier C every time the individual substrates B1 and B2 are positioned on the support portion 23, and the individual substrates B1 (target of the individual printing process at this stage) Or B2) is located at a preset position, that is, above the support portion 23, and preliminary alignment (pre-alignment) of the individual substrate B1 (or B2) with the mask M is completed. Then, high-precision alignment (fine alignment) using the position correction mark is performed thereafter. As described above, since the two-step alignment is performed substantially, the alignment between the individual substrates B1 and B2 and the mask M can be stably performed with high accuracy.

  Furthermore, before the carrier C is transported to the upstream transport stop position P1 and the downstream transport stop position P2, the stopper portion 24 is moved and positioned to the upstream transport stop position P1 and the downstream transport stop position P2, and the carrier C is transported. I am waiting for you to come. Therefore, the carrier C can be stably and accurately stopped.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the pair of conveyors 21 functions as a conveyance unit for conveying the carrier C, and the stopper unit 24 stops the conveyance of the carrier C, thereby intermittently carrying the carrier C. There is. That is, by the combination of the pair of conveyors 21 and 21 and the stopper portion 24, the conveyance from the carry-in conveyor 4a to the upstream conveyance stop position P1, the conveyance from the upstream conveyance stop position P1 to the downstream conveyance stop position P2, and the downstream conveyance stop position P2 Conveying from the above to the unloading conveyor 4b is performed, and the above combination functions as the "conveying mechanism" of the present invention. The moving mechanism provided on the substrate table 2, the table X axis drive unit 251, the table Y axis drive unit 252, the table Z axis drive unit 253, and the table R axis drive unit 254 function as the "alignment mechanism" of the present invention. doing.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made other than the above without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the carrier C is stopped at the upstream conveyance stop position P1 and the downstream conveyance stop position P2 using the stopper portion 24 and positioned, but only by conveyance by the pair of conveyors 21 and conveyance stop The above positioning may be performed.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although alignment is performed in the state hold | maintained with the carrier C, the moving mechanism to move to a X direction, a Y direction, and R direction is provided in the support part 23, and the individual substrate B is lifted and a carrier is raised. In a state of being separated from C, the support portion 23 may be moved in the X direction, the Y direction, and the R direction by the moving mechanism to be aligned. In addition, although the alignment is performed by moving the individual substrate B, the alignment may be performed by moving the mask M. Furthermore, both the individual substrate B and the mask M may be moved to perform alignment.

  Furthermore, in the above embodiment, although the carrier C holds two separate substrates B1 and B2, the present invention is also applied to the case where three or more separate substrates B are held by the carrier C. Can.

  The present invention can be generally applied to printing technology for printing a printing material supplied to a mask on a plurality of individual substrates held by a carrier.

2 ... Substrate table 9 ... Control unit 21 ... Conveyor (conveying mechanism)
23 ... support portion 24 ... stopper portion (transport mechanism)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Printer 232 ... Support drive part 242 ... Stopper drive part 251 ... Table X-axis drive part (alignment mechanism)
252 ... Table Y axis drive unit (alignment mechanism)
253 ... Table Z axis drive unit (alignment mechanism)
254 ... Table R axis drive unit (alignment mechanism)
B, B1, B2 ... Individual piece substrate C ... Carrier M ... Mask P1 ... Upstream transport stop position P2 ... Downstream transport stop position X ... Transport direction

Claims (5)

A printing apparatus for printing a printing material supplied to a mask on a plurality of individual substrates held by a carrier, comprising:
A support portion capable of supporting the individual substrate in individual substrate units;
A transport mechanism that transports the carrier such that one of the plurality of individual substrates is positioned at the support portion;
A support drive unit for moving the support unit to the mask;
And an alignment mechanism for performing relative alignment between the individual substrate and the mask positioned in the support portion,
A printing apparatus characterized in that, each time the carrier is transported by the transport mechanism, the individual substrate positioned in the support portion is aligned with the mask and then moved to the mask to print the printing material. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support driving unit is configured to selectively lift the discrete substrate positioned on the support unit from the carrier and move the individual substrate to the mask by moving the support unit. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The printing apparatus, wherein the transport mechanism stops the transport of the carrier each time the individual substrate is positioned at the support portion. The printing apparatus according to claim 3,
The transport mechanism includes a stopper portion movably provided in parallel to a transport path along which the carrier is transported, and a stopper drive portion that drives the stopper portion.
The stopper driving unit moves and positions the stopper portion downstream of the carrier in the transport path every time the printing material is printed on the individual substrate, and positions the stopper portion in the transport path at the positioned position. A printing apparatus, wherein the individual substrate is positioned on the support portion by engaging with the carrier conveyed along and stopping the conveyance of the carrier. A printing method for printing a printing material supplied to a mask on a plurality of individual substrates held by a carrier, the printing method comprising:
The carrier is transported such that one of the plurality of individual substrates is positioned on a support portion capable of supporting the individual substrates in individual substrate units, and the individual substrates located in the support portion are A printing method comprising repeating the individual piece printing step of printing the printing material by moving to the mask while being supported by the support portion after being aligned with the mask.

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