Soldering apparatus and soldering method

Abstract

A soldering apparatus 100 including: a chamber 120 configured to contain solder and include an opening 122 configured to discharge the solder in a bottom surface or a side surface; a pump 140 configured to transport the solder to the chamber 120; and an inner bath 160 configured to communicate with the opening 120 and perform soldering using the solder fed through the opening 120.

Claims

1. A soldering apparatus comprising: a chamber configured to contain solder and including an opening that is configured to discharge the solder and that is present in a bottom surface of the chamber; a pump configured to transport the solder to the chamber; and an inner bath configured to communicate with the opening and perform soldering using the solder fed through the opening, wherein the inner bath contains the solder and includes a discharge hole configured to discharge the contained solder in a bottom surface of the inner bath.

2. The soldering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pump includes a cylinder with a hole and a screw arranged in the hole; the pump transports the solder from a lower position to a higher position relative to gravity by a rotation of the screw.

3. The soldering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pump comprises a screw pump.

4. The soldering apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the chamber includes a ventilation port configured to communicate with atmosphere.

5. A soldering apparatus comprising: a chamber configure to contain solder and including an opening configured to discharge the solder in a bottom surface or a side surface of the chamber; a pump configured to transport the solder to the chamber; and an inner bath configured to communicate with the opening and perform soldering using the solder fed through the opening; an outer bath; a base plate configured to divide an interior of the outer bath into an outer bath upper portion configured to receive the solder discharged through the discharge hole and an outer bath lower portion, the base plate including: a solder intake port configured to link the outer bath upper portion and the outer bath lower portion, an inner bath coupling port configured to communicate with the inner bath, a chamber coupling port configured to communicate with the chamber, and an opening coupling port configured to communicate with the opening; and a shield plate configured to divide the outer bath lower portion into a first lower portion configured to include a flow passage from the solder intake port to the chamber coupling port and a second lower portion configured to include a flow passage from the opening coupling port to the inner bath coupling port, wherein the inner bath contains the solder and includes a discharge hole configured to discharge the contained solder in a bottom surface of the inner bath, and wherein the pump transports the solder from the first lower portion to the chamber.

6. A soldering method comprising: discharging solder through an opening that is present in a bottom surface of a chamber that is configured to contain the solder; transporting the solder to the chamber by a pump; performing soldering using the solder fed through the opening to an inner bath configured to communicate with the opening; and discharging the contained solder through a discharge hole positioned in a bottom surface of the inner bath.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a soldering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

(2) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the soldering apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1;

(3) FIG. 3 is a plan view of the soldering apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1; and

(4) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an inner bath of the soldering apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1 during soldering.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(5) An embodiment of the present invention is described below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings described below, the same or corresponding constituent elements are designated the same reference numerals and will not be elaborated.

First Embodiment

(6) <Configuration>

(7) FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view of a soldering apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the soldering apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the soldering apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1.

(8) Referring to FIG. 1, a soldering apparatus 100 includes a chamber 120, a pump 140 (see FIG. 2), an inner bath 160, a solder outlet portion 180, an outer bath 200, a base plate 220, and a shield plate 240. As an example, the soldering apparatus 100 is a circulation-dip soldering apparatus that solders an electronic component 320 on a substrate 300 (see FIG. 4). Note that, in FIG. 1, for the sake of easy viewing, the pump 140 is omitted.

(9) The constituent elements of the soldering apparatus 100 are described below with reference to FIG. 2.

(10) The chamber 120 is, as an example, a solder-containing container having a rectangular parallelepiped box shape. Moreover, the chamber 120 includes, as an example, an opening 122 for discharging the solder, an inlet port 124, and a ventilation port 126 communicated with atmosphere. The opening 122 and the inlet port 124 are, as an example, positioned on the bottom surface of the chamber 120. Moreover, the ventilation port 126 is, as an example, positioned on the upper surface of the chamber 120.

(11) The pump 140 is, as an example, a screw pump. The pump 140, as an example, has a function of transporting the solder from a lower side to an upper side in the direction of gravity, and sucks the solder through the inlet port 124. Therefore, the pump 140 can transport the solder from a first lower portion 206 to the chamber 120. More specifically, the pump 140 includes a cylinder 142, a screw 144, a shaft 146, a shaft pulley 148, a belt 150, a motor 152, and a motor pulley 154. The cylinder 142 is a block having a cylindrical shape with a hole, and is set on the bottom surface of the chamber 120. The screw 144 is arranged in the hole of the cylinder 142, and the shaft 146 is fixed to the screw 144. The shaft 146 extends in the direction of gravity, and the shaft pulley 148 is attached to an upper part of the shaft 146. Moreover, the shaft pulley 148 and the motor pulley 154 are linked via the belt 150. Therefore, the shaft pulley 148 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the motor 152. The motor 152 is attached to a wall surface of the outer bath 200.

(12) The outer bath 200 is, as an example, a container having a rectangular parallelepiped box shape, and contains the chamber 120, the inner bath 160, and the solder outlet portion 180. Moreover, the upper side of the outer bath 200 is open.

(13) The base plate 220 divides the interior of the outer bath 200 into an outer bath upper portion 202 and an outer bath lower portion 204. Moreover, the base plate 220 includes two solder intake ports 222 (see FIG. 3) that link the outer bath upper portion 202 and the outer bath lower portion 204, an inner bath coupling port 224 communicated with the inner bath 160, a chamber coupling port 226 communicated with the chamber 120, and an opening coupling port 228 communicated with the opening 122.

(14) The shield plate 240 divides the outer bath lower portion 204 into the first lower portion 206 and a second lower portion 208. In the position of the first lower portion 206 of the base plate 220, the solder intake port 222 (see FIG. 3) and the chamber coupling port 226 are provided. Thus, the solder flowing into the first lower portion 206 through the solder intake port 222 can outflow through the chamber coupling port 226. In other words, the first lower portion 206 has a flow passage from the solder intake port 222 to the chamber coupling port 226. Meanwhile, in the position of the second lower portion 208 of the base plate 220, the opening coupling port 228 and the inner bath coupling port 224 are provided. Thus, the solder flowing into the second lower portion 208 through the opening coupling port 228 can outflow through the inner bath coupling port 224. In other words, the second lower portion 208 has a flow passage from the opening coupling port 228 to the inner bath coupling port 224.

(15) The solder outlet portion 180 is a cylindrical body having a rectangular shape in cross-section, and is placed on the base plate 220. Moreover, the solder outlet portion 180 connects the inner bath coupling port 224 and the inner bath 160. Thus, the solder outlet portion 180 forms a flow passage from the inner bath coupling port 224 to the inner bath 160.

(16) The inner bath 160 is, as an example, a container having a rectangular parallelepiped box shape. The inner bath 160 communicates with the opening 122 via the opening coupling port 228, the second lower portion 208, the inner bath coupling port 224, and the solder outlet portion 180. Therefore, the solder outflowing through the opening 122 is fed to the inner bath 160. Then, the inner bath 160 can contain the solder. Note that the space between the opening 122 and the inner bath 160 is, as an example, filled with the solder, and the solder does not contact air in this space. Moreover, the solder contained in the inner bath 160 forms liquid surface L2. Moreover, the upper side of the inner bath 160 is open to receive the substrate 300 and a palette 102, which are conveyed during soldering (see FIG. 4). The soldering apparatus 100 can perform soldering on the substrate 300 by immersing the lower surface of the substrate 300 into the liquid surface L2 in the inner bath 160. In other words, the inner bath 160 has a function of performing soldering using the solder fed through the opening 122. Note that the soldering operation of the soldering apparatus 100 will be described below. Moreover, the inner bath 160 includes two discharge holes 162 for discharging the contained solder in the bottom surface (see FIG. 3). The discharge hole 162 is, as an example, a slit. Because the inner bath 160 is contained in the outer bath 200, the solder discharged through the discharge holes 162 (see FIG. 3) of the inner bath 160 moves to the outer bath upper portion 202. That is, the outer bath upper portion 202 can receive the solder discharged through the discharge hole 162.

(17) <Operation>

(18) Next, the operation in which the soldering apparatus 100 circulates the molten solder and the soldering operation of the soldering apparatus 100 are described.

(19) (Operation in which the Soldering Apparatus 100 Circulates the Molten Solder)

(20) The operation in which the soldering apparatus 100 circulates the molten solder is described with reference to FIG. 2. When the soldering apparatus 100 circulates the molten solder, the soldering apparatus 100 first rotates the motor 152. Thus, the screw 144 is rotated, and the pump 140 transports the solder of the first lower portion 206 into the chamber 120. Then, the solder in the chamber 120 increases, and the height of the liquid surface L1 of the solder in the chamber 120 rises. Therefore, with an increase in solder in the chamber 120, the pressure of the opening 122 rises. Then, the raised pressure pumps the solder through the opening 122. At this time, the liquid surface L1 in the chamber 120 and the liquid surface L2 of the inner bath 160 are both in communication with the atmosphere. Therefore, the height of the liquid surface L2 rises to be equal to the height of the liquid surface L1. In other words, when the pump 140 is driven, the solder in the chamber 120 is fed to the inner bath 160 and is contained in the inner bath 160. Thereafter, the solder contained in the inner bath 160 is discharged through the discharge holes 162 (see FIG. 3) of the inner bath 160 and moves to the outer bath upper portion 202. Then, the outer bath upper portion 202 receives the discharged solder. Note that, at this time, the position of the liquid surface L3 of the solder in the outer bath upper portion 202 is set in a position higher than the position of the discharge holes 162. That is, the discharge holes 162 are positioned in the solder liquid. Thereafter, the solder moves along the outer bath upper portion 202 to the solder intake port 222 (see FIG. 3) of the base plate 220. Then, the solder in the outer bath upper portion 202 is fed to the first lower portion 206 through the solder intake port 222. Thereafter, the solder accumulated in the first lower portion 206 is again transported into the chamber 120 by the pump 140. Thus, in the soldering apparatus 100, the solder is circulated inside.

(21) (Soldering Operation of the Soldering Apparatus 100)

(22) Next, the soldering operation of the soldering apparatus 100 is described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the inner bath 160 of the soldering apparatus 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 during soldering. During soldering, the substrate 300 is transported to the inner bath 160 in a state of being placed on the palette 102 by an existing conveyance apparatus (illustration omitted). The palette 102 includes a through-opening 104 corresponding to a soldered portion 340 of the substrate 300. Therefore, when the palette 102 is transported into the inner bath 160, the soldered portion 340 of the substrate 300 contacts the solder via the through-opening 104. Thus, the soldering apparatus 100 performs soldering on the soldered portion 340 of the substrate 300. Note that the palette 102 includes a plurality of recesses 106 and a cover 108 corresponding to the arrangement conditions of the electric component 320 of the substrate 300. Thus, the palette 102 prevents a portion of the substrate 300 other than the soldered portion 340 from contacting the solder. Thus, the soldering apparatus 100 performs soldering on the substrate 300 using the palette 102. In other words, the soldering apparatus 100 can perform what is known as mask palette soldering.

(23) <Operation and Effect>

(24) Next, operations and effects of the soldering apparatus 100 are described.

(25) (First Effect)

(26) As described above, dross the specific gravity of which is lower than that of the solder and floats near the liquid surface of the solder. Accordingly, the dross in the chamber 120 is positioned near the liquid surface L1 (see FIG. 2). Moreover, the opening 122 for discharging the solder is positioned in the bottom surface of the chamber 120. In other words, the opening 122 is positioned away from the liquid surface L1. Therefore, in order for the dross to pass through the opening 122, the dross needs to be once submerged from the vicinity of the liquid surface L1 of the solder to the position away from the liquid surface L1 where the opening 122 is present. That is, with the soldering apparatus 100, it is difficult to pass the dross through the opening 122 together with the solder, and the dross hardly pass through the opening 122. Therefore, the soldering apparatus 100 can feed the solder that scarcely contains the dross to the inner bath 160. Then, the soldering apparatus 100 can perform soldering in the inner bath 160 using the solder. In other words, with the soldering apparatus 100, the dross hardly adheres to the substrate 300.

(27) (Second Effect)

(28) A second effect is an effect obtained as the soldering apparatus 100 includes the pump 140 for transporting the solder from a lower side to an upper side in the direction of gravity.

(29) Unlike the soldering apparatus 100, when the pump transports the solder from the upper side to the lower side in the direction of gravity, the pump sucks the solder on the upper side. In other words, the pump tends to suck the dross positioned near the liquid surface of the solder. Therefore, the pump can suck a lot of dross together with the solder. Then, when the pump sucks the dross, the pump cannot transport the solder for the amount of the sucked dross. In other words, the amount of solder to be transported by the pump is reduced, and the efficiency of transport can be reduced.

(30) Furthermore, when the pump transports a lot of dross into the chamber, the density of the dross in the chamber also increases. In this case, the dross tends to pass through the opening 122 of the chamber.

(31) However, in the soldering apparatus 100, the pump 140 transports the solder from the lower side to the upper side in the direction of gravity. In other words, the pump 140 sucks the solder at the position away from the liquid surface. Therefore, in the soldering apparatus 100, the pump 140 hardly sucks the dross, and therefore a reduction in transport efficiency of the pump 140 can be suppressed. Moreover, in the soldering apparatus 100, the pump 140 hardly sucks the dross, and an increase in density of the dross in the chamber 120 can be suppressed. As a result, the amount of dross that passes through the opening 122 can be reduced, and adhesion of the dross to the substrate 300 can be prevented.

(32) (Third Effect)

(33) In the soldering apparatus 100, if the chamber 120 does not include the ventilation port 126, the solder fed to the chamber 120 by the pump 140 is pumped through the opening 122 by the pressure generated by the pump 140. Therefore, the dross positioned near the liquid surface of the solder in the chamber 120 becomes more likely to be carried away by the pressure generated by the pump 140 to pass through the opening 122.

(34) However, the chamber 120 of the soldering apparatus 100 includes the ventilation port 126. Thus, the solder fed to the chamber 120 by the pump 140 is once accumulated in the chamber 120. Then, as a result of an increase in solder in the chamber 120, the pressure of the opening 122 rises, and the raised pressure pumps the solder through the opening 122. That is, the dross positioned near the liquid surface L1 of the solder in the chamber 120 is not pumped to the opening 122 by the pressure by the pump 140. Accordingly, the soldering apparatus 100, which includes the ventilation port 126, suppresses passage of the dross through the opening 122.

(35) (Fourth Effect)

(36) Moreover, when a pump pumps a liquid, the pressure applied to the liquid by the pump slightly varies, and waves can be formed in the pumped liquid. In particular, when the pump rotates at high speed, a large wave is formed in the pumped liquid. Accordingly, when the pump directly connected to a bath feeds solder to a bath, the liquid surface of the solder contained in the bath can be in a rippling state.

(37) The soldering apparatus 100 includes the chamber 120 including the ventilation port 126 on a downstream side of the pump 140. Therefore, the solder fed to the chamber 120 by the pump 140 forms waves due to slight variations in pressure of the pump 140 on the liquid surface L1 of the solder in the chamber 120. However, a pressure corresponding to the height of the liquid surface L1 of the solder is uniformly applied to the solder of the opening 122 according to the Pascal's principle. Thus, the solder pumped through the opening 122 becomes a less disturbed, stable flow and is fed to the inner bath 160 through the solder outlet portion 180. That is, the soldering apparatus 100 can suppress waves on the liquid surface L2 of the solder in the inner bath 160.

(38) (Fifth Effect)

(39) Moreover, the inner bath 160 contains the solder and includes the discharge holes 162 (see FIG. 3) for discharging the contained solder in the bottom surface. Thus, the solder fed from the chamber 120 and contained in the inner bath 160 is discharged through the discharge holes 162 of the inner bath 160. Thus, the inner bath 160 contains a lot of solder that is freshly fed from the chamber 120 and scarcely contains the dross. Therefore, the soldering apparatus 100 can perform soldering using the solder, which scarcely contains the dross, in the inner bath 160, and can prevent soldering using the solder in which the dross is generated.

(40) (Sixth Effect)

(41) Moreover, as described above, in the soldering apparatus 100, the solder circulates in the soldering apparatus 100. Thus, the solder circulates by convection. Then, the soldering apparatus 100 can have a uniform temperature of the solder in the apparatus because of the convection of the solder, and feed the solder with stable temperature to the inner bath 160. In other words, the solder in the inner bath 160 can be stabilized at a temperature optimum for soldering. Therefore, the soldering apparatus 100 can perform soldering at a temperature optimum for soldering.

(42) (Seventh Effect)

(43) Moreover, when the molten solder circulates in the soldering apparatus 100, the discharge holes 162 are positioned in the solder liquid.

(44) Thus, in the soldering apparatus 100, the solder can move from the inner bath 160 to the outer bath upper portion 202 without contact with the atmosphere. That is, in the soldering apparatus 100, when the solder moves from the inner bath 160 to the outer bath upper portion 202, the solder does not contact the atmosphere and oxidation of the solder can be prevented.

(45) <Variations>

(46) Next, variations of the soldering apparatus 100 are described.

(47) (First Variation)

(48) In the soldering apparatus 100, the chamber 120 includes the opening 122 in the bottom surface. However, the chamber 120 may include the opening 122 in a side surface. This is because the dross floats near the liquid surface L1, and, even when the opening 122 is present in a side surface, as long as the opening 122 is away from the liquid surface L1, the soldering apparatus 100 can suppress passage of the dross through the opening 122. Note that the opening 122 needs to be positioned below the liquid surface L1 of the solder in the chamber 120, and is preferably positioned near the bottom surface of the chamber 120.

(49) (Second Variation)

(50) Moreover, the pump 140 may not be a screw pump. The pump 140 may be any pump that can transport the solder, e.g., an impeller pump. This is because when the pump 140 can transport the solder to the chamber 120, the soldering apparatus 100 can feed the solder to the inner bath 160.

(51) (Third Variation)

(52) Moreover, the chamber 120 may not include the ventilation port 126. When the chamber 120 does not include the ventilation port 126, as described above, the dross in the chamber 120 becomes more likely to be pumped through the opening 122 by the pressure generated by the pump 140. However, because the opening 122 is present in the bottom surface, the dross positioned near the liquid surface L1 still hardly outflow through the opening 122.

(53) (Fourth Variation)

(54) Moreover, the soldering apparatus 100 is a circulation-dip soldering apparatus that performs soldering using the palette 102. However, the soldering apparatus 100 may be a jet soldering apparatus. In this case, in the soldering apparatus 100, the inner bath 160 includes a jet nozzle, and the jet nozzle jets the solder fed through the opening 122. Thus, the soldering apparatus 100 can perform jet soldering using a jet from the jet nozzle.

(55) (Fifth Variation)

(56) Moreover, the soldering apparatus 100 may be a local soldering apparatus. In this case, in the soldering apparatus 100, the inner bath 160 includes a jet soldering nozzle that jets solder to an area where soldering is needed. Thus, the jet soldering nozzle can locally jet the solder to a component that requires soldering. That is, the soldering apparatus 100 can perform local soldering using the jet solder nozzle.

(57) (Sixth Variation)

(58) The discharge holes 162 are a slit. However, the discharge holes 162 may be an opening having any shape, e.g., circle or polygon. This is because even when the discharge holes 162 are an opening having such a shape, the discharge holes 162 can discharge the solder contained in the inner bath 160.

(59) The embodiment and the variations of the present invention have been described heretofore. It is needless to say that the aforementioned examples are for the sake of easy understanding of the present invention and do not limit the present invention. The present invention can be properly changed and modified without departing from the gist, and the present invention includes equivalents. Moreover, any combination or omission of the constituent elements described in the claims and the specification may be made as long as at least some of the aforementioned problems can be solved or at least some of the effects can be provided.

REFERENCE SIGN LIST

(60) 100: soldering apparatus 102: palette 120: chamber 122: opening 124: inlet port 126: ventilation port 140: pump 160: inner bath 162: discharge hole 180: solder outlet portion 200: outer bath 202: outer bath upper portion 204: outer bath lower portion 206: first lower portion 208: second lower portion 220: base plate 222: solder intake port 224: inner bath coupling port 226: chamber coupling port 228: opening coupling port 240: shield plate 300: substrate 320: electronic component 340: soldered portion L1: liquid surface L2: liquid surface L3: liquid surface