Abstract
A die for fabricating a carrier tape such that the carrier tape is provided with a plurality of housing holes for housing electronic components therein in a state where the housing holes are arranged in a longitudinal direction and penetrates the carrier tape in a thickness direction. The die is less prone to be damaged and is less prone to induce breakages in the interval portions between the housing holes in the carrier tape. A male die includes housing-hole formation convex portions which are constituted by a plurality of first housing-hole formation convex portions having respective tip ends at a relatively-higher heightwise position, and a plurality of second housing-hole formation convex portions having respective tip ends at a relatively-lower heightwise position.
Claims
1. A carrier-tape fabrication method comprising: preparing a tape material; preparing a carrier-tape fabrication die for use in fabricating a carrier tape from the tape material, the carrier tape being provided with a plurality of housing holes for housing an electronic component therein in a state where the housing holes are arranged in a longitudinal direction and penetrates the carrier tape in a thickness direction, including a male die and a female die which are provided such that the male die and the female die are brought together and separated from each other; the male die having a plurality of housing-hole formation convex portions arranged therein corresponding to the plurality of the housing holes to be formed, and the female die having a plurality of housing-hole formation concave portions arranged to receive the respective housing-hole formation convex portions; the housing-hole formation convex portions being adapted to be fitted into the housing-hole formation concave portions while punching a portion of the tape material, thereby forming the housing holes in the tape material, when the male die and the female die are brought into engagement with each other with the tape material sandwiched therebetween; the plurality of housing-hole formation convex portions including a plurality of first housing-hole formation convex portions having a tip end at a relatively-higher heightwise position, and a plurality of second housing-hole formation convex portions having a tip end at a relatively-lower heightwise position; and the plurality of housing-hole formation convex portions being arranged such that at least one of the second housing-hole formation convex portions is positioned between the two first housing-hole formation convex portions and the two first housing-hole formation convex portions are spaced from each other, wherein an interval portion between the housing holes has a smaller dimension than a dimension of the housing holes measured in a direction of arrangement of the housing holes, the carrier tape includes a plurality of feeding holes arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the arrangement of the plurality of the housing holes, the male die has a plurality of protruding feeding-hole formation pins arranged therein corresponding to the plurality of the feeding holes to be formed, and the female die has a plurality of feeding-hole formation concave portions arranged to receive the respective feeding-hole formation pins, the feeding-hole formation pins are adapted to be fitted into the feeding-hole formation concave portions while punching a portion of the tape material, thereby forming the feeding holes in the tape material, when the male die and the female die are brought into engagement with each other with the tape material sandwiched therebetween, and the plurality of the feeding-hole formation pins include a pilot pin having a tip end at a higher heightwise position than a heightwise position of the tip ends of the other feeding-hole formation pins, and the pilot pin is positioned at one end of the plurality of feeding-hole formation pins; placing the tape material between the male die and the female die; and bringing the male die and the female die into engagement with other for forming housing holes in the tape material.
2. The carrier-tape fabrication method according to claim 1, further comprising transferring the tape material by a predetermined distance in a longitudinal direction; wherein the steps of placing the tape material between the male die and the female die and bringing the male die and the female die into engagement with other for forming housing holes in the tape material are repeated after transferring the tape material by the predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction, and the transferring of the tape material by the predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction includes transferring the tape material such that the first housing-hole formation convex portion positioned at a starting end, in the transfer direction of the tape material, of the plurality of housing-hole formation convex portions, is fitted into the housing hole positioned at a termination end in the transfer direction of the tape material.
3. A carrier-tape fabrication die for use in fabricating a carrier tape from a tape material, the carrier tape being provided with a plurality of housing holes for housing an electronic component therein in a state where the housing holes are arranged in a longitudinal direction and penetrates the carrier tape in a thickness direction, the carrier-tape fabrication die comprising: a male die and a female die which are provided such that the male die and the female die are brought together and separated from each other; the male die having a plurality of housing-hole formation convex portions arranged therein corresponding to the plurality of the housing holes to be formed, and the female die having a plurality of housing-hole formation concave portions arranged to receive the respective housing-hole formation convex portions; the housing-hole formation convex portions being adapted to be fitted into the housing-hole formation concave portions while punching a portion of the tape material, thereby forming the housing holes in the tape material, when the male die and the female die are brought into engagement with each other with the tape material sandwiched therebetween; the plurality of housing-hole formation convex portions including a plurality of first housing-hole formation convex portions having a tip end at a relatively-higher heightwise position, and a plurality of second housing-hole formation convex portions having a tip end at a relatively-lower heightwise position; and the plurality of housing-hole formation convex portions being arranged such that at least one of the second housing-hole formation convex portions is positioned between the two first housing-hole formation convex portions and the two first housing-hole formation convex portions being spaced from each other, wherein an interval portion between the housing holes has a smaller dimension than a dimension of the housing holes measured in a direction of arrangement of the housing holes, the carrier tape includes a plurality of feeding holes arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the arrangement of the plurality of the housing holes, the male die has a plurality of protruding feeding-hole formation pins arranged therein corresponding to the plurality of the feeding holes to be formed, and the female die has a plurality of feeding-hole formation concave portions arranged to receive the respective feeding-hole formation pins, the feeding-hole formation pins are adapted to be fitted into the feeding-hole formation concave portions while punching a portion of the tape material, thereby forming the feeding holes in the tape material, when the male die and the female die are brought into engagement with each other with the tape material sandwiched therebetween, and the plurality of the feeding-hole formation pins include a pilot pin having a tip end at a higher heightwise position than a heightwise position of the tip ends of the other feeding-hole formation pins, and the pilot pin is positioned at one end of the plurality of feeding-hole formation pins.
4. The carrier-tape fabrication die according to claim 3, wherein the first housing-hole formation convex portions are positioned at least at opposite ends of the plurality of the housing-hole formation convex portions.
5. The carrier-tape fabrication die according to claim 3, wherein the first housing-hole formation convex portions and the second housing-hole formation convex portions are alternately arranged.
6. The carrier-tape fabrication die according to claim 3, wherein two pilot pins are adjacent to each other and are positioned at one end of the plurality of the feeding-hole formation pins.
7. The carrier-tape fabrication die according to claim 3, wherein the female die includes a combination of a first member having a first side surface which provides a first wall surface defining the housing-hole formation concave portions, a second member which provides an inter-concave-portion wall portion positioned between the housing-hole formation convex portions adjacent to each other, and a third member having a second side surface which provides a second wall surface opposed to the first wall surface which is provided by the first side surface and defines the housing-hole formation concave portions, and the inter-concave-portion wall portion is provided with a rib for reinforcing the inter-concave-portion wall portion.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
(1) FIG. 1 illustrates a male die 41 included in a carrier-tape fabrication die according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure, wherein FIG. 1(A) is a front view of the same, FIG. 1(B) is a left side view of the same, FIG. 1(C) is a cross-sectional view of the same taken along the line C-C in FIG. 1(B), and FIG. 1(D) is a cross-sectional view of the same taken along the line D-D in FIG. 1(B).
(2) FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a female die 42 which constitutes the carrier-tape fabrication die 40 in cooperation with the male die 41 illustrated in FIG. 1, and a tape material 29, illustrating a state where the male die 41 and the female die 42 are separated from each other with the tape material 29 sandwiched therebetween.
(3) FIG. 3 illustrates a state realized after the state illustrated in FIG. 2, illustrating a state after first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 included in the male die 41 have been caused to punch the tape material 29.
(4) FIG. 4 illustrates a state realized after the state illustrated in FIG. 3, illustrating a state after second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 included in the male die 41 have been caused to punch the tape material 29.
(5) FIG. 5 illustrates a state realized after the state illustrated in FIG. 4, illustrating a state where the male die 41 has been separated from the female die 42, after the formation of housing holes 22 in the tape material 29.
(6) FIG. 6 illustrates a state realized after the state illustrated in FIG. 5, illustrating a state after the tape material 29 has been transferred by a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction, in preparation for the subsequent punching process.
(7) FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a male die 41a included in a carrier-tape fabrication die according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.
(8) FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a male die 41b included in a carrier-tape fabrication die according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.
(9) FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a male die 41c included in a carrier-tape fabrication die according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.
(10) FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a male die 41d included in a carrier-tape fabrication die according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.
(11) FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a male die 41e included in a carrier-tape fabrication die according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure.
(12) FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a male die 41f included in a carrier-tape fabrication die according to a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure.
(13) FIG. 13 is a side view illustrating, in an enlarging manner, an inter-concave-portion wall portion 57 included in a carrier-tape fabrication die according to an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure.
(14) FIG. 14 is a perspective view illustrating a conventional carrier tape 1 of interest for the present disclosure.
(15) FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating a female die 6 included in a conventional carrier-tape fabrication die of interest for the present disclosure.
(16) FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating first to third members 9 to 11 which constitute the female die 6 illustrated in FIG. 15, in such a way as to separate them from each other.
(17) FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a male die 5 included in a carrier-tape fabrication die 4, and a tape material 16, together with the female die 6 illustrated in FIG. 15, wherein FIG. 17(A) illustrates a state where the male die 5 and the female die 6 are separated from each other with the tape material 16 sandwiched therebetween, FIG. 17(B) illustrates a state realized after the state illustrated in FIG. 17(A), illustrating a state after housing-hole formation convex portions 15 included in the male die 5 have punched the tape material 16, and FIG. 17(C) illustrates a state realized after the state illustrated in FIG. 17(B), illustrating a state where the male die 5 has been separated from the female die 6 after the formation of housing holes 2 in the tape material 16.
(18) FIG. 18 is a plan view illustrating a carrier tape 21 adapted to size reduction of electronic components, in comparison with the case of the carrier tape 1 illustrated in FIG. 14, for explaining the problem to be solved by the present disclosure.
(19) FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view illustrating, in an enlarging manner, a series of electronic components 25 which is formed using the carrier tape 21 illustrated in FIG. 18.
(20) FIG. 20 is a view illustrating a method for fabricating the carrier tape 21 illustrated in FIG. 18 and is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process for forming housing holes 22 in a tape material 29, namely a process corresponding to the process illustrated in FIG. 17(B).
(21) FIG. 21 is a side view illustrating, in an enlarging manner, an inter-concave-portion wall portion 35 in a female die 32, schematically illustrating the direction of cracking which may be induced when the process illustrated in FIG. 20 is implemented.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
(22) Hereinafter, there will be described embodiments for fabricating a carrier tape 21 as illustrated in FIG. 18, which satisfies the condition that the dimension W of the interval portions 24 between housing holes 22 be smaller than the dimension L1 of the housing holes 22 which is measured in the direction of the arrangement.
(23) FIG. 1 illustrates only a male die 41 included in a carrier-tape fabrication die, and FIGS. 2 to 6 illustrate a female die 42 which forms the carrier-tape fabrication die 40 in corporation with the male die 41 illustrated in FIG. 1, and a tape material 29 as the material of the carrier tape 21. Hereinafter, the male die 41 will be described in detail with respect to the structure thereof, but the female die 42 will not be described in detail since the female die 42 includes the same structures as those of the female die 6 described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16 or the female die 32 illustrated in FIG. 20.
(24) Briefly, the female die 42 has a three-split structure similar to that illustrated in FIG. 16 and includes a plurality of housing-hole formation concave portions 43 arranged therein, as illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 6. The shape and the arrangement pitch of the housing-hole formation concave portions 43 correspond to the shape and the arrangement pitch of the housing holes 22 included in the carrier tape 21 illustrated in FIG. 18. Further, although not illustrated, the female die 42 is provided with feeding-hole formation concave portions corresponding to the feeding-hole formation concave portions 8 illustrated in FIG. 15. The shape and the arrangement pitch of the feeding-hole formation concave portions correspond to the shape and the arrangement pitch of the feeding holes 23 included in the carrier tape 21.
(25) With reference mainly to FIG. 1, the male die 41 includes a head base 44. There are provided pluralities of feeding-hole formation pins 45 and 46 which are arranged, in such a way as to protrude from the head base 44. Further, a protruding table 47 is provided on the head base 44, and there are provided pluralities of housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 in such a way as to protrude from the protruding table 47.
(26) The housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 are to be received by the housing-hole formation concave portions 43 (see FIGS. 2 to 6) which are provided in the female die 42. The housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 are sorted into first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 having respective tip ends at a relatively-higher heightwise position, and second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 having respective tip ends at a relatively-lower heightwise position. The aspect of the arrangement of the pluralities of the housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 is selected, such that at least a single second housing-hole formation convex portion 49 is positioned between two first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and, also, two first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 are not adjacent to each other.
(27) Particularly, in the present embodiment, first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 are positioned at least at the opposite ends, in the state of the arrangement of the pluralities of the housing-hole formation convex portions and 49. Further, in the present embodiment, the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and the second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 are alternately arranged.
(28) The difference H between the heightwise positions of the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and the second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 is preferably equal to or more than half the thickness of the tape material 29 and is more preferably equal to the thickness of the tape material 29. When the thickness of the tape material 29 is about 0.5 mm as described above, it is more preferable that the difference H between the heightwise positions is about 0.5 mm. This is for the following reasons. If the difference H between the heightwise positions of the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and the second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 is too small, this makes it harder to reduce the stress applied to the tape material 29. If the difference H is too large, this causes the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 to be pushed by a larger amount, thereby increasing the stress applied to the tape material 29.
(29) As described above, in the carrier tape 21 illustrated in FIG. 18, the housing holes 22 has the dimension L1 of about 0.6 mm which is measured in the direction of the arrangement, and the dimension L2 of about 1.1 mm which is measured in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the arrangement, and the dimension W of the interval portions 24 between the housing holes 22 is about 0.4 mm. Therefore, the housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 also has a cross-sectional dimension S1 of about 0.6 mm which is measured in the direction of the arrangement, and a cross-sectional dimension S2 of about 1.1 mm which is measured in the direction orthogonal to the direction of the arrangement, and the interval S3 between the housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 is about 0.4 mm.
(30) Further, as well illustrated in FIG. 1(B) regarding the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48, it is preferable that the housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 are provided with tapered surfaces 50 at their respective tip ends.
(31) Although not illustrated, the feeding-hole formation pins 45 and 46 are to be received by feeding-hole formation concave portions provided in the female die 42. In the carrier tape 21 illustrated in FIG. 18, the feeding holes are arranged at even intervals at a rate of a single feeding hole 23 per four housing holes 22 and, therefore, the feeding-hole formation pins 45 and 46 are arranged at even intervals at a rate of a single feeding-hole formation pin 45 or 46 per four first and second housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 in total.
(32) Out of the feeding-hole formation pins 45 and 46, the two feeding-hole formation pins 45 positioned at one end in this arrangement state are made to have respective tip ends at a heightwise position which is higher than the heightwise position of the tip ends of the other feeding-hole formation pins 46. These feeding-hole formation pins 45 having the tip ends at the higher heightwise position are to form pilot pins for facilitating the positioning of the die 40 and the tape material 29. Hereinafter, the feeding-hole formation pins 45 will be referred to as pilot pins 45, in some cases.
(33) Only the endmost single feeding-hole formation pin, out of the feeding-hole formation pins 45 and 46 in the arranged state, may be made to be a pilot pin 45. However, in the present embodiment, the two feeding-hole formation pins adjacent to each other at the end in the arrangement state are made to be pilot pins 45. With this structure, it is possible to facilitate aligning the orientations of the die 40 and the tape material 29 with each other.
(34) It is preferable that the other feeding-hole formation pins 46 than the pilot pins 45 have respective tip ends at a heightwise position equal to the heightwise position of the tip ends of the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48, as can be seen in FIG. 1(A).
(35) The pilot pins 45 are preferably provided with respective conical surfaces 51 at their tip ends. Further, the feeding-hole formation pins 46 are preferably provided with respective conical surfaces 52 with a relatively-larger vertex angle, at their tip ends.
(36) Next, with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6, there will be described a method for fabricating the carrier tape 21, which is implemented using the carrier-tape fabrication die 40.
(37) As illustrated in FIG. 2, in order to fabricate the carrier tape 21, the tape material 29, which is made of a cardboard, for example, is prepared, and the tape material 29 is placed between the male die 41 and the female die 42. In FIG. 2, there is illustrated the tape material 29 in which some housing holes 22 have been already formed. In this case, in a process illustrated in FIG. 2, it is preferable to perform positioning thereof, such that a first housing-hole formation convex portion 48 positioned at the starting end in the transfer direction 53, out of the pluralities of housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 in the arranged state, is fitted into the housing hole 22 positioned at the termination end in the transfer direction 53 of the tape material 29.
(38) Next, the male die 41 and the female die 42 are brought close to each other. In a former-half step in this process for bringing them close to each other, as illustrated in FIG. 3, only the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 included in the male die 41 are caused to punch portions of the tape material 29, thereby forming housing holes 22 in the tape material 29. In the step illustrated in FIG. 3, as a result of the formation of the housing holes 22, the punched pieces 54 resulted from the punching on the tape material 29 remain within the housing-hole formation concave portions 43.
(39) The first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 positioned at the starting end in the transfer direction 53, out of the pluralities of the housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 in the arranged state, has been fitted in the housing hole 22 positioned at the termination end in the transfer direction 53 of the tape material 29, which has been formed in the previous process. This enables forming the housing holes 22 arranged at even intervals with higher accuracy.
(40) In the process illustrated in FIG. 3, only the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 having the respective tip ends at the relatively-higher heightwise position are caused to punch the tape material 29. Accordingly, in comparison with cases where all the first and second housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 are caused to perform punching operations at the same time, it is possible to reduce the stress exerted on the female die 42, thereby suppressing the occurrence of fractures of the female die 42.
(41) Further, in the process illustrated in FIG. 3, the pitch of the plural housing holes 22 formed by the punching with the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 is larger than the pitch of the plural housing holes 22 to be formed finally. This reduces the stress exerted on the interval portions 24a between the housing holes 22 to be formed by the punching on the tape material 29 with the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48, thereby preventing breakages of the interval portions 24a.
(42) Further, although not illustrated in FIG. 3, when the male die 41 and the female die 42 are brought close to each other with the tape material 29 sandwiched therebetween, as described above, the feeding-hole formation pins 45 and 46 are caused to punch portions of the tape material 29, thereby further forming feeding holes 23. At this time, the two pilot pins 45 positioned at the starting end in the transfer direction 53 are positioned, such that they are fitted into the two feeding holes 23 positioned at the termination end in the transfer direction 53, which have been formed in the previous process. Accordingly, this also contributes to the formation of the plural housing holes 22 in a state where they are arranged at even intervals with higher accuracy. In addition thereto, this also contributes to aligning the orientations of the die 40 and the tape material 29 with each other.
(43) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the male die 41 and the female die 42 are further brought closer to each other and, then, the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 are fitted into the housing-hole formation concave portions 43, and their tip ends pass through the housing-hole formation concave portions 43. This causes the punched pieces 54 to be discharged from the housing-hole formation concave portions 43 as indicated by broken lines.
(44) On the other hand, the second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 are fitted into the housing-hole formation concave portions 43 while punching portions of the tape material 29, thereby forming housing holes 22 in the tape material 29. In FIG. 4, the broken lines also indicate the punched pieces 55 formed by the punching on the tape material 29, as a result of the formation of the housing holes 22 with the second housing-hole formation convex portions 49.
(45) In the process illustrated in FIG. 4, when the second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 are caused to punch the tape material 29, the first housing-hole formation convex portions 28 are maintained at the state where they are fitted in the already-formed housing holes 22, and the tape material 29 is held by the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48, which suppresses breakages of the interval portions 24 between the housing holes 22 to be formed by pushing the second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 into the tape material 29.
(46) Further, although not illustrated in FIG. 4, the punched pieces resulted from the formation of the feeding holes 23 by the feeding-hole formation pins 45 and 46 are also discharged from the feeding-hole formation concave portions.
(47) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the male die 41 and the female die 42 are returned to a state where they are separated from each other. A plurality of housing holes 22 and a plurality of feeding holes 23, which are not illustrated, are formed in the tape material 29 placed on the female die 42.
(48) Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the tape material 29 is transferred by a predetermined distance in the longitudinal direction. As a result of this intermittent transfer, the tape material 29 is positioned, such that the first housing-hole formation convex portion 48 positioned at the starting end in the transfer direction 53, out of the pluralities of housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49 in the arranged state, is fitted into the housing hole 22 positioned at the termination end in the transfer direction 53 of the tape material 29. By doing this, the interval between the housing hole 22 positioned at the termination end in the transfer direction 53 of the tape material 29 and the housing hole 22 to be newly formed can be made equal to the intervals between the other housing holes 22. Further, it is possible to facilitate aligning the male die 41 with the longitudinal direction of the tape material 29. Further, although not illustrated in FIG. 6, the two pilot pins 45 positioned at the starting end in the transfer direction 53 are positioned, such that they are fitted into the two feeding holes 23 positioned at the termination end in the transfer direction 53, which have been formed in the previous process.
(49) Thereafter, each of the processes illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5 are repeated by interposing the process for transferring the tape material 29 which is illustrated in FIG. 6, so that the carrier tape 21 as illustrated in FIG. 18 is fabricated.
(50) Hereinafter, other embodiments of the present disclosure will be described.
(51) FIGS. 7 to 12 illustrate examples of modifications of the male die 41, as second to seventh embodiments of the present disclosure. In FIGS. 7 to 12, components corresponding to the components illustrated in FIG. 2 and the like are designated by the same reference characters and will not be described redundantly.
(52) FIG. 7 illustrates a male die 41a which is characterized in that it includes at least two types of second housing-hole formation convex portions 49a and 49b having respective tip ends at heightwise positions different from each other, as second housing-hole formation convex portions having respective tip ends at a relatively-lower heightwise position.
(53) FIG. 8 illustrates a male die 41b which is characterized in that it includes at least two types of first housing-hole formation convex portions 48a and 48b having respective tip ends at heightwise positions different from each other, as first housing-hole formation convex portions having respective tip ends at a relatively-higher heightwise position.
(54) FIG. 9 illustrates a male die 41c which includes first and second housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and with respective tip ends having the same heightwise-positional relationship as that of the male die 41 illustrated in FIG. 2 and the like, but is characterized in that the first housing-hole formation convex portions 48 are provided, at their base portions, with respective sleeve portions 56 having a relatively-larger diameter and are made to have the same lengthwise dimension as that of the second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 at the other portions than the sleeve portions 56.
(55) FIG. 10 illustrates a male die 41d which is characterized in that second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 are positioned at least at the opposite ends, in a state of arrangement of the housing-hole formation convex portions 48 and 49.
(56) FIG. 11 illustrates a male die 41e which is characterized in that it includes at least two types of second housing-hole formation convex portions 49a and 49b having respective tip ends at heightwise positions different from each other, as second housing-hole formation convex portions having respective tip ends at a relatively-lower heightwise position, and these two second housing-hole formation convex portions 49a and 49b are adjacent to each other and are positioned between first housing-hole formation convex portions 48.
(57) FIG. 12 illustrates a male die 41f which is characterized in that two second housing-hole formation convex portions 49 are adjacent to each other and are positioned between first housing-hole formation convex portions 48.
(58) These male dies 41a to 41f illustrated in FIGS. 7 to 12 all satisfy a first condition that a plurality of housing-hole formation convex portions be arranged such that at least a single second housing-hole formation convex portion is positioned between two first housing-hole formation convex portions and, also, the two first housing-hole formation convex portions are not adjacent to each other, similarly to the male die 41 illustrated in FIG. 2 and the like.
(59) When the first condition is satisfied, it is possible to deviate the timing of punching with the first housing-hole formation convex portions having the respective tip ends at a relatively-higher heightwise position from the timing of punching with the second housing-hole formation convex portions having the respective tip ends at a relatively-lower heightwise position, in the process for punching the tape material with the housing-hole formation convex portions. This can disperse the stress exerted on the female die, thereby suppressing the occurrence of fractures of the female die. Further, even when the pitch of the plural housing holes is smaller, it is possible to form the plural housing holes arranged, in a proper state, without inducing breakages of the interval portions.
(60) Particularly, the male die 41a illustrated in FIG. 7, the male die 41b illustrated in FIG. 8, the male die 41c illustrated in FIG. 9, the male die 41e illustrated in FIG. 11 and the male die 41f illustrated in FIG. 12 satisfy a second condition that the first housing-hole formation convex portions are positioned at least at the opposite ends, in the state of arrangement of the plural housing-hole formation convex portions.
(61) When the second condition is satisfied, it is possible to fixedly hold the tape material at first by the first housing-hole formation convex portions which have completed punching, at least at the opposite ends in the state of the arrangement of the plural housing-hole formation convex portions. This enables carrying forward the subsequent punching processing, in a preferable state, with all the housing-hole formation convex portions.
(62) Further, the male die 41a illustrated in FIG. 7, the male die 41b illustrated in FIG. 8, the male die 41c illustrated in FIG. 9, and the male die 41d illustrated in FIG. 10 satisfy a third condition that the first housing-hole formation convex portions and the second housing-hole formation convex portions are alternately arranged.
(63) When the third condition is satisfied, it is possible to widen the interval between first housing-hole formation convex portions adjacent to each other by an amount corresponding to the second housing-hole formation convex portion interposed therebetween, in punching with the first housing-hole formation convex portions, over the entire region of the arrangement of the housing-hole formation convex portions. This enables implementing punching similarly to cases where the interval portions between housing holes adjacent to each other have a relatively-larger dimension. In the subsequent punching with the second housing-hole formation convex portions, since the first housing-hole formation convex portions fixedly hold the tape material, in a preferably-balanced manner, in the opposite sides beside the second housing-hole formation convex portions. This enables carrying forward the punching processing in a preferable state, with the second housing-hole formation convex portions.
(64) FIG. 13 is a side view illustrating, in an enlarging manner, an inter-concave-portion wall portion 57 formed between housing-hole formation concave portions 43 adjacent to each other, in a female die, illustrating an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 13 is a view corresponding to FIG. 21.
(65) In FIG. 13, there is illustrated a second member 58 which corresponds to the second member 10, in a female die having a three-split structure as illustrated in FIG. 16. This female die is constituted by a combination of a first member having a first side surface which provides a first wall surface defining the housing-hole formation concave portions 43, the second member 58 which provides the inter-concave-portion wall portions 57 positioned between the housing-hole formation concave portions 43 adjacent to each other, and a third member having a second side surface which provides a second wall surface opposed to the first wall surface which is provided by the first side surface and defines the housing-hole formation concave portions 43, similarly to the female die 6 illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16.
(66) The present embodiment is characterized in that the inter-concave-portion wall portions 57 are provided with a rib 59 for reinforcing them. In FIG. 13, a broken line 60 indicates the contour of the inter-concave-portion wall portion 57 in the case where it is not provided with the rib 59, in order to clearly illustrate the presence of the rib 59.
(67) As described above, by providing the rib 59, even when the inter-concave-portion wall portions 57 have a smaller thickness, due to reduction of the arrangement pitch of the plural housing holes 22, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of malfunctions such as fractures of the inter-concave-portion wall portions 57, due to stresses exerted thereon from the male die during punching.
(68) Further, although, in FIG. 13, the rib 59 is formed to have a cylindrical surface with a rounded inclined surface, it can also have a simple flat surface, instead of a cylindrical surface.
(69) Further, although the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 13 is based on the premise that the female die has a three-split structure, the carrier-tape fabrication die according to the present disclosure can also include a female die having an integrated structure.
(70) Further, the present disclosure can be also applied to fabrication of carrier tapes having other dimensional relationships, as well as fabrication of the carrier tape 21 illustrated in FIG. 18, as a matter of course.
