TAPE SPLICING APPARATUS AND ATTACHING APPARATUS

• US 20090288777A1
• Filed: 11/15/2006
• Published: 11/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Katano, Ryouichirou, Ida, Masayuki, Takakura, Yuichi, Tsuji, Shinjiro, Odawara, Kozo
• Granted Patent: US 8,062,450 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 156/538
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 19/1852 taking place at a distance from the replacement roll
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4623 Spaced article or web portions, i.e. gap between edges
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/4631 Adhesive tape
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/37 Tapes
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2801/61 Display device manufacture, e.g. liquid crystal displays
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/323 by applying an anisotropic conductive adhesive layer over an array of pads
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/17 Surface bonding means and/or assemblymeans with work feeding or handling means

Abstract

Provided is an apparatus capable of easily splicing ACF tapes that are thin and are hard to handle. The tape splicing apparatus splices two ACF tapes (210) each having an ACF (212), and includes: a first holding unit that holds one of the ACF tapes (210); a second holding unit that holds the other one of the ACF tapes (210); a positioning unit (115) that positions the ACF tapes (210) to be overlapped in a thickness direction; and a pressing unit (116) that presses the overlapped ACF tapes (210) in the thickness direction.

Claims

1-16. -16. (canceled)

17. An Anisotropic Conductive Film (ACF) attaching apparatus that attaches an ACF on a board by supplying, above the board, an ACF tape having the ACF on one side, cutting the ACF to a predetermined length, and pressing the ACF tape to the board, the one side of the ACF tape excluding both ends of a base tape of the ACF tape, the both ends including a terminal end and a beginning end, said attaching apparatus comprising:

a first holding unit operable to hold the terminal end of the base tape included in the ACF tape that is being used;

a second holding unit operable to hold a beginning end of a base tape included in an additional ACF tape;

a positioning unit operable to position the terminal end of the base tape that is being used and the beginning end of the additional base tape to be overlapped in a thickness direction; and

a pressing unit operable to press the overlapped ends of the ACF tapes in the thickness direction.

18. The attaching apparatus according to claim 17,

wherein the supplied ACF tape is being wound onto a reel,

said attaching apparatus further comprises

a supporting unit operable to support bases each including:

said second holding unit;

a reel holding unit operable to hold the reel to be rotatable; and

a locking unit operable to lock the reel against rotation or unlock the reel to be rotatable, and

said positioning unit is operable to position the ACF tapes to be overlapped by shifting the bases supported by said supporting unit.

19. The attaching apparatus according to claim 18,

wherein said supporting unit is a magazine that supports the bases in a detachable manner.

20. An Anisotropic Conductive Film (ACF) attaching method that attaches an ACF on a board by supplying, above the board, an ACF tape having the ACF on one side, cutting the ACF to a predetermined length, and pressing the ACF tape to the board, the one side of the ACF tape excluding both ends of a base tape of the ACF tape, the both ends including a terminal end and a beginning end, said attaching method in the case where one of the ends of the ACF tape that is being used is detected, said attaching method comprising:

holding the terminal end of the base tape included in the ACF tape that is being used;

holding a beginning end of a base tape included in an additional ACF tape;

positioning the terminal end of the base tape that is being used and the beginning end of the additional base tape to be overlapped in a thickness direction; and

pressing the overlapped ends of the ACF tapes in the thickness direction for splicing the ACF tapes,

wherein said attaching method is repeated using additional ACF tapes.

21. The attaching method according to claim 20, further comprising:

forwarding a predetermined length of the additional ACF tape, according to the spliced ACF tape that is being used; and

attaching the ACF on a temporary component different from the board.