Patent Publication Number: US-7896200-B2

Title: Liquid substance supplying device

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to a liquid substance supplying device for reserving a liquid substance such as a resin adhesive in a container and supplying the substance from the container. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     In the field of electronic component mounting, resin adhesives are widely used for purposes such as securing an electronic component on a substrate. Liquid substances such as resin adhesives are treated by reserving them in containers such as syringes and cartridges. When those liquid substances are supplied to an application apparatus for applying them to a workpiece such as a substrate, the containers in which the liquid substances are reserved are mounted in container holders provided on a discharging apparatus, application apparatus or the like (see Patent Documents 1 and 2, for example). The liquid substances reserved in those containers are pneumatically discharged from the containers. When a liquid substance in a container is fully consumed, the used container is removed from the container holder to be replaced by a new container. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                   
               
             
            
               
                   
                 [Patent Document 1] 
                 JP-A-11-244758 
               
               
                   
                 [Patent Document 2] 
                 Japanese Utility Model 
               
               
                   
                   
                 Registration No. 2,591,744 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION 
     Recently, there is demand for the maximization of the availability factor of production facilities used in the field of electronic component mounting for the purpose of improving production efficiency. As a result, there is a tendency to use containers having larger capacities in apparatus in which liquid substances must be supplied for purposes such as the application of a resin adhesive, so that the frequency of container replacement as described above can be reduced. When such containers having large capacities are used, the increase in the size of containers necessitates a greater handling space for container replacing operations and the like in an apparatus when compared to the related art and also results in an increase in a pneumatic force required for discharging liquid substances. For this reason, it is desirable to pay more attention to sealing performance and operability of mounting and replacing operations than in apparatus according to the related art. 
     However, apparatus according to the related art including the examples in the above-cited Patent Documents have been configured on the assumption that conventional syringes or cartridges of standard sizes are primarily used. For this reason, those apparatus according to the related art do not have a structure suitable for the use of containers having large capacities which have recently come into use. Therefore, there have been demands for a liquid substance supplying device which accommodates containers having large capacities and which has high sealing performance and operability. 
     Under the circumstance, it is an object of the invention to provide a liquid substance supplying device which accommodates containers having large capacities and which has high sealing performance and operability. 
     A liquid substance supplying device according to the invention is a liquid substance supplying device for supplying a liquid substance reserved in a vertically elongated container, comprising a container holder for holding said container inserted through an insertion hole provided on a top side thereof a holder supporting mechanism for supporting said container holder in either upright attitude or tilted attitude, and a holder fixing mechanism for fixing the attitude of said container holder in the upright state thereof. 
     A liquid substance supplying device according to the invention is a liquid substance supplying device for supplying a liquid substance reserved in a substantially cylindrical container having an opening at a top end thereof, comprising a container holder for holding said container inserted from a top side thereof with a flange portion formed on said top end supported from underneath by a top surface of a holder main body, a holder supporting mechanism for supporting said container holder in either upright attitude or tilted attitude, a holder fixing mechanism for fixing the attitude of said container holder in the upright state, a lid having a first sealing portion which is inserted in the opening of said container held by said container holder to seal the interior of said container and a second sealing portion which abuts on a top surface of said flange portion supported from underneath by said holder main body and is urged by the surface to seal said opening, a lever which is pivoted by a first fulcrum secured to said container holder at a top end thereof to be rotatable in the vertical direction, and a link member which is pivoted by a second fulcrum provided in a position of said lever apart from said first fulcrum at one end thereof to be rotatable in the vertical direction and which has an engaging portion engaging a portion to be engaged provided on said lid at another end thereof. The device is configured such that said lever is rotated downward with said engaging portion engaged with said portion to be engaged to insert said first sealing portion into said opening and to urge said second sealing portion against the top surface of said flange portion. 
     According to the invention, a lid opening/closing mechanism is provided to elevate the link member having the engaging portion engaging the portion to be engaged provided on the lid for sealing a container by rotating the lever. Thus, a configuration is provided, in which the interior of the container is sealed by rotating the lever downward to pull down the engaged portion with the engaging portion and in which the lid is opened by rotating the lever upward to push the engaged portion upward with the engaging portion. Thus, a liquid substance supplying device can be provided, which accommodates containers having large capacities and which has high sealing performance and operability. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an application apparatus in an embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of a liquid substance application mechanism of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a front view of a tank head of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a side view of the tank head of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 5  is an illustration for explaining an operation of the tank head of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a partial sectional view of a container holder of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 7  is an illustration for explaining a structure of a lid locking mechanism of the container holder of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIGS. 8(   a ) and  8 ( b ) are illustration for explaining an operation of the lid locking mechanism of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 10  is an illustration for explaining a container replacing operation at the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 11  is an illustration for explaining a lid opening/closing operation at a container holder of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 12  is an illustration for explaining the lid opening/closing operation at the container holder of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 13  is an illustration for explaining the lid opening/closing operation at the container holder of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 14  is an illustration for explaining the lid opening/closing operation at the container holder of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 15  is an illustration for explaining the lid opening/closing operation at the container holder of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
         FIG. 16  is an illustration for explaining an operation of the lid locking mechanism of the container holder of the application apparatus in the embodiment of the invention. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 
     
         
         
           
               1 : application apparatus 
               5 : application mechanism 
               6 : application head moving mechanism 
               7 : tank head 
               9 : application head 
               11 : Y-axis table 
               12 : Y-direction moving member 
               15 : container holder 
               16 : holder main body 
               17 : lid opening/closing mechanism 
               18 : lid 
               19 : hinge portion 
               20 : holder fixing mechanism 
               25 : link rod 
               26 : portion to be engaged 
               27 : lever 
               30 : container 
               30   b : flange portion 
               31 : resin adhesive 
               48 : engaging hook 
           
         
       
    
     BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION 
     An embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to drawings. 
     First, a general structure of an application apparatus  1  will be described with reference to  FIG. 1 . Referring to  FIG. 1 , the application apparatus  1  has a configuration in which a substrate conveying mechanism  3  and a liquid substance application mechanism  5  are disposed on a base  2 . The substrate conveying mechanism  3  conveys and positions a substrate  4  to which a resin adhesive that is a liquid substance is to be applied. The application mechanism  5  has a configuration in which an application head  9  having an application nozzle  10  for ejecting the resin adhesive is moved by an application head moving mechanism  6 . 
     The application mechanism  5  is provided with a tank head  7  having a container  30  (see  FIGS. 3 and 6 ) for reserving the resin adhesive, and the resin adhesive is supplied from the tank head  7  to the application head  9  through a tube  8 . A cover opening  2   b  is provided on a front side of a cover frame  2   a  provided so as to surround the application mechanism  5 , and operations such as maintenance and checking of the application head  9  and replacement of a container can be conducted through the cover opening  2   b.    
     As shown in  FIG. 2 , the application head moving mechanism  6  is configured by mounting an X-axis table  13  and a base bracket  14  in the form of a vertical plate on a Y-axis moving member  12  attached to a bottom surface of a Y-axis table  11  and attaching an elevation table  21  to the X-axis table  13 . An ejection mechanism  22  forming a part of the application head  9  is attached to the elevation table  21 , and the ejection mechanism  22  is moved along with the application nozzle  10  in each of a direction, Y-direction, X-direction, and Z-direction by driving the Y-axis table  11 , X-axis table  13 , and the elevation table  21 . 
     The tank head is disposed on the base bracket  14 , and the tank head  7  is moved in the Y-direction by driving the Y-axis table  12  to move the Y-direction moving member  12 . The tank head  7  has a container holder  15 , and the container holder  15  is constituted by a holder main body  16 , a lid  18 , and a lid opening/closing mechanism  17 . 
     The container holder  15  is pivotally supported by a hinge portion  19  provided at a lower part of the base bracket  14 , and a holder fixing mechanism  20  for fixing the container holder  15  is provided at the base bracket  14  above the hinge portion  19 . The container holder  15  can be tilted from a vertical attitude about the hinge portion  19  serving as a fulcrum by removing the fixation of the container holder  15  with the holder fixing mechanism  20 . 
     A structure of the container holder  15  will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 3 and 4 . Referring to  FIGS. 3 and 4 , the container holder  15  holding a container  30  is attached to a front side (right side in  FIG. 4 ) of the base bracket  14  secured to the bottom surface of the Y-direction moving member  12 . The container  30  is a substantially cylindrical and vertically elongated syringe having an opening  30   a  on a top end thereof, and a liquid substance such as a resin adhesive is reserved in the same (see  FIG. 6  too). 
     The container holder  15  comprises a holder main body  16  which is primarily constituted by a vertical back plate  16   a  and a top part  16   a , a cylindrical part  16   c , and a bottom part  16   d  arranged in the vertical direction in connection with each other, a lid  18  which closes the holder main body  16  from above, and a lid opening/closing mechanism which opens and closes the lid  18 . An insertion hole is provided at the top part  16   b  to allow the container  30  to be inserted from the top side. The cylindrical part  16   c  and the bottom part  16   d  hold a middle part and a bottom part of the container  30  inserted, respectively. 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , the hinge portion  19  has a configuration in which a pivot plate  16   f  provided to protrude from a back side (left side in  FIG. 4 ) of a bottom end of the back plate  16   a  is pivoted by a pivot bracket  14   b  provided on a front side of a bottom end of the base bracket  14  through a pin  19   a . As shown in  FIG. 3 , a locking plate  16   e  having a pin hole provided thereon is provided on a back side of an upper part of the back plate  16   a  so as to extend to the left. 
     A locking bracket  14   a  for supporting a pin  20   a  such that the pin can slide in the horizontal direction is provided on a front side of an upper part of the base bracket  14  in association with the position of the locking plate  16   a . The pin  20   a  is coupled with a grip  20   b , and the pin  20   a  can be fitted and removed in and from the pin hole of the locking plate  16   e  by gripping and operating the grip  20   b . The locking bracket  14   a , the pin  20   a , and the grip  20   b  constitute the holder fixing mechanism  20 . 
     In a state in which the pin  20   a  is fitted in the pin hole of the locking plate  16   e  to lock the locking plate  16   e , the container holder  15  is supported by the hinge portion  19  and the holder fixing mechanism  20  at the upper and lower parts thereof and held by the base bracket  14  in a vertical attitude. The container holder  15  is rotated about the hinge portion  19  into a tilted attitude as shown in  FIG. 5  by pulling out the grip  20   b  to the right to remove the lock of the locking plate  16   e  with the pin  20   a.    
     Therefore, the hinge portion  19  coupled to the bottom part of the container holder  15  constitute a holder supporting mechanism for holding the container holder  15  in either vertical attitude or tilted attitude. The locking plate  16   e  provided on the back plate  16   a  of the holder main body  16  constitutes a locking portion which is provided at the top part of the container holder  15  and locked by the holder fixing mechanism  20 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 4 , a sensor  23  for detecting the back plate  16   a  is provided on a surface of the base bracket  14  on the right side thereof. A proximity sensor or the like for magnetically or optically detecting the presence of an object is used as the sensor  23 . It is detected that the container holder  15  is in a vertical attitude when the sensor  23  detects the back plate  16   a . When the container holder  15  is in a tilted attitude as shown in  FIG. 5 , the sensor  23  does not detect the back plate  16   a , and it is therefore detected that the container holder  15  is in a tilted attitude. 
     As shown in  FIG. 3 , the container  30  has a flange portion  30   b  extending outwardly from the periphery of the opening  30   a  at the top end thereof. To hold the container  30  with the holder main body  16 , the container  30  is inserted from the insertion hole on the top surface of the top part  16   b . Thus, the flange portion  30   b  abuts on the top surface of the top part  16  to be supported from underneath by the top part  16   b . That is, the container holder  15  holds the container  30  inserted from the top side thereof in the condition where the flange portion  30   b  formed on the top end of the container is supported from underneath by the top surface of the holder main body  16 . 
     In this condition, discharge hole  30   c  provided at the bottom end of the container  30  protrudes downward from a bottom surface of the bottom part  16   d . The tube  8  for supplying a resin adhesive to the application head  9  is connected to the discharge hole  30   c . A resin adhesive  31  reserved in the container  30  is discharged from the discharge hole  30   c  by a piston  32  that is pneumatically pushed down, and the adhesive is thus supplied to the application head  9  through the tube  8 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the lid  19  provided above the top part  16   a  is rotatably supported by a lid hinge portion  18   a . When the lid  18  is rotated clockwise, the lid  18  closes the opening  30   a  at the top end of the container  30  held by the holder main body  16 . A portion  26  for engagement is provided on the side of the lid  18  opposite to the lid hinge portion  18   a . A lid opening/closing mechanism  17  having a lever  27  for opening and closing the lid  18  through a link rod  25  is provided on a vertical plate  24  which is vertically secured on the top part  16   b . The lid opening/closing mechanism  17  constitutes a lid locking mechanism for locking the lid  18  to the holder main body  16  by causing an engaging portion provided on an end of the link rod  25  to engage the portion  26  for engagement. 
       FIG. 6  shows a closed state of the lid  18 . A mating convex portion  18   d  having a shape adapted to the opening  30   a  of the container  30  is provided to protrude from the bottom surface of the lid  18 , and a first O-ring  33  is attached to the periphery of the mating convex portion  18   d . A second O-ring  34  is attached to the bottom surface of the lid  18  on the peripheral side the mating convex portion  18   d  in association with the position of the flange portion  30   b  in the radial direction. 
     The portion  26  for engagement is pulled down in engagement with the link rod  25  to fit the mating convex portion  18   d  in the opening  30   a  of the container  30  along with the O-ring  33 , and the second O-ring  34  is thus put into abutment with the top surface of the flange portion  30   b  and urged against the same. As a result, the interior of the container  30  is sealed by the first O-ring  33 , and the container  30  is further sealed in a peripheral position thereof by the second O-ring  34 . The mating convex portion  18   d  and the first O-ring  33  constitute a first sealing portion for sealing the interior of the container  30  by being inserted into the opening  30   a  of the container  30  held by the container holder  15 . The second O-ring  34  constitutes a second sealing portion for sealing the opening  30   a  by being urged in abutment with the top surface of the flange portion  30   b  supported from underneath by the top part  16   b.    
     That is, the present embodiment has a configuration in which the first O-ring  33  for forming a seal by abutting on an inner circumferential surface of the opening  30   a  and the second O-ring  34  for forming a seal by abutting on the top surface of the flange portion  30   b  are provided as a sealing mechanism for sealing the container  30 . It is therefore possible to provide a double seal for the container  30  to improve sealing properties. As will be described later, the setting of the first O-ring  33  and the second O-ring  34  in the sealing positions and the removal of the seals can be carried out through a single action of operating the lever  27  of the lid opening/closing mechanism  17 . 
     A vent  18   c  for supplying a compressed gas to the interior of the container  30  thus sealed is provided on the lid  18  so as to penetrate the lid upward from a bottom surface of the mating convex portion  18   d . The vent  18   c  is connected to an air pipe  28  (see  FIG. 2 ) through a joint member  18   b . A compressed gas is supplied through the vent  18   c  to the interior of the container  30  by supplying an air pressure from an air pressure supply source through the air pipe  28 . As a result, the piston  32  which is mounted in the container  30  is pushed down to discharge the resin adhesive  31  reserved in the container  30  from the discharge hole  30   c.    
     Next, a specific structure of the lid opening/closing mechanism  17  will be described with reference to  FIG. 7 . Referring to  FIG. 7 , the lever  27  is an elongated member which is provided with a grip portion  27   a  at the bottom thereof to be gripped by an operator when operated. A lever middle portion  27   b  and a lever base portion  27   c  are provided above the grip portion  27   a . A cylinder bracket  24   a  is provided to protrude from a front surface of the vertical plate  24  secured to the top part  16   b , and a top end of the lever base portion  27   c  is pivoted at a first fulcrum  35  provided on the cylinder bracket  24   a  through a pin  35   a . That is, the lever  27  is pivoted at a top end thereof by the first fulcrum  35  which is secured to the container holder  15  and is thus rotatable in the vertical direction. 
     Cutouts  27   d  and  27   e  are formed in two locations, i.e., upper and lower locations on the lever middle portion  27   b , and a slide plate  8  is mounted to cover the cutouts  27   d  and  27   e . Slide pins  39  and  40  erected on the slide plate  38  are slidably mated with a slit  27   e  formed in the lever middle part  27   b  to extend in the vertical direction, which allows the slide plate  38  to slide in the vertical direction along the lever middle portion  27   b . The slide plate  38  is urged upward by a spring  41  coupled with the slide pin  40 , and a normal position of the plate is the position in which the slide pin  39  abuts on a top end of the slit  27   e.    
     A finger engaging portion  38   a  to be used for a push-down operation is provided on a bottom end of the slide plate  38 , and the slide plate  38  is slid downward against the urging force of the spring  41  by pushing the finger engaging portion  38   a  downward with a finger, and the side plate  38  is returned to the normal position by removing the downward push. An extension  38   c  is provided at the top of the slide plate  38  so as to extend upward through a rectangular cutout  38   b . As the slide plate  38  slides up and down, the extension  38   c , which is located above the cutout  27   d  in the normal position, also slides up and down. 
     A guide rail  42  is disposed on the vertical plate  24  in the vertical direction in a position associated with the cutout  27   d  of the lever  27 . A hook  37  is coupled with a slider  43  which is slidable mated with the guide rail  42 . An upwardly bent locking end portion  37   a  is provided on an end of the hook  37  so as to protrude from the cutout  27   d , and the locking end portion  37   a  is located in the cutout  38   b . The slider  43  is urged upward by a spring, and an upper extreme position of the slider  43  is regulated by a stopper  44 . 
     In a condition where the slider  43  abuts on the stopper  44  to be in the upper extreme position, the locking end portion  37   a  is located at the top end of the cutout  27   d  to lock the lever middle portion  27   b  in the horizontal direction, which prevents the lever  27  from rotating. The extension  38   c  is located above the locking end portion  37   a  protruding from the cutout  27   d  in its normal position, and the locking end portion  37   a  is pushed downward by the extension  38   c  when the slide plate  38  is slid downward. As a result, the lever middle portion  27   b  is released from the state of being locked by the locking end portion  37   a , and the lever  27  becomes rotatable. 
     A lever lock cylinder  36  is disposed on the vertical plate  24  through a cylinder bracket  24   b  in an attitude in which a rod  36   a  therein lies in the horizontally direction. The lever lock cylinder  36  is driven to protrude the rod  36   a  with the lever  27  in the vertical position, whereby the rod  36   a  is located in front of the lever middle portion  27   b  to prevent the lever  27  from rotating freely. The lock provided by the lever lock cylinder  36  is removed by retracting the rod  36   a.    
     As thus described, the lever  27  is reliably locked by automatic lock which can be removed only by driving the lever lock cylinder  36  in addition to the manual lock provided by the hook  37  which can be removed through a manual operation. Thus, the locked state of the lever  27  can be maintained even if the manual lock is removed by an erroneous operation at timing when the locked state of the lever  27  should not be cancelled. 
     A second fulcrum  46  is provided at the lever base portion  27   c  in a position which is spaced downwardly from the first fulcrum  35  by a predetermined distance D. The second fulcrum  46  has a structure in which a pivot block  46   b  coupled with a bottom end of the link rod  25  is pivoted at the lever base portion  27   c  with a pin  46   a . Thus, the link rod  25  is pivoted at one end thereof by the second fulcrum  46  to be rotatable in the vertical direction. A coupling block  47  is coupled to a top end of the link rod  25 , and a reverse L-shaped engaging hook  48  is provided on the top of the coupling block  47  so as to extend upward. 
     The portion  26  to be engaged provided to extend from the lid  18  in the horizontal direction has a structure in which top parts of two side plates  26   a  are connected by a cover portion  26   b  and in which a pin  26   c  to be engaged that is supported by the side plates  26   a  on both ends thereof is disposed under the cover portion  26   b . The engaging hook  48  engages the pin  26   c  to be engaged when the lever  27  and the link rod  25  are both in an upright state, whereby the lid  18  is locked to the holder main body  16  through the link rod  25  and the lever  27  to keep the opening  30   a  in the sealed condition. 
     Next, a description will be made with reference to  FIGS. 8(   a ) and  8 ( b ) on the function of the lid opening/closing mechanism  17  which opens and closes the lid  18  when operated with the lever  27 .  FIG. 8(   a ) shows the operation of closing the lid  18 . In this operation, the lever  27  is rotated downward (clockwise) about the first fulcrum  35  in a condition where a top surface of the pin  26   c  to be engaged is engaged with a bottom surface of the engaging hook  48 . Then, the link rod  25  is pushed downward through the second fulcrum  46 , and the engaged portion  26  is pulled down by the link rod  25 . As a result, the lid  18  is rotated about the lid hinge portion  18   a , and the mating convex portion  18   d  is inserted in the opening  30   a  along with the first O-ring  33 , whereby the interior of the container  30  is sealed. 
     When the lever  27  is rotated upward in this state, as shown in  FIG. 8(   b ), the link rod  25  coupled with the lever  27  is moved upward, and the engaging hook  48  leaves the top surface of the pin  26   c  to be engaged and abuts on the bottom surface of the cover portion  26   b  to push the portion  26   c  to be engaged upward. Thus, the lid  18  is rotated about the lid hinge portion  18   a  in the direction of opening the same, and the mating convex portion  18   d  inserted in the opening  30   a  of the container  30  is pulled out from the opening  30   a  along with the first O-ring  33 . 
     That is, in the above-described configuration, the lever  27  is pivoted by the first fulcrum  35  securely provided on the container holder  15  at the top end thereof and is therefore rotatable in the vertical direction. The link rod  25  is a link member which is pivoted at one end thereof by the second fulcrum  46  provided on the lever  27  in a position spaced downward from the first fulcrum  35  by the predetermined distance D to be rotatable in the vertical direction and which has the engaging hook  48  as an engaging portion engaging the portion  26  to be engaged provided on the lid  18  at another end thereof. The engaging hook  48  and the portion  26  to be engaged are configured such that they are engaged with each other in two directions, i.e., the direction in which the first O-ring  33  is inserted in the opening  30   a  and the direction in which the first O-ring  33  is pulled out from the opening  30   a.    
     The predetermined distance D is set based on the stroke over which the link rod  25  must be driven to enable the operations of opening and closing the lid  18 . The link rod  25  can be driven upward and downward with a greater force by setting the leverage of the predetermined distance D to the entire length of the lever  27  appropriately to increase the operating force exerted on the grip portion  27   a  in accordance with the leverage. 
     The use of such a configuration allows a container  30  to be sealed with the lid  18  and to be opened with high operability even when a large-sized container  30  is used. Specifically, the use of a large container necessitates an increase in the size of an O-ring for sealing, and a greater force is consequently required for fitting and removing the O-ring in and from the opening of the container. Even in such a case, the lid  18  can be easily opened and closed with a small force by employing the mechanism for driving the link rod  25  with the lever  27  as described in the present embodiment. 
     A configuration of a control system will now be described with reference to  FIG. 9 . Referring to  FIG. 9 , an operation/input unit  51  such as a keyboard or mouse is connected to a control unit  50 , and operations of the substrate conveying mechanism  3 , the application head moving mechanism  6 , and the application head  9  are controlled by operation commands and data inputs from the operation/input unit  51 . Based on a command from the control unit  50 , a notification unit  56  provides information on predetermined items such as the attitude and condition of the container holder  15  detected by the sensor  23  using a display monitor, indication lamps, and the like. An air pressure is supplied to the container  30  and the lever lock cylinder  36  through regulators  54  and  55 , respectively. A valve  53  is interposed in an air pressure supply path from a pressure source  52  to the regulators  54  and  55 , and the supply of an air pressure to the container  30  and the lever lock cylinder  36  is controlled through control over the valve  53  exercised by the control unit  50 . 
     A description will now be made with reference to  FIG. 10  on an operation of moving the container holder  15  to replace the container  30 . When the resin adhesive  31  in the container  30  is used up in the process of continuing the operation of discharging the resin adhesive  31  from the container  30  to supply it to the application head  9 , a container replacing operation is carried out. At the container replacing operation, as shown in  FIG. 10 , the Y-axis table  11  is first driven to move the Y-direction moving member  12  in the Y-direction. 
     Thus, the container holder  15  is moved, along with the holder fixing mechanism  20  and the Y-direction moving member  12  to which the hinge portion  19  is attached through the base bracket  14 , to a replacing position near the cover opening  3   b  where the apparatus can be worked on from the outside. Then, the holder fixing mechanism  20  is disengaged to allow the container holder  15  to rotate about the hinge portion  19 , and the container  15  is thereby put in a tilted attitude as shown in  FIG. 10 . Next, the lid opening/closing mechanism  17  is then disengaged to release the lid  18  from the holder main body  16 , and an operation of taking out the used container  30  from the holder main body  16  to replace it with a new container  30  is performed. 
     In the above-described configuration, the Y-direction moving member  12  is a horizontally moving member which is moved in the horizontal direction with the holder fixing mechanism  20  and the hinge portion  19  attached thereto. The Y-axis table  11  is horizontal moving means which moves the Y-direction moving member  12  in a predetermined work area when the liquid substance is to be supplied and which moves the Y-direction moving member to the predetermined replacing position when the container  30  is to be replaced. 
     The container  30  can be attached and removed to and from the container holder  15  with high operability by employing the configuration in which the container holder  15  is moved to a replacing position and tilted there as thus described. In addition, there is no need for reserving a space for attaching and removing the container  30  to and from the container holder  15  in the apparatus unlike apparatus according to the related art in which a container is attached and removed inside the apparatus. Therefore, there is an advantage in that the size of an apparatus is reduced even when the apparatus accommodates a large container having a great height dimension. 
     Details of an operation of opening the lid  18  during the above-described container replacing operation will now be described with reference to  FIGS. 11 to 15 .  FIG. 11  shows a state in which the container holder  15  is tilted by disengaging the holder fixing mechanism  20  after pulling out the tank head  7  to the replacing position. Specifically, in this state, the container  30  is supported from underneath by the top part  16   b  at the flange portion  30   b ; the mating convex portion  18   d  is inserted in the opening  30   a  of the container  30  along with the first O-ring  33 ; and the second O-ring  34  is urged against the flange portion  30   b . The lid  18  is locked by the lid opening/closing mechanism  17 . 
     To open the lid  18 , the operation/input unit  51  is first operated to remove the lever lock provided by the lever lock cylinder  36 . Specifically, the lever lock cylinder  36  is driven to retract the rod  36   a  toward the other side of the plane of the drawing. Next, the grip portion  27   a  of the lever  27  is gripped and pushed down with the finger engaging portion  38   a  engaged with a finger to perform an operation of sliding the slide plate  38  downward as shown in  FIG. 12 . Thus, the locking end portion  37   a  is pushed downward by the extension  38   c  to leave the position for locking the lever middle portion  27   b , whereby the lever  27  is released from the lock provided by the hook  37 . 
     Thereafter, the lid  18  is opened. Specifically, the grip portion  27   a  is gripped and pulled toward this side (to the right in the figure) to rotate the lever  27  upward. Thus, the lever  27  rotates about the first fulcrum  35 , and a movement of the second fulcrum  46  resulting from the rotation causes an upward movement of the link rod  25 . As a result of the upward movement of the link rod  25 , the engaging hook  48  abuts on the cover portion  26   b  to push it upward. Thus, the mating convex portion  28   d  is pulled out from the opening  30   a  of the container  30  along with the first O-ring  33 , and the second O-ring  34  is released from the urge against the flange portion  30   b.    
     When the lever  27  is further rotated upward thereafter, the lid  18  moves in the direction in which it is further spaced from the top part  16   b  as shown in  FIG. 14 . When the engaging hook  48  is elevated to a position where it can be released from the engagement with the engaged portion  26 , the link rod  25  is rotated about the second fulcrum  46  as shown in  FIG. 15  to remove the engagement between the engaging hook  48  and the engaged portion  26 . Thus, the lid  18  is put in a condition in which it can freely rotate about the lid hinge portion  18   a . Then, the lid  18  is rotated upward until the lid  18  is substantially at right angles to the top part  16   b , and the container  30  is attached or removed to or from the container  30  in this state. In the above-described embodiment, the portion to be engaged provided on the lid  18  is exemplified by the portion  26  to be engaged having a configuration including the cover portion  26   b  on which the engaging hook  48  provided on the link rod  25  abuts from underneath. A portion  126  to be engaged having a configuration as shown in  FIG. 16  may alternatively be used. In this example, a configuration is employed, in which a pin  126   c  to be engaged similar to the pin  26   c  to be engaged is provided on side plates  126   a  having a shape similar to that of the side plates  26   a.    
     When the portion  126  to be engaged is pushed upward by the link rod  25 , the top surface of the coupling block  47  abuts on a bottom surface of the pin  126   c  to be engaged, which allows the push-up operation to be performed in a way similar to that shown in  FIG. 8(   b ). That is, in this example, the coupling block  47  along with the engaging hook  48  serves as an engaging portion to engage the portion  126  to be engaged. 
     As described above, the liquid substance supplying device shown in the present embodiment has a configuration including a container holder supporting mechanism for holding a container inserted through an insertion hole provide on a top side in either upright attitude or tilted attitude and a container holder fixing mechanism for fixing the attitude of a container holder in the upright state, as a structure for holding a container holder at a tank head. Thus, a container can be easily mounted and removed to and from a container holder to improve operability even when a large-capacity container having a great height dimension is accommodated. 
     As the mechanism for opening and closing the lid to seal a container, a configuration is employed, in which a lever is rotated downward to seal the interior of the container in a condition where an engaging portion provided on a lever for opening and closing the lid is engaged with a portion to be engaged provided on the lid for sealing the container and in which the lid is opened by rotating the lever upward to push the engaged portion upward with the engaging portion. As a result, it is possible to provide a liquid substance supplying device which exhibits high sealing performance and high operability in lid opening and closing operations when it accommodates a large-capacity container necessitating a greater force than in the related art at the time of lid opening and closing operations. 
     This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priorities of Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2005-170649 and 2005-170650 both filed on Jun. 10, 2005, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. 
     INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY 
     The liquid substance supplying device according to the invention is characterized in that it exhibits high sealing performance and operability when it accommodates a container having a large capacity, and is advantageous for applications in which a liquid substance such as a resin adhesive is supplied by discharging it from a container.