Patent ID: 7875138

Claim:
An adhesive tape applying apparatus comprising: a tape feeding unit for feeding a tape member from a reel, the tape member having adhesive tape applied on one side of a release tape, the reel being replaceably provided in the tape feeding unit and having the tape member wound thereon; a pressure bonding device for pressing the tape member fed from the tape feeding unit to a substrate so that the adhesive tape separated from the release tape is applied onto the substrate; and a tape splicer for splicing together a terminal end portion of an in-use first tape member and a leading end portion of a second tape member rolled out from an added reel, wherein the tape splicer comprises: a stage on which the terminal end portion of the first tape member and the leading end portion of the second tape member are placed so as to be superimposed on each other; an ultrasonic tool having a contact surface to be put into contact with the leading . end portion or terminal end portion of the superposed tape members; an ultrasonic vibration generator for applying ultrasonic vibrations in a tape's thicknesswise direction to the ultrasonic tool; a pressing device for pressing the ultrasonic tool toward the stage: a first holding part for holding the terminal end portion of the first tape member; a second holding part for holding the leading end portion of the second tape member; and a control unit for executing: an ultrasonic fusion-bonding process in which. in a state that the terminal end portion of the first tape member held by the first holding part and the leading end portion of the second tape member held by the second holding part are placed so as to be superposed on the stave, the pressing device is controlled so as to make the contact surface of the ultrasonic tool pressed aeainst the superposed tape members, while the ultrasonic vibration generator is controlled so as to apply ultrasonic vibrations in a tape's thicknesswise direction to the ultrasonic tool so that the terminal end portion of the first tape member and the leading end portion of the second tape member are spliced together by ultrasonic fuision bonding; and an end edge fusion-bonding process in which, after execution of the ultrasonic fusion-bonding process, the holding of the terminal end portion of the first tape member by the first holding part is released and the tape member is moved so that at least the terminal end portion of the first tape member is positioned between the ultrasonic tool and the stage, and in which once again the pressing device is controlled so as to make the contact surface of the ultrasonic tool press against the end edge portion of the terminal end portion of the first tape member while the ultrasonic vibration generator is controlled so as to apply ultrasonic vibrations in the tape's thicknesswise direction to the ultrasonic tool so that the terminal end portion of the first tape member is spliced with the leading end portion of the second tape member by ultrasonic fusion bonding.