JP2001250227A - Magnetic transfer method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out work efficiently with a simple and inexpensive tool. SOLUTION: A slave 2 is operated by a handler 4 which had a several or more holding tool 3 corresponding to the number of each process of a magnetic transfer process, one or more auxiliary processes, and a feed and takeout processes of the slave 2 in the regular intervals indexing position of the circumference of the center of the rotation O. Each time which each holding tool 3 stops sequentially by intermittent revolution of the handier 4 at each process positions 11-14 corresponding to each indexing position, introduction of the supplied slave 2, one or more auxiliary work to the slave 2, the magnetic transfer from the master 1 to the slave 2 and takeout of the slave 2 behind the magnetic transfer are performed successively. So that, the purpose is attained by carrying out the magnetic transfer to a plurality of slaves 2 with auxiliary work.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a magnetic transfer method and apparatus for performing magnetic transfer from a master to a slave, and is used, for example, for manufacturing a magnetic disk.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to manufacture a magnetic disk by magnetically transferring a disk as a slave from a master, it is standard operation to assist position detection and initialization of the disk before magnetic transfer. The discs are sequentially transferred to the computer to perform each operation. Conventionally, discs are handled by one handler and sequentially transferred to each work station, and then repeated to return to the original state when finished, or a dedicated transfer between work stations A disk handler to transport the disk.

[0003]

However, if the disk is
In the case of handling with one handler, each work station can work only when facing one handler, so that the idle time increases and the work efficiency decreases. Also, if a dedicated handler is used between each work station, the apparatus and its control, including a mechanism for supplying a new disk and a mechanism for taking out the disk after magnetic transfer, become complicated and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a magnetic transfer method and apparatus capable of performing operations efficiently with a simple and inexpensive method.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a magnetic transfer method according to the present invention comprises a magnetic transfer step of performing magnetic transfer from a master to a slave, and a magnetic transfer step before or after the magnetic transfer step. And one or more auxiliary work steps to be performed by the operator, and to supply the slaves for use in these steps and to remove the slaves after magnetic transfer.
With the removal process, the slaves are handled by a handler with more than the number of holding tools corresponding to the number of processes at indexing positions at equal intervals around the rotation center, and each holding tool is moved to each indexing position by intermittent rotation of the handler. Each time the corresponding process position is sequentially stopped, the supplied slave is taken in, one or more auxiliary operations to the slave, magnetic transfer to the slave, and removal of the slave after the magnetic transfer are sequentially performed. The magnetic transfer to the slave is performed with an auxiliary operation.

[0006] In such a configuration, each of the holding tools, which are held at equally spaced index positions around the rotation center of the handler, performs a magnetic transfer step, one or more auxiliary work steps, and a supply / removal step. Using the relationship corresponding to each process position, each holding tool is sequentially stopped at each process position corresponding to each indexing position by intermittent rotation of the handler, and each time one holding tool stops at each process position,
Holding of the supplied slave, one or more auxiliary operations to the slave, magnetic transfer to the slave, and removal of the slave after the magnetic transfer are sequentially performed by the holding tool for several minutes or more by the holding tool. Work can be performed simultaneously with phases corresponding to the number of indexed tools, and work efficiency is improved. In addition, with a simple device and control that only drives one handler intermittently, the slave can be handled without confusion and work can be stably achieved.
It is realized at low cost. If there is an empty holding tool, it is suitable for a case where an auxiliary operation is added.

[0007] The auxiliary work is usually the position detection and initialization of the slave performed before the magnetic transfer step, but may include an inspection performed before the magnetic transfer to detect a convex defect on the transfer surface of the slave. . However, the type and number of these auxiliary operations are not limited, and may be auxiliary operations performed after magnetic transfer in some cases.

If the supply step and the removal step of the slave are performed at the same indexing position, the number of working stages is reduced by one, so that the apparatus is simplified and downsized. Is particularly effective without any time loss when there is a working relationship in which no waiting time occurs in other steps.

The magnetic transfer apparatus for achieving the above-described method includes a magnetic transfer stage for performing magnetic transfer from a master to a slave, and one or more auxiliary work for performing one or more auxiliary operations on a slave before or after magnetic transfer. Multiple auxiliary work stages, individual or common stages for feeding and unloading slaves, and handlers with more than one holding tool corresponding to these stages at equally spaced index positions around the center of rotation. Driving means for intermittently driving the handler so that each holding tool of the handler sequentially stops at each indexing position, wherein each holding tool stops in the rotation direction of the handler according to the work order of the stages. Arrange to correspond to each stop position, and when each holding tool stops at each index position, It is sufficient to provide a control means for performing a predetermined operation between each stage facing and the holding tool or a slave held by the holding tool, and the above method can be achieved automatically and reliably. .

[0010]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a magnetic transfer method and apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

The magnetic transfer method and apparatus according to the present embodiment is an example in which a slave, which is a magnetic transfer target from a master, is a disk as a magnetic disk master. However, the magnetic transfer method and apparatus of the present invention are not limited to this, and are effective when applied to disks for various uses and those other than disks, and fall within the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 shows a magnetic transfer method according to this embodiment.
Referring to the magnetic transfer apparatus shown in FIG. 3, a magnetic transfer step for performing magnetic transfer from the master 1 to the disk 2, which is an example of a slave, as shown in FIG. And a supply / removal step of supplying the disk 2 for use in these steps and removing the disk 2 after the magnetic transfer. 1 and 2 are handled by the handler 4 having indexing positions at equal intervals around the rotation center O shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and each holding tool 3 is positioned at each indexing position by intermittent rotation of the handler 4. The supply / removal process position 11, the position detection process position 12, the initialization process position 13, and the magnetic transfer process position 14 shown in FIG. One or more auxiliary operations such as taking in the supplied disk 2, detecting the position of the disk 2, initializing, etc., magnetic transfer to the disk 2, and the disk after the magnetic transfer at each stop at each process position 2 are sequentially taken out, and magnetic transfer to the plurality of disks 2 is performed with auxiliary work.

As described above, each of the holding tools 3 held at equally spaced index positions around the rotation center O of the handler 4 includes a magnetic transfer step, one or more auxiliary work steps, and a supply / removal step. The holding tool 3 is sequentially stopped at each of the process positions 11 to 14 corresponding to each indexing position by the intermittent rotation of the handler 4 by utilizing the relationship corresponding to each of the process positions 11 to 14. Each time is stopped at each of the process positions 11 to 14, one or more auxiliary operations such as taking in the supplied disk 2, detecting the position of the disk 2, initializing the disk 2, magnetic transfer to the disk 2,
In addition, the steps of taking out the disk after the magnetic transfer can be sequentially performed with the number of holding tools 3 corresponding to the number of processes, with a phase corresponding to the number of indexed arrangements of the holding tools 3, thereby improving work efficiency. Further, the disk 2 can be handled stably without any confusion by a simple device and control that only drives one handler 4 intermittently, and the operation can be achieved at low cost. In the present embodiment, the number of steps and the number of holding tools 3 are the same, but the number of holding tools 3
This is convenient in the case where there is more space than the number of processes and there is an additional work.

In addition to the above, a detection step of detecting any convexities on the transfer surface of the disk 2 as convex defects can be provided as an auxiliary work step. As a result, if only the disk 2 having no convex defect is used for the transfer, the disk 2 having the convex defect is used for the transfer, thereby damaging the transfer surface of the expensive master 1 or causing a magnetic transfer failure. It is possible to prevent the yield of the disk 2 from being reduced.

As a magnetic transfer apparatus for achieving the above-described magnetic transfer method, as shown in FIGS.
Transfer stage 21 for performing magnetic transfer from the disk 2 to the disk 2, and before or after the magnetic transfer
One or a plurality of auxiliary work stages such as a position detection stage 22 and an initialization stage 23 for performing one or a plurality of auxiliary works such as position detection and initialization of the disk 2 and a common supply and supply for supplying and taking out the disk 2. In addition to the take-out stage 24, the handler 4 having a plurality of holding tools 3 corresponding to the respective stages 21 to 24,... At equal index positions around the rotation center O,
Driving means 5 for intermittently driving the handler 4 is provided so that each holding tool 3 of the handler 4 sequentially stops at each indexing position.

The respective stages such as the magnetic transfer stage 21, the position detection stage 22, the initialization stage 23, and the supply / removal stage 24 are arranged in the direction of rotation of the handler 4 indicated by an arrow in FIG. It is arranged so as to correspond to each stop position where each holding tool 3 stops. In other words, the stages such as the magnetic transfer stage 21, the position detection stage 22, the initialization stage 23, and the supply / removal stage 24 are connected to the supply / removal process position 11, It is arranged corresponding to the position detection process position 12, the initialization process position 13, and the magnetic transfer process position 14.

In such relational positions, when each holding tool 3 stops at each indexing position, the magnetic transfer stage 21, the position detection stage 22, the initialization stage 23, and the supply / removal stage 24 facing each other. Control means 6 for performing a predetermined operation between each stage such as the holding tool 3 and the disk 2 held by the holding tool 3 is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, each of the holding tools 3 of the handler 4 is a nozzle having a suction port opened sideways, and has a suction hole 31 for sucking and holding the disk 2, and a disk 2 in the center. The suction tool 32 has a suction hole 32 for sucking the master 1 for magnetic transfer through the opening 2a and bringing the master 1 into close contact with the disk 2 held by the holding tool 3 by suction.

The magnetic transfer stage 21 has a separation / contact mechanism 34 shown in FIG. 3 for attracting and holding the master 1 by the nozzle 33 and pressing the master 1 against the opposing disk 2 via a spring force (not shown). If there is a gap between the two disks 2, a transfer failure may be caused. Therefore, the suction from the holding tool 3 through the suction hole 32 increases the degree of close contact between them, thereby increasing the efficiency of magnetic transfer. A groove is provided on the transfer surface of the master 1 for this suction.

The type of the holding tool 3 that holds the slave can be selected variously depending on the form and handling of the slave. Other types include chuck types. The separation / contact mechanism 34 further includes a magnet 30 for magnetic transfer.
The magnet 1 scans the entire circumference of the master 1 and the disk 2 by rotating the master 1 in close contact with the disk 2 and rotating the magnet 1 from one or both sides of the master 1 so that the master 1 has The transferred magnetic pattern is transferred to the disk 2 side.

The master 1 reaches the end of its life when it is magnetically transferred to a certain amount of the disk 2 or is damaged by a convex defect on the disk 2 side. Therefore, each time the master 1 reaches the end of its life, it is replaced. For this exchange, the magnetic transfer stage 21 is, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a stack section 35 for stacking the master 1 beside the separation / contact mechanism 34.
The master 1 has reached the end of its life and is held by the nozzle 33 by the master handler 40 provided between the separation / contact mechanism 34 and the stack 35, and the next master 1 stacked on the stack 35. Is replaced, and the master 1 whose life has been returned to the stack unit 35 has been replaced with a new master 1 at an appropriate time. In the case of the separating mechanism 34, it is possible to select various tools for holding the master 1 in various ways.

The position detecting stage 22 detects the position of the disk 2 held by the holding tool 3 by a plurality of photosensors 36, and performs mask transfer during magnetic transfer.
Is used for magnetic transfer such as alignment with the disk 2.

The initialization stage 23 scans the entire circumference of the disk 2 by rotating the magnet 37 by the motor 38, removes the magnetism remaining on the disk 2, and initializes for the next magnetic transfer.

The supply / removal stage 24 accommodates and handles a large number of disks 2 in a cassette 41, supplies the disks 2 to the cassette 41 for magnetic transfer, and discharges the disks 2 after the magnetic transfer together with the cassette 41. Before or after magnetic transfer between the conveyor 42, the loading / unloading handler 43 for loading and unloading the discs 2 supplied together with the cassette 41 one by one, and between the loading / unloading handler 43 and the holding tool 3 stopped at the supply / removal process position 11 And a mediation handler 44 that mediates so as to transfer the disk 2.

The disk supply / discharge conveyor 42 conveys a cassette 41 for accommodating the disk 2 in a vertical manner from above and removes the disk 2 and sends the cassette 2 to a reciprocating conveyor 42-2 via a turn conveyor 42-1.
And a discharge conveyor 42-4 for discharging the cassette 41 sent from the reciprocating conveyor 42-2 via the turn conveyor 42-1. However, it is not limited to this.

The loading / unloading handler 43 moves between a loading / unloading position for loading / unloading the disk 2 with respect to the cassette 41 on the reciprocating conveyor 42-2 and a transferring / receiving position for transferring the disk 2 to / from the intermediary handler 44. 4
6 and a pair of holding tools 47 for holding the disk 2 supported by the moving mechanism 46, taking the disk 2 into and out of the cassette 41, and transferring the disk 2 to and from the intermediary handler 44. I have. The holding tool 47 is provided so that the disk 2 can be easily taken in and out of the cassette 41.
The disk 2 is of a type that grips the outer periphery, and the disk 2 is turned up and down and rotated around a rotation axis to perform the upside down operation of the disk 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

The intermediary handler 44 is a moving mechanism 48 that moves between a transfer position at which the disk 2 is transferred to and from the transfer handler 43 and a transfer position at which the disk 2 is transferred to and from the holding tool 3 of the handler 4. And a pair of holding tools 49 that are supported by the moving mechanism 48 to hold the disk 2 and transfer the disk 2 to and from the loading / unloading handler 43. The transfer of the disc 2 between the handler 43 and the holding tool 3 is reversed. The holding tool 49 is a suction nozzle that opens horizontally. However, it is not limited to these.

A series of operations will be described. Each of the above-mentioned mechanisms is appropriately operated by the operation control by the control means 6. Cassette 4 containing many disks 2 before magnetic transfer
1 is a turn conveyor 4 by a carry-in conveyor 42-3.
It is carried into the reciprocating conveyor 42-2 via 2-1. The reciprocating conveyor 42-2 supplies the loaded cassette 41 to take out and store the disk 2 at a predetermined position.

Next, after the loading / unloading handler 43 takes out one disk 2 from the cassette 41, the disk 2 moves forward to the mediation handler 44 and is carried to the mediation handler 44. The intermediary handler 44 carries the received disk 2 forward to the handler 4 side, and transfers it to the one stopped at the supply / removal process position 11 of the holding tool 3 held by the handler 4. After stopping the loading / unloading handler 43 for the maximum time necessary in each process, the loading / unloading handler 43 intermittently rotates by the indexing angle having the holding tool 3 and moves the holding tool 3 which has received the disk 2 to the next position detection process position 12. Move to

Before the handler 4 performs the next intermittent rotation, the position of the disk 2 held by the holding tool 3 is detected by the position detection stage 22 facing the disk 2. At the same time, at the supply / removal process position 11, after the intermediary handler 44 and the in / out handler 43 have returned, the next disc 2 is taken out by cooperating by performing the above-mentioned forward movement, and the next holding tool 3 Pass to.

Next, when the handler 4 rotates intermittently,
The holding tool 3 holding the disk 2 after the position detection is moved to the next initialization process position 13, and the next holding tool 3
Is moved to the position detection process position 12, and the next holding tool 3 is further moved to the supply / removal process position 11.

Until the handler 4 performs the next intermittent rotation, the disk 2 after the position detection, which is held by the previous holding tool 3, is initialized by the initialization stage 23 facing the disk 2. At the same time, the position of the disk 2 held by the next holding tool 3 is detected by the position detection stage 22, and at the supply / removal process position 11, the intermediary handler 44 and the loading / unloading handler 43 return. By performing the above-mentioned forward movement and cooperating, the further next disk 2 is taken out and transferred to the further next holding tool 3.

Next, when the handler 4 rotates intermittently,
The holding tool 3 that holds the initialized disk 2
Is moved to the magnetic transfer process position 14, the next holding tool 3 holding the disk 2 after the position detection is moved to the next initialization process position 13, and the next holding tool 3 is moved to the position detection process position 12. After being moved, the final holding tool 3 is moved to the supply / removal process position 11.

Until the handler 4 performs the next intermittent rotation, the magnetic transfer stage 21 performs the magnetic transfer of the initialized disk 2 held by the previous holding tool 3 at the same time. The disk 2 after the position detection held by the holding tool 3 is initialized by the initialization stage 23 facing the disk 2, and the position detection stage for the disk 2 held by the next holding tool 3 is further performed. The position is detected at 22, and at the supply / removal process position 11, after the intermediary handler 44 and the loading / unloading handler 43 have returned, the next disk 2 is further removed by performing the above-mentioned forward movement and cooperating. Hand over to the final holding tool 3.

Further, as the handler 4 rotates intermittently, the holding tool 3 holding the magnetically transferred disk 2 is moved to the supply / removal process position 11 and holds the initialized disk 2. The next holding tool 3 is moved to the magnetic transfer process position 14, the next holding tool 3 holding the disk 2 after the position detection is moved to the next initialization process position 13, and the final holding tool 3 is moved to the next initialization process position 13. The position is moved to the position detection process position 12.

Until the handler 4 performs the next intermittent rotation, the magnetically transferred disk 2 held by the holding tool 3 is transferred to the intermediary handler 44 and moved in and out of the intermediary handler 44 by the return handler 43. , And passed to the in / out handler 43. The loading / unloading handler 43 carries the received magnetic-transferred disk 2 to the cassette 41 side, returns the disk 2 to its original position, and stores the disk 2. Then, the loading / unloading handler 43 and the intermediary handler 44 move forward and cooperate, so that the next The disk is taken out of the cassette 41 and transferred to the preceding holding tool 3 located at the supply / removing step position 11, and the initialized disk 2 held by the next holding tool 3 is transferred to the magnetic transfer stage 21. Magnetic transfer is performed, and the disk 2 after the position detection held by the next holding tool 3 is detected.
Then, the initialization is performed in the initialization stage 23 opposed thereto, and the position of the disk 2 held by the final holding tool 3 is detected by the position detection stage 22.

Thereafter, the above operation is repeated, and a number of disks 2 are sequentially taken out of the cassette 41 and
While magnetic transfer is performed with one or a plurality of auxiliary operations, the disk 2 after the magnetic transfer can be automatically and continuously and efficiently and reliably stored in the original cassette 41.

When the magnetic transfer and storage of the disk 2 for one cassette 41 are completed, the cassette 41 is sent out by a reciprocating conveyor 42-2 to a discharge conveyor 42-4 via a turn conveyor 42-1 and discharged.
Along with this discharge, the next cassette 41 is moved into the carry-in conveyor 42.
-3 is carried into the reciprocating conveyor 42-2 via the turn conveyor 42-1 and is subjected to magnetic transfer of the disk 2 stored in the next cassette 41 and re-storage after the magnetic transfer. Thereby, a large number of cassettes 41
The magnetic transfer and storage of a large number of disks 2 utilizing the above can be performed continuously and automatically as necessary and efficiently and reliably.

If the disk 2 to be subjected to magnetic transfer is to be inspected in advance from the master 1 for a convex defect or the like on the surface to be transferred, as shown in FIGS. Inspecting device 5
1 can be installed. If this inspection is close to or takes longer than other steps, it can be arranged and performed as an independent step. The detector 51 is the disk 2
In order to detect the convex defect, a reflection type is used, and the rear scattered light from the convex defect may be detected as the defect. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In some cases, an image may be captured by a recognition camera and a defect may be detected by image recognition. Further, the supply and removal of the disk 2 may be performed at another process position.

Each of the above-mentioned facilities is, as shown in FIG.
When placed in a clean box 53 provided on the base 52 to execute each process in a clean environment, foreign matters floating around adhere to the disk 2 or the master 1 and the master 1 It is easy to prevent the magnetic transfer from being damaged or causing a magnetic transfer failure.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, each holding tool is sequentially stopped at each process position corresponding to each indexing position by intermittent rotation of the handler, and one holding tool is Each time the machine is stopped at the process position, taking in the supplied slave, performing one or more auxiliary operations to the slave, magnetic transfer to the slave, and taking out the slave after the magnetic transfer are sequentially performed for several steps. With the above-described holding tool, the work can be simultaneously advanced with a phase corresponding to the number of indexed arrangements of the holding tool, so that work efficiency is improved. In addition, with a simple device and control that only drives one handler intermittently, the slave can be handled stably without confusion and the operation can be stably achieved, and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an overall configuration of a magnetic transfer apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a detailed plan view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a transfer mechanism unit on a transfer stage of the apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 master 2 disk 3 holding tool 4 handler 5 driving means 11 supply / removal process position 12 position detection process position 13 initialization process position 14 magnetic transfer process position 21 magnetic transfer stage 22 position detection stage 23 initialization stage 24 supply / removal stage

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A magnetic transfer step for performing magnetic transfer from a master to a slave, and one or more auxiliary work steps performed on the slave before or after the magnetic transfer step.
A supply / removal step for supplying the slaves for use in these processes and for taking out the slaves after magnetic transfer is provided. The number of holding tools corresponding to the number of the processes is determined at equal intervals around the rotation center. Each time the holding tool stops at each process position corresponding to each indexing position due to intermittent rotation of the handler, handling the supplied slave, taking in the supplied slave, and performing one or more auxiliary work for the slave A magnetic transfer method to a plurality of slaves with an auxiliary operation by sequentially performing magnetic transfer to a slave and taking out the slave after the magnetic transfer. 2. The magnetic transfer method according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary operations are slave position detection and initialization performed before the magnetic transfer step. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary operation is an inspection performed before the magnetic transfer to detect a convex defect on the transfer surface of the slave.
3. The magnetic transfer method according to any one of 2. 4. The magnetic transfer method according to claim 1, wherein the supply / removal step is performed at the same indexing position. 5. A magnetic transfer stage for performing magnetic transfer from a master to a slave, one or more auxiliary work stages for performing one or more auxiliary work on a slave before or after magnetic transfer, and supply / removal of a slave. And handlers with more than one holding tool corresponding to these stages at equally spaced indexing positions around the center of rotation, and each holding tool of this handler is assigned to each indexing position Driving means for intermittently driving the handler so as to sequentially stop them, and arranges the stages so as to correspond to the respective stop positions at which the respective holding tools stop in the direction of rotation of the handler in accordance with the work order of each other. When each holding tool stops at each indexing position, each stage and holding tool A magnetic transfer apparatus provided with control means for performing a predetermined operation with a slave held by the holding tool.