JP2003230976A - Device for positioning and holding object to be processed and beam processing apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for positioning and holding an object to be processed in which the object can be smoothly moved, positioned and held, and to provide a beam processing apparatus having the same. <P>SOLUTION: The device for positioning and holding the object to be processed comprises a processing table 20 for placing a work W as the object to be processed, fixing guides 61, 62 fixed to the table 20, and movable guides 63, 64 for positioning and holding the work W on the table 20 together with the fixing guides. The device further comprises cam followers 65 to 72 as rolling contact members brought into rolling contact with the work W and provided at the fixing guides 61, 62 and the movable guides 63, 64. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workpiece positioning and holding device and a beam processing device equipped with the device.
More specifically, a processing table on which a processing object is placed, a fixed guide fixed to the processing table, a movable back and forth on the processing table, and the processing target together with the fixed guide are positioned and held on the processing table. The present invention relates to a workpiece positioning and holding device including a movable guide and a beam processing device including the device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a beam processing apparatus for irradiating an object to be processed (hereinafter referred to as "workpiece") such as an electronic circuit board or a metal plate with an energy beam to perform processing by thermal melting. In this beam processing apparatus, there is known a method of positioning and holding a work on an XY table and moving the work within an XY plane with respect to an energy beam irradiated at a predetermined position to perform processing.

An example of a conventional work positioning and holding device for an XY table will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 8 (a) and 8 (b), a processing table 20 is fixedly mounted on an XY table body 41,
A pair of fixed guides 21 and 22 and a pair of movable guides 23 and 24 are arranged on the processing table 20. The pair of fixed guides 21 and 22 are fixed to the processing table 20 with screws. On the other hand, the pair of movable guides 23 and 24 are fixed to the L fittings 25 and 26, respectively. Here, since the pair of movable guides 23 and 24 have the same support structure, the support structure of the movable guide 23 arranged on the left side in FIG. 8A will be described. As shown in FIG. 8B, the L fitting 25 is supported by the linear guide 27 and the air cylinder 28. The air cylinder 28 is, for example, about 1 in the axial direction of the rod by compressed air from a solenoid valve not shown.
It is controlled so that it can move back and forth by 0 mm, and the L metal fitting 25 and the movable guide 23 are integrated to form about 10 mm in the axial direction of the rod.
It is designed to move forward and backward. The linear guide 27
This is to prevent the L metal fitting 25 from rotating around the axis of the rod and to smoothly move it in parallel. The linear guide 27 and the air cylinder 28 are supported by a holding plate 29 fixed to the end surface of the processing table 20.

The operation of the work positioning and holding device constructed as described above will be described below.

First, a work W such as an electronic circuit board is used to move a work W, such as an electronic circuit board, by a pair of movable guides 23, 24 and a pair of fixed guides 21, which are not shown in the figure.
Insert between 22 and. Then, the lower surface of the work W is supported by the substrate support member 60. Then, a sensor (not shown) detects whether or not the work W is inserted, and if the insertion is confirmed, the pair of movable guides 23 and 24 are indicated by an arrow g.
And a pair of fixed guides 21 and 2 that move in the directions indicated by h.
The end surface of the work W in four directions is sandwiched between the two and the work W to hold and position the work W. And XY table body 4
1 starts moving to a position scheduled for beam processing. The examples of FIGS. 8A and 8B show a state in which the work W is held after being positioned at a predetermined position.

[0007]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, the end surface of the work W and the pair of fixed guides 21, 2 are formed.
Since the two and the pair of movable guides 23 and 24 come into contact with each other while sliding, the work W may not move smoothly during positioning. In particular, if the operation timing for positioning the pair of movable guides 23, 24 deviates, the movement of the work W will be hindered. More specifically, when one movable guide 23 first starts moving forward and backward and the positioning of the work W in the X direction with the fixed guide 22 is completed, the other movable guide 24 moves forward and backward. The movable guide 23 and the fixed guide 22 are larger than the moving force of the movable guide 24.
If the frictional force between the workpiece W and the workpiece W is larger, the positioning in the Y direction cannot be performed, resulting in poor positioning. On the contrary, when the frictional force between the movable guide 23 and the fixed guide 22 and the work W is smaller than the forward / backward moving force of the movable guide 24, the movable guide 24 is moved after the positioning in the X direction is completed.
Causes the work W to move in the Y direction, and the sliding between the movable guide 23 and the fixed guide 22 and the work W may damage the end surface of the work W.

When the machining accuracy of the work W is poor, for example, when the angles of the four corners are not exactly 90 °, the work is performed by the pair of fixed guides 21 and 22 and the pair of movable guides 23 and 24. When sandwiching and holding W,
The guide is one-sided with the end face, and the force concentrates on the one-sided portion. Then, the work W may be bent or deformed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above background. A first object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for positioning and holding an object to be machined, which is capable of smoothly moving the object to be positioned and held. A beam processing apparatus provided with the apparatus. A second object of the present invention is a device for positioning and holding an object to be machined, which can hold the object to be machined with a substantially uniform force by reducing one-side contact of a guide due to the processing accuracy of the object to be machined. It is to provide a beam processing apparatus including the.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned first object, the invention of claim 1 provides a machining table on which a workpiece is placed, a fixed guide fixed to the machining table, In a processing object positioning and holding apparatus, which is capable of moving back and forth on a processing table, and is provided with a movable guide for positioning and holding the processing object on the processing table together with the fixed guide, in the fixed guide and the movable guide, It is characterized in that a rolling contact member which makes rolling contact with the object to be processed is provided. Here, a cam follower, a ball bearing, or the like can be used as the rolling contact member. In the workpiece positioning and holding device according to this aspect, when the movable guide moves, the rolling contact member provided on the movable guide contacts the workpiece to move the workpiece, and the fixed guide is provided. The object to be processed is sandwiched between the rolling contact member and the rolling contact member, and positioned and held. As described above, since the rolling contact members provided on the movable guide and the fixed guide make rolling contact with the object to be processed, friction at the contact portion is small, and the movable guide and the fixed guide have sliding contact with the object to be processed. Compared with, it is possible to move the object to be processed smoothly. As a result,
It is possible to prevent misalignment and damage of the workpiece.

In order to achieve the second object, the invention of claim 2 is the apparatus for positioning and holding a workpiece according to claim 1, wherein the movable guide is provided with a plurality of the rolling contact members and the movable guide is provided. It is characterized in that it is configured to swing at a predetermined angle in the XY plane.
In the workpiece positioning and holding apparatus of the present invention, since the movable guide is provided with a plurality of rolling contact members, it is possible to more stably position and hold the workpiece as compared with the case where there is one rolling contact member. Become. Further, the movable guide can be swung so that the plurality of rolling contact members come into contact with the workpiece. As a result, even if the processing accuracy of the object to be processed is poor, some of the rolling contact members do not hit the object to be processed, and the plurality of rolling contact members respectively move the object to be processed with substantially uniform force. Can be held.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus for positioning and holding an object to be machined according to the first or second aspect, a moving drive means for moving and driving the working table in the XY directions is provided, and two movable guides are provided. X movable guide
It is characterized in that the movable guide is moved in the Y direction and the other movable guide is moved in the Y direction. In the workpiece positioning and holding apparatus according to the third aspect, the workpiece can be positioned and held at a predetermined position in the XY plane by the movable guide that moves forward and backward in the X direction and the movable guide that moves forward and backward in the Y direction. . If there is one movable guide, the rolling contact member may rotate when the processing table is moved and driven in the XY directions by the movement driving means, which may cause displacement of the processing object. There is. Therefore, by holding the processing target with the two movable guides, the processing target can be held without displacement.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a beam source for repeatedly emitting a pulsed energy beam, a beam irradiating means for guiding and irradiating an energy beam emitted from the beam source to an object to be processed, and the object to be processed. An XY table that relatively moves an object and an irradiation point of the energy beam with respect to the object to be processed, a positioning holding unit that positions and holds the object to be processed on the XY table, the beam source and the beam source based on processing control data. In a beam processing apparatus provided with a control means for controlling an XY table, the processing object positioning and holding apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3 is used as the positioning and holding means. In the beam processing apparatus according to the present invention, since the processing object positioning device accurately positions and holds the processing object at a predetermined position on the XY table, the processing is performed due to the positioning error of the processing object or the driving of the XY table. Preventing the displacement of the object, it is possible to perform beam processing with high accuracy.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the beam processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect, the beam source is a YAG laser. In the beam processing apparatus of the fifth aspect, since the beam source is the YAG laser, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be reduced as compared with, for example, an excimer laser.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a positioning device for a processing object in a laser processing apparatus using a YAG (yttrium aluminum garnet) laser which is a solid-state laser will be described below. Figure 1
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an entire laser processing apparatus according to this embodiment. The same parts as those of the conventional example are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

The laser processing device is a YAG laser device 1,
It mainly comprises a work positioning and holding device 2, a work transfer device 3, an XY table 4, and a main controller 5.

FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of the YAG laser device 1. The YAG laser device 1 has a Y
It is composed of an AG laser oscillator 10 and a processing head 11. The YAG laser oscillator 10 includes a laser rod 12 which is a rod-shaped crystal body of YAG doped with an appropriate amount of Nd (neodymium) and a laser chamber 12 having a lamp for exciting the same, and an optical path of stimulated emission light emitted from the laser chamber 12. And a front mirror 13 and a rear mirror 14 that are opposed to each other at a predetermined distance.

The laser chamber 12 emits stimulated emission light, as indicated by a chain line in the drawing. In addition, a shutter 15 is provided between the rear mirror 14 and the laser chamber 12.
And the Q switch 16 are attached. The front mirror 13 is a mirror having a reflectance capable of transmitting a part of light, and is attached to the optical path of the stimulated emission light emitted from the laser chamber 12, with the center of the mirror surface thereof being directly aligned. The rear mirror 14 has a mirror surface capable of substantially total reflection, and is attached so as to face the front mirror 13. The stimulated emission light emitted from the laser chamber 12 is generated by the front mirror 13 and the rear mirror 1.
Amplified during multiple reflections to and from 4. The shutter 15 blocks the optical path of the stimulated emission light emitted from the laser chamber 12 and suppresses the amplification of the stimulated emission light. The Q switch 16 has a number of merits (Q) as a resonator between the front mirror 13 and the rear mirror 14.
Value) to generate a population inversion of excited atoms and to extract a high-power laser pulse. In addition,
Depending on the required output, the Q switch 16 may not be used.

The configuration of the YAG laser oscillator 10 is an example, and the present invention is not limited to this. As another configuration, for example, there is one using LD excitation.

The processing head 11 has an aperture 17,
An epi-illumination mirror 18 and an imaging lens 19 are provided. The aperture 17 is a light shielding plate having a shutter mechanism capable of changing the area of the opening, and the center of the opening is attached so as to match the optical path of the laser light emitted from the YAG laser oscillator 10. The epi-illumination mirror 18 bends the optical path of laser light by 90 degrees. The imaging lens 19 focuses the laser light on the work W to form an image.

In the YAG laser device 1 configured as described above, the stimulated emission light emitted from the laser chamber 12 is affected by the Q switch 16 while reciprocating between the front mirror 13 and the rear mirror 14. It is sent out as laser light to the aperture 17 through the front mirror 13. After passing through the aperture 17, the laser light has its optical path bent at 90 degrees by an epi-illumination mirror 18 and enters an imaging lens 19. The laser light that has entered the imaging lens 19 is condensed and irradiated vertically downward on the work W.

The work positioning / holding device 2 serves to position the work W as the object to be processed on the processing table 20 and to hold the work W so as not to be displaced during processing. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the work positioning and holding device 2 seen from the upper side in FIG. A pair of fixed guides 61 and 62 and a pair of movable guides 6 are provided on the processing table 20 fixed to the XY table body 41 (not shown).
3, 64 are provided. These fixed guides 61,
62 and the movable guides 63 and 64 have a U-shape, and cam followers 65 to 72, whose cylindrical surfaces are rotatable, are provided as rolling contact members at their U-shaped tips. . Since the cylindrical surfaces of the cam followers 65 to 72 are in rolling contact with the end surface of the work, the work can be smoothly positioned at the time of positioning, as compared with the case where the conventional guide is in sliding contact with the work. The pair of fixed guides 61 and 62 are fixed to the processing table 20 via a holder (not shown).

Since the pair of movable guides 63 and 64 have the same support structure, the support structure of the movable guide 63 disposed on the left side in FIG. 3 will be described. 4 (a)-
(C) is an enlarged explanatory view of the movable guide 63. Figure 4
As shown in (c), the movable guide 63 is screwed to the rotatable flange 73. A rotary shaft 74 is fixedly mounted on the flange 73, and the rotary shaft 74 is rotatably supported by a pair of ball bearings 76 and 77 arranged in a housing 75.
It can be rotated together with 3. Also, the housing 75
Is fixed to the L metal fitting 78, and this L metal fitting 78 is
As shown in FIG. 4A, a pair of linear guides 79, 8
0 and an air cylinder 81. The air cylinder 81 is controlled by compressed air from a solenoid valve (not shown) so that it can move back and forth by about 10 mm in the axial direction of the rod 81a. Therefore, the L metal fitting 78 and the housing 7
5, the flange 73, the movable guide 63, and the like integrally move forward and backward about 10 mm in the axial direction of the rod 81a.
The pair of linear guides 79, 80 prevent the L fitting 78 from rotating around the axis of the rod 81a and move it in parallel. And a pair of linear guides 7
9, 80 and the air cylinder 81 are supported by a holding plate 82 fixed to the end surface of the processing table 20.
The L metal fitting 78 is provided with a pair of rotation angle restriction pins 83 and 84 for restricting the rotation angle of the movable guide 63, and the tips of these rotation angle restriction pins 83 and 84 are respectively movable guides. A pair of through holes 63 formed in 63
a, 63b. The outer diameters of the pair of rotation angle regulating pins 83 and 84 are, for example, φ4 mm, whereas the inner diameters of the pair of through holes 63a and 63b are φ4.2 mm, and the movable guide 63 moves the rotary shaft 74 by this play amount. Swing ± 1 ° to the center.

The work transfer device 3 mounts and removes a work on and from the processing table. As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of suction pads 31 convey the work while suctioning the work top surface under vacuum.

The XY table 4 is mainly composed of an XY table body 41 and an XY table controller 42 for controlling the XY table body 41. The work positioning and holding device 2 is arranged in the XY table body 41 as described above.

The main controller 5 controls the entire laser processing apparatus, and includes the YAG laser apparatus 1,
The work transfer device 3 and the XY table controller 42 are connected.

The operation of positioning and holding the work W on the processing table 20 fixed to the XY table body 41 in the laser processing apparatus configured as described above will be described. As the work W, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, a glass substrate 100 or the like in which an ITO thin film 102 is formed on the surface of a glass plate 101 is targeted.

First, in FIG. 5 (a), the work W is placed between the pair of fixed guides 61, 62 and the pair of movable guides 63, 64 on the machining table 20 of the XY table body 41 by the work transfer device 3. Perform the placing operation. At this time, the movable guide 63 is opened in the direction indicated by the arrow c by the force of the air cylinder 81, and the movable guide 64 is opened in the direction indicated by the arrow d by the force of the air cylinder 85. Next, when a force in the direction indicated by the arrow e is applied to the rod 81a of the air cylinder 81, the movable guide 63 is passed through the L metal fitting 78, the housing 75 and the flange 73 (not shown).
To the direction indicated by arrow e. Similarly, when a force in the direction indicated by arrow f is applied to the rod 85a of the air cylinder 85, a force in the direction indicated by arrow f is applied to the movable guide 64. At this time, the cylindrical surfaces of the pair of cam followers 65 and 66 of the movable guide 63 and the cylindrical surfaces of the pair of cam followers 67 and 68 of the movable guide 64 are in contact with the end surface of the work W, and the work W is indicated by the arrows e and f. Move to. At this time, since the cylinders of the cam followers 65 to 68 are rotatable, the cylindrical surface and the end surface of the work W are in rolling contact with each other, so that the work W can be positioned more smoothly than in the conventional sliding contact. It will be possible. And FIG.
As shown in (b), as the work W moves, it comes into contact with the cam followers 69 to 72 of the pair of fixed guides 61 and 62. As a result, the cam followers 69 to 72 of the pair of fixed guides 61 and 62, and the pair of movable guides 63 and 64.
The four end surfaces of the work W are sandwiched and held between the cam followers 65 to 68 to be positioned.

Here, it is assumed that the pair of movable guides 63,
The operation timing at the time of positioning of 64 is deviated, for example,
Even when one movable guide 63 completes the positioning in the X direction first, when the other movable guide 64 subsequently performs the positioning in the Y direction, the work W has four cam followers 65, 66, 69, 70. Since it is in rolling contact with, it can move smoothly, and it is possible to prevent defective positioning and damage of the work W. Further, if the machining accuracy of the work W is poor and, for example, the angles of the four corners are not accurately formed at 90 °, only one cam follower hits one side of the work W and stress concentrates on that part. W may be bent or deformed. The pair of movable guides 63 and 64 according to the present embodiment has a difference of ± about 1 as described above.
Since it is configured to oscillate, a pair of movable guides 6
All of the cam followers 65 to 68 provided in 3, 64 follow the end surface of the work W satisfactorily, and it is possible to prevent the work W from bending and deforming without causing partial contact of some cam followers.

Then, after it is confirmed by a detection sensor (not shown) that the work W is placed, positioned and held, the XY table body 41 is scheduled for grooving or hole machining of the work W. Start moving to the position you set.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the pair of fixed guides 61 and 62 fixed to the working table 20 and the pair of movable guides 63 and 64 for positioning and holding the workpiece W are brought into rolling contact with the workpiece W. Cam follower 6
By providing 5 to 72, the work W moves well and smooth positioning is possible. Further, since the pair of movable guides 63 and 64 are swingably supported, the work W
When the workpiece W is positioned and held, the cam followers 65 to 68 surely come into contact with the end faces of the workpiece W on the side of at least the pair of movable guides 63 and 64 without being affected by the processing accuracy of the workpiece W. It is possible to prevent the cam follower from being bent or deformed due to partial contact.

In the above embodiment, in order to convey the work, the vacuum method in which the work is conveyed while being vacuum-sucked by a plurality of suction pads has been described. However, in this vacuum method, static electricity is generated on the work and dust or dirt adheres to the work. There was a risk of Therefore, instead of the vacuum method, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), it is possible to use a mechanical system in which the end portion of the work is chucked and conveyed. More specifically, from the state shown in FIG. 7A, first, the pair of rods 32a and 32b of the air cylinder 32 move inward to each other, then the pair of air chucks 33 and 34 are closed, and the state shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the work W is chucked and conveyed to the processing table 20 (not shown). Processing table 20
When the workpiece W is placed on the air cylinder 32, the air cylinder 32 descends to a predetermined height, and first, the pair of air chucks 33, 3 is placed.
4 opens, and then the pair of rods 32 of the air cylinder 32
a and b move to the outside of each other. In this way, the mechanical method of chucking and transporting the end of the work is suitable for transporting the glass substrate 100, etc., since static electricity is not generated and dust or dirt is unlikely to adhere to the work W.

Further, in the above embodiment, the apparatus for processing the work by using the YAG laser has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a CO ₂ laser or an excimer laser may be used. The XY table may not be provided when the work is not processed at a plurality of locations or when laser processing is performed by scanning laser light. Further, although the example in which the glass substrate having the ITO thin film formed on the surface is processed as the work has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is also possible to process a plate-shaped work made of a ceramic material or a metal material.

[0034]

According to the first to fifth aspects of the invention, since the rolling contact member is positioned in rolling contact with the object to be machined, the object to be machined is compared with the case where the guide is slidably contacting the object to be machined. There is an excellent effect that the movement accompanying the positioning of the object can be performed smoothly and the positioning error or damage of the object to be processed can be prevented.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the invention, since the movable guide is provided with a plurality of rolling contact members, it is possible to more stably position and hold the workpiece as compared with the case where there is one rolling contact member. There is an excellent effect that
Further, since the movable guide oscillates, even if the processing accuracy of the object to be machined is poor, some of the rolling contact members provided on the movable guide do not hit one side, and the plurality of rolling contact members are substantially uniform. Since the object to be processed is held by various forces, there is also an excellent effect that it is possible to prevent the object to be processed from being bent or deformed.

In particular, according to the invention of claim 3, there is an excellent effect that the object to be processed can be positioned and held at a predetermined position in the XY plane. Further, even if the operation timing of positioning the two movable guides is deviated from each other, there is an excellent effect that it is possible to prevent the positioning failure or damage of the workpiece.

In particular, according to the inventions of claims 4 and 5, it is possible to prevent the positioning error of the object to be processed or the positional deviation of the object to be driven due to the driving of the XY table, thereby enabling the beam processing with high accuracy. It has an excellent effect.

In particular, according to the invention of claim 5, since the beam source is a YAG laser, there is an excellent effect that the manufacturing cost of the device can be reduced as compared with, for example, an excimer laser.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laser processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a YAG laser device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the work positioning and holding device 2 seen from the upper side in FIG.

4A to 4C are enlarged explanatory views of a movable guide 63. FIG.

5A and 5B are operation explanatory views for positioning and holding a work on a processing table.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a glass substrate.

7 (a) and 7 (b) are explanatory views of the handling operation of the substrate transfer device.

8A and 8B are configuration explanatory views of a work positioning and holding device according to a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 YAG laser device 2 Work positioning and holding device 3 Work transfer device 4 XY table 5 Main controller 10 YAG laser oscillator 20 processing table 61,62 Fixed guide 63, 64 movable guide 63a, 63b through holes 65-72 Cam Follower 73 Flange 74 rotation axis 75 housing 76,77 bearing 78 L metal fittings 79,80 Linear guide 81 Air cylinder 82 holding plate 83, 84 Rotation angle control pin W work

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A processing table on which a processing object is placed, a fixed guide fixed to the processing table, and a reciprocating movable on the processing table, and the processing object together with the fixed guide on the processing table. In a workpiece positioning and holding device having a movable guide for positioning and holding, a workpiece contact positioning device is provided, in which the fixed guide and the movable guide are provided with rolling contact members that make rolling contact with the workpiece. Holding device. 2. The workpiece positioning and holding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the movable guide is provided with a plurality of the rolling contact members, and the movable guide is swung by a predetermined angle in an XY plane. Positioning and holding device for processed objects. 3. The apparatus for positioning and holding a workpiece according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a moving drive means for moving and driving the processing table in XY directions is provided, two movable guides are provided, and one of the movable guides is X. An apparatus for positioning and holding an object to be machined, wherein the movable guide is moved forward and backward in the Y direction, and the other movable guide is moved forward and backward in the Y direction. 4. A beam source that repeatedly emits a pulsed energy beam, a beam irradiation means that guides and irradiates an energy beam emitted from the beam source to an object to be processed, the object to be processed and the object to be processed. An XY table that relatively moves the irradiation point of the energy beam with respect to the object, a positioning holding unit that positions and holds the object to be processed on the XY table, and the beam source and the XY table based on processing control data. A beam processing apparatus comprising a control means, wherein the processing object positioning and holding device according to claim 1, 2 or 3 is used as the positioning and holding means. 5. The beam processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the beam source is a YAG laser.