JPH11340169A - Automatic blade exchange system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow exchange of blades of form widely used by moving a blade attaching/detaching means which holds a blade as based to a spindle axis using a transportation means between a tip end of the spindle axis and a blade housing means. SOLUTION: A blade 17 is held while biased to a spindle axis 17 by blade attaching/detaching means 41 and 42. A blade 17 which is to be exchanged is housed in a blade housing means 70. At exchanging the blade 17, the blade attaching/detaching means 41 and 42 are moved by transportation means 43-56 between a tip end of the spindle axis 11 and the blade housing means 70. The blade 17 which is to be attached is held at one of the blade attaching/detaching means 41 and 42 while a blade 17 which was removed is held at the other, and the blade 17 which is to be attached is rotated in such a direction as to face the spindle axis 11, for attaching to the spindle axis 11. The removed blade 17 is housed in the blade housing means 70.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic blade changing system for automatically changing blades of a dicing machine for forming a thin groove on a semiconductor wafer or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a dicing apparatus, a groove is formed by rotating a thin blade (a blade) obtained by solidifying abrasive grains such as diamond with nickel or the like at a high speed. FIG. 1 is a view showing a conventional example of a blade mounting structure in a dicing apparatus. As shown in FIG.
3. A fitting portion 14, a screw 15, and a hexagonal hole 16 for fixing are provided. The blade 17 is a hub member 18
The hub member 18 is provided with a fitting portion 19 to be fitted to the fitting portion 14. The blade 1 is inserted so that the fitting portions 14 and 19 are fitted.
7 is pushed into contact with the pedestal 13, and the screw 21 of the nut 20 is screwed and fixed to the screw 15. Since the blade 17 rotates at an extremely high speed, it is necessary that the rotation balance be good. Therefore, the rotation balance of the blade 17 with respect to the rotation axis on which the fitting portion 19 is fitted is adjusted in advance, and a good rotational balance can be obtained only by fitting the fitting portions 14 and 19 together.

[0003] Since the blades wear as they are machined, they need to be replaced when the blades are worn by a predetermined amount. Also, when changing the shape of the groove to be processed, it is necessary to replace the blade with a blade corresponding to the shape of the groove. As described above, the blade needs to be frequently replaced in the dicing apparatus. When replacing the blade, insert a hexagonal wrench into the hexagonal hole 16 to fix the spindle so that it does not rotate, and then remove the nut 20 by rotating it. Once the hexagon wrench is removed, the nut 20 and the blade are removed, a replacement blade is attached, and the nut 20 is attached. The hexagonal wrench is inserted again into the hexagonal hole 16 and fixed so that the spindle does not rotate, and then the nut 20 is rotated and screwed in and fixed. Such replacement work is difficult to automate, and has conventionally been performed manually.

[0004] In the dicing apparatus, labor saving is demanded, and the supply and recovery of a work, the recognition of a portion to be cut, and the like are automated. In particular, when used in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, one operator manages many dicing apparatuses, and automation is particularly important. However, as described above, the blade replacement operation is performed manually because it is difficult to automate it, and this has been a problem in automating the entire dicing operation.

In order to solve such a problem, Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No.
JP-A-59846 and JP-A-6-326186 disclose a blade autochanger having blade attaching and detaching means and nut attaching and detaching means. Further, these known examples disclose a configuration in which an old blade attaching / detaching unit for attaching / detaching an old blade attached to a spindle and a new blade attaching / detaching unit for attaching / detaching a new blade newly attached are provided. . In addition, actual opening Hei 7-17443
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H11-11512 discloses a blade autochanger provided with a fitting relaxation means for warming the blade in order to facilitate attachment and detachment of the blade. However, the blade autochangers disclosed in these known examples require a blade attaching / detaching means and a nut attaching / detaching means, so that the structure is not only very complicated and expensive, but also the operation for replacement is complicated. There is a problem. JP-A-5-59846 and JP-A-6-326186 also disclose a configuration in which the blade attaching / detaching means and the nut attaching / detaching means are integrated, but even in this case, the blade attaching / detaching means and the nut attaching / detaching means are provided. Therefore, the structure is very complicated.

In order to solve such a problem, the present applicant has disclosed a blade in which mounting screws are integrally formed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-262515. By using the blade having such a configuration, it is not necessary to remove and hold the nut, so that the structure of the automatic blade changing system can be greatly simplified.

[0007]

However, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-2 / 1994
The blade disclosed in No. 62515 is a dedicated blade, and has a completely different shape from blades widely used at present. At present, blades for a dicing apparatus having the same standardized shape are widely used. Therefore, it is demanded to realize a low-cost automatic blade replacement system that can replace blades having such a shape.

The present invention has been made in order to realize such a demand, and has as its object to realize, at low cost, an automatic blade changing system which can replace a blade having a shape widely used at present.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, an automatic blade changing system according to the present invention provides a blade of a standardized and widely used shape with a screw screwed with a screw provided on a spindle shaft. Is fixed to form a blade assembly, and the blade assembly is attached and detached. Two blade attaching / detaching means are provided, one for holding a blade to be attached and one for holding a removed blade.

That is, an automatic blade changing system according to a first aspect of the present invention is an automatic blade changing system for automatically changing a blade of a dicing apparatus for performing groove machining by rotating a blade attached to a spindle shaft at a high speed. An auxiliary stop member having a screw screwed with a screw provided on the spindle shaft is fixed, the auxiliary stop member holds the fixed blade, and in a state where this blade is urged to the spindle shaft, the blade is moved to the spindle shaft. Blade attaching / detaching means for rotating relatively to the blade, blade accommodating means for accommodating a blade to be exchanged, and moving means for moving the blade attaching / detaching means between the tip of the spindle shaft and the blade accommodating means, Two are provided, one to hold the blade to be installed and the other to Characterized by holding the over-de.

In the automatic blade exchange system of the present invention,
Standardized and widely used blades can be used. Moreover, since attachment and detachment are performed in the form of a blade assembly having screws, there is no need to remove and hold the screws when attaching and detaching, so there is no need to separately provide a mechanism for attaching and detaching the screws and the blade, and a simple structure. Can be. In particular, in order to shorten the exchange time, a mechanism for holding the blade to be mounted to halve the reciprocating time between the tip of the spindle and the blade accommodating means,
It is necessary to provide a mechanism for holding the removed blade, and if it is further provided with a mechanism for attaching and detaching the screw, the structure becomes very complicated, but as in the present invention, it can be attached and detached in the form of a blade assembly. If this is the case, there is no need for a mechanism for attaching and detaching the screw, and the effect is large.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the auxiliary stop member fixed to the blade comprises a positioning member and a nut member, and when the blade is fixed to the spindle shaft, the auxiliary stop member is fixed. The blade is held by the blade attaching / detaching means, the blade is engaged with the spindle shaft via the positioning member, and the nut member is rotated with respect to the spindle shaft. Thereby, the blade can be fastened to the spindle shaft without rotating the blade or the spindle shaft.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the blade attaching / detaching means includes a plurality of chuck members, and a driving means for moving at least one of the plurality of chuck members with respect to another chuck member. By causing the chuck member to advance and move by means, the blade is held by the plurality of chuck members so that the blade can be stably held. As another holding method of the blade, there is a method of holding the blade by vacuum suction. However, in the holding method using vacuum suction, if there is a gap between the vacuum suction unit and the blade, the blade is not completely sucked, and the blade cannot be stably held. On the other hand, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the blade is held by the plurality of chuck members, the blade can be stably held.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of chuck members and a driving means are provided on the blade suction means, and the plurality of chuck members are advanced and moved by the driving means to hold the blade by clamping. The blade can be stably held. In the invention according to claim 5, the blade is composed of a blade body and a hub, and the hub is held by the plurality of chuck members so that the blade can be held without damaging the blade of the blade body with the chuck member. Can be held.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of chuck members are attached to a cam groove of a cam member via a cam follower.
Since the cam member is driven by the cam drive unit to move the plurality of chuck members forward and backward while being guided by the cam grooves and the guide members, the plurality of chuck members can be smoothly interlocked. According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, since the blade attaching / detaching means is floatingly supported on the support body via the floating supporting means, even if the position of the blade is shifted with respect to the spindle shaft, the positional shift is absorbed by the floating supporting means. Thus, the blade can be attached to the spindle shaft.

[0016]

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an automatic blade replacement system according to the present invention. In FIG.
Reference numeral 11 denotes a spindle, 13 denotes a pedestal provided on the spindle shaft, 17 denotes a blade, and 18 denotes a blade.
Is a hub, and 81 is a vibrometer provided on the outer cylinder of the spindle. Reference numerals 41 to 56 denote elements constituting a blade attaching / detaching mechanism and a blade moving mechanism, and 70 denotes a blade accommodating mechanism. Hereinafter, each part will be sequentially described.

FIG. 3 is a view showing a blade and an auxiliary stopper member, and a blade assembly obtained by assembling them.
As shown in FIG. 3A, a hub 18 for mounting is provided on the blade 17 as a blade.
8 has a standard shape with a fitting portion 19 provided. The auxiliary stopper member 31 includes a fitting portion 32 that is press-fitted into the fitting portion 19 and a fitting portion 33 that is fitted to the fitting portion of the spindle shaft.
And a screw 34 screwed to the screw of the spindle shaft;
A holding portion 35 for attachment and detachment is provided. The auxiliary stop member 31 is fixed to the blade by press-fitting the fitting portion 32 into the fitting portion 19, and a blade assembly is made. In this case, it may be fixed by other methods such as screwing instead of press fitting. In this way, a blade assembly is prepared in advance, and the blade is managed in this manner.

The blade assembly is mounted on a spindle shaft as shown in FIG. The mating portion 33 is fitted to the mating portion of the spindle shaft, and the screw 34 is screwed into the screw of the spindle shaft by rotating the blade assembly relative to the spindle shaft. Actually, insert a hexagon wrench into the hexagonal hole of the spindle shaft to fix the spindle shaft and rotate the blade assembly, or hold the blade assembly so that it does not rotate, then rotate the hexagon wrench Then, rotate the spindle and screw it in. In this embodiment, the latter blade assembly is held so as not to rotate, and then a method of rotating a spindle shaft by rotating a hexagon wrench is used.
The mating portion 33 and the mating portion of the spindle shaft are tapered so that the blade assembly can be easily mated when pushed in with some freedom of movement.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a blade attaching / detaching device. The portions indicated by reference numerals 41, 41 ', 42 and 42' are detachable holding members which fit into the holding portion 35 for attaching and detaching the blade assembly, and the holding portion 35 is constituted by these members 41 and 41 ', 42 and 42'. If it fits inside the frame, it cannot rotate. Detachable holding members 41, 41 ', 42, 4
2 ′ is a gear box (support body) 43 to a spring holding arm (floating support means) 64
, And the position and the direction are changed to some extent. A hex wrench 63 extends from both sides of the gear box 43. The hexagon wrench 63 can be rotated in both forward and reverse directions by a torque control type motor 61 provided in a box 44 to which the gear box 43 is attached. The gear box 43 is of a double-shaft type, and both hex wrenches 63 rotate simultaneously. 66 is
A hole of a suction holding mechanism (vacuum chuck) using vacuum pressure is provided at a portion that contacts the upper surface of the auxiliary stopper member 31. Such a hole is provided in the other detachable holding members 42 and 4.
It is also provided in the portion composed of 2 '. As shown in FIG. 2, the holes of the vacuum chuck are respectively provided with pneumatic paths 55 and 5 provided in the blade attaching / detaching moving mechanism.
6 and vacuum pumps 51 and 5 via hoses 53 and 54
2 and independently controlling the vacuum pumps 51 and 52 so that the pressure in each hole can be reduced and the blade assembly can be sucked and held.

The box 44 is attached to a rotating mechanism 45 provided on an arm 47, and the box 44 can be rotated by a motor 46. Therefore, by driving the motor 46, the box 44 is rotated, and the two frames formed by the detachable holding members 41 and 41 'and 42 and 42' are also rotated and can be moved to the opposite positions. . As shown in FIG. 2, the arm 47 is
8, and can be rotated by driving a motor 49. Therefore, the motor 49
When the is rotated, the box 44 and the gear box 43 rotate, and can be moved to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. The rotation mechanism 48 is attached to the linear motion shaft 50, and can move in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing only the side of the one accommodation plate 71 of the blade accommodation mechanism. In the embodiment, the storage plate 7 is used.
Another housing plate 72 is provided to face 1 but is not shown in FIG. The housing plate 71 has four shafts 7
3 are provided to hold four blade assemblies. A hole 75 for the vacuum chuck is provided around the shaft 73 to hold the blade assembly from falling off. A vacuum pump for reducing the pressure in the hole 75 of the vacuum chuck is provided separately. The accommodation plate 71 can be rotated by a motor 74.

Next, the operation when the blade is replaced in the automatic blade replacement system of this embodiment will be described.
A blade assembly is attached to the spindle shaft. Instead, another new blade assembly held by the blade accommodating mechanism is attached, and operations are performed until the removed old blade assembly is returned to the blade accommodating mechanism. It is assumed that the box 44 and the gear box 43 are at the positions indicated by the broken lines in FIG. First, the accommodating plate is rotated so that the replacement new blade assembly accommodated in the blade accommodating mechanism is at an accessible position. The new blade assembly may be on any receiving plate. When the new blade assembly is moved to an accessible position, the linear motion mechanism 50 is operated, and the detachable holding members 41 and 4 are operated.
Any frame consisting of 1 ', 42 and 42' is moved to fit into the holding part of the new blade assembly. At the time of moving to the predetermined position, turn off the vacuum pump of the part where the new blade assembly of the storage plate is held,
The vacuum pump 51 or 52 is operated so as to reduce the pressure in the hole of the frame formed by the detachable holding members 41 and 41 'or 42 and 42'. As a result, the new blade assembly is sucked and held on the side of the frame constituted by the detachable holding members 41 and 41 'or 42 and 42'.

Next, the linear motion mechanism is operated, the frame holding the new blade assembly is separated from the housing plate, and the motor 49 is rotated to move the box 44 or the gear box 43 to the position shown by the solid line in FIG. At this time, if the frame holding the new blade assembly is on the side of the spindle shaft, the motor 46 is rotated to move the frame holding the new blade assembly to the opposite side of the spindle axis. Therefore, a frame that does not hold the blade assembly is located on the side of the spindle shaft. In this state, the linear motion groove is operated to move the frame that does not hold the blade assembly so as to fit into the holding portion of the old blade assembly attached to the spindle shaft.
When the motor 61 is moved to a predetermined position, the motor 61 is rotated to rotate the hexagon wrench 63 in a direction in which the screw is removed. As a result, the spindle shaft rotates, but the old blade assembly does not rotate because the holding portion is in the frame, and the screw is released. At this time, the old blade assembly moves as the screws are removed. Therefore, even when the linear motion machine is operated to move the frame in response to the removal of the screw of the old blade assembly, the old blade assembly gradually moves in the frame in response to the removal of the screw. It may be. When the screw is removed, the other of the vacuum pumps 51 and 52 is operated, so that the old blade assembly is attracted to the frame and held so as not to fall off the frame.

Next, once the frame is separated from the spindle shaft by operating the linear motion mechanism, the motor 46 is rotated to move the frame holding the new blade assembly in a direction facing the spindle shaft. Therefore, the frame holding the old blade assembly moves to the opposite side of the spindle axis. In this state, the linear motion mechanism is moved to move the fitting portion 33 of the new blade assembly so as to fit into the fitting portion of the spindle shaft, and move until the end surface of the blade comes into contact with the surface of the pedestal 13. As described above, the fitting portion of the spindle shaft and the fitting portion 33 of the blade assembly are tapered, and the attachment / detachment holding members 41 and 41 ′,
Since 2 and 42 'are held via spring holding arms 64, they can be easily pushed in. Since the spring holding arm 64 is a mechanism that can move in the axial direction, when the spring holding arm 64 is pushed to a predetermined position, the end of the screw comes into contact. At this time, the hexagon wrench 63 fits into the hexagonal hole of the spindle shaft.
When 3 is rotated in the direction in which the screw is tightened, the spindle shaft rotates. The new blade assembly is held in the frame so it does not rotate and the screws tighten. When the screws start to tighten, turn off the vacuum pump to hold the new blade assembly. At this time, as in the case of removing the old blade, even if the linear motion machine groove is operated to move the frame in response to the screw of the new blade assembly being tightened, the new The blade assembly may move gradually within the frame. The motor 61 is a torque control type motor. When the screw is tightened and the torque exceeds a certain level, the motor 61 stops rotating. Therefore, this is detected and the rotation of the motor 61 is stopped. This means that the new blade assembly has been attached to the spindle shaft.

The linear motion mechanism 50 is operated to move the frame away from the new blade assembly. At this time, when the storage plate for storing the old blade assembly is 72, it remains as it is.
In the case of 1, the motor 46 is operated to reverse the position of the frame. Next, the motor 49 is operated to rotate the frame to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. At the same time, the accommodating plate is rotated so that the position for accommodating the old blade assembly becomes the access position, and the linear motion groove 50 is operated to push the old blade assembly into the shaft of the accommodating plate. Then, the vacuum pump for holding the old blade assembly in the frame is turned off, and the vacuum pump in the portion of the housing plate that houses the old blade assembly is activated to hold the old blade assembly on the housing plate. Then, the linear motion mechanism 50 is operated to separate the frame from the old blade assembly, thereby completing the replacement operation.

As described above, the blade assembly is replaced. As described above, since the blade of the dicing apparatus rotates at a very high speed, the rotation balance is important, and the precision of the fitting portion is extremely low. High precision. Therefore, even if the fitting portion is tapered as described above, it may not be correctly inserted. If rotated in such a state, large vibrations may occur and damage the spindle. Therefore, in this embodiment, FIG.
As shown in the figure, a vibration meter 81 is provided on the outer cylinder of the spindle,
After replacing the blade assembly, the spindle is rotated and the vibration state is detected by the vibrometer 81, and if the vibration exceeds a predetermined level, an alarm is issued. In response to this alarm, the operation of once removing the blade and then attaching it again is performed. This prevents the spindle from being damaged. Further, when an alarm is issued, the operator may confirm.

In general, the hub of the blade is made of aluminum, and the auxiliary stopper member 31 is preferably made of aluminum. In such a case, it is necessary to use a method such as a vacuum chuck to hold the blade assembly as in the above-described embodiment. In order to perform a vacuum chuck, a vacuum pump and a pneumatic path are required.
Since the vacuum pump has a considerable size, it is difficult to provide it in a rotating or moving part. As shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum pump is connected from the vacuum pump to the holes of the frame through hoses 53 and 54 and a pneumatic path. There is a need. In order to reduce the replacement time, it is necessary to provide two frames. In the embodiment, two vacuum pumps and two air pressure paths are separately provided. This is still a rather complicated path. Here, when the blade and the screw are separate from each other and need to be held instead of the blade assembly of the present invention, a mechanism for holding the screw is further required. A pneumatic path becomes very complicated, requiring a vacuum path.
Therefore, when the present invention is applied, the effect is large.

If the auxiliary stopper member 31 is made of a material such as iron which is attracted to a magnet, or if only the upper surface side of the auxiliary stopper member 31 is made of a material which is attracted to a magnet, the attraction can be controlled by an electromagnet. In such a case, the attachment / detachment holding members 41 and 41 'and 42 and 42' are used instead of the vacuum pump and the pneumatic path.
An electromagnet is provided at the back of the frame composed of the above and at the accommodation number of the blade accommodation mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus 100 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is an assembly perspective view of a blade assembly 102 attached / detached by the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus 100. 1 to 5
The same reference numerals are given to the same or similar members as in the embodiment shown in FIG. The blade assembly 102 shown in FIG. 7 includes the blade body 17, the hub 18, and the auxiliary stopper member 104. The blade main body 17 is fixed to the hub 18, and the fitting part 19 of the hub 18 is fitted to the fitting part 14 provided at the tip of the spindle 11, so that the blade main body 17 is mounted on the spindle 11. You.

The auxiliary stop member 104 fixes the blade body 17 to the spindle 11 via the hub 18 and includes a flange (positioning member) 106 and a nut (nut member) 108. The flange 1
Reference numeral 06 is formed in an annular shape, and four claws 110 are formed on the back surface of the flange 106 at 90 ° intervals on a concentric circle. The four claws 110, 110,... Are formed to project in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the flange 106. These claws 110, 110,. Four grooves 14A, 14A... Formed in the outer periphery of the portion 14 (in FIG.
A, groove 14A is shown). Therefore, the blade assembly 102 of the present embodiment can select four fixed positions with respect to the spindle 11 at 90-degree divisions, and is fixed at a position where the rotational balance is the best among the four fixed positions. .

Are formed on the surface of the flange 106 at 90-degree intervals on a concentric circumference. The holes 112, 112...
Are inserted into the rotation preventing pins 114 of the blade assembly attaching / detaching device 100 shown in FIG. This detent pin 114 will be described later. As shown in FIG. 7, the nut 108 is screwed into a screw 15 provided at the tip of the spindle shaft 11 to connect the hub 18 to the flange 106.
And is fastened to the spindle shaft 11 through the. In the surface of the nut 108, circular holes 116, 1
16 are formed on the concentric circumference at 90 ° intervals. The pins 118, 118 of the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 6 are inserted into these holes 116, 116,. The rotation pin 118 will be described later.

By the way, the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus 100 and the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus shown in FIG.
That is, the blade assembly holding method of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 is a vacuum holding method using the vacuum pumps 51 and 52. On the other hand, the blade assembly holding method of the apparatus 100 of FIG.
Is a holding method for holding the blade assembly by pressure.
Here, the vacuum holding method and the chuck members 120, 120,
Comparing the clamping pressure holding method by 120, in the case of the former holding method, if there is a gap between the vacuum suction part and the blade assembly, the blade assembly is not completely sucked, and the blade assembly is stably held. Inability to do so occurs. In contrast, the latter method is
Since the blade assembly is directly clamped and held by the chuck members 120, 120, there is an advantage that the blade assembly can be stably held.

Hereinafter, the blade assembly attaching / detaching device 1 will be described.
The structure of 00 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6, 8 and 9, the blade assembly attaching / detaching device 100 has chuck devices 122 and 124, and these chuck devices 122 and 124 are attached to both sides of the gear box 43. The chuck devices 122 and 12
4 has the same structure, only the chuck device 122 will be described here, and the description of the chuck device 124 will be omitted by attaching the same reference numerals to the chuck device 122.

The chuck device 122 has three chuck members 120, 120, 120 as shown in FIG. These chuck members 120, 120, 120
Are arranged concentrically on an annular guide plate 126 and have three rectilinear grooves 128 formed on the guide plate 126.
(See FIGS. 6 and 9).
These rectilinear grooves 128 are formed radially when viewed from the center of the guide plate 126. Accordingly, the chuck members 120, 120, 120 can move forward and backward with respect to the center of the guide plate 126. The guide plate 126 is provided on the main casing 12 of the chuck device 122.
The rotation preventing pins 114, 114 are fixed to the side surfaces of the guide plate 3 and project from the surface of the guide plate 126.

Each of the chuck members 120 has a cam follower 130 shown in FIG. These cam followers 130 are engaged with cam grooves 134 formed in a cam ring (cam member) 132, respectively. Further, the cam grooves 134, 13
Reference numerals 4 and 134 are formed to be inclined in the same direction with respect to the rotation direction of the cam ring 132.

With the above configuration, the cam ring 132 is
10 with the center 133 of the cam ring 132 as the center of rotation.
When rotated counterclockwise, the chuck member 120 is pushed by the cam groove 134 via the cam follower 130 and moves. At this time, each chuck member 120 is connected to the guide plate 1.
28, so that the straight grooves 12
8 moves in a direction approaching each other (advancing direction).
As a result of the advancing operation of the chuck members 120, 120, 120, the hub 18 of the blade assembly 102 is brought into contact with the chuck members 120, 120, 1 as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
The holding pressure is maintained by 20. At this time, the blade of the blade body 17 is not damaged by the chuck member 120 because the hub 18 is held by the clamping pressure. When the cam ring 132 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 10, the chuck members 120 move in a direction away from each other (retreat direction), so that the holding of the blade assembly 102 by the chuck members 120 is released.

The cam ring 132 is rotatably accommodated in the main body casing 123 of the chuck device 122. 8 and 9, a cam follower 136 is protruded from the cam ring 132. An air cylinder (not shown) is provided near the cam follower 136.
Between the cam follower 13 and a stopper 142 connected to the rod 138 via a connecting bar 140.
6 are fitted via bearings 144. Therefore, when the rod 138 of the air cylinder is extended, the cam ring 132 is pushed by the cam follower 136 and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. . Conversely, when the rod 138 of the air cylinder is contracted, the cam ring 132 is pulled by the cam follower 136 and rotates clockwise in FIG.
0, the holding of the blade assembly 102 by the pressure is released. In the present embodiment, an air cylinder is applied as a driving unit of the cam ring 132. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another driving unit such as a hydraulic cylinder and a feed screw device may be applied.

On the other hand, a rotary head 146 is provided inside the guide plate 126 as shown in FIGS. The pin 118 is attached to the rotary head 146.
118 are protrudingly provided. A rotary shaft 148 is fixed to the rotary head 146 coaxially with the rotary head 146. The rotary shaft 148 is housed in a rotary cylinder 152 having a worm wheel 150 formed on the outer periphery. The rotary shaft 148 is inserted into the rotary cylinder 152 via a linear bush 154, and the rotary cylinder 152
9 is slidably supported in the left-right direction in FIG.
Further, a spring 156 is inserted into the rotary cylinder 152. One end of the spring 156 is attached to a retaining ring 158 of the linear bush 154, while the other end of the spring 156 is attached to a rectangular portion 149 of the rotating shaft 148. The rotary head 146 is arranged to be urged rightward in FIG. 9 by the urging force of the spring 156. The rectangular portion 149 of the rotating shaft 148 is engaged with a rectangular groove 153 formed in the rotating cylinder 152. As a result, when the rotary cylinder 152 rotates, the rotation is transmitted to the rotary shaft 148 via the rectangular groove 153 and the rectangular portion 149, so that the rotary head 146 rotates.

The rotary cylinder 152 includes a bearing 160,
It is supported by the gearbox 43 via 160. The worm wheel 150 is engaged with a worm gear 162 shown in FIG. The worm gear 162 is fixed to the worm shaft 164.
Is connected to an output shaft of a motor 166 indicated by a broken line in FIG. Therefore, when the motor 166 is driven, the rotary cylinder 152 is rotated at a reduced speed by the worm gear 162 and the worm wheel 150, so that the rotary head 146 rotates.

The chuck device 122 has three steel balls 168 on one side (only one steel ball 168 is shown in FIGS. 8 and 9).
And is attached to the gearbox 43 by a shoulder bolt 174 via a lubrication-free thrust bearing 170 and a disc spring 172. Further, the chuck device 122 is floatingly supported by a shoulder bolt 174 via an O-ring 176. Thereby, the chuck device 122
Can move a small amount in a plane orthogonal to the rotation axis 148, so that the displacement of the rotation axis 148 with respect to the blade assembly 102 and the spindle shaft 11 can be absorbed.

Next, the operation of the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described. First,
The operation of replacing the old blade assembly 102 attached to the spindle 11 with the new blade assembly 102 will be described. First, the chuck device 122 (or the chuck device 124) is moved toward the spindle 11, and the detent pin 11 on the chuck device 122 side is moved.
4, 114 to the flange 1 of the blade assembly 102.
Are inserted into the holes 112, 112,... The pin 1 protruding from the rotary head 146 of the chuck device 122
18, 118 to the nut 1 of the blade assembly 102.
08 into the holes 116, 116... Then, the chuck members 120, 120, 120 are moved in a direction approaching each other, and these chuck members 120, 120, 120 are moved.
This holds the hub 18 of the blade assembly 102 under pressure. Thereafter, the nut 108 is loosened by rotating the rotary head 146.

At this time, the rotary head 146 is pushed by the nut 108 by loosening the nut 108, and moves in a direction to withdraw from the blade 17 against the urging force of the spring 156. Thereby, the nut 108 is removed from the screw 15. When the nut 108 is completely removed from the screw 15, the chuck device 122
Is retracted from the spindle 11. As a result, the old blade assembly 102 is
While being held at 0 and 120, it is removed from the spindle 11. Then, the chuck device 122 is moved toward the storage plate 71 shown in FIG.
3 returns the old blade assembly 102 removed. Thus, the work of removing the old blade assembly 102 is completed.

Next, the operation of attaching the new blade assembly 102 to the spindle 11 will be described. First,
New blade assembly 10 held by receiving plate 71
2 is held by the chuck device 124 (or the chuck device 122). In this case, the anti-rotation pins 114 on the chuck device 124 side are connected to the blade assembly 1.
02, 112, 112,...
Insert After the pins 118, 118 protruding from the rotary head 146 are inserted into the holes 116, 116,... Of the nut 108 of the blade assembly 102, the chuck members 120, 120, 120 are moved in a direction approaching each other, and Chuck members 120, 120, 12
0 holds the hub 18 of the blade assembly 102 under pressure. As a result, the new blade assembly 102 is held by the chuck device 124.

Next, the chuck device 124 is moved toward the spindle shaft 11 so that each of the claws 110 formed on the flange 106 of the blade assembly 102 is
Fit into each groove 14A on one side. After the pins 118, 118 protruding from the rotary head 146 are inserted into the holes 116, 116,... Of the nut 108 of the blade assembly 102, the chuck members 120, 120, 120 are retracted and moved away from each other. 1
02 is released. And the rotary head 1
The nut 108 is fastened to the screw 15 by rotating 46.
At this time, the blade assembly 102 is
Since the rotation is prevented by the 24 rotation preventing pins 114, 114, it is securely fastened to the spindle 11.
After fastening the blade assembly 102, the chuck device 12
4 is retracted from the spindle 11. With the above, the mounting operation of the new blade assembly 102 is completed.

After attaching the new blade assembly 102, the new blade assembly 102 is rotated by the spindle 11, and the vibration state of the blade assembly 102 is detected by the vibrometer 81. At this time, when the vibration detected by the vibrometer 81 is equal to or more than a predetermined value, the new blade assembly 102 is detached from the spindle 11, and the new blade assembly 102 is attached to the spindle 11 after being changed in position. In the blade assembly 102, four mounting positions can be selected.

As described above, according to the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus 100, the blade assembly 102 is held by the chuck member 120 so that the blade assembly 102 can be stably held. Further, according to the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus 100, since the hub 18 of the blade assembly 102 is held by the chuck member 120 under pressure, the chuck member 12
At 0, the blade assembly 102 can be held without damaging the blade of the blade body 17.

Further, the blade assembly attaching / detaching device 1
According to 00, the chuck member 120 is attached to the cam groove 134 of the cam ring 132 via the cam follower 130,
The cam ring 132 is driven by an air cylinder to move the chuck member 120 to the cam groove 134 and the straight groove 12 of the guide plate.
8, the three chuck members 120, 120, 120 can be smoothly interlocked. The number of the chuck members 120 is not limited to three, but it is preferable to provide three or more from the viewpoint of securely and safely holding the blade assembly 102.

Further, in the present embodiment, the three chuck members 120 are interlocked to hold the blade assembly 102 under pressure. However, the present invention is not limited to this. At least one chuck member 120 is connected to another chuck member 120, 120.
, And as a result, the blade may be clamped and held by the three chuck members 120, 120, 120.

Further, in the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus shown in FIG. 4, instead of the vacuum chuck, FIG.
The chuck member 120 of the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
An automatic blade replacement system that can use blades that are currently widely used can be realized with a simple configuration. Therefore, an automatic blade replacement system can be realized at low cost. Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of chuck members are provided on the blade suction means, and the blade is held by the chuck members, so that the blade can be stably held.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a conventional blade mounting mechanism of a dicing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of an automatic blade replacement system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a blade assembly according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a view showing a blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a blade accommodating mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a blade assembly according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a main part of the blade assembly attaching / detaching apparatus shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 shows the blade assembly attaching / detaching device 9 shown in FIG. 6;
Sectional view along line -9

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing the structure of a chuck member moving mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Spindle 13 ... Pedestal 14 ... Fitting part 15 ... Screw 17 ... Blade 18 ... Hub 31 ... Auxiliary stop member 34 ... Screw 41, 42 ... Detachable holding member 100 ... Blade assembly attaching / detaching device 102 ... Blade assembly 120 ... Chuck member 122 , 124: chuck device 130: cam follower 132: cam ring 134: cam groove

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A blade automatic exchange system for automatically exchanging said blades of a dicing apparatus for performing groove processing by rotating a blade attached to a spindle axis at a high speed, wherein said blade has a screw provided on said spindle axis. An auxiliary stop member having a screw that is screwed into is fixed, the auxiliary stop member holds the fixed blade, and in a state where the blade is urged to the spindle shaft,
Blade attaching / detaching means for rotating the blade relative to the spindle shaft; blade accommodating means for accommodating the blade to be replaced; moving the blade attaching / detaching means between the tip of the spindle shaft and the blade accommodating means A moving means for moving the blade, wherein two blade attaching / detaching means are provided, one holding a blade to be attached, and the other holding a removed blade. 2. A blade automatic exchange system for automatically exchanging said blades of a dicing apparatus for performing groove processing by rotating a blade attached to a spindle shaft at a high speed, said blade being engaged with said spindle shaft. A positioning member for positioning the blade on the spindle shaft, and an auxiliary stopper member including a nut member for fastening the blade to the spindle shaft via the positioning member are fixed,
Blade attaching / detaching means for holding the blade to which the auxiliary stopper member is fixed and rotating the nut member with respect to the spindle shaft while the blade is engaged with the spindle shaft via the positioning member; A blade accommodating means for accommodating the blade to be moved, and a moving means for moving the blade attaching / detaching means between the tip of the spindle shaft and the blade accommodating means, wherein two blade attaching / detaching means are provided. An automatic blade replacement system, wherein a blade holds a blade to be installed and the other holds a blade removed. 3. The blade attaching / detaching means includes: a plurality of chuck members; and a driving means for moving at least one of the plurality of chuck members with respect to another chuck member. By moving the chuck member in and out, the blade is squeezed and held by a plurality of chuck members, and the chucking and holding of the blade is released by retracting the chuck member by the driving means. The automatic blade replacement system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein 4. The blade attaching / detaching means includes: a main body; a plurality of chuck members disposed concentrically on the main body; and a driving means for moving the plurality of chuck members forward and backward with respect to the center of the circumference. By moving the plurality of chuck members advancing and moving by the driving means, the blade is held and held by a plurality of chuck members, and the plurality of chuck members are retracted and moved by the driving means, The blade automatic exchange system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the holding of the blade is released. 5. The blade comprises an annular blade body and an annular hub to which the blade body is fixed and wherein the hub is a plurality of chuck members of the blade attaching / detaching means. The blade automatic exchange system according to claim 3, wherein the blade is held by a pressure. 6. The driving means of the blade attachment / detachment means includes: a cam member having a plurality of cam grooves formed therein; and a plurality of cam members engaged with the plurality of cam grooves and provided on the plurality of chuck members, respectively. A cam follower, a guide member for guiding the plurality of chuck members so as to be able to advance and retreat with respect to the center of the circumference, and moving the cam member to move the plurality of chuck members to the cam groove and the guide. The blade automatic exchange system according to claim 4, further comprising: a cam drive unit configured to be guided by a member to move forward and backward. 7. The automatic blade replacement system according to claim 1, wherein said blade attaching / detaching means is floatingly supported via a floating supporting means on a supporting body portion supporting said blade attaching / detaching means. .