Blade attaching / detaching tool

Abstract

To simplify a work of replacing a plurality of cutting blades.SOLUTION: A blade attaching / detaching tool (100) is used for a cutting device (10) provided with a replacement unit (36) for replacing a cutting blade (26). The replacement unit includes a plurality of blade accommodating portions (56) for accommodating a plurality of cutting blades. The blade attaching / detaching tool includes a plurality of blade gripping portions (101). The blade gripping portion comprises: a base accommodating plate (103) which has a base accommodating portion (116) for accommodating an annular base and a side surface support portion (117) for supporting a part of a side surface of the annular base; a sliding plate (104) which has a pressing portion (126) for pressing the side surface of the annular base toward the side surface support portion; a biasing portion (107) for biasing the sliding plate toward the side surface support portion; and a handle (108) for moving the sliding plate in a direction opposite to a biasing direction of the biasing portion. The blade attaching / detaching tool collectively attaches or detaches a plurality of cutting blades to or from the plurality of blade accommodating portions.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a blade attaching / detaching tool used when attaching / detaching a cutting blade to / from a replacement unit of a cutting device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a cutting device that includes a cutting blade that is attached to a rotating spindle to cut wafers and an exchange unit for exchanging the cutting blade. In this cutting device, a plurality of new cutting blades are attached to the exchange unit, and when a cutting blade is worn out, the cutting blade attached to the spindle is replaced by the exchange unit. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-079098 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-185635 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when using a replacement unit as described above, the worker must not only attach multiple cutting blades to the replacement unit, but also remove the multiple used cutting blades that have been collected in the replacement unit, which poses a problem of cumbersome and burdensome work.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and one of its objects is to provide a blade attaching / detaching tool that can simplify the work of replacing multiple cutting blades with a replacement unit. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A blade attaching / detaching tool according to one aspect of the present invention is a blade attaching / detaching tool used in a cutting device that includes a chuck table for holding a wafer, a cutting mechanism that mounts a cutting blade on the tip of a spindle and cuts the wafer held on the chuck table, and an exchange unit for exchanging the cutting blade, wherein the cutting blade includes an annular base and a grindstone arranged in a ring shape on the outer periphery of the annular base, and the exchange unit includes a plurality of blade accommodating sections that arrange a plurality of the cutting blades in a planar shape, and the annular base of the plurality of cutting blades is provided with a plurality of blade accommodating sections that accommodate the plurality of cutting blades. The blade gripping portion is comprised of a base housing plate having a base housing portion that houses the annular base and a side support portion that supports part of the side, a sliding plate having a pushing portion that pushes the side of the annular base housed in the base housing plate toward the side support portion, a biasing portion that biases the sliding plate toward the side support portion, and a handle for moving the sliding plate in the direction opposite to the biasing direction of the biasing portion, and the cutting blades are attached and detached all at once to and from the blade housing portion. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, multiple cutting blades can be held by multiple blade gripping parts, and the held multiple cutting blades can be attached to multiple blade storage parts by operating the handle. Also, the cutting blades attached to the multiple blade storage parts can be grasped and removed by operating the handle with the multiple blade gripping parts. In this way, multiple cutting blades can be attached and detached to and from the multiple blade storage parts at once, which shortens the attachment and detachment work time and simplifies the work. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cutting device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 4 is a partial enlarged view of the blade housing mechanism. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an embodiment in which the blade attaching / detaching tool is used in a cutting device. [Figure 4]FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a state in which the blade attaching / detaching tool is ready to replace the cutting blade. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a partial exploded view of the blade attachment / detachment tool of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] 10A to 10C are cross-sectional views for explaining the process of gripping a cutting blade by a blade gripping portion. [Figure 7] 5 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a state in which the plates are received in the lid from the state shown in FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of a state in which the blade attaching / detaching tool is ready to replace the cutting blade. [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of an embodiment in which the blade attaching / detaching tool is used in a cutting device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, a blade attacher according to an embodiment and a cutting device in which the blade attacher is used will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the cutting device will be described. Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the cutting device according to the embodiment.

[0010] 1 is used to cut a wafer W. The cutting device 10 includes a cutting mechanism 17 that cuts a wafer W held on a chuck table 11, and the cutting mechanism 17 includes a cutting blade 26 attached to the tip of a spindle.

[0011] The wafer W is a disk-shaped semiconductor wafer made of, for example, silicon. Chips, which are electronic devices, are formed on the front surface of the wafer W in multiple regions defined by a grid of planned division lines. A flexible tape T is attached to the back surface of the wafer W, and an annular ring frame F is attached to the outer periphery of the tape T.

[0012] The wafer W cut by the cutting device 10 is not limited to a semiconductor wafer. For example, it may be an inorganic material substrate such as ceramic, glass, or sapphire, or a package substrate for a semiconductor product.

[0013] The X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions of the cutting device 10 are perpendicular to one another. The X-axis and Y-axis directions are horizontal directions, and the Z-axis direction is an up-down direction. The X-axis direction is a processing (cutting) feed direction in which the wafer W is moved relative to the cutting blade 26 when cutting along the planned dividing line. The Y-axis direction is an indexing feed direction in which the cutting blade 26 is moved to position the cutting blade 26 at the next planned dividing line after cutting the planned dividing line. The Z-axis direction is a cutting feed direction in which the cutting blade 26 is moved when cutting into the wafer W.

[0014] The cutting device 10 of this embodiment is equipped with two chuck tables 11, and alignment units 16, cutting mechanisms 17, etc. corresponding to the chuck tables 11, respectively, and is capable of simultaneously cutting two wafers W. The specific configuration will be described below, and in the description of each part, components having the same function will be appropriately assigned the same reference numerals.

[0015] In the cutting device 10 in Fig. 1, two chuck tables 11 are arranged side by side in the Y-axis direction on a stationary base 12. Each of the two chuck tables 11 is provided with a cutting feed mechanism 13, and the chuck table 11 is arranged to be movable in the X-axis direction via the cutting feed mechanisms 13. Each cutting feed mechanism 13 employs a ball screw mechanism with a roughly identical structure, and feeds the chuck table 11 for cutting with the X-axis direction being the processing feed direction.

[0016] The two chuck tables 11 are made of a porous material such as porous ceramics, and each chuck table 11 sucks and holds a wafer W placed on its upper surface, which is its placement surface, by a suction means (not shown). The two chuck tables 11 are also configured to be rotatable about a vertical axis by a pulse motor (not shown).

[0017] The cutting device 10 further includes a gate-shaped support frame 15, two alignment units 16, and two cutting mechanisms 17, with the two alignment units 16 and two cutting mechanisms 17 arranged corresponding to the two chuck tables 11. The support frame 15 is erected on a stationary base 12 and is arranged to straddle the two chuck tables 11 and the two cutting feed mechanisms 13 in the Y-axis direction. The support frame 15 includes a beam 18 extending in the Y-axis direction at a predetermined distance above the stationary base 12. One surface of the beam 18 in the X-axis direction supports the two alignment units 16 via a Y-axis movement mechanism 19, which is a ball screw mechanism. The other surface of the beam 18 in the X-axis direction supports the two cutting mechanisms 17 via an indexing feed mechanism 21, which is a ball screw mechanism.

[0018] The two alignment units 16 are configured to detect the position of the wafer W placed on the two chuck tables 11 and align the detected position with the cutting blades 26 of the two corresponding cutting mechanisms 17 (the cutting blade 26 of one of the cutting mechanisms 17 is not shown). The alignment units 16 can be, for example, an imaging device equipped with an imaging element such as a CCD for capturing an image of the wafer W.

[0019] The two cutting mechanisms 17 are provided so as to be movable in the Y-axis direction, which is the indexing feed direction, by an indexing feed mechanism 21. Each of the two cutting mechanisms 17 includes a spindle unit 23 and a cutting feed mechanism 24 that supports the spindle unit 23.

[0020] The spindle unit 23 includes a spindle (not shown) and a cutting blade 26 attached to the tip of the spindle via a nut or a flange. The spindle is a rotating shaft that transmits the rotational driving force of a pulse motor to the cutting blade 26 to rotate it at high speed, and is supported in the spindle housing via a bearing mechanism or the like so as to be able to rotate at high speed.

[0021] Here, the cutting blade 26 shown in Figure 2 has a circular base 30 that serves as a hub with a circular opening 29, and a grinding wheel 31 that forms a cutting edge is formed in a ring shape on the outer periphery of the circular base 30.

[0022] Returning to Fig. 1, the cutting feed mechanism 24 is a ball screw mechanism supported by the indexing feed mechanism 21, and supports the spindle unit 23 at its lower part. The cutting feed mechanism 24 feeds the spindle unit 23, including the cutting blade 26, downward (in the Z-axis direction).

[0023] Using the above-described components, a cutting process is performed under the control of the control unit 70, and the wafer W held on the two chuck tables 11 is cut. In this cutting process, the cutting mechanism 17 drives the cutting feed mechanism 24 while rotating the cutting blade 26 at high speed, causing the cutting blade 26 to cut into the wafer W held on the chuck table 11. Along with this cutting, the cutting feed mechanism 13 is driven to move the chuck table 11 in the processing feed direction (X-axis direction), thereby cutting the wafer W along the streets. The cutting mechanism 17 then drives the indexing feed mechanism 21 to move the chuck table 11 in the indexing feed direction (Y-axis direction) by a predetermined amount, and this movement sequentially positions the streets of the wafer W vertically below the cutting blade 26. This allows the wafer W to be cut along each of the streets of the wafer W.

[0024] The cutting device 10 of this embodiment is equipped with an exchange unit 36 for exchanging the cutting blade 26. The exchange unit 36 includes a transport mechanism 38 and two blade storage mechanisms 40, which are provided behind the support frame 15 on the stationary base 12.

[0025] The conveying mechanism 38 includes a positioning mechanism 42 arranged between two blade storage mechanisms 40 aligned in the Y-axis direction in Figure 1, and a nut attachment / detachment mechanism 43 and a blade attachment / detachment mechanism 44 that are moved and positioned by the positioning mechanism 42.

[0026] The positioning mechanism 42 includes a support plate 46 that is rectangular in plan view and is arranged a predetermined distance above the stationary base 12, and an X-axis movement mechanism 47 that is constituted by a ball screw mechanism provided on the underside of the support plate 46. The positioning mechanism 42 also includes a movable base 48 that is moved in the X-axis direction by the X-axis movement mechanism 47, and the nut attachment / detachment mechanism 43 and the blade attachment / detachment mechanism 44 are supported on the movable base 48. The X-axis movement mechanism 47 is provided so that the nut attachment / detachment mechanism 43 and the blade attachment / detachment mechanism 44 can be reciprocated and positioned between the two blade accommodation mechanisms 40 and between the two cutting mechanisms 17 by moving the movable base 48 in the X-axis direction.

[0027] The nut attaching / detaching mechanism 43 is configured to fit into a nut that attaches the cutting blade 26 to the spindle in the cutting mechanism 17, and to be able to attach and detach the nut by loosening and tightening the nut. Although one nut attaching / detaching mechanism 43 is not shown in Fig. 1, two nut attaching / detaching mechanisms 43 are provided, one on each side of the movable substrate 48 in the Y-axis direction, and the two nut attaching / detaching mechanisms 43 are provided so as to be symmetrical with respect to an axis parallel to the X-axis direction.

[0028] Although one blade attachment / detachment mechanism 44 is not shown in FIG. 1, two are provided, one on each side of the movable substrate 48 in the Y-axis direction, and the two blade attachment / detachment mechanisms 44 are arranged symmetrically with respect to an axis parallel to the X-axis direction.

[0029] The blade attachment / detachment mechanism 44 includes two blade gripping mechanisms 50 and a support plate 51 that supports the two blade gripping mechanisms 50 lined up in the X-axis direction. One of the two blade gripping mechanisms 50 is used to grip a replacement cutting blade 26 to be newly attached to the cutting mechanism 17, and the other of the two blade gripping mechanisms 50 is used to grip an already-used cutting blade 26 attached to the cutting mechanism 17 when replacing it.

[0030] The blade attaching / detaching mechanism 44 is also provided so that the cutting blade 26 attached to the cutting mechanism 17 can be gripped and removed by the blade gripping mechanism 50, and the cutting blade 26 gripped by the blade gripping mechanism 50 can be attached to the cutting mechanism 17. Thus, the blade attaching / detaching mechanism 44 is configured to be able to attach / detach the cutting blade 26 to / from the cutting mechanism 17. Furthermore, the blade attaching / detaching mechanism 44 is also provided so that the cutting blade 26 held in the blade storage mechanism 40 can be gripped and removed by the blade gripping mechanism 50, and the cutting blade 26 gripped by the blade gripping mechanism 50 can be held in the blade storage mechanism 40. Thus, the blade attaching / detaching mechanism 44 is configured so that the cutting blade 26 can be attached / detached to / from the blade storage mechanism 40.

[0031] As described above, in the transport mechanism 38 of the replacement unit 36, the positioning mechanism 42 moves and positions the nut attaching / detaching mechanism 43 and the blade attaching / detaching mechanism 44 to the cutting mechanism 17 and the blade housing mechanism 40. After such positioning, the nut attaching / detaching mechanism 43 and the blade attaching / detaching mechanism 44 are driven to attach and detach the cutting blade 26 to and from the cutting mechanism 17 and the blade housing mechanism 40, thereby replacing the cutting blade 26.

[0032] Two blade housing mechanisms 40 are disposed, one on each side of the stationary base 12 in the Y-axis direction, and the two blade housing mechanisms 40 are provided so as to be symmetrical with respect to an axis parallel to the X-axis direction. The blade housing mechanism 40 includes a support column 53 disposed on the stationary base 12, and a support member 55 attached to the upper end of the support column 53 via a rotation shaft 54. The blade housing mechanism 40 also includes, on the surface side of the support member 55, a plurality of (six in this embodiment) blade housing sections 56 in which a plurality of (six in this embodiment) cutting blades 26 are arranged in a planar manner.

[0033] 2 is a partially enlarged view of the blade housing mechanism. In the blade housing mechanism 40, the rotary shaft 54 is rotated by the motor 58, and the support member 55 is rotated intermittently about a central axis parallel to the Y-axis direction via the rotary shaft 54, thereby rotationally displacing the multiple blade housing sections 56. The motor 58 is provided with an encoder 59 that detects the number of rotations (number of pulses), and the rotational displacement angle of the support member 55 can be obtained from the pulse signal output from the encoder 59.

[0034] The blade accommodating section 56 includes a cylindrical blade fitting section 61 and a position restricting section 62 that restricts the position of the cutting blade 26 when it is inserted onto the outer peripheral surface of the blade fitting section 61. The position restricting section 62 includes a ball and a spring that presses the ball radially outward, and the restricting function works until the force acting on the ball reaches a predetermined value.

[0035] The blade accommodating section 56 supports and accommodates the replacement cutting blade 26 from the back side by automatically inserting the opening 29 of the annular base 30 into the outer peripheral surface of the blade fitting section 61 by the blade attaching / detaching mechanism 44. During this insertion, the position restricting section 62 sinks. The inserted replacement cutting blade 26 is then held in the blade accommodating section 56 by the position restricting section 62 and the blade fitting section 61, which return from being buried.

[0036] In the blade storage mechanism 40, each blade storage section 56 is selectively positioned at a predetermined transfer position on the rotational trajectory by intermittent rotation of the rotary shaft 54 by the motor 58. Such transfer positions are preset as positions that can face the blade gripping mechanism 50 of the blade attachment / detachment mechanism 44. This allows the blade storage mechanism 40 to hold and store a new replacement cutting blade 26 transported by the blade attachment / detachment mechanism 44, as well as multiple previously used cutting blades 26.

[0037] The operation of each part of the cutting device 10 is controlled by a control unit 70. The control unit 70 is configured with a processor that executes various processes and a storage unit (memory) that stores various parameters, programs, etc. The storage unit of the control unit 70 stores, as part of a control program, programs for controlling the operation of, for example, the cutting mechanism 17, the feed mechanisms 13, 21, and 24, the transport mechanism 38 of the replacement unit 36, the nut attachment / detachment mechanism 43, and the blade attachment / detachment mechanism 44. Unless a control entity is specified for the operation of each part of the cutting device 10 described below, it is assumed that the operation is controlled by a control signal sent from the control unit 70.

[0038] Here, conventionally, when installing new replacement cutting blades 26 in the blade housing mechanism 40, an operator manually installed one cutting blade 26 in each of the multiple blade housing sections 56. Furthermore, conventionally, when removing cutting blades 26 installed in each of the multiple blade housing sections 56, an operator manually removed each cutting blade 26, or gripped and detached each cutting blade 26 with the blade gripping mechanism 50, and dropped them into a designated disposal port. Therefore, there was a problem in that the installation and removal work took more time and became a greater burden as the number of cutting blades 26 increased.

[0039] To solve this problem, this embodiment uses a blade attaching / detaching tool 100. The blade attaching / detaching tool 100 of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

[0040] Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of an embodiment in which the blade attaching / detaching tool is used in a cutting device. As shown in Fig. 3, the blade attaching / detaching tool 100 has a plurality of blade gripping parts 101 (six in this embodiment) arranged corresponding to the plurality of blade storage parts 56 in the replacement unit 36 (see Fig. 1). The blade attaching / detaching tool 100 also has a base storage plate 103, a sliding plate 104 (see Fig. 4, not shown in Fig. 3), a cover plate 105, an urging part 107 (see Fig. 4, not shown in Fig. 3), and a handle 108. The plurality of blade gripping parts 101 are constituted by the base storage plate 103, the sliding plate 104, the urging part 107, and the handle 108.

[0041] The plurality of blade gripping portions 101 are arranged concentrically with the plurality of blade accommodating portions 56 , and are provided so as to be able to grip and arrange the cutting blades 26 at positions facing all of the plurality of blade accommodating portions 56 .

[0042] Fig. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a state in which the blade attaching / detaching tool is prepared to replace a cutting blade. The orientation of the blade attaching / detaching tool 100 shown in Fig. 3 is different from that of the blade attaching / detaching tool 100 shown in Fig. 4, and the blade attaching / detaching tool 100 may be used in the state shown in Fig. 4 when preparing to replace the cutting blade 26 in the cutting device 10. In the following description of the blade attaching / detaching tool 100, unless otherwise specified, "upper," "lower," "front," "rear," "left," and "right" are based on the directions of the arrows shown in Figs. 4 to 8. However, the orientation of each component in the following description is merely an example, and the orientation can be changed to any desired orientation.

[0043] Figure 5 is a partial exploded view of the blade attaching / detaching tool of Figure 4. In Figures 4 and 5, the thickness direction of each of the plates 103 to 105 of the blade attaching / detaching tool 100 is oriented in the vertical direction, and the base housing plate 103, the sliding plate 104 (not shown in Figure 4), and the cover plate 105 are arranged in this order from bottom to top.

[0044] The base housing plate 103 includes a base wall 110 having a circular planar shape, a cylindrical outer peripheral wall 111 continuing to the outer peripheral edge of the base wall 110, and a cylindrical inner peripheral wall 112 continuing to the inner peripheral edge of the base wall 110. Both the outer peripheral wall 111 and the inner peripheral wall 112 are formed to protrude upward in a direction perpendicular to the base wall 110.

[0045] A handle housing 114 is formed so as to protrude forward from the base wall 110 and the outer peripheral wall 111 of the base housing plate 103. The handle housing 114 forms a rectangular housing space that is open at the top and is long in the front-to-rear direction, and is configured so that the handle 108 can be housed within the housing space. A grip 115 that extends parallel to the front-to-rear direction is provided in front of the handle housing 114. The grip 115 is provided so that an operator can easily hold the blade attaching / detaching tool 100 with their hands when using or transporting it.

[0046] The base housing plate 103 also has base housing portions 116, which are circular openings formed at positions corresponding to the multiple blade gripping portions 101, and side support portions 117 that protrude upward from positions along the edge of the rear portion (opposite the handle 108) of each base housing portion 116. The diameter of the opening of the base housing portion 116 is formed to be approximately the same as or slightly larger than the diameter of the annular base 30, thereby allowing the annular base 30 to be housed inside the base housing portion 116. The side support portions 117 are also arranged to fit along part of the side surface of the annular base 30 housed inside the base housing portion 116 (see FIG. 6C ).

[0047] Furthermore, the base housing plate 103 has spring housing portions 119 provided in two locations on the base wall 110: one between the two front base housing portions 116 and the other between the two rear base housing portions 116. Each spring housing portion 119 is formed by a protrusion that extends in a U-shape in plan view, and is open upward and rearward. Each spring housing portion 119 houses a biasing portion 107 formed by a compression coil spring with its axis facing the front-to-rear direction.

[0048] The sliding plate 104 has a plate body 122 that is annular in plan view and defines a central opening 123 in the center. The sliding plate 104 is shaped to fit inside the outer peripheral wall 111 of the base housing plate 103, and the inner peripheral wall 112 is shaped to fit inside the central opening 123. In this fitted state, the sliding plate 104 is disposed so as to be displaceable in the front-to-rear direction relative to the base housing plate 103. In other words, to enable such displacement, the plate body 122 is formed so that its front-to-rear width is shorter than the internal space of the outer peripheral wall 111, and the central opening 123 is formed so that its front-to-rear width is longer than the inner peripheral wall 112.

[0049] A handle 108 is formed continuously from the front end of the sliding plate 104 so as to protrude forward. The handle 108 is formed in a rectangular shape in a plan view, and is housed from above in the housing space of the handle housing portion 114. The handle 108 is formed with a front-to-rear width shorter than the housing space of the handle housing portion 114, and is provided so as to be displaceable in the front-to-rear direction while housed in the handle housing portion 114. By operating the handle 108 so as to displace it in the front-to-rear direction, the sliding plate 104 connected to the handle 108 can be displaced in the front-to-rear direction. The upper surface of the handle 108 is formed concave, forming a space into which the operator's fingertips can be inserted.

[0050] The sliding plate 104 has accommodation openings 125 formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of base accommodation portions 116. Side support portions 117 formed along the base accommodation portions 116 are inserted and positioned in the rear inner region of each accommodation opening 125.

[0051] The accommodation opening 125 is formed in an oval shape with a front-to-back width that is longer than its left-to-right width. More specifically, the accommodation opening 125 has a left-to-right width that is approximately the same as the left-to-right width (diameter dimension) of the base accommodation portion 116, and a front-to-back width that is larger than the front-to-back width (diameter dimension) of the base accommodation portion 116. Therefore, when the sliding plate 104 is accommodated inside the base accommodation plate 103, the left-to-right positions of the accommodation opening 125 and the base accommodation portion 116 are approximately aligned. Meanwhile, in this state, at least one of the front and rear ends of the accommodation opening 125 protrudes from the base accommodation portion 116.

[0052] The sliding plate 104 has a pushing portion 126 formed to protrude upward from a position along the edge of the front portion (handle 108 side) of the accommodation opening 125. The pushing portion 126 is arranged to face the side support portion 117 inserted into the accommodation opening 125 in the front-to-rear direction with the base accommodation portion 116 sandwiched therebetween.

[0053] The sliding plate 104 has two rectangular openings 128 formed at positions corresponding to the two spring accommodating portions 119 in the base accommodating plate 103. A sliding piece 129 that protrudes downward is formed at a position along the forming edge of the rear portion of the rectangular opening 128 (the side opposite the handle 108).

[0054] The rectangular opening 128 is formed so that its left-right width and front-rear width are slightly larger than those of the spring accommodating portion 119, and is configured to be able to accommodate the spring accommodating portion 119 therein. With the spring accommodating portion 119 accommodated inside the rectangular opening 128, the slide piece 129 is received inside the spring accommodating portion 119. In this received state, the front-rear displacement of the sliding plate 104 is guided by the edges of the rectangular opening 128 and the spring accommodating portion 119 extending in the front-rear direction. Therefore, the rectangular opening 128 and the spring accommodating portion 119 function as guides when the sliding plate 104 is displaced front-rear relative to the base accommodating plate 103.

[0055] Furthermore, the slide piece 129 comes into contact with the rear end of the biasing portion 107 housed in the spring housing portion 119, and the biasing force of the biasing portion 107 acts in the rearward direction. As a result, when the operator is not operating the handle 108, the slide piece 129 is pushed rearward by the biasing portion 107, and the sliding plate 104 is biased to its rearward limit of movement. In other words, the biasing direction of the biasing portion 107 on the sliding plate 104 is rearward.

[0056] On the other hand, when the operator operates the handle 108 forward, the urging portion 107 is compressed in the front-to-rear direction by the slide piece portion 129, and the sliding plate 104 can be moved forward (in the direction opposite to the urging direction) while receiving the urging force of the urging portion 107. In other words, the handle 108 is provided to move the sliding plate 104 forward and separate the pushing portion 126 forward from the side support portion 117 in each blade gripping portion 101.

[0057] Furthermore, when the forward operation of the handle 108 is released, the sliding plate 104 is moved rearward by the biasing force of the biasing portion 107, and the pushing portion 126 approaches the side support portion 117 in the blade gripping portion 101.

[0058] Here, the manner in which the cutting blade 26 is gripped by the blade gripping portion 101 will be described with reference to FIG. 6 as well. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the process of gripping the cutting blade by the blade gripping portion. FIG. 6A shows the state before gripping the cutting blade 26. When the cutting blade 26 is not gripped by the blade gripping portion 101 and the handle 108 is not operated, the pushing portion 126 of the sliding plate 104 is positioned at the position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6A. At this time, the sliding plate 104 is urged rearward by the urging force of the urging portion 107, so that the distance in the front-to-rear direction between the side support portion 117 and the pushing portion 126 becomes smaller than the diameter of the annular base 30 of the cutting blade 26.

[0059] In this state, when handle 108 is moved forward while receiving the biasing force of biasing portion 107, sliding plate 104 including pushing portion 126 moves forward as shown by the arrow in Fig. 6A, and the distance in the front-to-rear direction between side support portion 117 and pushing portion 126 becomes larger than the diameter of annular base 30. In this state, while continuing to operate handle 108, annular base 30 is accommodated in accommodation opening 125 and base accommodation portion 116 as shown in Fig. 6B.

[0060] Thereafter, by releasing the operation on the handle 108, the sliding plate 104 is moved rearward by the biasing force of the biasing portion 107. As a result, as shown in Fig. 6C, the pushing portion 126 of the sliding plate 104 approaches the side support portion 117, and the annular base 30 is sandwiched between the side support portion 117 and the pushing portion 126 from the front and rear. Therefore, the blade gripping portion 101 grips the annular base 30 of the cutting blade 26.

[0061] At this time, the biasing portion 107 biases the pushing portion 126 (sliding plate 104) toward the side support portion 117, and the pushing portion 126 pushes the front side surface of the annular base 30 housed in the base housing portion 116 toward the side support portion 117. In addition, with the annular base 30 pressed by the pushing portion 126, the side support portion 117 exerts a reaction force to support the rear side surface (part of the side surface) of the annular base 30.

[0062] Returning to Fig. 4, the cover plate 105 has a planar shape formed in an annular shape, an outer edge shape formed substantially identical to the outer edge shape of the base housing plate 103, and is fixed in contact with the upper end surface of the outer peripheral wall 111. Furthermore, the central opening 131 of the cover plate 105 is formed in a shape that fits snugly into the inner peripheral wall 112 of the base housing plate 103. Therefore, the cover plate 105 covers the area between the outer peripheral wall 111 and the inner peripheral wall 112 of the base housing plate 103 from above.

[0063] In the cover plate 105, windows 132 serving as circular openings are formed at positions corresponding to the plurality of base accommodating portions 116, respectively.

[0064] The blade attaching / detaching tool 100 includes a lid 140 that is capable of receiving the plates 103 to 105 therein. The lid 140 includes a main body wall 141 that is formed in a circular ring shape when viewed from above, a cylindrical outer cylindrical wall 142 that is continuous with the outer peripheral edge of the main body wall 141, and a cylindrical inner cylindrical wall 143 that is continuous with the inner peripheral edge of the main body wall 141. A notch 145 into which the handle housing 114 fits is provided in the front of the outer cylindrical wall 142.

[0065] The lid 140 also includes a plurality of (six in this embodiment) cylindrical support portions 147 formed on the upper surface of the main body wall 141, and a cylinder 148 formed on the upper surface of each support portion 147. The support portions 147 and the cylinders 148 are arranged concentrically, and the support portions 147 are formed to have a larger diameter than the cylinders 148. With the positions of the notched portions 145 and the handle accommodating portions 114 aligned in the circumferential direction of the lid 140, the support portions 147 and the cylinders 148 are disposed at positions corresponding to the plurality of blade gripping portions 101, respectively.

[0066] Fig. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing an example of a state in which each plate is received in the lid from the state shown in Fig. 4. As shown in Figs. 4 and 7, the outer cylindrical wall 142 is formed so that its inner diameter is approximately the same as or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the base housing plate 103, and the base housing plate 103 and the cover plate 105 fit snugly inside. The inner cylindrical wall 143 is formed so that its outer diameter is approximately the same as or slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the inner peripheral wall 112 of the base housing plate 103, and the inner cylindrical wall 143 fits snugly inside the inner peripheral wall 112.

[0067] FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing another example of the blade attaching / detaching tool in a preparation state for replacing a cutting blade. As shown in FIG. 8 , the lid 140 can hold a cutting blade 26 at each of the six support portions 147 and the cylinders 148. With the cutting blade 26 held in this state, the support portions 147 support the annular base 30 of the cutting blade 26 from below, and the openings 29 of the annular base 30 are inserted into the cylinders 148. Furthermore, the cutting blade 26 held by the lid 140 is disposed in the space between the outer cylindrical wall 142 and the inner cylindrical wall 143 on both radial sides, thereby protecting the grindstone 31 of the cutting blade 26. Furthermore, in the state shown in FIG. 7 , the cutting blade 26 held by the lid 140 can be covered from above by the lid 140 and the base housing plate 103, etc., thereby protecting the grindstone 31 of the cutting blade 26 held by each blade gripping portion 101.

[0068] Next, a method for holding and removing the cutting blade 26 from each blade gripping portion 101 using the lid 140 will be described.

[0069] When holding the cutting blades 26, first, as shown in Fig. 8, the circular cylinders 148 are inserted into the openings 29 of the cutting blades 26 using the lid 140, and the annular base 30 is placed on the upper surface of the support portion 147 to support it. As a result, all six cutting blades 26 are lined up on the same plane and positioned at positions corresponding to all six blade gripping portions 101.

[0070] In this state, the operator holds the grip 115 by hand and arranges the lid 140 so that the handle housing 114 fits into the cutout 145, and the base housing plate 103 and cover plate 105 fit inside the outer cylindrical wall 142, as shown in Fig. 7. By fitting the handle housing 114 into the cutout 145, the lid 140 and the base housing plate 103 are aligned in the circumferential direction. This alignment aligns the six cutting blades 26 supported by the lid 140 with the six blade gripping portions 101 in the circumferential direction of the lid 140.

[0071] At the same time, the operator moves the handle 108 forward to move the pushing portion 126 forward away from the side support portion 117 (see FIG. 6A). As a result, the annular base 30 of the cutting blade 26 can be accommodated in the accommodation opening 125 and the base accommodation portion 116 and is disposed between the side support portion 117 and the pushing portion 126 (see FIG. 6B). Thereafter, when the operator releases the operation on the handle 108, the pushing portion 126 moves rearward due to the biasing force of the biasing portion 107, and the annular base 30 of the cutting blade 26 is gripped from the front and rear directions by the side support portion 117 and the pushing portion 126 (see FIG. 6C). This gripping is performed by all of the cutting blades 26 and the blade gripping portions 101, and all of the cutting blades 26 can be attached to the blade gripping portions 101 all at once.

[0072] When removing a cutting blade 26 from each blade gripping portion 101 using the lid 140, the operator holds the grip 115 by hand in the state shown in Fig. 4. From this state, as shown in Fig. 7, the handle accommodating portion 114 fits into the cutout portion 145 of the lid 140, and the base accommodating plate 103 and cover plate 105 are positioned inside the outer cylindrical wall 142. As a result, the cylinder 148 is inserted into the opening 29 of the cutting blade 26 gripped by each blade gripping portion 101.

[0073] The operator then moves the handle 108 forward to move the pushing portion 126 forward away from the side support portion 117 (see FIG. 6A). This releases the grip of the annular base 30 by the side support portion 117 and the pushing portion 126, and the annular base 30 is placed on and supported by the upper surface of the support portion 147. This release of grip is performed by all of the cutting blades 26 and the blade gripping portions 101, and then by lifting the base storage plate 103 and the like from the lid 140, all of the cutting blades 26 can be removed from the blade gripping portions 101 all at once.

[0074] Next, a method for attaching and detaching the cutting blade 26 to and from the blade housing mechanism 40 using the blade attaching / detaching tool 100 will be described.

[0075] 3, when the cutting blade 26 is attached to the blade housing mechanism 40, with the cutting blade 26 held by each blade holding portion 101, the grip 115 is oriented parallel to the X-axis direction, and each of the plates 103 to 105 is oriented parallel to the support member 55. Additionally, while aligning the center of each of the plates 103 to 105 with the rotation center position of the support member 55, each of the blade holding portions 101 and each of the blade housing portions 56 are aligned around the Y-axis.

[0076] With the blade gripping portion 101 aligned in this manner, the blade holder 101 is brought close to the blade housing portion 56, and the blade fitting portion 61 is inserted into the opening 29 of the cutting blade 26. This causes the cutting blade 26 to be attached to each blade housing portion 56 via the blade fitting portion 61 and the position regulating portion 62. This attachment is performed for all cutting blades 26 and blade housing portions 56. Then, by releasing the operation on the handle 108 and moving each blade gripping portion 101 away from each blade housing portion 56, all cutting blades 26 can be attached to the blade housing portions 56 all at once, as shown in FIG. 9.

[0077] When removing the cutting blades 26 from all the blade housing sections 56, the operator holds the grip 115 by hand and moves the handle 108 forward to move the pushing section 126 forward away from the side support section 117 (see FIG. 6A). Then, in the same manner as described above, with each blade gripping section 101 and each blade housing section 56 aligned, the blade gripping section 101 is brought close to the cutting blade 26 attached to the blade housing section 56.

[0078] By this approach, the annular base 30 of the cutting blade 26 is housed in the housing opening 125 and the base housing portion 116, and by releasing the operation on the handle 108, the cutting blade 26 is held by the blade gripping portion 101. After such holding, by moving the blade gripping portion 101 away from all of the blade housing portions 56, it becomes possible to remove the cutting blades 26 from all of the blade housing portions 56 at once.

[0079] In this way, in the above embodiment, multiple cutting blades 26 can be simultaneously attached to and detached from multiple blade storage sections 56, thereby shortening the time required for such attachment and detachment. This simplifies the process of attaching and detaching multiple cutting blades 26 to and from the replacement unit 36 of the cutting device 10, thereby reducing the burden on the worker.

[0080] Furthermore, the cutting blades 26 held by the blade holding portions 101 can be positioned using the lid 140, which simplifies and shortens the time required for the holding operation. In addition, in the state shown in Fig. 7, the blade attaching / detaching tool 100 can cover the cutting blades 26, which protects the grindstones 31 of the cutting blades 26.

[0081] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made. In the above-described embodiments, the size and shape shown in the accompanying drawings are not limited to these, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the effects of the present invention. In addition, the present invention can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the object of the present invention.

[0082] For example, the number of blade gripping portions 101, support portions 147, and cylinders 148 installed is not limited to six, and may be changed as appropriate to two, four, eight, etc., depending on the number of blade accommodating portions 56 installed in the replacement unit 36.

[0083] Furthermore, the cover plate 105 may be omitted as long as the base housing plate 103 and the sliding plate 104 can be maintained in a combined state, as in the above embodiment.

[0084] Furthermore, the planar shapes of the base housing plate 103 and the sliding plate 104 are not limited to circular or circular-like shapes, and various modifications are possible, such as a polygonal shape such as a rectangle.

[0085] Moreover, the biasing portion 107 may have a structure using an elastic body that generates a biasing force other than a coil spring, a piston, or the like.

[0086] Furthermore, the handle 108 may have other shapes and configurations as long as it can be operated by the operator in the same manner as in the above embodiment. [Industrial Applicability]

[0087] As described above, the present invention has the effect of shortening and simplifying the work required to replace a plurality of cutting blades in a replacement unit of a cutting device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 10: Cutting equipment 11: Chuck table 17: Cutting mechanism 26: Cutting blade 29 :Aperture 30: Circular base 31: Grindstone 36: Replacement unit 56: Blade storage section 100: Blade attachment / detachment tool 101: Blade gripping part 103: Base storage plate 104: Sliding plate 107: biasing part 108: Handle 116: Base storage section 117: Side support part 126: Push part 140: Lid 147: Support part 148: Cylinder W: wafer

Claims

1. A blade attaching / detaching tool for use in a cutting device, the blade attaching / detaching tool comprising: a chuck table for holding a wafer; a cutting mechanism for cutting the wafer held on the chuck table by attaching a cutting blade to the tip of a spindle; and an exchange unit for exchanging the cutting blade, The cutting blade includes an annular base and a grinding stone arranged in a ring shape on the outer periphery of the annular base, the replacement unit includes a plurality of blade accommodating sections for arranging the plurality of cutting blades in a planar manner; a plurality of blade gripping portions for gripping the annular bases of the plurality of cutting blades; The blade gripping portion is composed of a base receiving plate having a base receiving portion that receives the annular base and a side support portion that supports a part of the side surface, a sliding plate having a pushing portion that pushes the side surface of the annular base received in the base receiving plate toward the side support portion, a biasing portion that biases the sliding plate toward the side support portion, and a handle for moving the sliding plate in a direction opposite to the biasing direction of the biasing portion, A blade attachment / detachment tool for attaching and detaching the cutting blades to and from the blade storage section all at once.

2. a cover for protecting the grindstone of the cutting blade held by the blade holding portion; 2. The blade attaching / detaching tool according to claim 1, wherein the lid comprises a column into which the opening of the annular base is inserted, and a support portion that supports the annular base.

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