Holding pad and processing device

Abstract

To match the shapes of holding surfaces with those of workpieces within a short time and hold a plurality of workpieces on a chuck table within a short time when the workpieces held on a plurality of holding surfaces of the chuck table are processed.SOLUTION: A holding pad 2 is disposed in a processing device 1 that processes a plurality of rectangular plate-like workpieces 90 held on a chuck table 3 to simultaneously suck and hold the upper surfaces 907 of the workpieces 90. The holding pad 2 comprises: a base 20; a plurality of suction parts 21 having suction surfaces 210 for sucking and holding the upper surfaces 907 of the workpieces 90 and arranged on the base 20; and a suction pipe 291 for communicating the arranged suction parts 21 with a suction source 29.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a holding pad that simultaneously holds the upper surfaces of a plurality of workpieces by suction, and to a processing device that is equipped with a holding pad and processes the workpieces. [Background technology]

[0002] As disclosed in the following Patent Documents 1, 2, and 3, a grinding apparatus that uses a grinding wheel to grind multiple wafers held by a chuck table is provided with a transport mechanism that transports the wafers to the chuck table, and suction-holds multiple wafers temporarily placed on a temporary placement table, transports them to the chuck table, and suction-holds them on the chuck table. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2010-247311 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2016-059993 A [Patent Document 3] JP 2016-093875 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When the workpiece, which is a wafer, is in the form of a rectangular plate, it is necessary to match the shape of the workpiece with the shape of the holding surface of the chuck table and hold each workpiece on each holding surface, which is time-consuming. Therefore, when machining workpieces held on multiple holding surfaces of a chuck table, there is a challenge of quickly matching the shape of the holding surfaces of the chuck table with the shape of the workpieces and properly holding the multiple workpieces on the chuck table in a short period of time. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a holding pad that is disposed in a processing device that processes a plurality of rectangular plate-shaped workpieces held by a chuck table and that simultaneously holds upper surfaces of the plurality of workpieces by suction, comprising: The chuck table includes at least two first engaged portions, A base and the base Underside of a suction section having a suction surface for suction-holding the upper surfaces of the workpieces, and a suction pipe communicating the suction section and a suction source; At least two engaging portions disposed on a lower surface of the base and engaging with the first engaged portions, respectively; A holding pad comprising:

[0006] In the holding pad according to the present invention, the suction portion is Underside of It is preferable that a plurality of such electrodes are arranged circumferentially.

[0008] Further, the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems provides a processing apparatus including a chuck table on which a plurality of holding surfaces are arranged for suction-holding the undersides of rectangular plate-shaped workpieces, and a processing unit which processes the workpieces held by each of the plurality of holding surfaces, the processing apparatus including a transport mechanism which transports the workpieces onto the plurality of holding surfaces or transports the workpieces held by the plurality of holding surfaces out of the holding surfaces, and a temporary placement table on which the workpieces are temporarily placed in accordance with the arrangement of the plurality of holding surfaces, the transport mechanism including a holding pad on which a plurality of suction surfaces are arranged for suction-holding the upper surfaces of the plurality of workpieces simultaneously, and a moving mechanism which moves the holding pad from the temporary placement table to the chuck table, the chuck table including: At least two The temporary placement table includes a first engaged portion, At least two A second engaged portion is provided, The holding pad has at least two engaging portions that engage with the first engaged portions and the second engaged portions, respectively. It is a processing device. Effect of the Invention

[0009] The holding pad of the present invention is arranged in a processing device that processes multiple rectangular plate-shaped workpieces held by a chuck table and suction-holds the upper surfaces of the multiple workpieces simultaneously.The holding pad comprises a base, suction sections arranged on the underside of the base, for example, and having suction surfaces which respectively suction-hold the upper surfaces of the multiple workpieces, and a suction pipe connecting the multiple suction sections to a suction source.This allows the multiple workpieces to be suction-held simultaneously and individually on each suction surface and transported all at once, for example to a chuck table, so that the workpieces can be aligned with the multiple holding surfaces of the chuck table and appropriately suction-held in a short period of time.

[0010] In the holding pad of the present invention, by providing multiple suction portions arranged in a circular pattern on, for example, the underside of the base, it becomes possible, for example, in cases where the multiple holding surfaces of the chuck table are not formed at the center of the chuck table or where it is not desired to suction-hold the workpieces on the holding surface located in the center, to simultaneously and individually suction-hold multiple workpieces on each suction surface and transport them, for example, to the chuck table all at once, and to align the workpieces with the multiple holding surfaces of the chuck table in a short period of time and appropriately suction-hold them, and to prevent the workpieces from being suction-held at the center of the chuck table.

[0011] The chuck table has a first engageable portion, and the holding pad of the present invention has an engaging portion that engages with the first engageable portion and is arranged on the underside of the base, so that the holding pad transports multiple workpieces held by suction to the chuck table and engages the first engageable portion of the chuck table with the engaging portion of the holding pad, thereby making it possible to match the shape of the holding surface of the chuck table with the shape of the workpieces in a short period of time and hold multiple workpieces on the chuck table in a short period of time.

[0012] The processing device according to the present invention includes a chuck table on which a plurality of holding surfaces are arranged for suction-holding the lower surfaces of rectangular plate-shaped workpieces, and a processing unit for processing the workpieces held by each of the plurality of holding surfaces. The processing device includes a transport mechanism for loading the workpiece onto the plurality of holding surfaces or transporting the workpieces held by the plurality of holding surfaces out of the holding surfaces, and a temporary placement table on which the workpieces are temporarily placed in accordance with the arrangement of the plurality of holding surfaces. The transport mechanism includes a holding pad on which a plurality of suction surfaces are arranged for simultaneously holding the upper surfaces of the plurality of workpieces by suction, and a moving mechanism for moving the holding pad holding the workpieces by suction from the temporary placement table to the chuck table. and the holding pad has an engaging portion, the chuck table has a first engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion, and the temporary placement table has a second engaged portion that engages with the engaging portion, so that when processing workpieces held on the multiple holding surfaces of the chuck table, when the workpieces temporarily placed on the temporary placement table in accordance with the multiple holding surfaces of the chuck table are suction-held by the holding pad, the second engaged portion of the temporary placement table is engaged with the engaging portion of the holding pad, so that the holding pad can suction-hold the multiple workpieces in a short time while appropriately maintaining the positional relationship of the multiple workpieces temporarily placed on the temporary placement table. Thereafter, the holding pad moves to the chuck table and engages the first engaged portion of the chuck table with the engaging portion of the holding pad, so that the shapes of the multiple holding surfaces of the chuck table and the shapes of the multiple workpieces held on the holding pad can be matched in a short time, and the multiple workpieces can be held on the chuck table in a short time. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a processing device including a holding pad. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a workpiece. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a workpiece. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the structure of an upper surface side of a base of a holding pad. [Diagram 5] 11 is a perspective view illustrating an example of the structure of the lower surface side of the base of the holding pad. FIG. [Figure 6] 13 is a perspective view illustrating another example of the structure of the upper surface side of the base of the holding pad. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an example of a transport mechanism. [Figure 8] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing another example of the temporary placement table. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0014] The processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is an apparatus that uses a processing unit 14 to grind workpieces 90 that are suction-held on each of multiple holding surfaces 342 of a chuck table 3, and the front (-Y direction side) on a base 10 of the processing apparatus 1 is an attachment / detachment area where the workpieces 90 are attached to and detached from the chuck table 3, and the rear (+Y direction side) on the base 10 is a processing area where the processing unit 14 performs grinding on multiple workpieces 90 held on the chuck table 3. The grinding device used in grinding the workpiece 90 according to the present invention is not limited to a manual type grinding device having a single-axis processing unit 14 such as the processing device 1, but may be a fully automatic type grinding device having two or more axes that is equipped with a rough grinding unit and a finish grinding unit and can position the workpiece 90 below the rough grinding unit or the finish grinding unit using a rotating turntable.

[0015] 2 and 3 is, for example, a plate-like object having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and most of an upper surface 902 and a lower surface 903 of a copper plate 901 having a predetermined thickness are covered with a molded resin 904 having a predetermined thickness. In this embodiment, the lower surface of the lower molded resin 904 is defined as a lower surface 906 of the workpiece 90, and the upper surface of the upper molded resin 904 is defined as an upper surface 907 of the workpiece 90. In this embodiment, the four sides of the copper plate 901 have protruding portions 905 that protrude from the molded resin 904 horizontally (in the X-axis and Y-axis directions) by a certain width. However, the workpiece 90 does not need to have protruding portions 905 if the size of the molded resin 904 and the size of the copper plate 901 match.

[0016] A column 11 is erected on the rear side of the base 10 shown in Figure 1, and a vertical movement unit 17 for moving the processing unit 14 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) is arranged on the front side of the column 11 on the -Y direction side. The up-down movement unit 17 is composed of a ball screw 170 whose axial direction is the Z-axis direction, a pair of guide rails 171 extending parallel to the ball screw 170, a motor 172 connected to the ball screw 170 and rotating the ball screw 170, and a lifting plate 173 whose internal nut screws into the ball screw 170 and whose sides slide against the pair of guide rails 171. When the motor 172 rotates the ball screw 170, the lifting plate 173 moves back and forth in the Z-axis direction while being guided by the guide rails 171, and the processing unit 14 attached to the lifting plate 173 also moves back and forth in the Z-axis direction.

[0017] The processing unit 14, which grinds the workpieces 90 held by suction on each of the multiple holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3, includes a rotating shaft 140 whose axial direction is the Z-axis direction, a housing 141 that rotatably supports the rotating shaft 140 by an air bearing or the like formed inside, a motor 142 that rotates and drives the rotating shaft 140, a disk-shaped mount 143 connected to the lower end of the rotating shaft 140, a grinding wheel 144 that is removably attached to the lower surface of the mount 143, and a holder 145 that supports the housing 141 and is connected to the lifting plate 173.

[0018] 1, the grinding wheel 144 includes a wheel base 1443 and a grinding wheel 1444 arranged in a ring shape on the bottom surface of the wheel base 1443. In this embodiment, the grinding wheel 1444 is a segment grinding wheel formed by fixing diamond abrasive grains or the like with a predetermined bond, and is formed by arranging a plurality of grinding wheel chips, each of which has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, in a ring shape with a predetermined interval between the grinding wheel chips on the bottom surface of the wheel base 1443. The grinding wheel 1444 may be arranged in a continuous manner with no interval between the grinding wheel chips.

[0019] Inside the rotating shaft 140 shown in Figure 1, there is a flow path (not shown) that is connected to a machining fluid supply source (not shown) and serves as a passage for grinding water (pure water), which is the machining fluid, and penetrates the rotating shaft 140 in the axial direction (Z-axis direction).The flow path (not shown) further passes through the mount 143 and opens at the bottom surface of the wheel base 1443 so that the grinding water can be sprayed toward the contact area between the grinding wheel 1444 and the workpiece 90.

[0020] At a position adjacent to the processing unit 14 in a state where it has descended to the grinding position, for example, a thickness measuring unit 38 that contact-type measures the thickness of the workpiece 90 is disposed. The thickness measuring unit 38 measures the height position of the holding surface 342 serving as a reference surface, that is, in this embodiment, the height position of the upper surface 332 of the annular wall 331 of the table frame 33 that is at the same height position as the holding surface 342, with a first linear gauge, measures the height position of the upper surface 907 of the workpiece 90 to be ground with a second linear gauge, and calculates the difference between the measured values ​​of both linear gauges, thereby making it possible to sequentially measure the thickness of the workpiece 90 during grinding. The thickness measuring unit 38 may be of a non-contact type.

[0021] Inside the base 10, a horizontal movement unit 13 is arranged which moves the chuck table 3 horizontally between a processing position where the grinding wheel 144 processes the workpiece 90 and a loading / unloading position where the workpiece 90 can be loaded onto or unloaded from the holding surface 342 of the chuck table 3. The horizontal movement unit 13 includes a ball screw 130 having an axis in the Y-axis direction, a pair of guide rails 131 arranged parallel to the ball screw 130, a motor 132 connected to one end of the ball screw 130 to rotate the ball screw 130, and a movable plate 133 having an internal nut that screws into the ball screw 130 and a bottom that slides against the guide rail 131. When the motor 132 rotates the ball screw 130, the movable plate 133 is guided by the guide rail 131 and moves linearly in the Y-axis direction, and the table rotation unit 80 and the chuck table 3 arranged on the movable plate 133 via the chuck base 85 can be moved in the Y-axis direction as shown in FIG. 2.

[0022] The chuck table 3 can be rotated by a table rotation unit 80 disposed below the chuck table 3. The table rotation unit 80 includes a rotation shaft 800 that is connected to the underside of the chuck table 3, extends in the Z-axis direction, and is rotatably supported by a chuck base 85 via a bearing or the like (not shown), a motor 801 that rotates the rotation shaft 800, and an encoder 802 that detects the rotation angle of the motor 801 and sends the rotation angle of the chuck table 3 to a control unit 19 that performs overall control of each component of the apparatus. The table rotating unit 80 may be a pulley mechanism or the like.

[0023] The chuck table 3, which has a plurality of holding surfaces 342 that suction-hold the underside 906 of a rectangular plate-shaped workpiece 90, is surrounded by a cover 39, and grinding water supplied to the workpiece 90 during grinding flows over the upper surface of the cover 39 and a bellows cover 390 that is connected to the cover 39 and expands and contracts in the Y-axis direction, and flows down from a drain outlet (not shown) located beside the movement path of the chuck table 3 to a water case (not shown) located within the base 10.

[0024] The chuck table 3 has, for example, a table frame 33 having a circular shape when viewed from above, and a circular annular wall 331 of a predetermined height is erected in the outer peripheral region of the upper surface of the table frame 33, and the upper surface 332 of the circular annular wall 331 is located outside the workpieces 90 held by each of the multiple holding surfaces 342 and serves as an annular measurement surface on which height measurements are made.

[0025] On the upper surface of the table frame 33, a plurality of (for example, five) suction-holding units 34 are disposed at equal intervals vertically and horizontally with reference to the center of the upper surface of the table frame 33. Note that the number of the plurality of suction-holding units 34 is not limited to that in this embodiment. The suction-holding part 34 made of, for example, stainless steel or the like, is formed in a rectangular shape that is congruent with or similar to the copper plate 901 of the workpiece 90 in plan view and is slightly larger than the copper plate 901, and the upper surface thereof becomes a holding surface 342 that suction-holds the workpiece 90. The suction-holding part 34 may be made of a porous material.

[0026] A rectangular annular suction groove 343 and a suction groove 345 that passes through the center of the suction-holding unit 34 and communicates with the suction groove 343 are formed on the holding surface 342. One end of a suction path 346 that communicates with the suction groove 345 and communicates with a suction source such as a vacuum generator (not shown) is opened at the rotation center of the suction-holding unit 34. The suction force generated by a suction source (not shown) is transmitted to the holding surface 342 through the suction path 346, the suction groove 345, and the suction groove 343.

[0027] The chuck table 3 in this embodiment includes a first engaged portion 36 shown in Fig. 1. The first engaged portion 36 is, for example, a first positioning hole into which a positioning pin, which is the engaging portion 26 of the holding pad 2 shown in Figs. 4 and 5 described later, enters, but when the engaging portion 26 of the holding pad 2 is a positioning hole, the first engaged portion 36 may be the first positioning pin. For example, the first engaged portions 36 are formed in two places in an outer peripheral region of the upper surface of the table frame 33, spaced 180 degrees apart from each other about the center of the upper surface of the table frame 33. The number of first engaged portions 36 provided is not limited to two.

[0028] The processing device 1 is equipped with a transport mechanism 16 shown in Fig. 7 which transports the workpieces 90 onto each of the multiple holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3, or transports the workpieces 90 held by the multiple holding surfaces 342 out of the holding surfaces 342. The transport mechanism 16 is equipped with a holding pad 2 on which multiple suction surfaces 210 (see Fig. 5) are arranged to simultaneously suction and hold upper surfaces 907 of the multiple workpieces 90, and a moving mechanism 5 which moves the holding pad 2 from a temporary placement table 4 shown in Fig. 1, which will be described later, to the chuck table 3.

[0029] The holding pad 2 having multiple suction surfaces 210 as shown in Figures 4 and 5 which simultaneously suction-hold the upper surfaces 907 of multiple workpieces 90, includes, for example, a base 20 formed into a rectangular plate shape when viewed from above, a plurality of suction sections 21 arranged, for example, on the underside of the base 20, and each having suction surfaces 210 which suction-hold the upper surfaces 907 of the multiple workpieces 90, and a suction pipe 291 which connects the multiple suction sections 21 to a suction source 29. FIG. 5 shows the holding pad 2 shown in FIG. 4 turned upside down.

[0030] 5, the lower surface 200 of the base 20 is a flat surface, and a plurality of (for example, five) suction parts 21 are disposed vertically and horizontally at equal intervals in a cross shape on the lower surface 200 with reference to the center of the lower surface 200. The arrangement of the suction parts 21 and their intervals match the arrangement of the suction holding parts 34 of the chuck table 3 shown in FIG. In addition, for example, when the multiple holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3 are not formed in the central region of the chuck table 3, and for example, four holding surfaces 342 are formed circumferentially at equal intervals on a virtual circle centered on the center of the chuck table 3, or when the central holding surface 342 among the five holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3 shown in FIG. 1 is not used to suction-hold the workpiece 90, the suction parts 21 may be formed circumferentially on the lower surface 200 of the base 20 with four suction parts 21 at equal intervals around the center of the lower surface 200. This arrangement of the suction parts 21 is an arrangement when the workpiece 90 is not suction-held at the center of the chuck table 3. In addition, when the workpiece 90 is not suction-held at the center of the chuck table 3, the suction force may not be transmitted only to the central suction part 21 of the five suction parts 21 shown in FIG. 5, and the four suction parts 21 may be arranged circumferentially on the lower surface 200. In this case, for example, the suction pipe 291 communicating with the central suction part 21 may be provided with an open / close valve.

[0031] 5, which is made of, for example, SUS or the like, is formed in a rectangular shape that is congruent with or similar to the copper plate 901 of the workpiece 90 in plan view and is slightly larger than the copper plate 901, and the lower surface, which is shown facing upward in Fig. 5, becomes the suction surface 210 that suction-holds the workpiece 90. The suction part 21 may be made of a porous material or the like.

[0032] The suction surface 210 is formed with a rectangular ring-shaped suction groove 212 and a suction groove 215 that passes through the center of the suction unit 21 and communicates with the suction groove 212. One end of a suction pipe 291 that communicates with the suction groove 215 and also communicates with the suction source 29 shown in Fig. 4 opens at the rotation center of the suction unit 21. The suction force generated by the suction source 29 passes through the suction pipe 291, the suction groove 215, and the suction groove 212 and is transmitted to the suction surface 210.

[0033] A plurality of suction pipes 291, one end of which opens on the suction surface of the suction unit 21, merge into one flow path inside the base 20, and the other end is connected to an ejector 297 arranged on the upper surface of the base 20 shown in FIG. 4 via a joint or the like. The ejector 297 is also connected to an air source 295 capable of sending compressed air via an air supply pipe 296, and a supply valve 294 for switching communication / non-communication between the air source 295 and the ejector 297 is arranged on the air supply pipe 296. Thus, in this embodiment, the suction source 29 is formed by the ejector 297 and the air source 295, and suction force is generated by air supplied from the air source 295 to the ejector 297 and flowing at high speed inside the ejector 297, and the suction force is transmitted to the suction pipes 291.

[0034] The holding pad 2 in this embodiment has an engaging portion 26 shown in Fig. 5. The engaging portion 26 is, for example, a positioning pin that can enter a first engaged portion 36 which is a first positioning hole of the chuck table 3 shown in Fig. 1 and a second engaged portion 46 which is a second positioning hole of the temporary placement table 4 described later. Note that in the case where the first engaged portion 36 of the chuck table 3 is a first positioning pin and the second engaged portion 46 of the temporary placement table 4 is a second positioning pin, the engaging portion 26 may be a positioning hole. For example, the engaging portions 26 are formed in two places in the outer peripheral region of the lower surface 200 at intervals of 180 degrees from the center of the lower surface 200 of the base 20 of the holding pad 2. The number of engaging portions 26 provided is not limited to two.

[0035] The suction source of the holding pad 2 is not limited to the suction source 29 shown in FIG. 4, but may be the suction source 27 shown in FIG. 6. The suction source 27 shown in FIG. 6 is, for example, a vacuum pump, etc., and a first suction pipe 271 such as a resin tube or a metal pipe is connected to the suction source 27. A detachable joint 272 capable of separating the upper and lower parts is connected to the lower end side of the first suction pipe 271 shown in FIG. 6. A second suction pipe 274 is connected to the detachable joint 272, and the second suction pipe 274 is connected to a suction pipe 291 of the holding pad 2 from the upper surface side of the base 20 of the holding pad 2 via a joint or the like not shown. A suction valve 276 such as a gate valve that switches between communication and non-communication with the suction source 27 is provided in the second suction pipe 274. For example, a handle 24 that can be held by an operator is attached to the upper surface of the base 20 of the holding pad 2.

[0036] 1 and 7 so as to straddle the movement path of the chuck table 3. The movement mechanism 5 includes an X-axis movement unit 50 that moves the holding pad 2 linearly in the X-axis direction, and an elevation unit 52 that moves the holding pad 2 up and down in the Z-axis direction.

[0037] The X-axis moving unit 50 shown in FIG. 7 rotates a ball screw 500 using a motor 502, thereby sliding a movable plate 501 on a pair of guide rails 503, and moving a holding pad 2 arranged on the movable plate 501 back and forth in the X-axis direction.

[0038] Lifting unit 52 disposed on movable plate 501 rotates ball screw 520 by motor 522 to reciprocate holding pad 2 disposed on movable plate 521 sliding on a pair of guide rails 523 extending in the Z-axis direction (vertical direction) in the Z-axis direction. The upper surface of base 20 of holding pad 2 is connected to the lower surface of the tip side of arm portion 524, one end of which on the base side is fixed on movable plate 521.

[0039] In addition, if the holding pad 2 is equipped with, for example, a suction source 27 and a detachable joint 272 as shown in Figure 6, the operator may move the holding pad 2 from the temporary placement table 4 to the chuck table 3 instead of the moving mechanism 5.

[0040] 1 and 7, the processing apparatus 1 in this embodiment has a temporary placement table 4 on which a workpiece 90 is temporarily placed in accordance with the arrangement of a plurality of holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3. In this embodiment, the temporary placement table 4 is disposed, for example, beside the movement path of the chuck table 3 in the attachment / detachment area on the base 10.

[0041] The temporary placement table 4 includes, for example, a table base 43 having a rectangular shape in a plan view, and a plurality of (for example, five) temporary placement sections 44 are arranged on the upper surface of the table base 43 at equal intervals vertically and horizontally with reference to the center of the upper surface of the table base 43. The number of the temporary placement sections 44 is not limited to this embodiment. The arrangement and intervals of the temporary placement sections 44 match the arrangement and intervals of the suction holding sections 34 of the chuck table 3 shown in FIG. 1 and the arrangement and intervals of the suction sections 21 of the holding pad 2 shown in FIG. 5. The temporary placement portion 44 made of, for example, SUS or the like is formed in a rectangular shape that is congruent with or similar to the copper plate 901 of the workpiece 90 in a plan view and is slightly larger than the copper plate 901, and its upper surface serves as a suction surface 442 that suction-holds the workpiece 90. Note that the upper surface of the temporary placement portion 44 may not be a suction surface, but may be a placement surface on which the workpiece 90 is only placed. Note that the temporary placement portion 44 may be made of a porous material.

[0042] The suction surface 442 is formed with a rectangular ring-shaped suction groove 443 and a suction groove 445 that passes through the center of the temporary placement part 44 and communicates with the suction groove 443. One end of a suction path 446 that communicates with the suction groove 445 and with a suction source such as a vacuum generator (not shown) opens at the rotation center of the temporary placement part 44. The suction force generated by a suction source (not shown) is transmitted to the suction surface 442 through the suction path 446, the suction groove 445, and the suction groove 443.

[0043] The temporary placement table 4 has a second engaged portion 46 shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 7. The second engaged portion 46 is, for example, a second positioning hole into which a positioning pin, which is the engaging portion 26 of the holding pad 2 shown in Fig. 4, enters, but if the engaging portion 26 of the holding pad 2 is a positioning hole, the second engaged portion 46 may be a second positioning pin. For example, the second engaged portions 46 are formed in two places in an outer peripheral region of the upper surface of the table base 43, spaced 180 degrees apart from each other around the center of the upper surface of the table base 43. The number of second engaged portions 46 provided is not limited to two.

[0044] The temporary placement table 4 may include a temporary placement part 47 shown in Fig. 8 instead of the temporary placement part 44. For example, in Fig. 3, a workpiece 90 is temporarily placed on the temporary placement part 47. As shown in Fig. 8, for example, a plurality of (for example, five) temporary placement parts 47 are arranged at equal intervals vertically and horizontally with respect to the center of the upper surface of the table base 43.

[0045] The temporary placement portion 47 is formed in a rectangular shape that is congruent with or similar to the copper plate 901 of the workpiece 90 in a plan view and is slightly larger than the copper plate 901, and a concave recess 470 is formed on the upper surface thereof into which the rectangular molded resin 904 of the workpiece 90 fits with a slight clearance. Then, the workpiece 90 is temporarily placed with, for example, the molded resin 904 accommodated in the recess 470 and the protruding portion 905 of the copper plate 901 supported by the annular upper surface 471 of the temporary placement portion 47 outside the recess 470.

[0046] 1, the processing device 1 includes a control unit 19 capable of controlling each of the components of the processing device 1 described above. The control unit 19, which is configured with a CPU, a storage element such as a memory, and the like, is electrically connected to, for example, the vertical movement unit 17, the processing unit 14, the horizontal movement unit 13, and the encoder 802 of the table rotation unit 80, and the transport mechanism 16 shown in FIG.

[0047] Hereinafter, a case where a workpiece 90 is ground using the processing device 1 shown in Fig. 1 will be described. For example, an operator places the workpiece 90 on the suction surface 442 of the temporary placement portion 44 of the temporary placement table 4 with their centers substantially aligned and with the shape of the temporary placement portion 44 substantially aligned with the shape of the workpiece 90. Then, the workpiece 90 is suction-held on the temporary placement portion 44. In this manner, the workpiece 90 is appropriately temporarily placed on each of the five temporary placement portions 44 by the operator.

[0048] For example, if the temporary placement table 4 is equipped with the temporary placement portion 47 shown in FIG. 8, the worker places the molding resin 904 in the recess 470 as shown in FIG. 3 and places the protruding portion 905 on the annular upper surface 471, thereby placing the workpiece 90 in a temporarily placed state.

[0049] When the five workpieces 90 are appropriately temporarily placed on the temporary placement table 4, the X-axis moving unit 50 moves the holding pad 2 in the -X direction under the control of the X-axis moving unit 50 of the moving mechanism 5 by the control unit 19 shown in Figs. 1 and 7, and the two engaging portions 26, which are positioning pins of the holding pad 2, are positioned directly above the temporary placement table 4 at positions where they can enter the two second engaged portions 46, which are second positioning holes of the temporary placement table 4. Next, under the control of the lifting unit 52 by the control unit 19, the holding pad 2 descends and the engaging portions 26 of the holding pad 2 enter the second engaged portions 46 of the temporary placement table 4. Note that if an optical sensor or the like is provided corresponding to the engaging portions 26 and the second engaged portions 46, and the optical sensor detects that the engaging portions 26 cannot enter the second engaged portions 46, the position of the holding pad 2 may be adjusted by the control of the X-axis moving unit 50 by the control unit 19.

[0050] As the holding pad 2 descends, the suction surface 210 of the suction part 21 of the holding pad 2 shown in Fig. 5 comes into contact with the upper surface 907 of the workpiece 90 temporarily placed on the five temporary placement parts 44 (or the temporary placement parts 47 shown in Fig. 8) of the temporary placement table 4, with their shapes and centers substantially aligned. Thereafter, the suction force generated by the air supplied from the air source 295 shown in Fig. 7 to the ejector 297 and flowing at high speed inside the ejector 297 is transmitted to each suction surface 210, so that the five workpieces 90 are sucked and held by the suction surfaces 210 while maintaining the appropriate positional relationship in which they were temporarily placed.

[0051] In parallel with the suction holding of the workpiece 90 on the temporary placement table 4 by the holding pad 2, the chuck table 3 moves in the -Y direction to a predetermined position in the attachment / detachment area under the control of the horizontal movement unit 13 by the control unit 19 shown in Fig. 1. In addition, the control unit 19, which receives a detection signal from an encoder 802 that recognizes the rotation angle of the chuck table 3, controls the motor 801 of the table rotation unit 80 to rotate the chuck table 3 by a predetermined angle, so that the position of the first engaged portion 36 of the chuck table 3 is aligned with the position of the engaging portion 26 of the holding pad 2. That is, for example, the chuck table 3 rotates by a predetermined angle, and one first engaged portion 36 is positioned on the +Y direction side, and the other first engaged portion 36 is positioned on the -Y direction side.

[0052] 1 releases the workpieces 90 from suction, and under the control of the lifting unit 52 and the X-axis moving unit 50 of the moving mechanism 5 by the control unit 19 shown in FIG. 7, the holding pad 2, which holds the five workpieces 90 by suction on each of the five suction surfaces 210, moves in the +X direction after rising from the temporary placement table 4, and is positioned immediately above the chuck table 3 positioned in the attachment / detachment area at a position where the two engaging portions 26, which are positioning pins of the holding pad 2, can enter the two first engaged portions 36, which are first positioning holes of the chuck table 3. Note that the suction force generated by the air supplied from the air source 295 to the ejector 297 and flowing at high speed inside the ejector 297 continues to be transmitted to the five suction surfaces 210 of the holding pad 2.

[0053] Next, under the control of the lifting unit 52 by the control unit 19, the holding pad 2 descends and the engaging portion 26 of the holding pad 2 enters the first engaged portion 36 of the chuck table 3. If the engaging portion 26 cannot enter the first engaged portion 36, it is assumed that the holding pad 2 and the chuck table 3 have not been properly aligned in the horizontal plane, and the control unit 19 may control the X-axis moving unit 50, the horizontal moving unit 13, or the table rotating unit 80 to adjust the positions of the holding pad 2 and the chuck table 3.

[0054] As the holding pad 2 descends, the lower surfaces 906 of the five workpieces 90 held by the holding pad 2 come into contact with the holding surfaces 342 of the five suction holding portions 34 of the chuck table 3, with their shapes and centers generally aligned. Then, a suction force is transmitted to the holding surfaces 342 from a suction source (not shown), causing the chuck table 3 to appropriately suction-hold the five workpieces 90 on the five holding surfaces 342. The holding pad 2 also rises, and is released from the workpieces 90. In addition, when the workpiece 90 is not held by suction on the central holding surface 342 among the five holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3, the suction force is not transmitted only to the central suction portion 21 of the five suction portions 21 shown in Figure 5, and the workpiece 90 held by suction on the four suction portions 21 arranged circumferentially on the underside 200 at 90 degree intervals can be transported to the chuck table 3.

[0055] In addition, if the holding pad 2 is equipped with a suction source 27 as shown in Figure 6, for example, the worker may move the holding pad 2 instead of using the moving mechanism 5, thereby suction holding the workpiece 90 temporarily placed on the temporary placement table 4 as described above by the holding pad 2, and moving the workpiece 90 from the temporary placement table 4 to the chuck table 3.

[0056] The suction holding of the workpiece 90 by the holding pad 2 in this case, and the movement of the workpiece 90 from the temporary placement table 4 to the chuck table 3 by the holding pad 2 will be described in particular detail. The suction surface 210 of the suction portion 21 shown in FIG. 5 of the holding pad 2 moved by the operator comes into contact with the upper surface 907 of the workpiece 90 temporarily placed on the five temporary placement portions 44 (or the temporary placement portion 47 shown in FIG. 8) of the temporary placement table 4, with their shapes and centers approximately coinciding with each other. The above-mentioned alignment is correctly performed by inserting the engagement portion 26 of the holding pad 2 into the second engaged portion 46 of the temporary placement table 4. Thereafter, the suction force generated by the suction source 27 shown in FIG. 6 is transmitted to each suction surface 210, so that the five workpieces 90 are sucked and held by the suction surfaces 210 while maintaining the positional relationship in which they were temporarily placed.

[0057] After the holding pad 2 has sucked and held the workpiece 90, the suction valve 276 shown in Fig. 6, which was open, is closed, so that the suction flow path from the suction valve 276 to each suction surface 210 that has sucked and held the workpiece 90, maintains a vacuum state. Therefore, the detachable joint 272 is separated into the top and bottom, and the holding pad 2, which is separated from the suction source 27, can maintain the state in which the workpiece 90 is sucked and held, and can be freely moved by the operator.

[0058] The operator grasps the handle 24 of the holding pad 2 and moves the holding pad 2, which holds the five workpieces 90 by suction on the five suction surfaces 210, to, for example, directly above the chuck table 3 positioned in the attachment / detachment area. Then, the holding pad 2 is lowered and the engagement portion 26 of the holding pad 2 is advanced into the first engaged portion 36 of the chuck table 3. The lower surfaces 906 of the five workpieces 90 held by the holding pad 2 come into contact with the holding surfaces 342 of the five suction holding portions 34 of the chuck table 3 with their shapes and centers substantially aligned with each other. Then, a suction force is transmitted to the holding surfaces 342 from a suction source (not shown), and the chuck table 3 appropriately suction-holds the five workpieces 90 on the five holding surfaces 342. Next, for example, the operator opens the suction valve 276 again to open the detachable joint 272 to the atmosphere, and the suction-holding of the five workpieces 90 by the holding pad 2 is released. Then, the operator lifts the holding pad 2 to remove it from the workpiece 90 that is suction-held on the chuck table 3.

[0059] As described above, the holding pad 2 of the present invention, which simultaneously holds the upper surfaces 907 of multiple workpieces 90 by suction, comprises a base 20, suction sections 21 arranged on, for example, the lower surface 200 side of the base 20 and having suction surfaces 210 which respectively hold the upper surfaces 907 of the multiple workpieces 90 by suction, and a suction pipe 291 connecting the multiple suction sections 21 to, for example, a suction source 29.This makes it possible to simultaneously and individually hold the multiple workpieces 90 by suction on each suction surface 210 and transport them to the chuck table 3 all at once, thereby making it possible to properly suction-hold the workpieces 90 to match their shapes on the multiple holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3 in a short period of time.

[0060] Furthermore, the processing apparatus 1 has a temporary placement table 4 on which the workpiece 90 is temporarily placed in accordance with the arrangement of the multiple holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3, for example, the temporary placement table 4 has a second engaged portion 46, the chuck table 3 has a first engaged portion 36, and the holding pad 2 of the present invention has an engaging portion 26 that engages with the second engaged portion 46 and also engages with the first engaged portion 36, which is arranged on the underside 200 of the base 20. Therefore, for example, when the holding pad 2 suction-holds the workpiece 90 temporarily placed in accordance with the multiple holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3 on the temporary placement table 4 by engaging the second engaged portion 46 of the temporary placement table 4 with the engaging portion 26 of the holding pad 2, the holding pad 2 can suction-hold the multiple workpieces 90 in a short time while properly maintaining the positional relationship of the multiple workpieces 90 temporarily placed on the temporary placement table 4. Thereafter, the holding pad 2 transports the multiple workpieces 90 held by suction to the chuck table 3, and the first engaged portion 36 of the chuck table 3 engages with the engaging portion 26 of the holding pad 2, thereby allowing the shapes of the multiple holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3 to match the shapes of the multiple workpieces 90 in a short period of time, and making it possible to hold the multiple workpieces 90 on the chuck table 3 in a short period of time.

[0061] 1 moves the chuck table 3, which holds the five workpieces 90 by suction, in the +Y direction from the attachment / detachment area to the processing area. The chuck table 3, which holds the workpieces 90, moves to below the processing unit 14, and is positioned so that the rotation trajectory of the grinding wheel 1444 passes through the center of rotation of the chuck table 3.

[0062] Next, the processing unit 14 is sent in the -Z direction at a predetermined grinding feed speed by the vertical movement unit 17, and the grinding stone 1444 of the grinding wheel 144 rotating at a predetermined rotation speed comes into contact with the upper surface 907 of the workpiece 90, thereby performing the grinding process. In addition, as the chuck table 3 rotates at a predetermined rotation speed, the five workpieces 90 held on the five holding surfaces 342, respectively, also rotate, so that the entire upper surface 907 of each workpiece 90 is ground. During the grinding process, grinding water is supplied to the contact portion between the grinding stone 1444 and the workpiece 90 through a flow path inside the processing unit 14, for example, to cool and wash the contact portion.

[0063] Then, the five workpieces 90 are ground to a desired thickness while the thickness of the workpieces 90 is measured by the thickness measuring unit 38. After that, for example, the five workpieces 90 after grinding are sucked and held by the holding pad 2 at once and carried out from the chuck table 3 which has been moved to the attachment / detachment area.

[0064] As described above, the processing device 1 according to the present invention, which is equipped with the chuck table 3 on which a plurality of holding surfaces 342 for suction-holding the lower surfaces 906 of the rectangular plate-like workpieces 90 are arranged, and the processing unit 14 for processing the workpieces 90 respectively held by the plurality of holding surfaces 342, is equipped with a transport mechanism 16 for carrying the workpieces 90 into the plurality of holding surfaces 342 or carrying the workpieces 90 held by the plurality of holding surfaces 342 out of the holding surfaces 342, and a temporary placement table 4 on which the workpieces 90 are temporarily placed in accordance with the arrangement of the plurality of holding surfaces 342. The transport mechanism 16 is equipped with a plurality of suction surfaces 210 for simultaneously holding the upper surfaces 907 of the plurality of workpieces 90. The apparatus comprises a holding pad 2 and a moving mechanism 5 for moving the holding pad 2 which holds the workpiece 90 by suction from the temporary placement table 4 to the chuck table 3, wherein the holding pad 2 has an engaging portion 26, the chuck table 3 has a first engaged portion 36 which engages with the engaging portion 26, and the temporary placement table 4 has a second engaged portion 46 which engages with the engaging portion 26. Thus, when processing the workpiece 90 held on multiple holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3, it is possible to quickly match the shape of the holding surfaces 342 of the chuck table 3 with the shape of the workpiece 90, and to hold the multiple workpieces 90 on the chuck table 3 in a short period of time.

[0065] The holding pad 2 and the processing device 1 according to the present invention are not limited to the above embodiment, and may be embodied in various different forms within the scope of the technical concept. Furthermore, the grinding process of the workpiece 90 using the processing device 1 is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be modified as appropriate within the scope of the effect of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 90: Workpiece 901: Copper plate 902: Top surface of copper plate 903: Bottom surface of copper plate 904: Molding resin 905: Protruding portion 906: Bottom surface of workpiece 907: Top surface of workpiece 1: Processing device 10: Base 11: Column 17: Vertical movement unit 14: Processing unit 13: Horizontal movement unit 80: Table rotating part 800: Rotating shaft 801: Motor 802: Encoder 85: Chuck base 3: Chuck table 33: Table frame 331: Annular wall 332: Top surface of the annular wall 34: Suction holding part 342: Holding surface 343, 345: Suction groove 346: Suction path 36: First engaged part 39: Cover 390: Bellows cover 16: Transport mechanism 2: Holding pad 20: Base 200: Underside of base 21: Suction part 210: Suction surface 215, 212: Suction groove 29: Suction source 291: Suction pipe 297: Ejector 296: Air supply pipe 295: Air source 294: Supply valve 26: Engagement part 27: Suction source 271: First suction pipe 272: Detachable joint 274: Second suction pipe 276: Suction valve 24: Handle 5: Movement mechanism 50: X-axis movement unit 52: Lifting unit 4: Temporary placement table 43: Table base 44: Temporary placement section 442: Suction surface 446, 443: Suction groove 446: Suction path 46: Second engaged part 47: Temporary placement area 470: Recess 19: Control unit

Claims

1. A holding pad is provided in a processing device that processes a plurality of rectangular plate-shaped workpieces held by a chuck table, and holds upper surfaces of the plurality of workpieces by suction at the same time, The chuck table includes at least two first engaged portions, A holding pad comprising a base, a plurality of suction sections arranged on an underside of the base and having suction surfaces which respectively suction and hold the upper surfaces of a plurality of workpieces, a suction pipe connecting the plurality of suction sections to a suction source, and at least two engagement sections arranged on the underside of the base and which engage with each of the first engaged sections.

2. The holding pad according to claim 1 , wherein the suction portions are arranged in a circular pattern on the lower surface of the base.

3. A processing apparatus including a chuck table having a plurality of holding surfaces arranged thereon for suction-holding a lower surface of a rectangular plate-shaped workpiece, and a processing unit for processing the workpiece held by each of the plurality of holding surfaces, a conveying mechanism for conveying workpieces to the plurality of holding surfaces or conveying the workpieces held by the plurality of holding surfaces out of the holding surfaces, and a temporary placement table for temporarily placing the workpieces in accordance with the arrangement of the plurality of holding surfaces, the conveying mechanism includes a holding pad having a plurality of suction surfaces arranged thereon for simultaneously suction-holding upper surfaces of a plurality of workpieces, and a moving mechanism for moving the holding pad from the temporary placement table to the chuck table; The chuck table includes at least two first engaged portions, The temporary placement table includes at least two second engaged portions, The holding pad has at least two engaging portions which engage with the first engaged portions and the second engaged portions, respectively. Processing equipment.

Images