HK1081144A - Laser machining apparatus for sheet-like workpiece - Google Patents

Description

Laser processing device for plate-shaped workpieces

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a laser processing apparatus for repeatedly processing a plate-like workpiece by positioning and fixing the plate-like workpiece in a processing area of a movable table and relatively moving the movable table and a laser processing device.

Technical Field

Japanese patent laying-open No.2000-246479 discloses a laser processing apparatus including a movable table to which a to-be-processed region of a long flexible printed board, i.e., a plate-like work is fixed, which is movable in three axial directions, and a laser beam emitting device for emitting a laser beam toward the flexible printed board, and further having a flattening device arranged at one side of the processing apparatus for flattening an unprocessed flexible printed board wound into a roll, and a take-up device arranged at the other side of the processing apparatus for taking up a flexible printed board whose processing has been completed, so that the plate-like work forms a free loop (droop) of a certain length between the processing apparatus and the flattening device and between the processing apparatus and the take-up device, respectively, to allow the movable table to move during processing.

However, this apparatus has a problem that the entire installation area is large because a sufficient distance must be provided between the processing apparatus and the roll-out device and between the processing apparatus and the take-up device in order to prevent the flexible printed board from being damaged due to the winding or the like when the movable table is moved during the processing.

Disclosure of Invention

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a laser processing apparatus for a plate-shaped workpiece which requires less installation area and can be easily controlled.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to a first aspect of the present invention, a laser processing apparatus for processing a plate-shaped workpiece includes:

a laser beam emitting device mounted on the bed and capable of emitting a laser beam;

a movable table movable at least in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the laser beam (xy-plane direction);

a feed-side roll holding device that holds a feed-side roll in which a plate-like workpiece is wound into a roll and can be supplied to the movable table; and

a winding-side roll holding device that holds a winding-side roll in which the processed plate-like work is wound in a roll and which is capable of winding the plate-like work on the movable table, and

processing a plate-shaped workpiece in a processing area of the movable table by fixing the plate-shaped workpiece disposed on the processing area of the movable table and emitting a laser beam to the processing area by the laser beam emitting device while relatively moving the movable table and the laser beam emitting device, during the processing:

wherein at least one of the feed-side roll holding device and the take-up-side roll holding device is arranged on the movable work platform.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the feed-side roll holding device and the take-up-side roll holding device are located on one side of a processing area on the movable table.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the laser processing apparatus further comprises moving means for holding the plate-shaped workpiece and moving the plate-shaped workpiece by an appropriate distance in the take-up direction during the take-up and supply of the plate-shaped workpiece by the take-up-side roll holding means and the feed-side roll holding means after the processing.

The laser processing apparatus configured as described above allows the elimination of the space of at least one free ring formed with the plate-like workpiece, so that the entire installation area thereof can be reduced. In addition, the device can be easily controlled since fewer components are involved.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a partial front cross-sectional view of a laser machining apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of portion A of FIG. 1; and

fig. 3A to 3L are schematic views for explaining the operation principle of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The invention will be explained below on the basis of an embodiment shown in the drawing.

Fig. 1 is a partial front sectional view of a laser processing apparatus of the present invention, and fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion a of fig. 1.

In the laser processing apparatus 50 according to the present invention, a portal-like column 30 is fixedly mounted on the bed 1. Mounted on the column 30 are a laser oscillator 31, a plurality of mirrors 32 (two in fig. 1), a pair of mirrors 33, and an f θ lens (field flattener) 34.

A linear guide rail 2 is arranged on the upper surface of the bed 1. The linear guide 2 allows an X table 3 to move on the bed 1 in the X direction. A linear guide 4 is disposed on the upper surface of the X table 3. The linear guide 4 allows a Y stage (movable stage) 5 to move in the Y direction on the X stage. As can be seen from the above-described structure, the Y table 5 can be moved in the X and Y directions with respect to the bed 1.

As can be seen from fig. 2, a machining table 6 and a spool support 10 are disposed on the upper surface of the Y table 5. The lower surface of the processing table 6 is formed with a passage 6m wider in lateral width than a plate-like workpiece (hereinafter referred to simply as "workpiece") w in the Y direction. The upper surface of the processing table 6 is formed with a plurality of holes connected to a hollow portion not shown inside the table, which is connected to a vacuum source not shown. On the reel stand 10, a feed reel 11, a take-up reel 12, guide rollers 13, 14, 15, grippers 16 and 17, a support roller 18 and a work conveying device (moving device) 20 are arranged.

The feed reel 11 is disposed on the reel stand 10 such that the lower end 11b of one shaft thereof has a horizontal position lower than the upper end 13t of the guide roller 13 and can be rotated by driving of a motor, not shown. That is, the feed reel 11 holds a feed-side roll 40 in which the unprocessed workpiece w is wound into a roll, and can supply the workpiece w while being driven by a motor (feed-side roll holding means), not shown.

The arrangement of the take-up reel 12 is such that the horizontal position of the lower end of the take-up side coil 41 of the workpiece w being taken up is higher than the lower end 14b of the guide roller 14 and the take-up reel 12 can be rotated by the driving of a motor, not shown. That is, the take-up reel 12 holds a take-up side roll 41 in which the processed workpiece w is wound into a roll, and is capable of taking up the workpiece w (take-up side roll holding means) when driven by a motor, not shown.

The rotatable guide roller 13 is supported by the reel bracket 10 so that its upper end 13t is at a level higher than the surface of the processing table 6. The rotatable guide rollers 14 and 15 are supported by the reel stand 10 such that their lower ends 14b and 15b are located at a level lower than the bottom surface of the passage 6 m.

The clampers 16 and 17 are constituted by pressure receiving portions 16u and 17u and pressure applying portions 16p and 17p arranged opposite to the pressure receiving portions 16u and 17 u. These members except the pressure receiving portions 17u are movable in the Z direction (vertical direction in the drawing) by means not shown, respectively. The standby position of the pressure receiving portion 16u is the descending end (lower limit of stroke) thereof, and the horizontal position of the upper surface thereof is lower than the surface of the machining table 6. When it is located at its rising end (upper limit of the stroke), the upper surface thereof is at the same level as the upper end 13t of the guide roller 13. The horizontal position of the descending end of the pressing portion 16p is far lower than the upper surface of the pressure receiving portion 16u located at the standby position, so that the lower surface of the pressing portion 16p can press the upper surface of the pressure receiving portion 16u located at the standby position. Also, the descending end of the pressing portion 17p is positioned at a level far lower than the upper surface of the pressing portion 17u so that the lower surface of the pressing portion 17p can press the upper surface of the pressing portion 17 u.

The rotatable support roller 18 is supported by the reel stand 10 such that the upper end 18t thereof is at the same level as the upper end 13t of the guide roller 13.

The workpiece transport device 20 can be moved and positioned in the X direction with respect to the spool support 10 by a not-shown device such as a motor or a rail mechanism. The work transfer device 20 supports a gripper 21. The clamper 21 is composed of a pressing portion 21p and a bearing portion 21u which are movable in the vertical direction. As shown by a solid line in fig. 2, the standby position of the pressing portion 21u is a position where the horizontal position of the upper surface thereof is lower than the upper surface of the machining table 6 and the rising end thereof is at the same level as the upper end 13t of the guide roller 13 and the upper end 18t of the support roller 18. The standby position of the pressing portion 21p is a position where the lower end thereof is horizontally positioned higher than the upper end 13t of the guide roller 13 and the upper end 18t of the support roller 18, and the descending end thereof is horizontally positioned far lower than the upper end of the pressing portion 21u at the ascending end thereof, so that the lower surface of the pressing portion 21p can press the upper surface of the pressing portion 21u when the pressing portion 21u is at the ascending end thereof. Note that the standby position of the workpiece conveying device 20 in the X direction is at the left end of the movement, as shown by the solid line in the drawing; the right end of the movement is shown in dashed lines.

Next, an operation process of the laser processing apparatus 50 will be explained with reference to fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the laser processing apparatus 50 of the present invention.

The presetting operation (of the laser processing apparatus) is explained first.

The feed-side roll 40 is supported by the feed reel 11, and as shown in the figure, all the grippers 16, 17 and 21 are opened in advance (the pressure-receiving portions 16u and 21u are located at their standby positions, and the pressure-applying portions 16p, 17p and 21p are located at their rising ends, respectively), and the work w is wound around the support roller 18 and then passes through the passage 6m of the processing table 6 so as to be fixed at one end thereof to the take-up reel 12 (take-up-side roll 41).

Then, as shown in fig. 3A, the pressing portion 16p starts to operate, i.e., descend to clamp the workpiece w between it and the pressing portion 16u, while applying clockwise torque to the feeding reel 11 and the take-up reel 12. Then, the pressing portion 17p starts to operate, i.e., descend, to clamp the workpiece w between it and the pressure receiving portion 17 u. As a result, the workpiece w is fixed to the surface of the machining table 6 without loosening. In this state, a vacuum source, not shown, is operated to tightly attach the workpiece w to the surface of the processing table 6.

The machining operation is then carried out. That is, the laser oscillator 31 starts operating, and the laser beam emitted from the laser oscillator reaches the mirror 33 via the mirror 32. Then, the laser beam is positioned by a galvanic scanner (mirror) 33 and reaches the workpiece w after being vertically aligned with an optical axis of the laser beam by an f θ lens 34 to process the workpiece w. After processing the region determined by the f θ lens 34, the next region may be processed by moving the X stage 3 or the Y stage 5.

The following explains a step of moving the workpiece after the completion of the processing.

After the processing is completed, the vacuum source, not shown, is stopped, and then the pressing portion 16p is raised, as shown in fig. 3B.

The operation of the clamper 21 is then started, that is, the pressing portion 21p is lowered after the pressing portion 21u is raised, to hold the workpiece w by the pressing portion 21p and the pressing portion 21u, as shown in fig. 3C.

Then, the pressing portion 17p rises as shown in fig. 3D. Thus, the workpiece w is located at the same horizontal position as the upper end 13t of the guide roller 13 and the upper end 18t of the backup roller 18.

In this state, the workpiece conveying device 20 moves a suitable distance to the right in the figure, as shown in fig. 3E. In this state, the processed work w is taken away by the take-up reel 12 while being supplied from the feed reel 11.

Then the bearing portion 16u is moved to its raised end as shown in fig. 3F; the pressing portion 16p is then lowered to cause the clamper 16 to hold the workpiece w, as shown in fig. 3G.

The gripper 21 is then released as shown in fig. 3H. At this time, the pressing portion 21p moves to its raised end and the pressure receiving portion 21u moves to a position where its upper surface does not contact the workpiece w and the upper surface of the machining table 6. Next, the workpiece conveying device 20 returns to its standby position, as shown in fig. 3I.

Then, the pressure receiving portion 21u returns to its standby position as shown in fig. 3J. Next, the pressing portion 17p is lowered as shown in fig. 3K so that the clamper 17 holds the workpiece w.

The gripper 16 is then released as shown in fig. 3L.

After that, the pressure receiving portion 16u is returned to its standby position, and the pressing portion 16p is lowered to cause the clamper 16 to hold the workpiece w (see fig. 3A). Then, the vacuum source, not shown, is operated to attach the workpiece w tightly to the machining table for the next machining operation. These steps are then repeated in the same manner.

In the above-described steps and processes, the drive torque of the motor that rotates the supply reel 11 and the take-up reel 12 does not adversely affect the workpiece w, and the motor is controlled to apply a tension to the workpiece w so that the workpiece does not slacken. Note that the guide rollers 13 and 14 or the backup roller 18 may be tensioned in a predetermined direction by using a spring or the like so that tension is applied to the workpiece w so that the workpiece w does not slacken.

As described above, the laser machining apparatus 50 for a plate-shaped workpiece of the present invention allows the space in which the free ring of the plate-shaped workpiece is formed to be removed, thus allowing the entire installation area of the laser machining apparatus 50 to be reduced. Furthermore, it can be more easily controlled since fewer components are required.

In addition, since the feeding reel 11 and the take-up reel 12 are disposed on the same side on the Y table 5, the entire installation area of the laser processing apparatus 50 can be reduced as compared with disposing them on both sides of the Y table 5.

It is to be noted that, although both the feeding reel 11 and the take-up reel 12 are disposed on the Y table 5 in the above-described embodiment, at least one free loop may be reduced by disposing at least one of the feeding reel 11 and the take-up reel 12 on the Y table 5. Accordingly, the entire installation area of the laser processing apparatus 50 can be reduced as compared with the conventional one.

The present description describes preferred embodiments, but other variants of the preferred embodiments are conceivable to the person skilled in the art within the scope of the inventive concept described by the claims below.

Claims (3)

1. A laser processing apparatus for processing a plate-like workpiece, comprising:

a laser emitting device mounted on the bed and capable of emitting a laser beam;

a movable table disposed to be movable at least in a direction perpendicular to a plane of the laser beam;

a feed-side roll holding device that holds a feed-side roll in which a plate-like workpiece is wound into a roll and can be supplied to the movable table; and

a winding-side roll holding device that holds a winding-side roll in which the processed plate-like work is wound in a roll and which is capable of winding the plate-like work on the movable table, and

processing a plate-shaped workpiece in a processing area of the movable table by fixing the plate-shaped workpiece disposed on the processing area of the movable table and emitting a laser beam to the processing area by the laser beam emitting device while relatively moving the movable table and the laser beam emitting device, during the processing:

wherein at least one of the feed-side roll holding device and the take-up-side roll holding device is disposed on the movable table.

2. The laser processing apparatus for processing a plate-like workpiece according to claim 1, wherein the feed-side roll holding device and the take-up-side roll holding device are arranged on one side of the processing area on the movable table.

3. The laser processing apparatus for processing a plate-like workpiece according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising moving means for holding the plate-like workpiece and moving the plate-like workpiece by an appropriate distance in a take-up direction during take-up and supply of the plate-like workpiece by said take-up-side roll holding means and said feed-side roll holding means after processing.