TWI857212B - Processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

[Topic] Provide a processing device, which generally monitors the pressure in the exhaust duct of the processing device and does not issue an alarm for a decrease in the magnitude of the temporary negative pressure in the exhaust duct. [Solution] Provided is a processing device for supplying processing water to a workpiece held by a workpiece clamp while processing the workpiece with a processing unit having a spindle, the processing device comprising: a processing chamber covering the workpiece clamp and a portion of the processing unit; and an exhaust duct connected to the processing chamber, the exhaust duct having: an exhaust path, one end of which is connected to the processing chamber and the other end of which is connected to the exhaust unit having a suction source; and a box body connected to the exhaust path through an opening formed on a side surface of the exhaust duct and including a pressure sensor therein, the opening having a size that can reduce the rapid change in pressure in the exhaust path from spreading to the box body.

Description

Processing equipment

The present invention relates to a processing device for processing a workpiece held by a work clamp while supplying processing water to the workpiece.

In the manufacturing process of semiconductor device chips, a wafer having a plurality of intersecting predetermined dividing lines set on the front side and having devices such as IC (Integrated Circuit) and LSI (Large Scale Integration) formed in each area demarcated by the predetermined dividing lines is divided into a plurality of device chips.

When dividing a wafer into a plurality of device chips, the back side of the wafer is firstly ground by a grinding device to thin the wafer to a predetermined thickness, and then the wafer is divided into individual device chips by cutting the thinned wafer along each predetermined dividing line using a cutting device.

A processing chamber for processing wafers is provided on processing equipment such as grinding equipment and cutting equipment. The processing chamber is a closed space formed by a predetermined space surrounded by a plate or the like. A worktable for attracting and holding the wafer is arranged in the processing chamber.

When processing a wafer while supplying processing water such as pure water to the wafer while the wafer is held on a work chuck, the processing water containing processing chips generated by the processing may become mist and spread in the processing chamber.

When the misty processing water adheres to the window installed in the processing equipment, the visual confirmation through the window will be reduced, making it difficult to confirm the inside of the processing equipment. In addition, when the misty processing water splashes outside the processing room, it will contaminate various components of the processing equipment outside the processing room or wafers before processing.

For example, if the transport mechanism that absorbs and transports wafers is contaminated by the misty process water, there may be the following situations: other wafers may be contaminated through the transport mechanism, or wafers may fall and break due to poor absorption. In addition to the misty process water containing process chips, powdery process chips may also spread in the process room and contaminate the process room.

In this way, the misty processing water or powdery processing chips containing processing chips may have adverse effects on the wafer or the processing device. In order to avoid this disadvantage, an exhaust duct for exhausting the misty processing water or powdery processing chips is connected to the processing chamber (for example, refer to patent document 1).

The pressure inside the exhaust duct is usually set to a lower pressure than the atmospheric pressure or the pressure inside the clean room (i.e., negative pressure). In addition, a pressure gauge is sometimes installed in the exhaust duct to monitor whether the pressure inside the exhaust duct is appropriate.

However, the processing chamber will be temporarily open to the atmosphere or the gas environment in the clean room due to the wafer being moved in or out. Air will flow into the processing chamber and the exhaust duct due to this temporary opening, and the negative pressure in the exhaust duct will temporarily decrease. In other words, the pressure in the exhaust duct will temporarily rise to a level close to the atmospheric pressure or the pressure in the clean room.

In order to detect abnormalities in the processing room and exhaust duct, the processing device is set to issue an alarm if the negative pressure in the exhaust duct drops below a predetermined threshold, even if it is temporary. When the processing device issues an alarm, the operator needs to perform corresponding processing such as clearing the alarm.

Although it is desirable to accurately detect abnormalities in the processing chamber and exhaust duct, since wafers are frequently moved in and out, it is desirable that the processing equipment does not issue unnecessary alarms due to these actions. If unnecessary alarms are issued, the operator will need to respond, which will reduce productivity per unit time. Prior Art Literature Patent Literature

Patent document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-188568

Invention Problems to be Solved

This invention is made in view of the above-mentioned problem, and its purpose is to provide a processing device that generally monitors the pressure in the exhaust duct of the processing device and does not issue an alarm for the temporary decrease in the magnitude of the negative pressure in the exhaust duct. Means for solving the problem

According to one aspect of the present invention, a processing device can be provided, which is a processing device that supplies processing water to a workpiece held by a workpiece clamp while processing the workpiece with a processing unit having a spindle, and the aforementioned processing device has: a processing chamber covering the workpiece clamp and a portion of the processing unit; and an exhaust duct connected to the processing chamber, the exhaust duct having: an exhaust path, one end of which is connected to the processing chamber, and the other end of which is connected to an exhaust unit having a suction source; and a box body, which is connected to the exhaust path through an opening formed on the side of the exhaust duct, and contains a pressure sensor inside, and the opening portion has a size that can reduce the rapid change of pressure in the exhaust path from spreading to the box body. Effect of the invention

A processing device according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a processing chamber and an exhaust duct connected to the processing chamber. The exhaust duct has an exhaust path and a housing. One end of the exhaust path is connected to the processing chamber, and the other end is connected to an exhaust unit having a suction source. The housing is connected to the exhaust path through an opening formed on the side of the exhaust path, and includes a pressure sensor inside.

The opening portion connecting the exhaust path and the housing has a size that can reduce the rapid change of the pressure in the exhaust path from spreading to the housing. Therefore, even if the negative pressure in the exhaust path is temporarily reduced, the negative pressure inside the housing will not be less than a predetermined threshold.

Therefore, even if the pressure sensor generally continuously monitors the pressure of the exhaust path in the exhaust duct, it is still difficult to be affected by the temporary decrease in the magnitude of the negative pressure in the exhaust path. Thus, even if the magnitude of the negative pressure in the exhaust path temporarily decreases, the processing device will not issue an alarm, thereby reducing unnecessary alarms.

The form used to implement the invention

Referring to the attached drawings, an embodiment of the present invention is described. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a grinding device 2 as an example of a processing device. Furthermore, the X-axis direction, Y-axis direction (front-back direction), and Z-axis direction (lead vertical direction, grinding feed direction) shown in Fig. 1 are orthogonal to each other.

The grinding device 2 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped base 4 for supporting or accommodating components. A recess 4a is formed in the front (one side in the Y-axis direction) of the base 4, and a transport robot 6 for transporting a workpiece 11 (see FIG. 2, etc.) is installed in the recess 4a.

The cassette mounting area 8a and the cassette mounting area 8b are provided in a manner sandwiching the recessed portion 4a in the X-axis direction. For example, a cassette 10a is mounted on the cassette mounting area 8a, and the cassette 10a accommodates one or more workpieces 11 before processing.

For example, one or more processed objects 11 with a resin protective tape attached to the front side are respectively accommodated in the film cassette 10a. In addition, a film cassette 10b is mounted on the film cassette mounting area 8b, and the aforementioned film cassette 10b can accommodate more than one processed object 11 after processing.

A positioning table 12 is provided behind the cassette loading area 8a (on the other side in the Y-axis direction) to determine the position of the workpiece 11 removed by the transfer robot 6. A loading arm 14 is provided in the area adjacent to the positioning table 12 in the X-axis direction.

A disc-shaped turntable 16 that can rotate on the XY plane is provided behind the loading arm 14. A first rotation drive source (not shown) such as a motor that rotates the turntable 16 is arranged on the lower surface side of the turntable 16.

Three work clamps 18 are provided on the upper surface side of the turntable 16 at intervals of approximately 120 degrees in the circumferential direction of the turntable 16. One work clamp 18 is disposed in the loading and unloading area A closest to the loading arm 14.

In addition, a work clamp 18 is disposed in each of the rough grinding area B which is approximately 120 degrees clockwise from the loading and unloading area A in a top view, and the fine grinding area C which is approximately 120 degrees counterclockwise from the loading and unloading area A in a top view.

Each work clamp 18 has a disc-shaped frame body formed of ceramics, etc. A disc-shaped recessed portion is formed on the upper surface side of the frame body, and a disc-shaped porous plate is fixed in the recessed portion in a manner of being fitted in the recessed portion.

The lower surface of the porous plate is connected to one end of a flow path (not shown) formed in the frame. A suction source (not shown) such as a vacuum pump is connected to the other end of the flow path. When the suction source is activated, a negative pressure is generated on the upper surface of the porous plate (holding surface 18a (see FIG. 2, etc.)).

A second rotation drive source (not shown) such as a motor is provided below each work clamp 18. The output shaft of the second rotation drive source is connected to the lower portion of the work clamp 18. When the second rotation drive source is operated, the work clamp 18 rotates in a predetermined direction.

A quadrangular columnar support structure 22a is provided behind the rough grinding area B of the turntable 16 so as to protrude from the upper surface of the base 4. A grinding feed unit (moving unit) 24 is provided on the front surface side of the support structure 22a.

The grinding feed unit 24 has a pair of Z-axis guide rails 26 fixed to the front surface of the support structure 22a and substantially parallel to the Z-axis direction. A Z-axis moving plate 28 is slidably mounted on the pair of Z-axis guide rails 26.

A nut portion (not shown) is provided at the rear (back side) of the Z-axis moving plate 28. A Z-axis ball screw 30 provided along the Z-axis direction between a pair of Z-axis guide rails 26 is rotatably connected to the nut portion.

A Z-axis pulse motor 32 is connected to the upper end of the Z-axis ball screw 30. When the Z-axis pulse motor 32 rotates the Z-axis ball screw 30, the Z-axis moving plate 28 moves along the Z-axis guide rail 26 in the Z-axis direction.

A rough grinding unit (processing unit) 36a is fixed to the front surface of the Z-axis moving plate 28. The rough grinding unit 36a has a cylindrical holding member 38 fixed to the Z-axis moving plate 28. A cylindrical spindle housing 40 is provided inside the holding member 38 and is arranged substantially parallel to the Z-axis direction (see FIG. 2 ).

A part of a cylindrical spindle 42 (see FIG. 2 ) arranged substantially parallel to the Z-axis direction is rotatably accommodated in the spindle housing 40 . A motor 44 is connected to the upper end of the spindle 42 .

A disc-shaped wheel seat 48 is fixed to the lower end of the main shaft 42. A ring-shaped rough grinding wheel 50a is mounted on the lower surface of the wheel seat 48 by a fixing member (not shown) such as a screw.

The rough grinding area B corresponds to the rough grinding area just below the rough grinding wheel 50a. The rough grinding wheel 50a has a ring-shaped wheel base 52a formed of a metal material such as an aluminum alloy, and a plurality of rough grinding grindstones 54a installed on the lower surface of the wheel base 52a (see FIG. 2 ).

A plurality of rough grinding stones 54a are arranged in a ring along the circumference of the lower surface of the wheel base 52a with gaps between adjacent rough grinding stones 54a. The rough grinding stones 54a are formed by mixing abrasive grains such as diamond and cBN (cubic boron nitride) with a binder such as metal, ceramic, or resin.

A flow path (not shown) for supplying grinding water (processing water) such as pure water to the rough grinding grindstone 54a is provided on the wheel base 52a, the wheel seat 48, the spindle 42, etc. A grinding water supply unit (not shown) is connected to one end of the flow path. The grinding water supply unit includes, for example, a tank (not shown) storing grinding water, a pump (not shown) for supplying grinding water from the tank to the wheel base 52a, etc.

As shown in Fig. 1, a quadrangular columnar support structure 22b is provided adjacent to one side of the support structure 22a in the X-axis direction and behind the finish grinding area C. A grinding feed unit 24 is provided in front of the support structure 22b similarly to the support structure 22a.

A fine grinding unit (processing unit) 36b is connected to the grinding feed unit 24 of the support structure 22b. The fine grinding unit 36b also has a holding member 38, a spindle housing 40, a spindle 42, a motor 44, and a wheel seat 48, similarly to the rough grinding unit 36a.

However, a circular ring-shaped fine grinding wheel 50b is mounted on the main shaft 42 of the fine grinding unit 36b via a wheel seat 48. The fine grinding area C described above is located directly below the fine grinding wheel 50b.

The fine grinding wheel 50b has a wheel base having the same structure as the wheel base 52a. A flow path (not shown) for supplying grinding water is also provided in the wheel base, wheel seat 48, spindle 42, etc. of the fine grinding unit 36b. In addition, a grinding water supply unit (not shown) is connected to one end of the flow path.

A plurality of fine grinding stones are provided on the lower surface of the wheel base of the fine grinding wheel 50b. The plurality of fine grinding stones are arranged in a ring shape along the circumference of the lower surface of the wheel base with gaps between adjacent fine grinding stones.

The average particle size of the abrasive grains of the fine grinding grindstone is smaller than that of the coarse grinding grindstone 54a. However, there is no particular limitation on the binder material or the material of the abrasive grains of the fine grinding grindstone, and they can be appropriately selected according to the specifications of the fine grinding grindstone.

A discharge arm 56 is provided in front of the loading and unloading area A and adjacent to the loading arm 14 in the X-axis direction. In front of the discharge arm 56, a rotary cleaning unit 58 is provided for cleaning and drying the workpiece 11 after grinding.

The grinding device 2 has a control unit (not shown) for controlling the motion of the components. The control unit controls the motion of the positioning table 12, the loading arm 14, the turntable 16, the work clamp 18, the rough grinding unit 36a, the fine grinding unit 36b, the unloading arm 56, the rotary cleaning unit 58, and the like.

The control unit is constituted by a computer including a processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main memory device such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and an auxiliary memory device such as a flash memory and a hard disk drive. The functions of the control unit can be realized by operating the processing device etc. according to the software stored in the auxiliary memory device.

Next, the grinding chamber etc. of the grinding device 2 will be described with reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the grinding chamber etc. As shown in Fig. 1, a prism-shaped cover member 60a formed of metal is provided above the rough grinding area B.

The cover member 60a forms a grinding chamber (processing chamber) 62a for rough grinding that separates the rough grinding area B from the loading and unloading area A and the fine grinding area C. The cover member 60a has a plurality of side plates and an upper plate to cover the work clamp 18 located in the rough grinding area B and a part of the rough grinding unit 36a (wheel seat 48, rough grinding wheel 50a, etc.).

A first opening (not shown) is formed on the upper plate of the cover member 60a for the spindle 42 to pass through. Since the diameter of the first opening is slightly larger than the diameter of the spindle 42, the inner peripheral portion of the first opening does not contact the outer peripheral portion of the spindle 42.

A second opening is formed on the side plate on the rear side of the cover member 60a, and an exhaust duct 64a formed of metal is connected to the second opening. The exhaust duct 64a is a curved cylindrical duct and has a hollow portion (i.e., exhaust path 70a) with an inner diameter of 90 mm.

One end of the exhaust path 70a is connected to the grinding chamber 62a. The other end of the exhaust path 70a is connected to the exhaust unit 68. The exhaust unit 68 includes a suction source 66 such as a fan and a filter (not shown).

A through opening (opening) 72a is formed on the side of the exhaust duct 64a, through which a part of the exhaust duct 64a passes. The through opening 72a of this embodiment has a cylindrical shape, and the length of the through opening 72a (that is, the height of the cylinder) is substantially equal to the thickness of the wall constituting the exhaust duct 64a.

Furthermore, the size of the through opening 72a (i.e., the diameter of the cylinder) is sufficiently small to reduce the spread of the rapid pressure change on the exhaust path 70a to the box 74a. The through opening 72a of this embodiment has a diameter of 0.2 mm (0.22% of the diameter of the exhaust duct 64a).

However, the through opening 72a may have any diameter between 0.1 mm and 0.5 mm (i.e., between about 0.11% and about 0.56% of the diameter of the exhaust duct 64a). As long as it is within this range, the rapid pressure change on the exhaust path 70a can be reduced from spreading to the box 74a.

On the opposite side of the exhaust path 70a relative to the through opening 72a, a hollow box 74a formed of the same metal material as the exhaust duct 64a is provided. The box 74a is connected to the exhaust path 70a through the through opening 72a.

A pressure sensor 76a for detecting the pressure inside the box 74a is provided in the box 74a. As the pressure sensor 76a, various pressure sensors such as a piezoresistance type and an electrostatic capacitance type can be used. When the pressure sensor 76a detects that the pressure inside the box 74a is lower than a predetermined threshold value (e.g., -100Pa), it transmits a predetermined signal to the above-mentioned control unit.

When the control unit receives a predetermined signal from the pressure sensor 76a, it activates an alarm notification unit (not shown) such as a warning light, buzzer, monitor, etc. of a housing (not shown) mounted on the base 4 to sound an alarm.

A cover member 60b (see FIG. 1 ) similar to the cover member 60a is provided above the finish grinding area C. The cover member 60b forms a grinding chamber (processing chamber) 62b for finish grinding.

The cover member 60b has a plurality of side plates and an upper plate to cover the work clamp 18 and a portion of the fine grinding unit 36b (wheel seat 48, fine grinding wheel 50b, etc.) located in the fine grinding area C. A first opening for the main shaft 42 to pass through is also formed on the upper plate of the cover member 60b.

A second opening (not shown) is formed on the side plate of the rear side of the cover member 60b, and an exhaust duct 64b formed of metal is connected to the second opening. Since the exhaust duct 64b has substantially the same shape, structure, function, etc. as the exhaust duct 64a, detailed description thereof is omitted.

An exhaust path having the same shape as the exhaust path 70a is also formed inside the exhaust duct 64b. A through opening (not shown) having the same shape as the through opening 72a is formed on the side surface of the exhaust duct 64b.

A box (not shown) identical to the box 74a is provided on the opposite side of the exhaust passage of the exhaust duct 64b relative to the through opening of the exhaust duct 64b. A pressure sensor (not shown) identical to the pressure sensor 76a is also provided inside the box.

However, the turntable 16 is disposed at the bottom of the grinding chambers 62a and 62b. Fig. 3(A) is a top view of the turntable 16. A plurality of partition plates 78 are provided on the upper surface of the turntable 16 so as to divide the circular turntable 16 into approximately three equal parts.

The partition plates 78 are connected to each other near the center of the upper surface of the turntable 16, and are formed from the center of the upper surface of the turntable 16 to the outer periphery. FIG3(B) is a perspective view of the turntable 16.

The partition plates 78 protrude from the upper surface of the turntable 16 by a predetermined length. When the turntable 16 is stationary, the upper portion of each partition plate 78 is slightly separated from the bottom of the side plates of the cover member 60a and the cover member 60b adjacent in the Z-axis direction (see FIG. 2 ).

Next, the procedure of grinding the workpiece 11 using the grinding device 2 is described. First, the transport robot 6 transports the workpiece 11 from the magazine 10a to the positioning table 12. After the positioning table 12 adjusts the position of the workpiece 11, the loading arm 14 transports the workpiece 11 to the work clamp 18 located in the loading and unloading area A.

At this time, the workpiece 11 is placed on the holding surface 18a with the back side of the workpiece 11 facing upward. The front side of the workpiece 11 can be sucked and held by the holding surface 18a. Thereafter, the turntable 16 is rotated in the clockwise direction.

Thereby, the work table 18 holding the workpiece 11 by suction moves to the rough grinding area B. In the rough grinding area B, the work table 18 and the spindle 42 of the rough grinding unit 36a are rotated. Then, the rough grinding unit 36a is fed for grinding while supplying grinding water to the rough grinding grindstone 54a.

As shown in Fig. 2, when the rough grinding grindstone 54a contacts the back side of the workpiece 11, the back side is roughly ground (processed). During grinding, the air pressure of the grinding chamber 62a and the exhaust path 70a can be set to a state lower than the atmospheric pressure (i.e., negative pressure) by operating the suction source 66.

The air pressure of the grinding chamber 62a and the exhaust path 70a is adjusted to a negative pressure equivalent to 110Pa (i.e. -110Pa [gauge]) lower than the atmospheric pressure, for example. In this way, by forming the grinding chamber 62a and the exhaust path 70a to a negative pressure, atomized grinding water or powdered machining chips can be discharged to the outside of the grinding device 2 through the exhaust path 70a.

After the rough grinding is finished, the action of the suction source 66 is stopped first. Then, for example, it takes about 1.3 seconds to rotate the turntable 16 about 120 degrees in the clockwise direction so that the work clamp 18 located in the rough grinding area B moves to the fine grinding area C.

When the turntable 16 rotates, as shown in FIG. 4 , a gap is created between the upper portion of the partition plate 78 and the lower portion of the cover member 60a, and the grinding chambers 62a and 62b are temporarily opened to the atmosphere or the gas environment in the clean room.

Fig. 4 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the grinding chamber 62a, etc. of this embodiment, and shows that the grinding chamber 62a is temporarily opened. In this specification, the temporary opening of the grinding chambers 62a and 62b means that the grinding chambers 62a and 62b are opened due to the rotation of the turntable 16, and the opening time is, for example, more than 1 second and less than 3 seconds.

Due to the temporary opening of the grinding chamber 62a, air will flow into the grinding chamber 62a, and the negative pressure of the exhaust path 70a will temporarily decrease. In other words, the pressure of the exhaust path 70a will temporarily rise to be close to the atmospheric pressure.

However, as described above, since the through opening 72a connecting the exhaust path 70a and the box 74a is sufficiently small, the rapid change in the pressure of the exhaust path 70a is difficult to spread to the box 74a. As a result, the negative pressure in the box 74a is slightly reduced, but can be maintained in the range of less than -100Pa and more than -120Pa.

Therefore, even if the pressure sensor 76a generally continues to monitor the pressure of the exhaust path 70a, it is still difficult to be affected by the temporary decrease in the magnitude of the negative pressure of the exhaust path 70a. Therefore, even if the magnitude of the negative pressure of the exhaust path 70a temporarily decreases, the grinding device 2 will not issue an alarm.

Furthermore, since the same phenomenon occurs in the through opening formed on the side of the exhaust duct 64b, even if the negative pressure of the exhaust path of the exhaust duct 64b is temporarily reduced, the grinding device 2 will not issue an alarm. Therefore, unnecessary alarms in the grinding device 2 can be reduced.

Next, in the finish grinding area C, finish grinding (processing) is performed while supplying grinding water to the back side of the workpiece 11. After the finish grinding is completed, the operation of the suction source 66 is first stopped. Next, the turntable 16 is rotated counterclockwise for, for example, about 2.6 seconds.

Thereby, the work clamp 18 located in the finish grinding area C is moved to the loading and unloading area A. However, when the turntable 16 rotates, the grinding chambers 62a and 62b are temporarily opened, so that the magnitude of each negative pressure of the exhaust path 70a and the exhaust path of the exhaust duct 64b is temporarily reduced.

However, as described above, in this embodiment, it is difficult to reduce the magnitude of the negative pressure in the housing 74a. Similarly, it is also difficult to reduce the magnitude of the negative pressure in the housing of the exhaust duct 64b. Therefore, unnecessary alarms in the grinding device 2 can be reduced.

The workpiece 11 on the work clamp 18 that has returned to the loading and unloading area A is transported to the rotary cleaning unit 58 by the unloading arm 56, and after being cleaned and dried in the rotary cleaning unit 58, it is transported to the sheet magazine 10b by the transport robot 6.

Next, the comparative example is described. FIG5 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the grinding chamber 62a of the comparative example, and shows the grinding chamber 62a being temporarily opened. In the comparative example, the size of the through opening 82a that connects the exhaust path 70a and the housing 74a is larger than the through opening 72a described above.

The through opening 82a has, for example, a cylindrical shape. The size of the through opening 82a (i.e., the diameter of the cylinder) is, for example, substantially the same as the inner diameter of the exhaust duct 64a. When the turntable 16 rotates, the size of the negative pressure inside the box 74a is reduced to the same level as the exhaust path 70a due to the size of the through opening 82a.

Therefore, the pressure sensor 76a is easily affected by the temporary decrease in the magnitude of the negative pressure of the exhaust path 70a. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the change in the pressure of the exhaust path 70a when the work clamp 18 is moved from the rough grinding area B to the fine grinding area C.

The horizontal axis represents time. _t1 represents the start time of the rotation of the turntable 16, and _t2 represents the stop time of the rotation of the turntable 16. The time from _t1 to _t2 is the rotation time of the turntable 16, which may be, for example, about 1.3 seconds.

The vertical axis represents the negative pressure (Pa [gauge]) based on the atmospheric pressure. In addition, in the vertical axis, the negative pressure becomes larger as it goes down, and the negative pressure becomes smaller as it goes up. The graph 90 (solid line) in FIG6 represents the pressure change of the exhaust path 70a of the comparative example.

As shown in the graph 90 (solid line), the magnitude of the negative pressure in the housing 74a of the comparative example decreases rapidly when the magnitude of the negative pressure in the exhaust path 70a decreases temporarily. Therefore, the magnitude of the negative pressure in the housing 74a measured by the pressure sensor 76a decreases to about -70Pa[gauge], which is lower than -100Pa[gauge]. As a result, the grinding device 2 generates an alarm each time the turntable 16 is rotated.

In contrast, the graph 92 (one-dot chain) in FIG6 shows the pressure change of the exhaust path 70a of the above-mentioned embodiment. As shown in the graph 92, even if the magnitude of the negative pressure of the exhaust path 70a is temporarily reduced, the magnitude of the negative pressure in the housing 74a of the present embodiment will not be lower than -100Pa [gauge]. Thus, unnecessary alarms in the grinding device 2 can be reduced.

In addition, the configuration and method of the above-mentioned embodiments can be appropriately modified and implemented as long as they do not deviate from the scope of the purpose of the present invention. In one example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the box 74a is directly connected to the side of the exhaust duct 64a, the through opening 72a of the exhaust duct 64a and the box 74a can also be connected through a connecting hose (not shown).

In this case, the inner diameter of the cross section perpendicular to the length direction of the connecting hose is set to be substantially the same as the diameter of the through opening 72a. Furthermore, as long as the processing chamber such as the grinding chamber 62a can be formed into a negative pressure gas environment, the technical concept of this application can also be applied to other processing devices.

As another processing device, a grinding device can be cited, for example. The grinding device includes a grinding unit and a worktable disposed below the grinding unit and sucking and holding the workpiece 11. The grinding unit has a main spindle and a grinding pad mounted on the lower end of the main spindle.

The top of the work clamp of the grinding device is covered by a cover member. The cover member has a plurality of side plates and an upper plate to cover the work clamp and a part of the grinding unit. The cover member constitutes a grinding chamber (processing chamber).

An opening is formed on the upper plate of the cover member for the spindle to pass through. The diameter of the opening is slightly larger than the diameter of the spindle. Another opening is formed on the side plate of the rear side of the cover member, and an exhaust duct formed of metal is connected to the other opening.

When grinding the workpiece 11, the grinding chamber is set to a negative pressure gas environment, and the mist-like grinding water (processing water) generated in the grinding chamber is exhausted through the exhaust duct connected to the grinding chamber. Furthermore, the work clamp of the grinding device can also be arranged on a part of the turntable 16 to set up a grinding device (processing device).

2: Grinding device 4: Base 4a: Recess 6: Transfer robot 8a, 8b: Cassette loading area 10a, 10b: Cassette 11: Workpiece 12: Positioning table 14: Loading arm 16: Turntable 18: Work clamp 18a: Holding surface 22a, 22b: Support structure 24: Grinding feed unit 26: Z-axis guide rail 28: Z-axis moving plate 30: Z-axis ball screw 32: Z-axis pulse motor 36a: Rough grinding unit 36b: Fine grinding unit 38: Holding member 40: Spindle housing 42: Spindle 44: Motor 48: Wheel seat 50a: Rough grinding wheel 50b: Fine grinding wheel 52a: Wheel base 54a: Rough grinding stone 56: Unloading arm 58: Rotary cleaning unit 60a, 60b: Cover member 62a, 62b: Grinding chamber 64a, 64b: Exhaust duct 66: Suction source 68: Exhaust unit 70a: Exhaust path 72a: Through opening 74a: Box 76a: Pressure sensor 78: Partition plate 82a: Through opening 90, 92: Graphics A: Loading and unloading area B: Rough grinding area C: Fine grinding area X, Y, Z: Direction

FIG1 is a perspective view of a grinding device. FIG2 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a grinding chamber, etc. FIG3(A) is a top view of a turntable, and FIG3(B) is a perspective view of a turntable. FIG4 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a grinding chamber, etc. of the present embodiment. FIG5 is a partial cross-sectional side view of a grinding chamber, etc. of a comparative example. FIG6 is a schematic diagram illustrating pressure changes in an exhaust path.

11: Object to be processed

16: Turntable

18: Workbench

18a: Keep the face

38: Retaining components

40: Spindle housing

42: Main axis

48: Wheel seat

50a: Rough grinding wheel

52a: Wheel base

54a: Rough grinding grindstone

60a: Covering member

62a: Grinding room

64a: Exhaust duct

66: Attraction source

68: Exhaust unit

70a: Exhaust path

72a: Through opening

74a: Cabinet

76a: Pressure sensor

78: Divider

Claims (2)

A processing device is a processing device that supplies processing water to a workpiece held by a workpiece clamp while processing the workpiece with a processing unit having a main spindle. The processing device is characterized in that it has: a cover component, including an upper plate and a plurality of side plates, and covering the workpiece clamp and a portion of the processing unit; an exhaust duct connected to the cover component; and a disc-shaped turntable, on the side of the upper surface of which the workpiece clamp is arranged, and the disc-shaped turntable is arranged below the upper plate of the cover component, and the turntable has a plurality of partition plates protruding from the upper surface of the turntable, and when the turntable is stationary, the plurality of partition plates are arranged on the turntable. Under the corresponding side plates among the plurality of side plates, when the turntable is stationary, at least a predetermined negative pressure is maintained in the space defined by the cover member, the upper surface of the turntable and the plurality of partition plates. However, if the space is opened by the rotation of the turntable, the pressure in the space will rise. The exhaust duct has: an exhaust path, one end of which is connected to the cover member and the other end is connected to an exhaust unit having a suction source; and a box body, which is connected to the exhaust path through an opening formed on the side of the exhaust duct and contains a pressure sensor inside. The opening portion has a size that can reduce the rapid change of the pressure in the exhaust path and expand to the box body. A processing device as claimed in claim 1, comprising a control unit for controlling the movement of the processing unit and the turntable.

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