This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2010-184018 filed Aug. 19, 2010. The entire content of this priority application is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a substrate polishing device for polishing an inner peripheral edge surface of a circular substrate, such as a glass or aluminum substrate for a magnetic recording medium used as a hard disk platter and a substrate for optical recording media including a Compact Disc (CD), Digital Video Disc (DVD), and Blu-ray Disc (BD).
In this specification, the term “circular substrate” refers to a substrate having a diameter of 2.5 inches, 1.8 inches, 1.0 inches, or 0.85 inches, for example. Of these sizes, substrates with a 2.5-inch diameter have an outer diameter of 65 mm, an inner circular hole diameter of 20 mm, and a thickness of 0.635 mm; substrates with a 1.8-inch diameter have an outer diameter of 48 mm, an inner circular hole diameter of 12 mm, and a thickness of 0.508 mm; substrates with a 1.0-inch diameter have an outer diameter of 27.4 mm, an inner circular hole diameter of 7 mm, and a thickness of 0.381 mm; and substrates with a 0.85-inch diameter have an outer diameter of 21.6 mm, an inner circular hole diameter of 6 mm, and a thickness of 0.381 mm.
A conventional method for polishing the inner peripheral edge surface of the circular hole formed in this type of circular substrate involves rotating a polishing brush or a polishing pad in contact with the inner peripheral edge surface while supplying an abrasive liquid containing free abrasive grains thereto.
However, a disadvantage of the conventional polishing method described above is its inability to satisfy the need for improvements in processing quality. For example, the conventional method does not improve the capacity for removing foreign matter, such as glass or resin particles, adhering to the inner peripheral edge surface of the circular substrate. Further, the conventional method does not sufficiently improve the capacity for mirror-polishing the inner and outer peripheral edge surfaces, including chamfered or rounded portions, to a degree of roughness required in specifications of the circular substrate, which specifications have become more demanding in recent years due to the recent trend toward thinner circular substrates with increased recording density, as well as improvements in rotational speed.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the invention to solve the above-described problems.
In order to attain the above and other objects, the invention provides a substrate polishing method for polishing a circular substrate formed with a circular center hole that penetrates through the circular substrate in a first direction. The substrate polishing method includes starting to rotate the circular substrate and polishing an inner peripheral edge surface of the center circular hole formed in the circular substrate into one of a chamfered surface and a rounded surface by pressing the inner peripheral edge surface against a bypass polishing part of a polishing tape that is conveyed intermittently or continuously and by oscillating intermittently or continuously the bypass polishing part of the polishing tape about a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The polishing tape is guided so as to have an advancing portion advancing toward the circular substrate, a returning portion returning from the circular substrate, and a turning-back portion between the advancing portion and the returning portion guided along a side bypass. The bypass polishing part of the polishing tape is the turning-back portion of the polishing tape.
According to another aspect, the present invention provides a substrate polishing device including a rotary mechanism that holds and rotates a circular substrate formed with a circular center hole that penetrates through the circular substrate in a first direction and a polishing mechanism that polishes at least an inner peripheral edge surface of the center circular hole formed in the circular substrate into one of a chamfered surface and a rounded surface with a polishing tape. The polishing mechanism includes a tape-conveying mechanism, a tape-polishing mechanism, a pressure contact mechanism, and a polishing-part-oscillating mechanism. The tape-conveying mechanism intermittently or continuously conveys the polishing tape. The tape-polishing mechanism has an advancing guide part for guiding an advancing portion of the polishing tape toward the circular substrate, a returning guide part for guiding a returning portion of the polishing tape from the circular substrate, and a bypass guide part for guiding a turning-back portion of the polishing tape between the advancing portion and the returning portion along a side bypass. The turning-back portion of the polishing tape serves as a bypass polishing part. The pressure contact mechanism presses the inner peripheral edge surface against the bypass polishing part of the polishing tape by moving the bypass polishing part relative to the circular substrate. The polishing-part-oscillating mechanism intermittently or continuously oscillates the bypass polishing part about a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as other objects will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:
A substrate polishing device 100 according to an embodiment of the invention will be described while referring to the accompanying drawings wherein like parts and components are designated by the same reference numerals to avoid duplicating description.
The terms “upward,” “downward,” “upper,” “lower,” “above,” “right,” “left,” “front,” “rear” and the like will be used throughout the description assuming that the substrate polishing device 100 is disposed in an orientation in which it is intended to be used. In use, the substrate polishing device 100 is disposed as shown in
The substrate polishing device 100 is for polishing a circular glass substrate as a workpiece W shown in
As shown in
As shown in
A set of rolls 3 is provided on the laterally reciprocating carriage 2 for holding the workpiece W by the outer peripheral edge surface N thereof. The set of rolls 3 includes a fixed roll 3a, a driving roll 3b, and a pressing roll 3e. The fixed roll 3a is supported on an idler shaft 3d that is linked to the laterally reciprocating carriage 2 so as to be capable of rotating idly. The driving roll 3b is supported on a drive shaft 3e of a rotary motor 3f provided in the laterally reciprocating carriage 2 and is driven to rotate by the rotary motor 3f. The pressing roll 3c is supported on an idler shaft 3i. The idler shaft 3i is provided on a support arm 3h capable of swinging about a support shaft 3g to retract the pressing roll 3c from the workpiece W.
With this construction, the workpiece W is supplied to the fixed roll 3a and the driving roll 3b, either manually or by a feed-delivery mechanism (not shown), and is supported on the fixed roll 3a and the driving roll 3b. Next, the support arm 3h is swung from a position indicated by a chain line in
As shown in
The tape-conveying mechanism C is for conveying a polishing tape T intermittently or continuously. More specifically, as shown in
The tape support frame 4 is disposed above the base 1. The feed reel 5 and the take-up reel 6 are rotatably provided on the tape support frame 4. The back tension mechanism 7 has a tension control motor 7a for controlling rotation of the feed reel 5 to maintain tension in the polishing tape T wound about the feed reel 5. The feeding mechanism 8 includes a feed motor 8a, a feed roll 8b, a pinch roll 8c, and a belt mechanism 8d.
While the tension control motor 7a maintains tension in the polishing tape T wound about the feed reel 5, the feed motor 8a drives the feed roll 8b to rotate, thereby controlling the feed roll 8b and the pinch roll 8c contacting the feed roll 8h to convey the polishing tape T intermittently or continuously from the feed reel 5 to the take-up reel 6 via the tape-polishing mechanism D. The feed motor 8a also rotates the take-up reel 6 indirectly via the belt mechanism 8d, controlling the take-up reel 6 to take up the polishing tape T conveyed thereto.
The polishing tape T may be configured of a substrate formed of polyester film, thin metal, cloth, foamed film, flocked fabric, or the like and an abrasive having a prescribed grain size, such as aluminum oxide, chromium oxide, silicon carbide, or diamond, applied or bonded to the substrate.
Some tape polishing devices have a dry polishing system that employs a polishing tape having abrasive grains fixed to the substrate and that uses no lubricant. Other devices have a wet polishing system that employs a polishing tape with abrasive grains fixed to the substrate and polishes while supplying lubricant to the polishing tape. Still other devices have a wet polishing system employing a polishing tape configured of woven or nonwoven cloth, a foamed film, or a flocked fabric with no fixed abrasive grains and supply a polishing liquid containing free abrasive grains to the polishing tape. Of these, the polishing tape T in the preferred embodiment may be either a polishing tape with fixed abrasive grains or a polishing tape with no fixed abrasive grains.
The tape-polishing mechanism D is for guiding the polishing tape T such that the polishing tape T has, as shown in
More specifically, the tape-polishing mechanism D includes a mount 9 attached to the tape support frame 4. As shown in
The bypass guide part C3 is provided with first and second turn-back surface parts 10 and 11, and a pressure-receiving surface part 12. The first turn-back surface part 10 is provide at the lower side of the mount 9 as a 45-degree cutout for guiding the polishing tape T from the advancing guide part C1 to the upper side of the mount 9, and the second turn-back surface part 11 is provide at the upper side of the mount 9 as a 45-degree cutout for guiding the polishing tape T that has passed from the upper side to the lower side of the mount 9 through the side bypass portion T3 into the returning guide part C2. The pressure-receiving surface part 12 is configured of an idler roll and functions to guide the polishing tape T along the side bypass between the turn-back surface parts 10 and 11 and to absorb pressure during polishing.
In this embodiment, the pressure-receiving surface part 12 is formed of an elastic material or a hard material, such as rubber or synthetic resin. When formed of an elastic material, the pressure-receiving surface part 12 can absorb excess pressure during polishing.
The pressure contact mechanism E is for moving the workpiece W with respect to the polishing tape T. Specifically, as shown in
The polishing-part-oscillating mechanism F is for intermittently or continuously oscillating the bypass polishing part K of the polishing tape T. Specifically, as shown in
With this construction, the bypass polishing part K can be positioned in confrontation with the inner or outer peripheral edge surfaces M or N of the workpiece W by moving the front-to-rear moving base 14f in the front-to-rear direction. Further, the bypass polishing part K can be oscillated by oscillating the oscillating base 14 about the central axis P of the pivot shaft 14a when the pivot shaft 14a is rotated. By oscillating the bypass polishing part K intermittently or continuously in a direction PD shown in
As shown in
Although not shown in the drawings, the substrate polishing device 100 also includes an oscillating mechanism for oscillating the tape-polishing mechanism D in the front-rear direction as indicated by arrows in
With the substrate polishing device 100 having the structure described above, the workpiece W (circular substrate) is supplied to the rotary mechanism A either automatically or through manual operations. The set of rolls 3 in the rotary mechanism A hold the workpiece W by the outer peripheral edge surface N, and the rotary motor 3f is actuated for starting to rotate the driving roll 3b to spin the workpiece W.
In the meantime, while the tape-conveying mechanism C conveys the polishing tape T either intermittently or continuously, the front-to-rear conveying motor 14i of the tape-polishing mechanism D drives the front-to-rear moving base 14f to advance until the bypass polishing part K is positioned in opposition to the inner peripheral edge surface M of the workpiece W, as shown in
Further, the pressure contact cylinder 13b mounted on the pressure contact base 13 of the pressure contact mechanism E pushes the laterally reciprocating carriage 2 rightward so that the inner peripheral edge surface M of the workpiece W is pressed against the bypass polishing part K.
The oscillating motor 14b oscillates the oscillating base 14 of the polishing-part-oscillating mechanism F intermittently or continuously about the central axis P. The oscillating motion of the oscillating base 14 causes the bypass polishing part K to oscillate intermittently or continuously in the direction OD about the central axis P. Through this intermittent or continuous oscillating motion, the bypass polishing part K can polish the inner peripheral edge surface M of the workpiece W into a chamfered surface as shown in
This construction can improve processing quality, including the capability to remove glass and resin particles and other foreign matter deposited on the inner peripheral edge surface M, and the capacity for mirror-polishing the inner peripheral edge surface M. The substrate polishing device 100 having this structure can also easily polish the inner peripheral edge surface M into a chamfered or rounded surface.
Further, the advancing guide part C1 and the returning guide part C2 guide the polishing tape T along advancing and returning paths, respectively, and the bypass guide part C3 guides the portion of the polishing tape T being turned back from the advancing path to the returning path along the side bypass, whereby the side bypass portion T3 of the polishing tape T guided along the side bypass by the bypass guide part C3 serves as the bypass polishing part K for polishing the inner peripheral edge surface M of the workpiece W.
Accordingly, this structure enables the formation of a small, compact bypass polishing part K that can favorably polish the inner peripheral edge surface M of the workpiece W without interfering with peripheral components, improving flexibility in the processing position and layout design.
As described above, the substrate polishing device 100 is provided with the switching mechanism G for switching the rotary mechanism A between the inside contact position at which the inner peripheral edge surface M opposes the bypass polishing part K at the contact position H and the outside contact position at which the outer peripheral edge surface N opposes the bypass polishing part K at the contact position H in order to enable to polish both the inner and outer peripheral edge surfaces M and N of the workpiece W. Accordingly, the substrate polishing device 100 of this embodiment can also polish the outer peripheral edge surface N of the workpiece W to form a chamfered or rounded surface, as illustrated in
As described above, by providing the substrate polishing device 100 with the oscillating mechanism for oscillating the tape-polishing mechanism D in the front-rear direction, the oscillating motion of the polishing tape T adds a polishing effect capable of favorably improving the polishing process.
Further, the bypass guide part C3 is provided with the two turn-back surface parts 10 and 11 for guiding the polishing tape T from the advancing guide part C1 onto a side bypass and further to the returning guide part C2; and the pressure-receiving surface part 12 for guiding the polishing tape T along the bypass between the turn-back surface parts 10 and 11 and for absorbing pressure during polishing. Accordingly, the bypass guide part C3 can suitably guide the polishing tape T along the side bypass to ensure smooth conveyance of the polishing tape T.
Further, since the pressure-receiving surface part 12 can be formed of an elastic or hard material, such as rubber or synthetic resin, the pressure-receiving surface part 12 can effectively absorb pressure during polishing.
Further, since the bypass polishing part K of the polishing tape T can be configured to perform wet polishing or dry polishing, the substrate polishing device 100 can support many specifications for the workpiece W, such as type of material and polishing conditions.
While the invention has been described in detail with reference to the embodiment thereof, it would be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.
In the embodiment described above, the pressure contact mechanism E has a structure for moving the workpiece W so that the inner or outer peripheral edge surface M or N of the workpiece W is pressed against the bypass polishing part K. However, the pressure contact mechanism E may be alternatively structured to move the bypass polishing part K so that the bypass polishing part K is pressed against the inner or outer peripheral edge surfaces M or N. This modified configuration would also obtain the same operations and effects described in the above-described embodiment.
In the embodiment described above, the switching mechanism G is configured to move the rotary mechanism A in the right-left direction between the inside contact position and the outside contact position. However, the switching mechanism G may be alternatively configured to move at least the tape-polishing mechanism D and the polishing-part-oscillating mechanism F of the polishing mechanism B in the right-left direction between a position at which the bypass polishing part K presses against the inner peripheral edge surface M and a position at which the bypass polishing part K presses against the outer peripheral edge surface N.
The structural design of the rotary mechanism A, the polishing mechanism B, the tape-conveying mechanism C, the tape-polishing mechanism D, the pressure contact mechanism E, the polishing-part-oscillating mechanism F, the switching mechanism G, and the like, and the materials and configuration of the polishing tape T and the like may be suitably modified as necessary. Further, the substrate polishing device 100 may employ a dry polishing method or a wet polishing method according to process specifications.
According to the specifications described above, the substrate polishing device 100 of the above-described embodiment can fully achieve the intended objects.
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