Abrading – Abrading process – Glass or stone abrading
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-02
2001-08-21
Rose, Robert A. (Department: 3723)
Abrading
Abrading process
Glass or stone abrading
C451S006000, C125S013010
Reexamination Certificate
active
06277001
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of cutting into square pieces a laminated workpiece having thin flat strips crosswise arranged at different levels in its thickness. Such a laminated workpiece, however, has no lattice pattern visible on its upper surface. One example of such a square piece is a laminated ceramic condenser.
2. Related Arts
Optical means is used to determine the strip-to-strip interval from the strip ends exposed on one selected side of a laminated workpiece, and the crosswise sections are presumably determined from the so determined strip-to-strip interval. This necessitates use of complicated optical means, and cannot be applied to a laminated object having no strip ends appearing on its sides.
In cutting such a laminated object having no strip ends exposed on its sides one or more “V”-shaped grooves are cut on the upper surface of the laminated object to expose the strip ends on the inclined surfaces of the “V”-shaped groove, thus permitting determination of the strip-to-strip interval for determining the crosswise cutting sections.
This, however, necessitates use of two different cutting machines for cutting “V”-shaped grooves and for cutting a laminated object into square pieces, and transportation means for transporting “V”-grooved workpieces from the grooving machine to the cutting machine. This causes extra expense and labor in cutting laminated workpieces.
Still disadvantageously, transportation from the grooving machine to the cutting machine requires reorientation of the grooved workpiece relative to the cutting blade in the cutting machine. Accordingly the workability is lowered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One object of the present invention is to provide a method of cutting into square pieces a laminated workpiece having thin flat strips crosswise arranged at different levels in its thickness with an increased efficiency.
To attain this object a method of cutting a laminated workpiece having thin flat strips arranged crosswise at different levels in its thickness with a cutting machine comprising at least a chuck table for holding the laminated workpiece, the chuck table being capable of moving for cutting the laminated workpiece, and capable of rotating a selected angular distance for indentation; an optical means for detecting a cutting area in the laminated workpiece held on the chuck table; a first cutting means having a blade for cutting a “V”-shaped groove on the laminated workpiece held on the chuck table; and a second cutting means having a blade for cutting the cutting area, characterized in that it comprises at least the steps of:
(a) holding fixedly the laminated workpiece on the chuck table;
(b) cutting first and second “V”-shaped grooves in the vicinities of at least one set of opposite sides of the laminated workpiece with the first cutting means, thus exposing the ends of the flat thin strips on the inclined surfaces of the “V”-shaped grooves;
(c) taking pictures of the first and second “V”-shaped grooves with the optical means to detect the ends of the thin flat strips on the inclined surfaces of the “V”-shaped grooves;
(d) putting each line connecting from each strip end exposed in one “V”-shaped groove to the corresponding strip end on the other “V”-shaped groove in parallel-alignment with the cutting direction;
(e) determining the strip-to-strip interval from the exposed strip ends; and
(f) cutting the intermediate line of the strip-to-strip space with the second cutting means.
Advantageously the laminated workpiece is allowed to remain on the chuck table while being subjected to grooving and cutting, thus not requiring the reorientation of the grooved workpiece, which otherwise, would be required.
The laminated workpiece may be rectangular in shape, having two sets of opposite sides, the steps (a) to (f) being effected on the laminated workpiece in the direction traversing from one to the other side of each set of opposite sides.
The second cutting means may be so controlled that the blade of the second cutting means may not cut the border round the “V”-shaped grooves, thereby leaving the surrounding frame-like border as a whole to be thrown away.
The step (d) may include storing pieces of alignment information pertaining to the parallel-alignments relative to the cutting direction of all strips having their ends exposed in the “V”-shaped grooves; and the step (e) may include storing pieces of the strip-to-strip intervals of all strips having their ends exposed in the “V”-shaped grooves, whereby all strip-to-strip spaces may be cut individually with the second cutting means by referring to the so stored pieces of information pertaining to the parallel-alignments and strip-to-strip intervals.
The laminated workpiece may have indices marked on its top surface, such indices being detected with the optical means prior to the cutting of “V”-shaped grooves.
Use may be made of air blower means placed between the cutting means and the optical means or below the optical means to direct the blowing air to the “V”-shaped grooves after being made and before orienting the laminated workpiece relative to the cutting direction.
The optical means may comprise at least a light source-and-light projecting system, a picture-taking unit comprising a plurality of pixels arranged in matrix, analog-to-digital converter and an image processing means for effecting image-processing on digital signals; and required alignments are effected by processing according to the pattern matching in the step (c), the images of the workpiece shape and the exposed strip ends taken by the optical means.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be understood from the following description of the method of cutting laminated objects according to the present invention, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4407262 (1983-10-01), Wirz et al.
patent: 4688540 (1987-08-01), Ono
patent: 5692280 (1997-12-01), Taniguchi et al.
patent: 6102023 (2000-08-01), Ishiwata et al.
patent: 6142138 (2000-11-01), Azuma et al.
patent: 6154356 (2000-11-01), Kagata et al.
Arent Fox Kintner & Plotkin & Kahn, PLLC
Disco Corporation
Rose Robert A.
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