Mechanical scribing apparatus with controlling force of a scribing cutter

• US 7,281,334 B2
• Filed: 03/07/2005
• Issued: 10/16/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Original Assignee: Honda Giken Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Honda Motor Company)
• Inventors: Yonezawa, Satoshi, Ueda, Hirashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Bennett; G. Bradley
• Assistant Examiner(s): Courson; Tania C
• Application Number:
  US11/077,139
• Publication Number:
  US 20050223570A1
• Time in Patent Office: 953 Days
• Field of Search: 33/181, 33/201, 33/321, 33/323, 409/304, 409288-289, 438/68, 438/113, 438460-465, 83/621, 83/72, 83/74, 835/222.7, 838/81
• US Class Current: 33/18.1
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 3/065 On sheet material
• CPC Class Codes: B26D 5/02 Means for moving the cutting member into its operative position for cutting
• CPC Class Codes: B28D 1/225 for scoring or breaking, e.g. tiles
• CPC Class Codes: B28D 5/0064 Devices for the automatic drive or the program control of the machines
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/002 for flat glass, e.g. float glass
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/36 at least one coating being a metal
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3678 specially adapted for use in solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/32 After-treatment
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 2218/328 Partly or completely removing a coating
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/78 with subsequent division of the substrate into plural individual devices cutting to change the surface-physical characteristics or shape of semiconductor bodies H01L21/304
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 31/0463 characterised by special patterning methods to connect the PV cells in a module, e.g. laser cutting of the conductive or active layers
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/541 CuInSe2 material PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 83/148 Including means to correct the sensed operation

Abstract

A mechanical scribing apparatus with controlling force of a scribing cutter for adaptively separating each unit of thin film solar cells formed on a single substrate, which is always capable of performing a predetermined minute scribing of a work in accordance with a wear loss of a scribing cutter. This apparatus is provided with a scribing means for placing a scribing cutter having a cylindrical body tapered at a specified tapering angle and having a flat tip face at a specified surface position of the work, pressing the cutter with a specified pressure force to the surface of the work and moving the cutter on the surface of the work, a means for measuring the size of a flat tip face of the scribing cutter and a means for variably controlling the pressure force of the scribing cutter in accordance with the measured size of the flat tip face of the cutter.

Claims

1. A mechanical scribing apparatus with controlling force of a scribing cutter comprising a means for conducting mechanical scribing by pressing a scribing cutter having a cylindrical body tapering at a specified angle to a scribing end and having a flat tip face with a specified pressure force to a specified position of a surface of a work and moving the cutter on the surface of the work, a means for measuring a size of the flat tip face of the scribing cutter and a means for controlling a force pressing the cutter to the work in accord with a measured size of the flat tip face of the scribing cutter to a specified value selectively read from a control memory table storing therein pressing forces predetermined for each of variable sizes of flat tip face of the scribing cutter.

2. A mechanical scribing apparatus with controlling force of a scribing cutter as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the measured size of a flat tip face of a scribing cutter is a diameter or an area thereof.

3. A mechanical scribing apparatus with controlling force of a scribing cutter as defined in claim 1, characterized in that the means for measuring the size of the flat tip face of a scribing cutter is provided with a camera portion for measuring the size of the flat tip face of the cutter.

4. A mechanical scribing apparatus with controlling force of a scribing cutter as defined in claim 3, characterized in that the camera portion determines the size of a flat tip face of a scribing cutter from an image of the cutter tip portion.

5. A mechanical scribing apparatus with controlling force of a scribing cutter as defined in claim 3, characterized in that the camera portion determines a width of a scribed groove previously made in a work surface from an image of the work and determines a size of a flat tip face of the scribing cutter from the width of the scribed groove.

6. A mechanical scribing apparatus as defined in claim 1, characterized in that mechanical scribing is conducted on a surface of a work being held in a state inclined at an angle of not less than 60°

but less than 90°

to horizontal plane.