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Polishing Apparatus - Patent 8152594

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:49:25 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus, and more particularly to a polishing apparatus for polishing an object to be polished (substrate) such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat mirror finish. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, high integration and high density in semiconductor device demands smaller and smaller wiring patterns or interconnections and also more and more interconnection layers. Multilayer interconnections in smaller circuits result ingreater steps which reflect surface irregularities on lower interconnection layers. An increase in the number of interconnection layers makes film coating performance (step coverage) poor over stepped configurations of thin films. Therefore, bettermultilayer interconnections need to have the improved step coverage and proper surface planarization. Further, since the depth of focus of a photolithographic optical system is smaller with miniaturization of a photolithographic process, a surface ofthe semiconductor device needs to be planarized such that irregular steps on the surface of the semiconductor device will fall within the depth of focus. Thus, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, it increasingly becomes important to planarize a surface of the semiconductor device. One of the most important planarizing technologies is chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Thus,there has been employed a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for planarizing a surface of a semiconductor wafer. In the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, while a polishing liquid containing abrasive particles such as silica (SiO.sub.2)therein is supplied onto a polishing surface such as a polishing pad, a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer is brought into sliding contact with the polishing surface, so that the substrate is polished. This type of polishing apparatus includes a polishing table having a polishing surface formed by a polishing pad, and a substrate

Slide Holder For Sample Holder For Grinder/polisher - Patent 8152603

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:49:03 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

The present invention relates to a grinder/polisher. More particularly, the present invention relates to an improved slide holder for a sample holder for a grinder/polisher. Grinder/polishers are in use in many industries. They are often used to prepare samples of rocks, metals, polymers, ceramics or the like for further examination, such as by microscopic examination. Grinder/polishers include a sample or specimen holder that is configured to rotate relative to a platen that is also configured to rotate. In this manner, there are two rotating motions occurring simultaneously. A typical sample holder is around plate that mounts, at its center, to a chuck. The plate has a multiple openings equally radially spaced and equally circumferentially spaced from one another. For example, the plate can include six (round) openings spaced 60 degrees from oneanother and equally spaced from the center. The specimens are each mounted to a support and each support is positioned in one of the holder openings. A hold-down finger applies pressure to each support to urge the specimen against the platen. One suchgrinder/polisher is the EcoMet 250, commercially available from ITW-Buehler of Lake Bluff, Ill. Such a grinder polisher is also disclosed in copending Shewey, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/470,757, which is commonly assigned with the presentapplication and which is incorporated herein by reference. A slurry, generally abrasive, is injected onto the platen to provide an abrasive medium for grinding and polishing the specimen. Certain samples, such as rocks are typically examined by creating a very thin sample of the rock mounted to a glass slide. The sample is mounted to the slide so that it can be observed through a microscope. In order to grind the sample it isdesirable to mount it to the slide prior to grinding so that the thin rock sample is minimally handled after it is prepared. That is, the rock is prepared (ground) mounted to the glass slide. One kn

Grinder And Core Drill With Dust Collection - Patent 8152602

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:48:40 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention pertains generally to masonry tools. More specifically, the present invention relates to core drilling and grinding devices and methods that further maximize containment of dust contaminant while cutting cinder block,concrete, brick, clay, stone, tile and the like. 2. Description of the Prior Art Devices for grinding, drilling or cutting masonry or stone materials have been known for some time. Also known, is a problem of uncontrolled release of and exposure to airborne dust and particulate matter resulting from the grinding andcutting. As a result, government agencies such as OSHA have promulgated safety and health requirements for wet and dry cutting. In addition to health issues, the dust by-products present a clean-up challenge, even if all individuals in a containedenvironment have donned respirators. Development of wet cutting devices and methods is one solution to dust abatement. In doing so, water is applied at the edge of cutting where dust is entrained to the fluid and directed to a holding area. While most wet cutting methods workrelatively well, they create additional problems of pollution and environmental concerns. Further, the process creates slurry that adheres to cutting tool materials and components that also requires periodic cleaning. Many prior art solutions have been proposed that specifically employ dry means to control dust. Examples of such designs include. "Cutting And Dust Collecting Assembly." by Johansson. U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2008/0163492, "CuttingApparatus with Dust Discharging," to Kodani et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,223,161, "Dust-Free Masonry Cutting Tool," to Bath, U.S. Pat. No. 6,595,196. "Dust Collector for A Power Tool," by Miller et al., U.S. Pat. Pub. No. 2007/0017191, to name a few. Such solutions do not work optimally for various reasons including a lack of a design that is comfortable and easy to work with for a user even in a compact environment. In the

System And Method For Optical Endpoint Detection During CMP By Using An Across-substrate Signal - Patent 8152595

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:48:31 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

1. Field of the Invention Generally, the subject matter disclosed herein relates to the field of manufacturing integrated circuits, and, more particularly, to chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) processes used for planarizing process layers, such as metallizationstructures, when removing the excess metal using a polishing process. 2. Description of the Related Art Typically, the fabrication of modern integrated circuits requires a large number of individual process steps, wherein a typical process sequence involves the deposition of conductive, semiconductive or insulating layers on an appropriatesubstrate. After deposition of the corresponding layer, device features are produced by patterning the corresponding layer with well-known means, such as photolithography and etching. As a consequence, by patterning a deposited layer, a certaintopography will be created that also affects deposition and patterning of subsequent layers. Since sophisticated integrated circuits require the formation of a plurality of stacked layers, it has become standard practice to periodically planarize thesurface of the substrate to provide well-defined conditions for deposition and patterning of subsequent material layers. This holds true especially for so-called metallization layers in which metal interconnects are formed to electrically connect theindividual device features, such as transistors, capacitors, resistors and the like, thereby establishing the functionality required by the circuit design. In this respect, CMP has become a widely used process technique for reducing "imperfections" in the substrate topography caused by preceding processes in order to establish enhanced conditions for a subsequent process, such as photolithographyand the like. The polishing process itself causes mechanical damage to the polished surface, however, in an extremely low range, i.e., at an atomic level, depending on the process conditions. CMP processes also have a plurality of side effects

Sharpener For Rotary Cutters - Patent 8152600

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:48:25 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

The present invention relates to honers and sharpeners for blades, and, in particular, to devices and methods for sharpening blades for rotary cutters.BACKGROUND Rotary cutters are used for cutting fabric in quilt making and hobby sewing, among other uses. Such rotary cutters come in many different designs, each of which includes a handle portion and a "wheel blade" or rotary cutting blade. The variousdesigns for rotary cutters include differing handle shapes, for ease of use or user preference, with a rotary cutting blade rotatably mounted near one end. Various designs include differing blade guard features which are intended to reduce the potentialfor injury to a user. The rotary cutting blades for such cutters typically come in two standard sizes, a 45 mm diameter rotary cutting, blade and a 60 mm diameter rotary cutting blade. One known problem with rotary cutters is the relatively high replacement cost ofthe blades for these popular fabric, craft and hobby cutting tools. Additionally, as noted in the prior art, many rotary cutting blades lack perfect roundness. Known sharpeners for rotary cutting blades include sharpeners for the large rotary blades of commercial cutters for meat slicing and the like, which are used with the motor driven blade. Also, known are smaller manual sharpeners for hand heldrotary cutters, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,238,096 and 5,660,582, the disclosures of each of which are incorporated by reference herein. However, this type of manual sharpener requires the wheel blade to be removed from the cutterand secured within a sharpener housing. This requires the user to remove and replace the blade from two different devices, which increases the downtime required for sharpening and exposes the user to potential injury while handling the unguarded blade. Accordingly there exists a need for assemblies and devices that address these problems. A system or assembly that allowed for a rotary blade to be honed or sharpe

Motor-driven Machine Tool - Patent 8152601

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:48:16 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

The present invention relates to a motor-driven machine tool, in particular a hand-held power tool, which includes a drive shaft which is driven by a drive unit, and a tool shaft or output shaft on which the tool is mounted, according to thepreamble of claim 1.BACKGROUND INFORMATION DE 10 2004 050 798 A1 describes a hand-held power tool which includes a tool shaft which may be driven in an oscillating manner, and on which a tool is installed; the oscillating drive results in a rotational pendulum motion of the tool whichmay be used for grinding or cutting. The tool shaft with the tool installed thereon is actuated by an eccentric coupling device which is driven by an electric motor. The motor shaft of the electric motor drives an eccentric disk in which an arm whichis non-rotatably connected to the tool shaft engages. A rotational motion of the eccentric disk therefore results in an oscillating motion of the arm and, therefore, the tool shaft. In drives of this type, it must be ensured that, when motion is transferred between the motor shaft and the tool shaft, impermissibly high forces do not occur in one of the shafts or the coupling device used to transfer motion. The amount ofplay in all of the components which are involved in the transfer of motion must be relatively small to prevent wear which may increase rapidly between the motion-transferring components if the amount of play increases due to impacts and hammering. However, if the amount of play is too small, which may occur, e.g. when preload is greater, there is a risk that the dynamically highly-loaded roller bearings may become overheated due to friction.DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a motor-driven machine tool with a rotatably driveable tool using simple design measures, which is characterized by low wear and low heat development. This object is achieved according to the present invention having the features of claim 1. The dependent claims describe

Apparatus For Deburring Boards - Patent 8152596

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:48:12 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The invention relates to an apparatus for deburring boards. 2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a printed circuit board having a desired size is obtained by cutting a large board, and thus has burred edges. Therefore, it is required to deburr the burred edges. Conventionally, deburring processing for a printed circuit board ismanually performed by two operators for about 40.about.50 seconds, thereby requiring a high processing cost. Furthermore, shavings generated from the printed circuit board during deburring processing will result in a danger to health.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for deburring boards that can overcome the aforesaid drawbacks of the prior art. According to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for deburring a plurality of boards. Each of the boards has two burred edges opposite to each other in a first direction. The apparatus comprises: a platform; a first guiding rail unit mounted fixedly on the platform and extending in the first direction; a deburring unit mounted on the first guiding rail unit and including two deburring members spaced apart from each other in the first direction; a second guiding rail unit mounted fixedly on the platform, disposed above the first guiding rail unit and between the deburring members, and extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a carrying unit adapted for carrying the boards thereon, mounted movably on the second guiding rail unit, and movable along the second guiding rail unit on the platform between a loading/unloading zone, where the carrying unit is spaced apartfrom the deburring unit, and a processing zone, where the carrying unit is disposed between the deburring members so that the burred edges of each of the boards carried on the carrying unit contact respectively the deburring members of the deburringunit; and a driving unit disposed on the plat

Substrate Treating Method And Substrate Treating Apparatus - Patent 8152598

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:48:01 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

S This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-293083, filed on Nov. 12, 2007; the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate treating method and a substrate treating apparatus for polishing a peripheral portion of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, along with finer structures of semiconductor elements and higher integration of semiconductor devices, it has become important to remove surface roughness which is produced at a peripheral portion (bevel portion and edgeportion) of a semiconductor wafer (substrate) or a film which attaches to a peripheral portion (bevel portion and edge portion) of a substrate to cause contamination. As techniques for the above objects, there are conventionally known methods such as a polishing method, an etching method, and a method using a microtorch. Among them, the polishing method is used extensively because its processing time isshort and controllability of a treating region is relatively high. According to the polishing method, in general, a substrate is rotated in a circumferential direction, and a polishing member such as a polishing tape is pressed onto a surface of aperipheral portion of the substrate to polish it. But, the conventional polishing technique is hard to press the polishing member effectively and appropriately onto a large area of the peripheral portion of a semiconductor wafer. Further, since the conventional polishing technique polishes abevel portion of a semiconductor wafer, an edge portion polishing apparatus is required in addition to the bevel portion polishing apparatus in order to polish a flat surface portion (i.e. edge portion) next to the bevel portion. In such a case, thepolishing mechanism and the polishing process become complex, possibly resultin

Wafer Grinding Method And Wafer Grinding Machine - Patent 8152597

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 13:47:49 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

This application claims priority of Japanese Patent Application Number 2008-084565, filed on Mar. 27, 2008.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Technical Field of the Invention This invention relates to a wafer grinding method and a wafer grinding machine. 2. Description of the Related Art With the ever-increasing trend toward higher integration and packaging of semiconductor devices in recent years, semiconductor chips (dies) have been correspondingly reduced in thickness. As a result, the back surface of the wafer is ground bya grinding means before dicing. The surface of the wafer back is ground with a protective tape attached to the front surface of the wafer to protect the circuit pattern formed on the front surface of the wafer. Further, it common practice to polish the back surface of the water that has been ground to remove distortion. With the reduction in wafer thickness, the finish thickness of the wafer requires high dimensional accuracy. Since the finish thickness of the wafer is normally considered to include the protective film; however the thickness variation of thewafer directly affects the finish thickness of the wafer. In view of this, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-335458 employs the means described below in order to secure the wafer having a target thickness, by accurately measuring the thickness of only the wafer, excluding the protectivetape free of the effect of the nitride or the oxide on the back surface of the wafer. Specifically, according to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-335458, the back surface of the wafer is ground by measuring the total wafer thickness including the protective tape using a contact-type thickness gauge during the roughgrinding process and by measuring the thickness of only the wafer using a noncontact-type thickness gauge during the finish grinding process. Once the target finish thickness is reached, the grinding process is ended thereby achieving an accurate targetfinish thicknes

Capillary, Capillary Polishing Method, And Capillary Polishing Apparatus - Patent 8147294

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:44:14 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technology of polishing a capillary used for microinjection. 2. Description of the Related Art Microinjection technique is used to inject a drug solution into a cell. The cell is penetrated by a tip of a capillary that is made of a hollow glass needle and filled with the drug solution. Generally, the tip of the capillary is processed tohave a very small outer diameter of about 1 micrometer. Even then, the capillary does not have enough penetrating ability with respect to cells such as floating cells, resulting in insufficient injection of the drug solution. To enhance the penetrating ability of the capillary, the tip can besubjected to angled-polishing or processed to have an even smaller diameter. One method of angled-polishing is to subject the tip to focused ion beam (FIB) milling. Another method is to use a capillary polishing apparatus that includes a diamond polishing plate or an alumina polishing plate. For a more completedescription of such a capillary polishing apparatus, reference may be had to, e.g., a website as follows: Shoshin EM Corporation, "Sutter Instrument", [online], [accessed on Jan. 11, 2007], Internet <URL: http://www.shoshinem.com/bv-10.htm> However, in the case of FIB milling, the required setup is expensive, which increases the manufacturing cost of the capillary. In the case of using a conventional capillary polishing apparatus, a capillary having a tip diameter of about 1micrometer is polished on a polishing plate having a surface roughness Ra of about 0.05 micrometer, which results in cracks around the tip. Moreover, if the tip diameter is further reduced, it is not possible to secure a discharge nozzle of sufficientsize. As a result, the capillary gets clogged with the drug solution.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to at least partially solve the problems in the conventional technology. According to an aspect of the present in

Fluid System And Method For Thin Kerf Cutting And In-situ Recycling - Patent 8147293

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:43:10 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention is generally related to methods and systems for generating fluid jets, and more particularly, to a high-pressure fluid system and method for generating thin fluid jets. 2. Description of the Related Art Fluid jets have been used to clean, cut, or otherwise treat substrates by pressurizing and focusing jets of water or other fluids up to and beyond 100,000 psi and directing the jets against the substrates. The fluid jets can have a variety ofcross-sectional shapes and sizes, depending on the particular application. For example, the jets can have a relatively small, round cross-sectional shape for cutting the substrates. The jets can instead have a larger, and/or non-round cross-sectionalshape for cleaning or otherwise treating the surfaces of the substrates. Some systems that generate the high-pressure fluid jet, mix water and abrasives in a mixing chamber before the jet exits the system from a downstream fluid jet exit tube. Typically, in cutting and machining applications, it is desirable tominimize a kerf width at which the fluid jet can cut or machine a material. Kerf width generally refers to the width at which the fluid jet can cut or machine a part or material. One drawback of conventional fluid jet systems, especially abrasive fluid jet systems (i.e., systems that form the jet from a mixture of abrasives and water) is that they typically cannot cut or machine at a kerf width of less than 0.015 inches. Fluid jet exit tube materials with bores having a diameter less than 0.015 inches are generally not commercially available, and even if available, using such fluid jet exit tubes typically requires extremely accurate fluid jet alignment. Achieving therequired accuracy level is not likely possible with conventional fluid jet nozzle designs because the mixing chamber of most existing nozzles is not designed or optimized for use with fluid jet exit tubes with a diameter of less than 0.015 inches. One reason i

Surface Grinding Machine And Grinding Head Therefor - Patent 8147297

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:42:45 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

FIELD OFTHE INVENTION This invention relates to a machine for grinding surfaces such as concrete floors and the like, and more particularly to such a machine which is more effective in grinding rough surfaces into smooth surfaces.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In the finishing of concrete and stone floors, it customarily is the practice to grind and polish the surfaces of such floors to provide consistently smooth finishes. Such finishing typically is performed by machines consisting of a motor, aplanetary disk mounted on an output shaft of the motor and a disk provided with a grit surface mounted on the planetary disk. In the use of such machines, however, because of the uneven surfaces of floors and the planar surfaces of grinding disks, ithas been found that low spots of floor surfaces are not effectively ground and polished unless an excessive amount of concrete or stone is removed to make the floor even and planar. Such condition results in not only the removal excess material but theexcessive use of grinding disks, energy and manpower. In the prior art, there has been developed a type of machine intended to address the shortcoming of prior machines as described which utilizes a carrier disk mounted on the output shaft of the motor, a planetary disk provided with a plurality ofgrinding heads mounted thereon and a compression spring interposed between the carrier and planetary disks. Such machine, however, also has been found to be ineffective in achieving planar surfaces of uneven concrete or stone floors without excessivegrinding and the use of excessive grinding disks, energy and manpower. Accordingly, it is the principal object of the present invention to provide a machine of the type described which is operable and effective in grinding and polishing an unevenconcrete or stone surface to a consistently smooth floor without the excessive removal of material and the use of excessive amounts grinding disks, energy and manpower.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The pr

Method And Grinding Machine For Dressing Of A Grinding Tool - Patent 8147296

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:42:30 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

The invention relates to a method for the dressing of a grinding tool, which has at least onetooth-shaped profile in an axial section, wherein the tooth-shaped profile has a first flank and a second flank being arranged opposed to the first flank, which form the boundary of the tooth-shaped profile, wherein a disk-shaped dressing tool is usedfor dressing of the grinding tool, the disk-shaped dressing tool having a first abrasive area and a second abrasive area, wherein the dressing tool, having a relative velocity between the abrasive areas and the tooth-shaped profile, is guided relativelyto the grinding tool, so that a desired shape of the flanks is obtained, wherein the first abrasive area is assigned to the first flank and the second abrasive area is assigned to the second flank. Furthermore, the invention relates to a grindingmachine for performing the method. In the production of gears the final process of manufacturing has a major relevance. During the final process of manufacturing the flanks of the tooth are grinded, by which they are brought to the exact contour. Often, corrections of theprofile are desired which go beyond the form of the tooth involute to influence the operation of the gearing positively. An efficient method for producing the gearing is the generative grinding by means of a grinding worn. Here, the gear to be machined is in contact with the grinding worm, so that an allowance on the tooth flanks is removed by the abrasivematerial of the grinding worm. To ensure a sufficient quality of the gearing the working areas of the grinding worm (i.e. the tooth-shaped profile of the grinding worm) must be brought again to the desired shape after a certain number of grinded work pieces. For this adressing process is necessary, for which a profile dressing method or a dressing process with dressing fine by line can be employed. In the case of profile dressing the dressing tool has fine contact with the flanks of the tooth-shaped profile of theg

Device For Polishing Hard Surfaces, Especially Glass Surfaces - Patent 8147292

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:42:29 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

The inventionrelates to a device for polishing hard surfaces, especially glass surfaces, according to the preamble of claim 1. Damaged surfaces, for example scratched glass surfaces or surfaces with etchings, chalk areas, cement areas etc. can, as known in the art, be repaired using a polishing device. The repair is done in several stages (grinding, smoothing,polishing, high polishing), for which replaceable polishing discs are used. The polishing device is guided by hand, which is strenuous, especially where large areas are involved. The present invention is based on the problem of creating a device of the aforementioned type which simplifies repairs of damaged surfaces and enables extremely precise working, even when used on large areas, on both sides of single-layer ormulti-layer glass in installed condition, in almost any application and use. This problem is solved according to the invention by a device with the features of claim 1. Further preferred embodiments of the inventive device form the subject matter of the dependent claims. The inventive device enables simple and precise repair of hard surfaces such as ceramic, marble, granite and in particular areas of glass in practically all qualities of manufacture and finishing, Plexiglas and plastic glass, with precisionbeing guaranteed, even with large surfaces (windows, facades, shop windows, panels, walls, floors, ceilings, conservatories, etc.). The mobility of the device on site is especially advantageous. It is, however, also highly advantageous for stationaryuse. The invention will next be explained in more detail with the aid of the drawings, which show: FIG. 1 an embodiment of an inventive device for polishing hard surfaces, in particular areas of glass, in top view; FIG. 2 a section along line II-II in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 part of the device in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 diagrammatic lateral view of a polishing belt in place of the polishing disc according to FIG. 2; FIG. 5 a diagrammati

Method Of Polishing Silicon Wafer - Patent 8147295

Patents-312 — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 06:42:24 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Monday, April 16, 2012

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a method of polishing a silicon wafer in which a polishing solution substantially containing no abrasive grain is applied onto a surface of a polishing pad having a given fixed grain bonded abrasive and then thepolishing pad is relatively slid to a silicon wafer to polish the surface of the silicon wafer. 2. Description of the Related Art As the polishing solution used for polishing the surface of the silicon wafer is widely used an alkali solution containing silica particles as loose grain since early times. Also, a wet-type chemical mechanical polishing (mechanochemicalpolishing) with a polishing solution containing fine silica particles as abrasive grains and a soft synthetic leather polisher is general in the polishing of the silicon wafer. This polishing method is a method of combining the mechanical polishingaction of the fine silica particles with the chemical polishing action of the alkaline solution, and is known to provide a mirror surface having excellent smoothness and crystallinity. However, when the silicon wafer is polished with the polishing solution containing abrasive grains as mentioned above, it is possible to obtain a high processing speed and a certain wafer flatness, but there is a problem that the surface of thesilicon wafer is damaged by the abrasive grains during the polishing to cause working strain on the wafer surface. On the other hand, as a polishing method for preventing the working strain is known a chemical polishing method using an alkali solution substantially containing no abrasive grain as a polishing solution. However, when only the simple chemicalpolishing is carried out, there is a problem that the shape accuracy of the polished surface is poor, and when this chemical polishing is used in the polishing of the silicon wafer, there is a problem that the polishing speed is dramatically deterioratedsince an oxide film naturally growing on the wafer surface cannot be comple

Methods And Apparatus For Removal Of Films And Flakes From The Edge Of Both Sides Of A Substrate Using Backing Pads - Patent 8142260

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:55:08 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

The present invention relates generally to substrate processing, and more particularly to methods and apparatus for cleaning an edge of a substrate.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Substrates are used in semiconductor device manufacturing. During processing, a film and/or flakes may be deposited on the surface of the substrate. However, it may be undesirable to have this film and/or flakes on the edge of the substrate,as it may negatively affect the semiconductor devices. Conventional systems, which contact a substrate edge with an abrasive tape to clean the edge, may not thoroughly clean the edge. For example, the abrasive tape may not sufficiently contact bothbevels of the edge during cleaning. The inability to sufficiently clean the substrate may affect semiconductor device manufacturing throughput. Accordingly improved methods and apparatus for cleaning an edge of a substrate are desired.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In aspects of the invention, an apparatus is provided for polishing an edge of a substrate. The apparatus comprises a backing pad coupled to a polishing head, wherein the backing pad has a selected contour, and wherein the polishing head isadapted to press the backing pad against an edge of a substrate. In other aspects of the invention, a system is provided for polishing an edge of a substrate. The system comprises a substrate support adapted to rotate a substrate; a backing pad coupled to a polishing head, wherein the backing pad has aselected contour, and wherein the polishing head is adapted to press the backing pad against an edge of the substrate; and a controller adapted to operate the rotation of the substrate and the polishing head. In yet other aspects of the invention, a method is provided for polishing an edge of a substrate. The method comprises rotating a substrate; contacting an edge of a substrate with polishing tape, wherein the polishing tape is contacted by thepolishing strip section of the backing pad via a polishing head; and de

Method Of Manufacturing Revolving Whetstone And Revolving Whetstone Manufactured By The Same - Patent 8142263

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:55:06 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a revolving whetstone and a revolving whetstone manufactured by the same, in particular, it relates to a method of manufacturing revolving whetstones such as an offset type revolvingwhetstone for polishing and grinding (hereinafter, referred to as "polishing"), a flat type revolving whetstone for cutting, a disk revolving whetstone for polishing, a revolving whetstone with sandpaper for polishing and the like, and revolvingwhetstones manufactured by the same. 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the offset type revolving whetstone for polishing, the flat type revolving whetstone for cutting, the disk revolving whetstone for polishing, the revolving whetstone with sandpaper for polishing and the like have been knownwidely (for example, refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H5-51562). An example of the revolving whetstone known in the conventional art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H5-51562 and the like is shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. In the figures, a revolving whetstone 51 is constitutedof a disk-shaped whetstone body 52 and a reinforcing metal fitting 54 made of a metal attached to a whetstone center hole 53 of the whetstone body 52. In addition, the whetstone center hole 53 is an insertion hole for a whetstone driving shaft such as ahand grinder and the like, and, the reinforcing metal fitting 54 is arranged for reinforcement of the whetstone center hole 53. The whetstone body 52 is made by mixing an abrasive grain (for example, bauxite) and binder resin, and molding and sintering the same, and has a central portion 52a in which the whetstone center hole 53 is arranged and an effective whetstonecircular portion 52b that is arranged in the circumferential outside of the central portion 52a as one body, and in addition, a glass cloth reinforcing member 55 is inserted into the inside of the central portion

Methods For Enhancing Chemical Mechanical Polishing Pad Processes - Patent 8142261

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:54:52 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

The present invention relates generally to methods and devices for improving chemical mechanical processing. Accordingly, the present invention involves the fields of chemistry, metallurgy, mechanics and materials science.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Chemical mechanical process (CMP), also know as chemical mechanical planarization or chemical mechanical polishing, has become a widely used technique for polishing certain work pieces. Particularly, the computer manufacturing industry hasbegun to rely heavily on CMP processes for polishing wafers of ceramics, silicon, glass, quartz, metals, and mixtures thereof for use in semiconductor fabrication. Such polishing processes generally entail applying the wafer against a rotating pad madefrom a durable organic substance such as polyurethane. Additionally, a slurry of a chemical solution capable of breaking down the wafer substance, and a sufficient amount of abrasive particles is added to the pad to further aid in the polishing of thewafer surface. The slurry is continually added to the rotating CMP pad, and the dual chemical and mechanical forces exerted on the wafer cause it to polish or planarize in a desired manner. In a typical polishing process, the working surface of the pad holds the slurry containing the abrasive particles, usually by a mechanism such as fibers, asperities or small grooves, which provide a friction force sufficient to prevent theparticles from being thrown off of the pad due to the centrifugal force exerted by the pad's spinning motion. Therefore, it is important to assure that there are an abundance of openings and grooves available on the pad surface to receive new slurry. A problem with maintaining the working surface of the pad is caused by an accumulation of polishing debris coming from the work piece, abrasive slurry, and dressing disk. This accumulation causes a "glazing" effect, or hardening of the workingsurface of the pad, and wears or mats the fibers down. Thus, the pad is less

Method Of Transferring A Wafer - Patent 8142258

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:54:43 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a method of transferring a wafer, and particularly to a method of transferring a wafer to or from a load cup. 2. Description of the Prior Art Chemical mechanical polishing generally removes material from a semiconductor wafer through a chemical or a combined chemical and mechanical process. In a typical chemical mechanical polishing system, a wafer is held by a polishing head in afeature side down orientation above a polishing surface. The polishing head is lowered to place the substrate in contact with the polishing surface. The wafer and polishing surface are removed relative to one another in a predefined polishing motion. A polishing fluid is typically provided on the polishing surface to drive the chemical portion of the polishing activity. Some polishing fluids may include abrasives to mechanically assist in the removal of material from the wafer. A wafer transfer mechanism, commonly referred to as a load cup, is utilized to transfer the wafer into the polishing head in a feature side down orientation. As the feature side of the wafer faces the load cup while the wafer is retainedtherein, care must be taken to avoid damage to the feature side of the wafer through contact with the load cup. For example, the feature side of the wafer may be scratched by surfaces of the load cup that supports the wafer during the transfer processwith the polishing head. Additionally, particulates generated during the wafer transfer or generated by contact of the wafer to the load cup may be carried on the wafer's surface to the polishing surface. During polishing, these particulates may causesubstrate scratching, which results in non-uniform polishing and device defects. Therefore, it would be advantageous to minimize contact of substrate to load cup. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional chemical mechanical polisher. The chemical mechanical polisher 10 includes a base 12, a head clean load/u

Detecting Device For Abnormal Workpiece Rotation In Non-circular Workpiece Grinding Machine - Patent 8142257

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:54:22 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 with respect to Japanese patent application No. 2008-071681 filed on Mar. 19, 2008, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device suitable for detecting the abnormal rotation of a workpiece being ground in a non-circular workpiece grinding machine such as cam grinding machine. 2. Discussion of the Related Art Generally, workpieces having non-circular portions such as cams or the like are ground in numerically controllable grinding apparatuses (i.e., numerical control grinding machines). In such apparatuses, a work spindle for supporting a workpieceis rotatably supported in a work head, and a wheel head rotatably supporting a grinding wheel is movable in a direction intersecting with the work spindle, wherein feed amounts of the wheel head are controlled in a synchronous relation with the rotationof the work spindle. The grinding of each non-circular portion is carried out in the manner of, e.g., varying an override value representing the change rate in the work spindle rotational speed, in dependence on the amount of the non-circular portionground with the grinding wheel per unit angle rotation of the workpiece or varying the override value for the work spindle rotational speed to make the grinding speed of the non-circular portion constant over the whole circumference thereof. That is, during a rough grinding, because the grinding resistance built up is smaller at a maximum diameter portion and a base circle portion of each non-circular portion of the workpiece than at other portions, the machining at each of themaximum diameter portion and the base circle portion is performed with the rotational speed of the work spindle increased for a shorter machining time, while the machining at each of other portions than the maximum diameter portion and the base

Grinding Machine And Method - Patent 8142259

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:54:22 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grinding machine for grinding a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate, a ceramic substrate, etc. and a grinding method using the grinding machine. 2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate, a sapphire substrate, or a ceramic substrate such as SiC on which a plurality of devices such as ICs, LSIs or the like are formed is ground from a rear surface to a predetermined thickness. Thereafter,it is divided by a cutting machine such as a dicing machine or laser dicing machine into individual pieces, which are used in electronic devices such as cell phones, personal computers, etc. In general, a grinding wheel containing superabrasives such asdiamond grindstones are widely used to grind the semiconductor wafer or the like. However, since the grinding by the grinding wheel is executed through fine brittle fracture, there arises a problem in that a ground surface causes a plurality of finestrains, which lowers bending strength of the workpiece. To eliminate the problem, the ground surfaced of the workpiece after rough grinding is finish-ground and the finish-ground workpiece is subjected to finish processing such as polishing or etching to remove the strains generated by the grinding. As the finish grinding for a workpiece, a method is proposed for allowing gel-like slurry to flow out from fine pores of a porous pad and finish grinding the workpiece with superabrasives contained in the gel-like slurry. Incidentally, the gel-likeslurry is a mixture of glue and superabrasives. If the porous pad gets wet, the gel-like slurry flows out from the porous pad to the upper surface of the workpiece. Thus, the workpiece is finish-ground with the superabrasives contained in the gel-likeslurry. A grinding machine combining the porous pad with gel-like slurry is effective in finish-grinding a workpiece. However, another grinding device is needed to rough-grind the wo

Sanding Device With Detachably Mounted Sanding Element - Patent 8142262

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 21:54:21 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

RELATED ART The present invention relates to a sanding device with a receiving body that is detachably connected with a sanding element, the detachable connection being designed such that the receiving body includes a first adhesive element and the sandingelement includes a second adhesive element, the adhesive elements corresponding with each other in the manner of a Velcro fastener Various sanding devices are known within the field of sanding engineering that utilize replaceable sanding elements, in particular sanding pads, e.g., hand-held power tools such as the delta sander, finishing sander, or the external sander. Inorder to replace sanding pads--which become worn quickly--with sanding pads with new sanding material in an uncomplicated, rapid manner, paired adhesive elements are used, one adhesive element being located on the top side of the receiving body--which isdesigned, e.g., as a sanding disk--and the other adhesive element being located on the underside of the sanding pad, the paired adhesive elements being designed in the manner of a flat Velcro fastener and resulting in an easily detachable connection. The pair of adhesive elements of the Velcro fastener known from the related art includes surface structures with many different shapes. One of the two adhesive surfaces is composed of a material with a large number of hooks, similar to a burr, while theother adhesive surface is made of a woolly material with a large number of loops. When the pair of adhesive surfaces is used on the sanding device, the adhesive surface with the soft loop material is preferably located on the underside of the sandingpad, while the somewhat stiffer adhesive surface with the hooks is usually assigned to the receiving body. When the adhesive surfaces are pressed together, the small hooks on one adhesive surface interlock--quasi micromechanically--with the loops of theother adhesive surface, thereby resulting in the adhesion force of the Velcro connection. Depending on t

Electrical Contact Method - Patent 8137158

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:23:37 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

The invention generally relates to electrical contact devices and electrochemical-mechanical planarization methods.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Electrochemical mechanical planarization (eCMP) requires consistent and reliable anodic contact with the wafer during planarization. Present methods depend on the electrolytic flow rate to maintain anodic contact to the wafer, however,instabilities in the electrolyte flow rate may cause planarization rate instability and tool faults. In addition, present methods for anodic contact are plagued with voltage spikes which may cause post-CMP wafer defects such as hollow metals and/orunstable planarization rates. There exists a need for a method which provides consistent continuous and reliable electrical contact during planarization.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a planarization method, comprising: providing a contact structure, said contact structure comprising an axle, said axle having an axis of rotation, said axle configured to rotate about said axis of rotation; a plurality of cantilever arms, each cantilever arm of said plurality ofcantilever arms having a first end and a second opposing end, said first end connected to said axle, said each cantilever arm extending radially outward from said axle about perpendicular to said axis of rotation; and a plurality of electricallyconductive spheres, wherein at least one electrically conductive sphere of said plurality of electrically conductive spheres is disposed on said second end of each cantilever arm of said plurality of cantilever arms; placing a substrate in contact with said plurality of electrically conductive spheres, wherein said substrate lies in a plane about perpendicular to said axis of rotation; applying an electric voltage to said axle, said electric voltage transferring to said substrate, wherein responsive to said transferring an electrochemical reaction occurs on said substrate; rotating said axle on said axis, wherein said pluralit

Burnish Head Design With Multiple Pads On Side Rail - Patent 8137163

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:23:34 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

BACKGROUND The present invention relates to disc drive systems and more particularly to a method and apparatus for burnishing asperities or irregularities from the surface of a disc. In data processing systems, magnetic disc drives are used frequently as data storage devices. Data is written onto a rotating magnetic disc by an adjacent read-write head for later retrieval by the same head. The read-write head is located ona slider body, which is mounted to one end of a translatable arm that moves the head in a generally radial direction across the surface of the disc. As the disc spins, the read-write head flies above or below the surface of the disc, with the distancebetween the head and the surface of the disc depending on the rotational speed of the disc, the elastic force of the arm's suspension, and the shape and surface features of the slider body. With the disc spinning at thousands of revolutions per minute (rpm), any unwanted interaction between the head and the disc surface can cause both short-term and long-term operational problems. This interaction can range from a thermal asperityto a full head crash. Consequences of contact or near-contact can include a failed read or write process, a temporary performance loss of the read-write head, a permanent defect on the disc surface, or total failure of the drive. These defects must bereduced or removed to provide sufficient clearance for the read-write head throughout the life of the product. Therefore, steps must be taken during the manufacturing process to flatten the disc surface as completely as possible, thereby improvingproduct life and avoiding catastrophic head crashes. Typically, this is done by a burnish process after the disc media is fabricated. During burnishing, the disc is rotated and the arm with the attached burnishing head is translated across the disc surface between an inner and outer diameter. The burnishing head is designed to fly close to the disc so as to physically contactdefec

Gear Matching Device And Gear Machining Apparatus - Patent 8137160

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:23:27 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a gear matching device which performs gear matching so as to establish a rotational phase relationship between a rotary tool and a gear to be machined in which the rotary tool and the gear can mesh with eachother, and also relates to a gear machining apparatus using the gear matching device. 2. Description of the Related Art Gear machining apparatuses, such as gear grinders and hobbing machines, have heretofore been offered as tools for machining gears by using rotary tools. In such a gear machining apparatus, a rotary tool and a gear to be machined (hereinafterreferred to simply as a "gear" in the description) are synchronously controlled respectively by separate drive motors, and gear machining is then performed by causing the rotary tool and the gear to mesh with each other. In addition, in the gear machining apparatus, a "gear matching" process is performed before the rotary tool and the gear are caused to mesh with each other. The gear matching process is performed so as to establish a rotational phaserelationship between the rotary tool and the gear in which tooth tips (crests) and tooth spaces (troughs) of the rotary tool can mesh with tooth tips (crests) and tooth spaces (troughs) of the gear. In this gear matching process, the rotational phasesrespectively of the rotary tool and the gear are firstly detected by using a contact sensor such as a touch probe, or a non-contact sensor such as a proximity sensor. On the basis of the detection results, the offset between these rotational phases iscorrected, so that the rotational phase of the rotary tool and the rotational phase of the gear are adjusted. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses such a gear matching device. In this gear matching device, a tooth tip and a tooth space of a gear are read by using a sensor, while the rotations respectively of the rotary tool and the gear aredetermined. As a result, gear matching can be performed. Pate

Polishing Pad Having Micro-grooves On The Pad Surface - Patent 8137166

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:23:22 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a polishing pad and, more specifically, a polishing pad including micro-grooves capable of regenerating themselves during polishing. The pads may be used in chemical mechanical polishing or other types ofpolishing for a given substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer.BACKGROUND In applying CMP (Chemical Mechanical Planarization) as a process step in the manufacture of micro-electronic devices such as semiconductor wafers, blanket silicone wafers and computer hard disks, a polishing pad may be used in conjunction withan abrasive-containing or abrasive-free slurry to affect planarization of the surface of the device. To achieve a high degree of planarity of the surface of the device, typically measured in the order of Angstroms, the slurry flow should be distributeduniformly between the surface of the device and the pad. To facilitate such uniform distribution of the slurry, a plurality of grooves or indentation structure may be provided on a polishing pad. The plurality of grooves may have individual groovewidths of 0.010 inches to 0.050 inches, depths of 0.010 inches to 0.080 inches and distance between adjacent grooves of 0.12 inches to 0.25 inches, respectively. While the grooves may provide the above-mentioned benefits, nevertheless, they may not be sufficient to effect local planarization on the die (or single microchip) level on a semiconductor wafer. This may be due to the relatively largedifferences between the grooves and the individual features, such as interconnects, on the microchip. Advanced ULSI and VLSI microchips, for example, may have feature sizes on the order of 0.35 micrometers (0.000014 inches) that are many times smallerthan the width and depths of the individual grooves on the polishing pad. In addition, the feature sizes on a microchip are also thousands of times smaller than the distance between the adjacent grooves, which may result in non-uniform distribution ofthe slurry on a featur

Disk-shaped Substrate Manufacturing Method - Patent 8137161

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:23:07 GMT

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This application is based on and claims priority under 35 USC .sctn.119 from Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-77434 filed Mar. 23, 2007.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a disk-shaped substrate manufacturing method. As the disk-shaped substrate, a glass substrate for magnetic recording medium is exemplified. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the manufacture of disk substrates as disk-shaped substrates has become activated, under increased demands as recording media. As a magnetic disk substrate that is one of the disk substrates, an aluminum substrate and a glasssubstrate are used widely. The aluminum substrate is characterized by its high processability and low cost, meanwhile the glass substrate is characterized by its excellent strength, surface smoothness and flatness. In particular, requirements forcompact size and high density of disk substrates recently have become extremely high, and the glass substrate of which surface roughness is small and that enables high density has attracted a lot of attention. In the manufacture of such a magnetic disk substrate, it is important to enhance smoothness and flatness of the substrate by optimizing grinding and polishing conditions in grinding and polishing processes. In the recent years, the environmentin the manufacturing process has been considered as an important factor as well as optimization of the grinding and polishing conditions. Among related arts described in official gazettes, there is an art of performing the final polishing on a substratein a clean room while washing the substrate with a washing liquid. This method is employed in order to avoid a quality problem which might be caused if dust in the atmosphere attaches to the surface of the substrate after the final polishing of thesubstrate (for example, see Patent Document 1). There is a different art described in an official gazette of performing a grinding process in the

Semiconductor Wafer Polishing Machine - Patent 8137162

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:23:06 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

The present invention relates to semiconductor equipment and in particular to a machine for polishing semiconductor wafers.BACKGROUND Semiconductor integrated circuits are typically made from thin wafers cut from silicon ingots known as boules. Cutting a wafer from a boule generally leaves the surfaces of the wafer in a rough condition, so wafers are polished on waferpolishing machines prior to starting semiconductor processing operations. The difficulty in achieving desired values of flatness and surface roughness increases as the diameter of the wafer to be processed increases and as the size of semiconductorstructures (also known as "feature size") to be fabricated on the wafer decreases. Wafer diameters have steadily been increasing and feature sizes decreasing at the same time that manufacturers have been pressured by market forces to increasemanufacturing throughput and reduce manufacturing costs. In the past, the relatively small size of wafers permitted a single wafer polishing machine having one or more head assemblies, each head assembly adapted to hold a plurality of wafers, to flatten and smooth many wafers simultaneously. Polishing machines use an abrasive, corrosive slurry to mechanically and chemically remove microscopic projections from the surface of a wafer. Machines for polishing bare wafers and machines for polishing by a chemical and mechanical process are knownin the art. A wafer polishing machine has a horizontal rotating platen in a table base with a polishing pad attached to the top of the platen. A lid attached to the table base has at least one head assembly that is rotated during polishing. A wafercarrier attached to a head assembly holds one or more wafers to be polished. Pumps deliver slurry at a selected rate to the polishing pad and motors rotate the platen and head assemblies. Parts of the head assembly for carrying wafers have verticaltravel relative to the surface of the polishing pad and may be raised or lowered to conta

Guard Device - Patent 8137164

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:23:02 GMT

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CROSS-REFERENCE The invention described and claimed hereinbelow is also described in PCT/EP2008/057065, filed on Jun. 6, 2008 and DE 10 2007 035 704.6, filed on Jul. 30, 2007. This German Patent Application, whose subject matter is incorporated here byreference, provides the basis for a claim of priority of invention under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention is based on a guard device. From German Utility Model DE 201 09 169 U1, a guard device is known, in particular for handheld power tools having a disklike and rotating tool that has a base body.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention is based on a guard device, in particular for handheld power tools with a disklike and rotating tool, having a base body. It is proposed that the guard device has an energy absorption element, which is coupled to the base body via a coupling that is embodied fixedly in normal operation and that in an emergency mode enables at least a rotary motion of the energyabsorption element relative to the base body. The coupling is effected at at least one coupling point or at least one coupling region, and the rotary motion ensues inside the coupling point or inside the coupling region. In this connection, the term"normal operation" should be understood to mean an operating mode of a handheld power tool in which only energy from parts coming into contact with the energy absorption element acts, up to a predetermined value, on the energy absorption element. Theterm "emergency mode" should be understood to mean an operating mode of the handheld power tool in which energy from parts coming into contact with the energy absorption element acts on the energy absorption element above the predetermined value. Theguard device, including the base body and the energy absorption element, is preferably located around a disklike and rotating tool of a handheld power tool, such as a right-angle sander, so that by means of the guard device, in the operation of thehandheld po

Abrasive, Method Of Polishing Target Member And Process For Producing Semiconductor Device - Patent 8137159

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:22:59 GMT

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This invention relates to an abrasive, a method of polishing a target member, and a process for producing a semiconductor device.BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, in the steps of fabricating semiconductor devices, studies are commonly made on colloidal silica type abrasives used as chemical mechanical abrasives for smoothing inorganic insulating film layers such as SiO.sub.2 insulatingfilms formed by processes such as plasma-assisted CVD (chemical vapor deposition) and low-pressure CVD. The colloidal silica type abrasives are produced by growing silica particles into grains by a method of, e.g., thermal decomposition oftetrachiorosilicic acid, and making pH adjustment with an alkali solution containing no alkali metal, such as ammonia. Such abrasives, however, can not provide any sufficient rate of polishing for the polishing of inorganic insulating films, and have atechnical problem of low polishing rate for their practical utilization. Meanwhile, cerium oxide abrasives are used as glass surface abrasives for photomasks. Cerium oxide particles are useful for finish mirror-polishing because they have a lower hardness than silica particles and alumina particles and hence mayhardly scratch polished surfaces. Also, cerium oxide, which is known as a strong oxidant, has chemically active nature. Making the most of this advantage, its application in chemical mechanical abrasives for the insulating films is useful. However,when such cerium oxide abrasives for glass surface abrasives for photomasks are used in the polishing of inorganic insulating films as they are, they have so large a primary particle diameter as to scratch, on polishing, the insulating film surface to avisually observable extent.DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an abrasive that can polish polishing target surfaces of SiO.sub.2 insulating films or the like at a high rate without scratching the surface, a method polishing a target member, and a process forpro

Dust Shroud With Adjustable Mounting Mechanism - Patent 8137165

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:22:58 GMT

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1. The Field of the Invention The present invention relates to dust shrouds. More specifically, the present invention relates to a universal dust shroud for angle grinders. 2. State of the Art Dust shrouds have become more commonly used for multiple purposes. Angle grinders, for example, are commonly used for grinding cement or other similar tasks. Without a dust shroud, debris is scattered over a wide area. It is desirable tocontain the dust which is created for several reasons. It is desirable to contain the dust and debris to keep the workplace cleaner and to minimize the time necessary to clean up afterwards. Fine dust is often created while grinding cement, forexample, which spreads a large distance and can be quite difficult to clean up afterwards. It is also desirable to contain the dust and debris to keep the same from getting into the tool itself, causing premature failure of the bearings, motor, etc.Additionally, debris such as concrete dust poses a health risk to the machine operator and others who may breathe it. It is thus desirable to collect the dust to minimize any exposure to the dust. One difficulty in providing dust shrouds is the fact that each particular tool will have different mounting requirements. For angle grinders, each grinder will typically have a collar which is concentric to the output shaft which may be used tomount a dust shroud. For each grinder, however, the collar may be a different diameter and may be a different height from the grinding disk. As such, the dust shroud must accommodate the particular mounting diameter and height of the desired tool. Another difficulty in providing dust shrouds is in providing a dust shroud which does not overly interfere with the use of the grinder itself. It is thus appreciated that the requirements for a dust shroud varies according to the particular angle grinder with which the dust shroud is being used. Many stores, however, do not wish to stock many different models of dust shr

Enclosure Apparatus And Method - Patent 8137156

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:22:53 GMT

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The present invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for the creation of an isolated work environment. More particularly the invention relates to a flexible enclosure apparatus incorporating a pressure sensitive adhesive foradhering and sealing the apparatus to a work surface to contain dust and debris.DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART AND OBJECTIVES OF THE INVENTION Dust and debris are often generated during the repair, maintenance, rehabilitation, or renovation of various structures. This dust and debris frequently constitutes a nuisance, for example when dust is generated form drywall, lead paint orasbestos containing materials. There is a great need for work enclosures that are able to contain such dust and debris to prevent harm and injury. The use of glove bags is known in the prior art for the containment of dust and debris. Examples include U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,934 (Patel), U.S. Pat. No. 5,017,197 (McGuire), U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,449 (Klak), U.S. Pat. No. 4,626,291(Natale), U.S. Pat. No. 5,088,511 (Bain), U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,871 (Lemon), U.S. Pat. No. 5,785,396 (Israel), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,759,333 (Ross). Approaches other than glove bags have been taken to create work enclosures for the containment of dust and debris. U.S. Pat. No. 6,973,997 B2 (Fara) discloses pollution containment apparatus for making a penetration in a ceiling or wall of abuilding or other structure. U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,352 (Strieter) discloses a portable isolation enclosure for use in cleaning contaminated environments. U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,771 (Wehrmann et al.) discloses a clean room tool chamber. U.S. Pat. No.7,104,877 B1 (Terry) discloses a dust containment apparatus for drywall sanding. U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,286 (Stevens et al.) discloses a ceiling tile dust and debris catcher. Other prior art of which the applicant is aware is as follows: U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,899 (Lord) describes a device for providing a temporary remedy for ceiling leaks, U.S

Lapping Carrier And Method - Patent 8137157

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 13:22:45 GMT

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This disclosure relates to lapping carriers and methods of lapping including methods using such carriers.BACKGROUND A need often arises to grind or polish flat workpieces such as disk-shaped articles, e.g., silicon wafers, sapphire disks, optical elements, glass or aluminum substrates for magnetic recording devices, and the like, such that the two majorsurfaces are both parallel and free from significant scratches. Such grinding or polishing operations, differing in the rate of material removal and final surface finish, may be referred to collectively as lapping. A typical machine used for finishingthe disks includes two superposed platens respectively disposed over and under one or more of the disks, so that opposing surfaces of the disks can be ground or polished simultaneously. Moreover, the lapping machine may include carriers that positionand retain the disks during the grinding or polishing operation. Such carriers may be adapted to rotate relative to the platens. For example, the lapping machine may also include an outer ring gear, disposed around an outer periphery of the platens,and an inner gear, that projects through a hole formed in a center of the platens. The carriers can have a toothed outer periphery, which engages with the teeth or pins of the outer ring gear and the teeth or pins of the inner gear. Rotation of theinner gear and outer gear in opposite directions, for example, thus causes the carrier to rotate globally around the inner gear, and about an axis of the carrier. Typically, the manufacturer of the single- or double-sided finishing machine will polish the surfaces of the platens using a lapping technique, prior to the polishing machine being shipped to the end user. It is conventionally believed that thelapping technique provides the platens with a relatively flat and planar surface suitable for most polishing operations. To polish the workpieces, a polishing slurry is provided on a surface of the disks. The platens are brought t

Method Of Shaping An Ophthalmic Lens - Patent 8133095

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:21:02 GMT

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TO WHICH THE INVENTION RELATES The present invention relates in general to the field of eyeglasses and more particularly it relates to acquiring the shape of the bezel of a rim of an eyeglass frame and to machining the lens that is to be engaged in the rim. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of shaping an ophthalmic lens, the method comprising machining the edge face of the lens by means of at least one rotary tool having an axis, the axes of the tool and of the lens being movablerelative to each other in rotation about a blocking axis and in translation, both radially and axially, these freedoms of movement being controlled so that the edge face of the lens presents a generally profiled shape that includes an engagement ridgesuitable for engaging in a bezel of a rim of an eyeglass frame, and first and second margins on either side of the engagement ridge.TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND The technical portion of the profession of an optician consists in mounting a pair of ophthalmic lenses in a frame selected by a wearer. Such mounting comprises three main operations: acquiring the shape of the bezel of each of the two rims of the eyeglass frame selected by the future wearer, i.e. acquiring the shape of the grooves that run around the insides of the rims of the frame; centering each lens, which consists in determining the position that the lens is to occupy on the frame in order to be appropriately centered in front of the pupil of the wearer's eye so as to perform properly the optical function for which itis intended; and shaping each lens, which consists in machining or cutting its outline to the desired shape, given the shape of the bezel and the defined centering parameters, and then beveling at the end of such machining, which beveling consists in making anengagement ridge on the edge face of the lens for the purpose of holding the lens in the bezel of the frame. In the context of the present invention, attention is given mainly to the first operati

Multi-phase Polishing Pad - Patent 8133096

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:20:44 GMT

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1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for polishing substrates. More particularly, the invention relates to a platen/polishing pad assembly having a compliant surface to improve polishing uniformity of substrates. 2. Background of the Related Art In the fabrication of integrated circuits and other electronic devices, multiple layers of conducting, semiconducting and dielectric materials are deposited and removed from a substrate during the fabrication process. Often it is necessary topolish a surface of a substrate to improve substrate surface uniformity by removing high topography, surface defects, scratches or embedded particles as well as improve polishing consistency from one substrate to the next to form substrates withconsistent substrate surfaces for subsequent polishing. One common polishing process is known as chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) and is used to improve the quality and reliability of the electronic devices formed on the substrate. Typically, the polishing process involves the introduction of a chemical slurry during the polishing process to facilitate chemical reaction with material components of the substrate surface to provide for higher removal of material componentstherefrom. In general, the polishing process involves holding a substrate against a polishing pad under controlled pressure, temperature and relative speed (velocity) of the pad in the presence of the slurry or other fluid medium. One polishing systemthat is used to perform CMP is the Mirra.RTM. CMP System available from Applied Materials, Inc., and shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,574, entitled, "Continuous Processing System for Chemical Mechanical Polishing," the entirety of which isincorporated herein by reference. An important goal of CMP is achieving uniform substrate and die (substrate to substrate) planarity of substrate surfaces. Uniform planarity includes the uniform removal of material from across the surface of

Tool Spindle Device - Patent 8133098

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:20:06 GMT

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INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 with respect to Japanese Application No. 2007-318053 filed on Dec. 10, 2007, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tool spindle device such as a grinding wheel spindle device wherein an antifriction bearing rotatably supporting a tool spindle such as a grinding wheel spindle is lubricated with oil air or oil mist. 2. Discussion of the Related Art In a wheel head wherein a grinding wheel spindle is rotatably supported by antifriction bearings such as roller bearings, ball bearings or the like, the antifriction bearings are lubricated with oil air. In a grinding wheel spindle device ofthis kind, oil air is exhausted to the atmosphere after being used to lubricate the antifriction bearings, as described in Japanese unexamined published patent application No. 9-11108 for example. In the grinding wheel spindle device described in the Japanese patent application, since oil air is released to the atmosphere, an adverse effect is likely to be brought about on the surrounding environment, and oil is uneconomically consumedwithout effective use.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide an improved tool spindle device which is capable of making secondary use of oil air or oil mist after the same is used to lubricate an antifriction bearing rotatably supportinga tool spindle with a machining tool attached thereto. Briefly, according to the present invention, there is provided a tool spindle device, which comprises a support table; a spindle head slidably guided along at least one guide member on the support table and rotatably supporting a tool spindlewith a machining tool through an antifriction bearing; a spindle head feed mechanism for feeding the spindle head along the at least one guide member on the support t

Polishing Apparatus - Patent 8133097

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:20:03 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

BACKGROUND The semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced rapid growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previousgeneration. However, these advances have increased the complexity of processing and manufacturing ICs and, for these advances to be realized, similar developments in IC processing and manufacturing systems and apparatuses are needed. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., the smallest component (or line) that can be created using a fabrication process) hasdecreased. This scaling down process generally provides benefits by increasing production efficiency and lowering associated costs. Such scaling-down also requires associated improvements in semiconductor manufacturing and processing equipment. With advances in electronic products, semiconductor technology has been applied widely in manufacturing memories, central processing units (CPUs), display devices, light emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes and other devices or chip sets. Inorder to achieve high-integration and high-speed, dimensions of semiconductor integrated circuits have been reduced, and various materials and techniques have been proposed to achieve these targets and overcome obstacles during manufacturing. Due to thehigh-integration of semiconductor integrated circuits, the topography of a semiconductor integrated circuit on a substrate becomes rough and the surface of the substrate should be planarized/polished to facilitate deposition of subsequent layers. Inorder to solve this problem, chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) technology has been used. For purposes of this disclosure, the terms substrate and wafer are well known in the art and are herein used interchangeably. Traditionally, CMP processes have been used on wafers in

Reciprocating Drive Mechanism Of Abrasive Band Grinding Machine - Patent 8133099

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:19:58 GMT

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ON (1) Field of the Invention The present invention relates generally to a reciprocating lifting mechanism mounted onto the grinding machine, and more particularly to an innovative one which allows the abrasive band grinding machine to generate continuous lifting motion soas to grind uniformly the abrasive band and prolong efficiently its life span. (2) Description of the Prior Art A conventional abrasive band grinding machine is generally driven by a motor to conduct the grinding operation through continuously rotating abrasive band. However, the following shortcomings are observed during actual applications: 1) Since the abrasive band of fixed grinding height has a higher frequency of utilization and contact, some saw dusts are inclined to be accumulated on the surface of the abrasive band. This will affect the heat dispersion of abrasive bandsurface, and possibly lead to its wear and rupture under continuous operating state. 2) Excessive accumulation of saw dusts on the abrasive band will also affect the grinding capacity, leading to non-uniform grinding of the surface of workpieces. 3) The operator has to clean up regularly the surface of abrasive band for maintaining the efficiency, but this will bring about inconvenience and delay of operation. 4) The surface of abrasive band isn't fully utilized, but the abrasive band will be replaced if some sections of higher utilization frequency are damaged, leading to waste of materials and more burden of cost.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION For the reasons mentioned above, the major purpose of the present invention is to install two control boxes at lower part of the grinding machine, and allow a lifting mechanism within the control box to control the reciprocating motion of thegrinding machine, thereby achieving uniform grinding of the surface of abrasive band. Another purpose of the present invention is to reduce efficiently the wear of fixed section on the abrasive band, and prolong the life span of the abrasive band. The

System And Method For Improved Hand Tool Operation - Patent 8133092

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:19:48 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Sunday, April 15, 2012

1. Field of the Invention At least one embodiment of the present invention relates generally to systems and methods for hand tool operation and, more particularly, to systems and methods for quantitative analysis and control of hand tool operation. 2. Discussion of Related Art Hand tools are commonly used in a wide range of industries including the automotive, marine and woodworking industries. In some applications, these manual or offhand tools may be involved in a finishing operation following a series of machiningprocesses. Hand-held grinders, for example, may be used to smooth surfaces of manufactured goods. The quality and production cost of an end product may be impacted by the hand tool operator due to the involved human factor.BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with one or more embodiments, the invention relates generally to systems and methods for hand tool operation. In accordance with one or more embodiments, the invention relates to a hand tool monitoring system, comprising a sensor positioned to detect an operational parameter of a hand tool, and a controller in communication with the sensor, andconfigured to generate a signal based on data collected by the sensor and to communicate the signal to an operator of the hand tool. In accordance with one or more embodiments, the invention further relates to a method of monitoring hand tool operation, comprising providing a sensor for detecting an operational parameter of a hand tool, collecting data with the sensor, andcommunicating the data collected by the sensor to an operator of the hand tool. In accordance with one or more embodiments, the invention relates to a pneumatic hand tool monitoring system, comprising a sensor positioned to detect an operational parameter of the pneumatic hand tool, and a controller in communication withthe sensor, configured to generate a signal based on data collected by the sensor, and further configured to communicate the signal to an operator of the pneumat

Dust Shroud With Access Hatch Retention Mechanism - Patent 8133094

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:19:27 GMT

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1. The Field of the Invention The present invention relates to vacuum shrouds. More specifically, the present invention relates to vacuum shrouds for angle grinders which include an access hatch and a retention mechanism for the access hatch. 2. State of the Art Dust shrouds are typically used to both contain grinding dust and prevent a mess as well as to protect an operator from debris, dust, and the grinding disc. These shrouds generally attach to an angle grinder between the grinder body and thegrinding wheel. The shroud then forms a barrier between the operator and the grinding wheel. The shroud often extends around the edges of the grinding wheel, leaving the bottom grinding portion open for use. Thus, the dust shroud provides a dust anddebris barrier and a safety barrier. Some dust shrouds provide a vacuum attachment so that dust and debris can be suctioned out of the shroud. This avoids airborne dust and debris that can lead to such health problems as silicosis. The use of a vacuum also keeps the workplaceclean of debris, dramatically reducing the time necessary to clean up after a grinding job. Vacuum dust shrouds are commonly used while grinding concrete. It can be appreciated how, without a shroud, a significant amount of concrete dust is spreadacross a wide area. With a vacuum shroud, very little dust goes uncollected. The use of a vacuum shroud can also protect the tool by preventing dust and debris from entering the motor and gears, thus extending tool life. Effective vacuum shrouds often cover the top and entire perimeter of the grinding disc, such that most of the dust and debris is captured by the vacuum and the disc is not exposed to the operator. Complete enclosure of the perimeter of thegrinding disc makes it difficult to use against a corner, such as when grinding a floor adjacent a wall. Vacuum shrouds for grinders have been made which allow a user to remove a hatch portion of the shroud to expose a side of the grinding disk and a

Grinding Apparatus Having An Extendable Wheel Mount - Patent 8133093

Patents-312 — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 06:19:11 GMT

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1. Field of the Invention The present invention provides a grinding machine wherein the coarse and fine grinding wheels are driven by a single rotating spindle, a wheel mount attached to the lower portion of the spindle containing the mechanism for moving the innercoarse wheel down to the workpiece relative to the stationary outer fine wheel. 2. Description of the Prior Art U.S. Pat. No. 7,118,446, assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses a grinding assembly for shaping work pieces that includes one or more grind spindles, each of the grind spindles including two independent grinding wheelsdriven by the same spindle drive. The grind spindles translate horizontally to perform both edge and face grinding with a single grind spindle. A non-contact position sensor in a work spindle measures work spindle displacement during grinding andprovides feedback to the grind spindle to regulate the force imparted on the work piece by the grind spindle. The double spindle air bearing utilized in the '446 system mounts a stationary outer support structure, rotating spindle, and an inner concentric shaft. The rotating spindle is supported (inside) by the stationary outer support. The rotatingspindle has an inner concentric shaft which is rotationally keyed to the spindle, but is allowed to move up and down. The up/down actuation is contained in the upper section of the rotating spindle/support structure. The fine grinding wheel is attachedto the lower portion of the rotating spindle, and the coarse wheel is attached to the lower portion of the inner concentric shaft. The fine and coarse wheels rotate together since the inner concentric shaft and the spindle are keyed togetherrotationally. In the retract position, the coarse wheel is retracted up so the fine wheel can be used for grinding. In the extend position, the coarse wheel is extended out beyond the fine wheel so the coarse wheel can be used for grinding. Theactuation of the inner coarse whee

Chemical Mechanical Polishing Pad - Patent 8128464

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:06:13 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Saturday, April 14, 2012

Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-35819, filed on Feb. 18, 2008, is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a chemical mechanical polishing pad. In recent years, a chemical mechanical polishing method (generally abbreviated as "CMP") has attracted attention as a polishing method that can form a surface having excellent flatness on a silicon substrate or a silicon substrate on whichinterconnects, electrodes, and the like are formed (hereinafter referred to as "semiconductor wafer") in the production of semiconductor devices, for example. The chemical mechanical polishing method polishes a polishing target surface while causing thepolishing target surface to slidingly come in contact with a chemical mechanical polishing pad and supplying a chemical mechanical polishing aqueous dispersion (aqueous dispersion in which abrasive grains are dispersed; slurry) to the surface of thechemical mechanical polishing pad. In the chemical mechanical polishing method, the polishing results are significantly affected by the properties and the like of the chemical mechanical polishing pad. Various chemical mechanical polishing pads havebeen proposed. For example, a polyurethane foam that contains minute bubbles is used as the chemical mechanical polishing pad, and the polishing target surface is polished in a state in which the chemical mechanical polishing aqueous dispersion is held inpores formed in the surface of the chemical mechanical polishing pad (see JP-A-11-70463, JP-A-8-216029, and JP-A-8-39423, for example). When using such a chemical mechanical polishing pad, since the slurry is supplied to the polishing pad in a state in which a semiconductor wafer is pressed against the surface of the polishing pad, it is difficult to remove the semiconductorwafer from the surface of the polishing pad after polishing without applying load. Moreover, the adhesion between the polishing pad and a polishing platen

Chemical Mechanical Polishing With Multi-zone Slurry Delivery - Patent 8128461

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:05:59 GMT

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This document generally relates to chemical-mechanical polishing/planarization (CMP). More particularly, this document relates to CMP devices and techniques that include multi-zone delivery of slurry or other fluid.BACKGROUND Chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) is a process of removing material from a semiconductor wafer or other work piece to create a smooth planar surface. Typically, a combination of chemical reaction and mechanical force is used to removematerial from a front surface of the work piece to thereby create the planar surface. In a conventional CMP assembly, the work piece is secured in a carrier head such that the surface to be polished is exposed. The exposed surface of the work piece isthen held against a polishing pad or other surface that is generally mounted to a rigid platen. Typically, a polishing slurry is introduced onto the polishing surface of the pad, and the work piece and/or polishing pad are moved in relation to eachother in a linear, circular, orbital or other fashion to polish or planarize the surface of the work piece as desired. Frequently, slurry is supplied to the polishing surface through one or more holes in the polishing pad. These holes typically receive fluid via a common delivery line from a fluid supply source. In many implementations, a manifold or similarstructure equalizes fluid resistances for the various paths flowing to the different holes. While the manifold structures found in many implementations have been beneficial for many purposes, the complex design of such structures can create certainlimitations and other issues. In particular, the number of holes that can be supported by any particular manifold can be relatively limited, thereby creating issues in distributing slurry and/or creating even flow across the surface of the polishingpad. It is therefore desirable to create polishing structures and techniques that are able to improve the uniformity of slurry delivery across the surface of the pad. Furt

Method Of Producing Rust Inhibitive Sheet Metal Through Scale Removal With A Slurry Blasting Descaling Cell - Patent 8128460

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:05:55 GMT

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The disclosure pertains to a process for removing undesirable surface material from flat materials either in sheet or continuous form, and from narrow tubular material. In particular, the disclosure pertains to an apparatus and method forremoving scale from the surfaces of processed sheet metal or metal tubing by propelling a scale removing medium, specifically, a liquid/particle slurry, against the surfaces of the material passed through the apparatus, and controlling the slurryblasting process in a manners to produce a resultant material that exhibits rust inhibitive properties. As will be described in further detail below, the methods and apparatuses disclosed herein provide advantages over the apparatuses and methods used in the prior art. Sheet steel (a.k.a. flat roll) is by far the most common type of steel and isfar more prevalent than bar or structural steel. Before sheet metal is used by manufacturers it is typically prepared by a hot rolling process. During the hot rolling process, carbon steel is heated to a temperature in excess of 1,500.degree. F.(815.degree. C.). The heated steel is passed through successive pairs of opposing rollers that reduce the thickness of the steel sheet. Once the hot rolling process is completed, the processed sheet metal or hot rolled steel is reduced in temperature,typically by quenching it in water, oil, or a polymer liquid, all of which are well known in the art. The processed sheet metal is then coiled for convenient storage and transportation to the ultimate user of the processed sheet metal, i.e. themanufacturers of aircraft, automobiles, home appliances, etc. During the cooling stages of processing the hot rolled sheet metal, reactions of the sheet metal with oxygen in the air and with the moisture involved in the cooling process can result in the formation of an iron oxide layer, commonly referredto as "scale," on the surfaces of the sheet metal. The rate at which the sheet metal is cooled, and the total te

Method And Device For Trimming A Lens By Cutting Said Lens - Patent 8128463

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:05:54 GMT

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TO WHICH THE INVENTION RELATES The present invention relates in general to mounting the ophthalmic lenses of a correcting pair of eyeglasses in a frame, and it relates more particularly to a method and to a device for shaping an ophthalmic lens of a pair of eyeglasses inorder to enable it to be mounted in a frame.TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND The technical part of the profession of an optician consists in mounting a pair of ophthalmic lenses in or on a frame selected by the wearer. This mounting comprises two main operations: centering each lens, which consists in positioning and orienting the lens appropriately relative to the eye of the future wearer; and then shaping each lens, which consists in machining or cutting itsoutline to the desired shape, taking account of the defined centering parameters. The present invention relates to the second operation of "shaping". Shaping a lens to enable it to be mounted in or on the frame selected by the future wearer consists in modifying the outline of the lens so as to match it to the frame and/orto the desired lens shape. Conventionally, shaping comprises two main operations: an edging operation (or "roughing-out" operation); and a finishing operation that is adapted to the type of frame. Shaping consists in eliminating an unwanted peripheralfraction of the ophthalmic lens in question so as to bring its outline, which outline is usually initially circular, down to the arbitrary outline of the rim of the eyeglass frame in question or merely to the desired shape of pleasing appearance when theframe is of the rimless type. This shaping operation is usually followed by a chamfering operation that consists in rounding or chamfering the two sharp edges of the edged lens. The finishing operation depends on the way mounting is to be performed. When the frame is of the rimmed type, chamfering is accompanied by beveling which consists in forming a rib generally referred to as a bevel. The bevel is designed to engage in a correspo

Method Of Centering A Non-edged Ophthalmic Lens In Which The Centering Point Of The Lens Is Offset Relative To Its Geometric Center - Patent 8128462

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:05:51 GMT

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TO WHICHTHE INVENTION RELATES The present invention relates in general to the field of eyeglasses and more particularly to mounting ophthalmic lenses for a pair of correcting eyeglasses on a frame. More particularly, the invention relates to a method of centering a single vision non-edged ophthalmic lens possessing an initial outline associated with a centering point and that is to be shaped to take up a final outline associated with apupil point, the method comprising the steps of: superposing the pupil point of the final outline on the centering point of the non-edged lens; and adjusting the relative position of the final outline to fit within the initial outline of the non-edgedlens. A particularly advantageous application of the invention lies in centering lenses of low power.TECHNOLOGICAL BACKGROUND The technical portion of the work of an optician consists in mounting a pair of ophthalmic lenses on a frame that has been selected by the wearer. This mounting comprises two main operations: centering each lens, which consists in positioningand orienting the lens appropriately in front of the eye of the future wearer, and thus relative to the frame; and then shaping (edging) each lens by machining or cutting its outline to the desired shape, given the defined centering parameters. In the context of the present invention, attention is given to the first operation of centering. Specifically, the optician needs to define the position that the ophthalmic lens is to occupy in the optical frame of reference (typicallyconventional marks or a centering point), before the lens is shaped to have the final shape it needs to present after shaping, so that the lens will be suitably positioned in front of the corresponding eye of the wearer and will perform the opticalfunction for which it is designed as well as possible. For this purpose, the optician initially situates the position of the pupil of each eye on the corresponding lens. This serves mainly to determine two para

Polishing Apparatus And Substrate Processing Method - Patent 8128458

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:05:34 GMT

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The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus for polishing a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly to a polishing apparatus provided with a substrate escape detection section for detecting escape of asubstrate from a top ring during polishing. The present invention also relates to a substrate processing apparatus incorporating a polishing apparatus and to a method for detecting escape of a substrate from a top ring which can be employed in apolishing apparatus.BACKGROUND ART With the recent progress toward higher integration of semiconductor devices, the circuit interconnects are becoming finer and the distance between adjacent interconnects is becoming smaller. Especially, when forming a circuit pattern by opticallithography with a line width of not more than 0.5 .mu.m, it requires that surfaces on which pattern images are to be focused by a stepper be as flat as possible because depth of focus of an optical system is relatively small. A polishing apparatus forcarrying out chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) is known as a means for flattening a surface of such a semiconductor wafer. A common polishing apparatus is designed to polish a surface (polishing surface) of a substrate by bringing the surface of the substrate held by a top ring into contact with an upper surface of a polishing pad (polishing cloth) of a polishingtable while rotating the polishing table and the top ring. In the polishing apparatus, the substrate rarely escapes from the top ring during polishing when the substrate has been received by the top ring in a normal manner. On the other hand, when thesubstrate is not received by the top ring in a normal manner and runs on a guide ring of the top ring, the substrate can escape from the top ring during polishing. If the substrate escapes from the top ring, the substrate will then revolve on therotating polishing table and collide against the top ring, which may result in breakage of the substrate itself or da

Polishing Holder For Workpiece End Surface - Patent 8128459

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 22:05:32 GMT

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1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for polishing an end surface of a workpiece, and, more particularly, to a holder for supporting a polished end surface of an optical fiber. 2. Description of Related Art The optical fiber communication is an indispensable communication tool at present and it will be in the future. The main structure of an optical fiber connector used in the field of communication is constituted by an optical fiber 11 passingthrough a ferrule 12 and then being adhered to the ferrule 12 with an adhesive. The ferrule 12 can be made of plastic, glass or ceramics. The ferrule 12 has a spherical end surface 121 which projects outward and is pressed by an elastic polishingsurface and worked with a process which includes coarse grinding, fine grinding and polishing. The finished spherical surface 121 must be worked as a flawless curved surface. An optical axis of the spherical surface 121 can be either parallel to acentral line of the optical fiber 11 or inclining a small angle with the central line. A conventional method for polishing an end surface of the optical fiber is to keep the end surface stationary and to rotate and revolve the polishing surface in the process of polishing the end surface. It can be known from a mathematicalanalysis disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 485863 entitled as "Polishing apparatus for optical fiber end surface" that if the movement of the polishing surface is rotation plus revolution, the end surface of the optical fiber is merely arranged on thecircumference of the holder, and if there is only revolution without rotation, the wearing degree of every spot on the whole end surface is the same. The end surfaces of a plurality of optical fibers can be equally arranged on the holder evenly. Besides, the reference mentioned above also discloses that if the polishing surface is fabricated to be strip-shaped, one side of the strip-shaped polishing surface is provided with coarse polish

Dressing Apparatus For Flex-arm Mounted Grinding Wheel - Patent 8123595

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:26:08 GMT

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The invention relates to apparatuses utilized in dressing flex-arm mounted grinding wheels.BACKGROUND Surfaces that have been accurately ground are often necessary in manufacturing processes. The accuracy of ground surfaces depends heavily upon the shaped precision of an employed grinding wheel. To facilitate this grinding wheel preciseness,dressing apparatuses are regularly utilized to remove grinding medium from a wheel and shape the wheel appropriately. However, for applications in which the grinding wheel is mounted to a flex-arm, dressing the grinding wheel is often difficult due tothe dynamism provided by the flex-arm.SUMMARY One embodiment of an apparatus for dressing a grinding wheel mounted on a flex-arm includes a base, a post, a dresser and a guide, wherein when the flex-arm is in an unengaged position with the apparatus, the flex-arm is capable of movementalong at least two directional axes, and wherein when the flex-arm is in an engaged position with the apparatus, the flex-arm is restricted to movement along one directional axis. Another embodiment of an apparatus for dressing a grinding wheel mounted on a flex-arm includes a base with at least one magnet mounted on or within the base, a post with at least one aperture, a dresser comprising a bolt and a dressing element,and a guide, wherein when the flex-arm is in an unengaged position with the apparatus, the flex-arm is capable of movement along at least two directional axes, and wherein when the flex-arm is in an engaged position with the apparatus, the flex-arm isrestricted to movement along one directional axis. One embodiment of a method of dressing a grinding wheel that is mounted on a flex-arm capable of movement along at least two directional axes includes providing a dressing apparatus comprising a base, a post, a dresser and a guide, engaging theflex-arm and the dressing apparatus by urging a nose of the flex-arm into contact with the guide so that the flex-arm is restricted to movement a

Configuring Of Lapping And Polishing Machines - Patent 8123593

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:25:54 GMT

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This document generally relates to configuring of lapping and polishing machines.BACKGROUND A lapping or polishing machine can be used to finish a broad range of materials, e.g., glasses, ceramics, plastics, and metals. The item being finished (lapped or polished) rides on top of the finishing surface (lap), in which the lap issubstantially larger than the item being lapped or polished. The lapping or polishing process gradually removes parts of the item to cause the item to have a desired surface profile. The removal process takes place as the result of mechanicalinteraction or a combination of chemical and mechanical interaction between the item being finished, an abrasive, and the lap surface. This process is generally rate determined by an equation involving both the relative speed between the lap and thefinished item and the pressure at the interface. Lapping machine laps can be, e.g., cast iron. Polishing machine laps can include, e.g., any of a family of compounds known as "pitch" or any of a family of synthetic materials such as urethanes.SUMMARY In one aspect, in general, a method of processing a work item includes configuring a first finishing surface of a processing machine using a conditioning tool having a second finishing surface, measuring a contour of the first finishing surface,using the second finishing surface to process the first finishing surface to reduce a difference between the measured contour and a desired contour for the first finishing surface, and using the first finishing surface to process a work item to cause thework item to have a surface contour that is equal to or approximates a specified surface contour. Implementations of the method may include one or more of the following features. Configuring a first finishing surface of a processing machine includes configuring a first finishing surface of at least one of a lapping machine or a polishingmachine. Using a conditioning tool having a second finishing surface includes using

Power Tools Power tools Kobayashi

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:25:47 GMT

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This application claims priority to Japanese patent application serial number 2007-151437, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to power tools, such as disk grinders, and in particular, to power tools having an air introduction device for cooling a motor. 2. Description of the Related Art A disk grinder is known that has a cylindrical body casing and an electric motor disposed within the body casing as a drive source. The body casing is adapted to be grasped by an operator. An output shaft of the electric motor is supported bya front casing that is disposed on the front side of the body casing. The rotation of the output shaft is transmitted to a spindle. A circular rotary grinding disk is attached to the front portion of the spindle. A rear casing is disposed on the rearside of the body casing. An inlet opening for introducing air is formed in the rear casing. A cooling fan is attached to the output shaft of the motor, so that a flow of the air from the rear side to the front side of the body casing is produced as thefan rotates. Therefore, the air can cool components of the motor. More specifically, the external air enters the rear casing via the inlet opening, flows into the body casing, and is then discharged from an outlet opening formed in the front portion ofthe body casing. Techniques for channelling air into the body casing are disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications Nos. 9-272073 and 2002-18745. In these publications, the inlet opening is formed in a side portion of the rear casing. It has been also known to attach a net-like filter to the inlet opening for preventing dust in the air from entering into the body casing through the inlet opening. However, the filter may increase resistance against flow of the air through theinlet opening and thus causes reduction in the flow rate of the cooling air. A proposed solution is to p

Abrasive Pump For An Abrasive Jet Cutting Machine - Patent 8123591

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:25:44 GMT

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BACKGROUND An abrasive jet cutter generally operates by focusing a high pressure jet of fluid carrying entrained abrasive particles onto a work surface. Abrasive jet cutting machines generally have a relatively small abrasive hopper near the cutting nozzle sufficient to supply the jet for less than 30 minutes. For production work, it is desirable to automatically fill this small hopper from alarger abrasive source. Commonly, a large pressure pot of the type commonly used for sandblasting is filled with several hundred to a few thousand pounds of abrasive and then pressurized with air to around 50 psi. The air pressure forces the abrasive to flow through asmall hose to the smaller hopper near the nozzle. When the small hopper is full, the abrasive around the hose outlet stops further abrasive from coming and the flow ceases.OVERVIEW According to an embodiment, an abrasive jet cutting system includes an abrasive hopper that may be left at or substantially at atmospheric pressure. According to an embodiment, an abrasive jet cutting system includes an abrasive delivery system having an abrasive tank configured to alternately 1) receive abrasive from an abrasive hopper substantially at atmospheric pressure and 2) provideabrasive under pressure for delivery to an abrasive jet cutting head. The abrasive tank may receive air through a substantially constant flow source, such as a needle valve. According to an embodiment an abrasive jet cutting system includes an abrasive delivery system configured to automatically fill an abrasive tank when empty and automatically resume pressurization of the abrasive tank when refilled. According toan embodiment, the abrasive delivery system is automated using pneumatic components. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram of an abrasive supply system for conveying abrasive particles with a substantially constant flow rate gas source, according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram of an abrasive supply system including an

Polishing Pad - Patent 8123597

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:25:36 GMT

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1. Field of the Invention The present invention is related to a polishing pad, and more particularly, to a polishing pad with two groove patterns. 2. Description of the Prior Art Electrical chips are formed by deposition of various laminate materials, for example, a silicon wafer is one of the substrates of laminate materials. Whenever a new laminate is deposited, a polishing or scrapping step is often needed forremoving excessive laminate materials to planarize the chip or to achieve other purposes. Such process of polishing is generally called chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Since chips are formed by deposition of different thin film laminates, the CMPstep needs to be performed for multiple times for evenly removing excessive laminate materials from the surface of a chip to achieve the purpose of planarization. And usually when the CMP step is performed, chemical slurry is led in between the chip and the polishing pad for generating chemical reaction between the deposited thin film laminates and the chemical slurry or for generating mechanical reactionbetween the deposited thin film laminates and the particles in the chemical slurry to remove part of excessive thin film laminates on the surface of chip. However, the slurry existing between the polishing pad and the chip makes it easy for thepolishing pad and the chip to become fully attached to each other, which thus causes disappearance of the force of friction between the polishing pad and the chip. Therefore, in order to achieve better polishing effect with the CMP step, the most commonpractice at present is to install groove on the surface of the polishing pad not only for increasing force of friction between the polishing pad and the chip but also for ensuring that the slurry is evenly distributed on the surface of the polishing padand for letting polishing particles suspended in the slurry and the scraps to flow out through the groove. In prior art, many patents make improvements particularly on

Heatless Slurry System - Patent 8123592

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:25:33 GMT

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The present invention relates to a heatless slurry system. More specifically, the present invention is concerned with a slurry system for restoring a surface such as glass.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Glass restoration systems are used to remove scratches, mineral deposits or other stains from a valuable piece of glass to save the cost of replacing it. The main components of a known glass restoration system are a pump, a tool for polishingor fining, a water supply tank, hoses, and a slurry container. The container contains the slurry, a mixture of minerals and water forming an abrasive polishing solution. Hoses run from the container to the tool, comprised of a drill to which isattached a polishing or fining pad or disc. Also connected to the hoses, there is a submersible pump placed inside the container for recirculation of the slurry. The slurry goes from the pump through the tool, onto the disc and working surfaceinterface and back into the container before being pumped again. When the pump operates, a vacuum is created between the tool and the working surface. With the above known glass restoration system, the flow of slurry cools the working surface and allows a faster rotation of the tool, resulting in a rapid completion of the work. However, this known glass restoration system causes aconsiderable heat of the slurry. Indeed, the heat created by the working pump located inside the slurry container is transferred directly to the re-circulated slurry thereby overheating it. When the slurry reaches a certain temperature, chemicalreactions with catalysts within the slurry slow down and the slurry thus loses its ability to remove scratches by over 50% and has to be replaced. The work must be interrupted for a considerable period of time since the slurry has to be pre-mixed byhand in the container before starting back the pump. Furthermore, if the slurry is used beyond a certain temperature, the tool shroud melts and the polishing or fining disc or pad be

Post Shaving Orbital System For Blind Bolt Fasteners - Patent 8123594

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 14:25:29 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Saturday, April 14, 2012

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION As stated in the title of this descriptive specification, the present invention relates to a roto-orbital tooling system, being intended for removing the cutting edges and eliminating small burrs generated in the fastener pins of the type BlindBolt (e.g. type ABS0257), in which these cutting edges and burrs are originated as a consequence of the shaving of the pin. The system constitutes a headstock designed for being used in Cartesian or parallel kinematic robots (e.g. Tricept type robot), with automatic riveting capacity and automatic tooling changer. The system is preferably and fundamentally intended for application in the aeronautical industrial sector, in the fitting of aircraft skins, especially sustaining surfaces, like elevators and rudders.PRIOR ART OF THE INVENTION In the assembly process of the skin of the sustaining surfaces, as in elevators and rudders, the use of numerical control machines and robots is known. In a large majority of sustaining surfaces, Blind Bolt (or Lockbolt) fasteners are used. These fasteners have a threaded pin with the particular characteristic of that, once installed the fasteners, part of the threaded pin of the fastener remains projecting from it, being the dimension of which used to check the correct fitting of thefastener. This pin has to be cut in order to meet the requirements of aerodynamic cleaning on the sustaining surfaces of the aircraft. This cutting is achieved by means of a device developed for the purpose and described in Spanish invention patent P200701064. Due to the fact that the pin of the blind rivet is threaded, the shaving thereof can produce certain defects such as sharp edges or small burrs, etc. Traditionally, in order to eliminate those defects, the surface is softly sanded usingflexible abrasive discs applied by means of pneumatic tools. This method has two drawbacks since, on the one hand, a great physical effort is required by the operator, due to this being done manuall

Chemical Mechanical Polishing Pad Having Window With Integral Identification Feature - Patent 8118641

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:51:45 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Saturday, April 14, 2012

The present invention relates generally to the field of chemicalmechanical polishing. In particular, the present invention is directed to a chemical mechanical polishing pad having a window with an integral identification feature and methods of making and using the same. Chemical mechanical planarization, or chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), is a common technique used to polish substrates, such as semiconductor wafers. In conventional CMP using a dual-axis rotary polisher, a wafer carrier, or polishing head,is mounted on a carrier assembly. The polishing head holds the wafer and positions it in contact with a polishing layer of a polishing pad within the polisher. The polishing pad typically exhibits a diameter greater than twice the diameter of the waferbeing planarized. During polishing, each of the polishing pad and the wafer is rotated about its respective central axis while the wafer is engaged with the polishing layer. The central axis of the wafer is offset relative to the central axis of thepolishing pad by a distance greater than the radius of the wafer such that the rotation of the pad sweeps out a ring-shaped "wafer track", the region on the polishing surface which contacts the wafer during polishing. When the only movement of the waferis rotational, the width of the wafer track is equal to the diameter of the wafer. However, in some dual-axis polishers, the wafer is oscillated in a plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation. In this case, the width of the wafer track is wider thanthe diameter of the wafer by an amount that accounts for the displacement due to the oscillation. An important step in CMP is determining an end-point to the process. Accordingly, a variety of planarization end-point detection methods have been developed, for example, methods involving optical in-situ measurements of the wafer surface. Theoptical technique involves providing the window polishing pad with a window that is transparent for select wavelengths of ligh

Polishing Method, Polishing Pad, And Polishing System - Patent 8118645

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:51:29 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Saturday, April 14, 2012

CROSS-REFERENCE TORELATED APPLICATION This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application serial no. 97103481, filed on Jan. 30, 2008. The entirety of the above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference herein and made a part of specification.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a polishing pad, a polishing system, and a polishing method, in particular, to a polishing pad, a polishing system, and a polishing method capable of achieving a better polishing uniformity for thesurface of a workpiece. 2. Description of Related Art With progress of industrial technology, planarization processes are usually adopted for producing various devices, and a polishing process is one of the planarization processes often employed in the industry. Generally, in the polishingprocess, a fixed workpiece is pressed on a polishing pad by a pressure applied to the workpiece, and capable of moving relative to the surface of the polishing pad. As such, the surface of the workpiece is partially removed through friction generated bythe above relative movement, and thus gradually becomes planarized. FIG. 1 is a schematic top view of a conventional circular polishing pad. The circular polishing pad 110 includes a plurality of concentric circular grooves 120. The concentric circular grooves 120 are used to accommodate or remove residues orby-products generated by polishing, and enable a workpiece 130 to be easily detached away from the circular polishing pad 110 when the polishing process is completed. During the polishing process, the circular polishing pad 110 rotates, and the workpiece 130 in contact with the surface of the circular polishing pad 110 rotates as well, expecting that every portion on the surface of the workpiece 130 maycontact the concentric circular grooves 120. However, each of the concentric circular grooves 120 on the conventional circular polishing pad 110 has a circul

Wafer Transferring Apparatus, Polishing Apparatus, And Wafer Receiving Method - Patent 8118640

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:51:13 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Saturday, April 14, 2012

The present invention relates to a wafer transferring apparatus including a wafer holding mechanism for holding a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as "wafer") and a wafer transferring mechanism for transferring awafer to and from the wafer holding mechanism, a polishing apparatus incorporating the wafer transferring apparatus, and a wafer receiving method performed by the wafer transferring apparatus.BACKGROUND ART Heretofore, there has been a wafer transferring apparatus including a top ring (wafer holding mechanism) for holding a wafer and a pusher mechanism (wafer transferring mechanism) for transferring a wafer to and from the top ring (see, forexample, Japanese laid-open patent publication No. 2001-135604). FIGS. 1A and 1B are views showing a general structure of such a wafer transferring apparatus. FIG. 1A shows the wafer transferring apparatus immediately before a wafer W is released froma top ring 60, and FIG. 1B shows the wafer transferring apparatus when the wafer W is released from the top ring 60 and seated on a wafer rest (wafer tray) 40 of a pusher mechanism 10. The top ring 60 has a plurality of holes 65 defined in a waferholding surface 60a on a lower end surface thereof. The holes 65 are held in fluid communication with a pressurizing and discharging source (not shown) for supplying and discharging a gas, a liquid, or a mixture thereof. The holes 65 connected to thepressurizing and discharging source provide a wafer attracting and releasing mechanism. The pusher mechanism 10 includes a shaft 11 supporting thereon a guide stage 15 in combination with a helical spring 16 and a centering mechanism 14. Top ring guides 20 are mounted on an outer periphery of an upper surface of the guide stage15. The wafer tray 40 disposed within the top ring guides 20 is adapted to be lifted by a push stage 30 supported on the upper end of the shaft 11. When the shaft 11 is lifted by a cylinder (not shown), the top ring guides 20

Chemical Mechanical Polishing Pad Having Integral Identification Feature - Patent 8118644

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:50:59 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Saturday, April 14, 2012

The present invention relates generally to the field of chemical mechanicalpolishing. In particular, the present invention is directed to a chemical mechanical polishing pad having an integral identification feature and methods of making and using the same. Chemical mechanical planarization, or chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), is a common technique used to polish substrates, such as semiconductor wafers. In conventional CMP using a dual-axis rotary polisher, a wafer carrier, or polishing head,is mounted on a carrier assembly. The polishing head holds the wafer and positions it in contact with a polishing layer of a polishing pad within the polisher. The polishing pad typically exhibits a diameter greater than twice the diameter of the waferbeing planarized. During polishing, each of the polishing pad and the wafer is rotated about its respective central axis while the wafer is engaged with the polishing layer. The central axis of the wafer is offset relative to the central axis of thepolishing pad by a distance greater than the radius of the wafer such that the rotation of the pad sweeps out a ring-shaped "wafer track", the region on the polishing surface which contacts the wafer during polishing. When the only movement of the waferis rotational, the width of the wafer track is equal to the diameter of the wafer. However, in some dual-axis polishers, the wafer is oscillated in a plane perpendicular to its axis of rotation. In this case, the width of the wafer track is wider thanthe diameter of the wafer by an amount that accounts for the displacement due to the oscillation. To facilitate an increasing number of different polishing processes being implemented in, for example, the manufacture of integrated circuits and other electronic devices, many different chemical mechanical polishing pads have already beendeveloped and more are under active development. The suite of current chemical mechanical polishing pad options includes polishing layers compris

Carrier For Double-side Polishing Apparatus, Double-side Polishing Apparatus Using The Same, And Double-side Polishing Method - Patent 8118646

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:50:56 GMT

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The present invention relates to a carrier for a double-side polishing apparatus, the carrier holding a wafer when the wafer is polished in a double-side polishing apparatus, and a double-side polishing method using the apparatus.BACKGROUND ART When both surfaces of a wafer are simultaneously polished by polishing or the like, the wafer is held by a carrier for a double-side polishing apparatus. The carrier for a double-side polishing apparatus is formed so as to be thinner than thewafer and has a holding hole for holding the wafer at a predetermined position between an upper turn table and a lower turn table of a double-side polishing apparatus. The wafer is inserted into the holding hole and is held thereby, the upper and lowersurfaces of the wafer are sandwiched by polishing tools such as polishing pads provided on the faces of the upper turn table and the lower turn table, the faces at which the turn tables face each other, and polishing is performed while a polishing agentis supplied to the polished surface. Here, the carrier for a double-side polishing apparatus, the carrier used for such double-side polishing of a wafer, is mostly made of metal. It is for this reason that a resin ring is attached along an inner circumferential portion of the holding hole to protect an edge portion of the wafer from damage caused by the metal carrier for a double-side polishing apparatus. As described above, by performing polishing after attaching the resin ring between the holding hole of the carrier and the wafer, the edge portion of the wafer can be prevented from being damaged. However, when double-side polishing is performed in the above-described manner, if pressure is concentrated on the outer circumferential portion of the wafer, only the outer circumferential portion of the wafer is excessively polished due to,for example, the influence of the viscoelasticity of a polishing slurry or the polishing pad, so that an outer peripheral sag is generated. This outer perip

Method And Machine Tool For Machining An Optical Object - Patent 8118642

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:50:52 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Saturday, April 14, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The invention concerns the field of the fabrication of optical objects, such as ophthalmic lenses, molds or inserts, for example. The invention more particularly concerns a method of machining one face of such an optical object. 2. Description of the Related Art Machining optical objects generally necessitates particular attention as to the precision and the regularity of the machined shapes. In particular, machining defects linked to wear of the tool employed for this machining must be avoided. Under these conditions, complex and costly machines necessitating delicate calibration are generally employed in this field. For example, the document U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,587 describes a machine tool for lenses including a spherical tool mounted turning about its longitudinal axis, called the first axis, this tool moreover being orientable angularly by its pivotingabout a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. A part-carrier, intended to support the lens, is arranged in a similar manner and enables rotation of the lens about a third axis, coplanar with the first axis, and enables angular orientation of thelens by its pivoting about a fourth axis perpendicular to the third axis. There is also known from the document JP 2005 22 49 27 a machining method in the course of which a machining tool is positioned relative to a part to be machined so that the vector connecting a machining point and the center of the tool formswith the vector normal to the surface to be machined at said machining point a constant angle throughout the machining procedure.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the invention is to improve the machining devices and methods the precision whereof is adapted to the machining of optical objects. To this end, the invention is directed to a method of machining a face of an optical object, including a step of providing a machine tool that itself includes: a table for mounting an object to be machined, this table, which includ

Method Of Descaling Metal Wire Rod And Apparatus Therefor - Patent 8118643

Patents-312 — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 06:50:44 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Saturday, April 14, 2012

This invention relates to a method of removing scales from metal wires for removing scales generated in a process of stretching the metal wires such as steel wires, by using a high-pressure fluid mixed with an abrasive scavenging agent and to anapparatus therefor.BACKGROUND ART For example, in a process of hot-stretching steel wires by heating at a high temperature, a mill scale (black film) or a scale (oxide film) including the mill scale is generated on the surfaces. In order to remove these scales, a method now isemployed according to which the scales are trimmed off by using a ring-shaped peeling blade before entering a wire-stretching die. At present, further, a method of treatment with acid is frequently used in which metal wires in a pool of acid is dipped to dissolve and remove the scales. Patent document 1: JP-A-2001-32042DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTIONProblems to be Solved by the InventionProblems to be Solved by the Invention In the conventional mechanical peeling process, however, the peeling blade is worn out in a certain period of time and must be replaced. Here, since the blade has a ring-like shape, it becomes necessary to once cut the wire to replace theblade, and thereafter, deposit the wire. In this case, however, the wire loses consistency of quality, for instance having unstable electric resistance at the deposited portion. Above all, laborious work is required, further, causing a large time lossand pushing up the cost. Further, the scales often remain without being completely peeled off, causing stains to be burnt in the wire-stretching die. In the conventional treatment with acid, further, cumbersome work is required for treating the acidafter use, which pushes up the cost and undesirably affects the environment. This invention has been achieved in view of the above background art, and has an object of providing a method of removing scales from metal wires capable of reliably removing oxide films on the surfaces of the stretched metal wire

Method For The Simultaneous Grinding Of A Plurality Of Semiconductor Wafers - Patent 8113913

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:35:11 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for the simultaneous double-side grinding of a plurality of semiconductor wafers, wherein each semiconductor wafer lies such that it is freely moveable in a cutout of one of a plurality of carrierscaused to rotate by means of a rolling apparatus and is thereby moved on a cycloidal trajectory, wherein the semiconductor wafers are machined in material-removing fashion between two rotating ring-shaped working disks, wherein each working diskcomprises a working layer containing bonded abrasive. 2. Background Art Electronics, microelectronics and microelectromechanics require as starting materials (substrates) semiconductor wafers with extreme requirements made of global and local flatness, single-side-referenced local flatness (nanotopology), roughness,cleanness and freedom from impurity atoms, in particular metals. Semiconductor wafers are wafers made of semiconductor materials. Semiconductor materials are compound semiconductors such as, for example, gallium arsenide or elemental semiconductorssuch as principally silicon and occasionally germanium or else layer structures thereof. Layer structures include for example a device-carrying silicon upper layer on an insulating interlayer ("silicon on insulator", SOI), or a lattice-strained siliconupper layer on a silicon/germanium interlayer with germanium proportion increasing toward the upper layer, on a silicon substrate ("strained silicon", s-Si), or combinations of the two ("strained silicon on insulator", sSOI). Semiconductor materials are preferably used in monocrystalline form for electronic components or are preferably used in polycrystalline form for solar cells (photovoltaics). In order to produce the semiconductor wafers, in accordance with the prior art, a semiconductor ingot is produced which is firstly separated into thin wafers, usually by means of a multiwire saw ("multiwire slicing", MWS). This is followed byone or more machining st

Substrate Supporting Unit And Single Type Substrate Polishing Apparatus Using The Same - Patent 8113918

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:35:05 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

S This U.S. non-provisional patent application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119 of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2008-0062444, filed on Jun. 30, 2008, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention disclosed herein relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and method, and more particularly, to a substrate supporting unit for supporting a semiconductor substrate by a single substrate processing method and asubstrate polishing apparatus for polishing and cleaning a substrate using the substrate supporting unit. In a general semiconductor device manufacturing process, a plurality of processes such as a deposition process, a photo process, and an etching process are repeatedly performed to form and stack thin films on a wafer. Such processes arerepeated until a desired circuit pattern is formed on the wafer, and the surface of the wafer becomes uneven after the circuit pattern is formed. Recent highly-integrated semiconductor devices have a multi-layer structure, many surface bends, andincreased height differences between the surface bends. Since troubles, such as defocusing in a photo process, are caused by an uneven surface of a wafer, the uneven surface of the wafer should be periodically polished for planarizing the uneven surfaceof the wafer. Various surface planarization techniques have been developed for planarizing the surface of a wafer, and a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) technique is widely used among such planarization techniques because wide surfaces as well as narrowsurfaces can be planarized with good flatness by using the CMP technique. A CMP apparatus is used to polish the surface of a wafer coated with tungsten or an oxide by using mechanical friction and chemical abrasives, and fine polishing is possible usingthe CMP apparatus.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a substrate supporting unit and a single type substrate polishing app

Machine Tool, In Particular Hand-held Power Tool - Patent 8113922

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:48 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present invention relates to a machine tool, in particular a hand-held power tool such as an angle grinder, having a drive motor which drives atool, according to the preamble of claim 1.BACKGROUND INFORMATION DE 295 13 331 U1 describes a hand-guided angle grinder which includes an electric drive motor in a motor housing, the rotational motion of the rotor being transferred to the sanding disk of the angle grinder via a transmission which is locatedin a transmission housing. The motor housing and transmission housing are detachably secured to one another, in particular being inserted into one another. To improve cooling, hand-held power tools of this type may be provided with an air guide element in the housing, which directs an airstream which passes over and cools the drive motor out of the housing.DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based on the object of improving a machine tool, in particular a hand-held power tool, which includes an air guide element in the housing, the improvement being realized using simple design measures and ensuring that theair guide element may perform functions in addition to the air guide function. This object is achieved according to the present invention with the features of claim 1. The dependent claims describe expedient developments. The machine tool according to the present invention--which is a hand-held power tool in particular, e.g. an angle grinder--includes a drive motor which drives a tool, and an air guide element which is located in the housing of the machine tooland directs an airstream which passes over the drive motor to the outside. It is also provided that the air guide element includes a functional section which is part of the outer jacket surface of the machine tool. The air guide element is thereforenot integrated fully in the housing interior. Instead, the functional section of the air guide element extends through the housing. In this region, therefore, the jacket surface of the machin

Cut-off Wheel Comprising A Double Core Clamping Device - Patent 8113920

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:38 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

S The present application is a U.S. National Stage of International Patent Application No. PCT/AT2005/000413 filed Oct. 18, 2005, and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. .sctn.119 of Austrian Patent Application No. A 1749/2004 filed Oct. 19, 2004. Moreover, the disclosure of International Patent Application No. PCT/AT2005/000413 is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The instant invention relates to the composite system for a synthetic resin-bonded cut-off wheel with an outer diameter of greater than or equal to 400 mm and, in particular, to a synthetic resin-bonded cut-off wheel having a cutting ring withdepressions and two adapted edge-shaped clamping plates inserted into the depressions as reusable core clamping devices. 2. Discussion of Background Information Synthetic resin-bonded cut-off wheels starting at a diameter of greater than or equal to 400 mm are used at stationary separating facilities in the metal-generating and metal-processing industry, to cut steel, cast iron, special alloys,inconell, titanium, etc. The generally slight usability of conventional cutting wheels is a great disadvantage. In an ideal case, homogenous cut-off wheels can be used up to a minimum of 45% of the new diameter, but on average they can only be used up to 60% of theinitial diameter, however, these figures depend on available machines as well as large material measurements. Once used, the remaining residual discs must be disposed of at high costs according to national disposal guidelines. Another disadvantage is the use of raw material for the unused core zones in the cut-off wheel, which results in additionalcosts for the raw material sector despite the availability of alternative abrasive grain materials for reinforcement and resin portions of a cut-off wheel. European Patent 0 832 720 A2 describes a synthetic resin-bonded fabric-reinforced cut-off wheel by means of a non-positive bonding on a me

Grinding Worm, Profiling Gear And Process For The Profiling Of The Grinding Worm - Patent 8113915

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:36 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The invention concerns a grinding worm and a profiling gear, together with a process for the profiling of the grinding worm.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In gear drive engineering the efforts to increase the power concentration and reduce noise emission of the gear units are leading more and more to gears units and individual gears with three-dimensionally, i.e. topologically modified toothflanks. Thanks to such modifications, favourable tooth bearing and dynamic response behaviour of gear pairs in mesh can be achieved, although their tooth deformation alters under the variable loading. As a result of these efforts, gears are calculated,designed and manufactured which are provided with complex tooth flank modifications, e.g. in the form of tip and root relief, or of undulations which run parallel to the lines of contact of a gear pair. With the familiar methods and tools applied in generation grinding with a cylindrical grinding worm, workpieces with such tooth flank modifications can only be produced within limits, i.e. with considerable residual deviations or very extensiveprofiling resources. In EP-A-0'278'512 a cylindrical grinding worm is described with a pressure angle varying across the grinding worm width. This grinding worm permits the generation of spur and helical gears with crowned tooth flanks with or without bias. Adisadvantage of this solution is the residual deviations that occur due to the arc shaped locus of the path of contact between grinding worm and workpiece tooth flank in conjugate reproduction. A further disadvantage is the small number of workpiecesthat can be ground per grinding worm profiling operation. For since the modified grinding worm zone is used both for rough and for finish grinding, the high wear suffered during rough grinding has a negative effect on the ultimate accuracy. The last mentioned disadvantage is avoided in DE-A-197'06'867.7 (FIG. 1) in that the grinding worm is divided into several zones across its width, which

Chamfering Tool And Drum Sander - Patent 8113923

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:31 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present invention relates to a tool for chamfering and sanding objects that require rounding, bevelling or sanding including but not limited to wood, metal and plastic.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Various objects such as metal and plastic tools, furniture, wood dowels and pipes, require shaping, smoothing and finishing as they are assembled. The present invention provides a convenient tool that can be used for chamfering and sanding in adrill press or a three-jaw chuck.SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVENTION In an aspect of the present invention, a device for chamfering and sanding comprises: a cylindrical body having an open circular top and a closed bottom with the cylindrical body having a hollow conical interior, the conical interior defining aninterior surface, and with the conical interior also defining an outside diameter and an inside diameter, wherein a difference between the outside diameter and inside diameter defines a sidewall; a shaft attached to the bottom of the cylindrical body; afirst longitudinal slot in the side wall; and a second longitudinal slot in the sidewall. These and other features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following drawings, description and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross sectional side view of the device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a bottom top view of the device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a top view of the device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a cross sectional side view of the device in a use configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a top view of the device in a use configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6 is a bottom top view of the device containing an abrasive sheet according to an embodiment of the present invention.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In an

Bowling Ball Surface Treatment Apparatus - Patent 8113919

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:30 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

FIELD OF THEINVENTION The present invention pertains to a bowling ball surface treatment apparatus and, more specifically, to a bowling ball surface treatment apparatus capable of uniformly abrading and polishing a bowling ball while rotating the bowling ball in manydifferent directions.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Frictional rolling contact between a bowling ball and a lane often leaves irregular wear portions or scratches on a surface of the bowling ball. In particular, the bowling ball tends to make contact with the lane substantially at the samecircumferential area thereof, which may cause unbalanced wear of the bowling ball. The scratched or unevenly worn bowling ball looks ugly and use of the scratched or unevenly worn bowling ball makes it difficult for a bowler to exercise, e.g., spinskills at his or her desire due mainly to the unpredictable movement of the bowling ball. As a result, the scratch and the unbalanced wear may adversely affect the score of a bowling game, thus reducing amusement of the game played. Thus, the bowlingball needs to be periodically abraded into a perfect spherical shape with no or little scratch. There are a number of prior art references that disclose a device for automatically abrading a bowling ball. One of them is U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,896 that teaches a bowling ball resurfacing machine including three shafts disposed at an angle of120 degrees in such a manner as to support a bowling ball, three motors for rotating the corresponding shafts in a forward or reverse direction, and three cone-shaped abrading cups mounted on the shafts. Although this bowling ball resurfacing machinehas its own advantages, it suffers from a drawback in that a rolling direction or a rotation axis of the bowling ball cannot be vigorously changed during a resurfacing process. For this reason, the bowling ball resurfacing machine encounters adifficulty in uniformly abrading the whole surface of the bowling ball into a perfect sphere. Another prior

Straightening And Centerless Grinding Of Wire For Use With Medical Devices - Patent 8113916

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:22 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present invention relates to improved medical devices and methods of making the same. More particularly, the invention relates to improved methods of grinding an elongate shaft for use in medical devices such as guidewires or core wires incatheters.BACKGROUND A wide variety of medical devices have been developed for medical use. Some of these devices include an elongate shaft that has been ground along a portion of its length to give a desired profile. In particular, a common medical device havingan elongate shaft is a guidewire. Guidewires are commonly used for intraluminal procedures to provide and define a pathway to a body site for treatment such as intravascular access to a blockage in a coronary artery, access to the biliary tree to sampletissue, or access to cerebral vasculature for treatment of an aneurysm. The guidewire defines and maintains the pathway to the treatment site to allow other treatment devices, such as balloon catheters or stent delivery catheters, to be routed quicklyover the guidewire to the treatment site and continues to maintain the pathway during exchange of devices. Certain balloon catheters also incorporate an elongate shaft as a core wire to provide stiffening over a portion of the catheter's length. The core wire may be ground to include a taper to adjust or change the flexibility in that region. To be useful for the medical device applications described above, the wire used for form the guidewire or core wire must meet stringent specification with respect to size and straightness. Further, a change in profile may be desired over thewire's length in order to vary the flexibility of the device. Procedures have been developed to improve straightness and to create a desire profile. However, there is a need for improvement in these techniques to achieve tighter control over size,profile, and manufacturing costs.BRIEF SUMMARY The invention provides design, material and manufacturing method alternatives for producing wire hav

Tool Set For An Eccentric Grinder - Patent 8113921

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:14 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

CROSS-REFERENCE The invention described and claimed hereinbelow is also described in PCT/EP2007/064154, filed on Dec. 19, 2007 and DE 10 2007 007 787.6, filed on Feb. 16, 2007. This German Patent Application, whose subject matter is incorporated here byreference, provides the basis for a claim of priority of invention under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is directed to a tool set for an eccentric grinder having at least two grinding discs. A known hand-held sander (U.S. Pat. No. 5,018,314) designed as an eccentric grinder includes a circular grinding disc which is installed via a pivot bearing on an eccentric output shaft of an eccentric gearing driven by an electric motor. Thegrinding disc includes a support body and a grinding means carrier. The support body of the grinding disc includes a flat plate and a bearing tube which is designed as a single piece with the plate and extends away from the plate at a right angle, andin which the pivot bearing is inserted. The circular grinding means carrier composed of plastic bears in a planar manner against the plate of the support body and extends over the plate of the support body via its appropriately designed edge in themanner of a clip. A known grinding disc for a hand-held sander (EP 0 557 773 A1) includes a support plate composed of plastic, a cushion foamed onto the support plate as the carrier for a grinding means, and a steel disc located between them, as a reinforcingpart. The underside of the cushion forms a flat mounting surface for an abrasive disc and is provided with Velcro strips, to which the velour backing of the abrasive disc adheres. The support plate includes, on its top side which faces away from thesanding cushion, a mounting surface enclosed by a centering ring for placing the grinding disc on an eccentrically driven driving element of an eccentric grinder. To ensure that there is satisfactory running smoothness of the eccentric grinder, the eccent

Grinding Structure Having Micro Ball - Patent 8113917

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:12 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present invention relates to a grinding structure; more particularly, relates to melting a peak point of a micro device shaft into a micro ball with grinding particles deposited through composite electroplating.DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ARTS Technologies are advancing. Micro-molds and micro-machining are much more requested day by day. Take micro-devices in micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) as examples. They include micro-shafts, micro-pores, micro-channels, etc.; and are obtained through micro machining. Thus, micro-machining becomes important. Technologies for micro-machining includes laser machining, electro beam machining (EBM), ultrasonic machining (USM), ion beam machining (IBM), etching, electrical discharge machining (EDM), etc. Among them, the EDM is a low-cost machining forany hard and stretching conductive material, and can be used with other machining technology, like high-frequency magnetic grinding, electro-chemical machining (ECM), magnetic abrasive grinding, etc. For forming a micro-tool, most researches are aiming at circular pillars, triangle pillars, tetragonal pillars, pin tools, etc., where tool with micro-ball in front is rare. A prior art of a punch is obtained from a pin electrode to form amicro ball through EDM. Another prior art uses EDM to fabricate a shaft with a micro ball at a front end of a micro pure tungsten electrode. For the micro ball has a diameter of 40 mm and the shaft has a diameter of 30 mm with a length of 300 mm, theprior art is merely used as a probe owing to the big aspect ratio. A general ball cutter is fabricated through milling with a diamond grinder to be processed through a coating for obtaining the cutter. Besides, for a general diamond grinding tool, a diamond film is grown on a surface of the high-quality toolthrough a chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Although the diamond film obtained through the CVD is good in strength, uniformity and density, its fabricating cost is high. Hence, the prior a

Treating Method For Brittle Member - Patent 8113914

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:07 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present invention relates to a treating method for a brittle member when applying desired processing such as transportation and grinding back surface of a brittle member such as a semi-conductor wafer.DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART According to popularization of IC Card in recent years, reducing the thickness of a semi-conductor wafer which is constitutional member for manufacturing IC chip progresses. It being required that a thickness of the wafer which isconventionally 350 .mu.m and the like is to make thinner as 50 to 100 .mu.m or less. As the wafer which is a brittle member becomes thinner, possibilities of breakage becomes higher when processing or transporting. Therefore, in case that grinding the wafer until ultra thin and transporting the ultra thin wafer, it ispreferable to proceed operation thereof with fixing and protecting the wafer on a hard plate such as a glass plate or acrylic plate by a double-sided adhesive sheet and the like. However, according to a method for laminating the wafer and the hard plate by the double-sided adhesive sheet, wafer is broken at sometimes, when separating both members after finishing a series of process. When separating multilayer membercomposed of two sheets of thin layer member, it is necessary to curve or bend (hereinafter referred to as "bend") one of the thin layer member or both members for separating. However, since it is impossible or very hard to bend the hard plate, the waferside has to be curved inevitably. Therefore, the wafer is broken since strain is loaded to the wafer which is brittle. As means for solving these problems, variety of methods are proposed which are a method for operating separation by reducing deformation of the wafer as much as possible, a method for operating separation after the wafer is reinforced bylaminating a protection film to the wafer and the like, further as means for fixing the wafer to the hard plate, a method for separation wherein an adhesive agent or double-sided ad

Eyeglass Lens Processing Apparatus - Patent 8113912

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 23:34:05 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present invention relates to an eyeglass lens processing apparatus for processing an eyeglass lens. An eyeglass lens processing apparatus is known in which an eyeglass lens chucked between lens chucks (lens rotary shafts) is processed by a roughing grindstone and a finishing grindstone disposed in a processing chamber. Such an apparatusincludes grinding water supply means for supplying cooling grinding water to a contact portion between the grindstone and the lens so as to reduce a heat generated during a processing of the lens and to clean processing refuse attached to the lens. Additionally, since the processing refuse of the lens flies in the processing chamber due to a rotation of the grindstone or are accumulated in a drainage port provided at the bottom portion of the processing chamber during the processing of the lens(particularly, in case of a polycarbonate lens, etc. requiring a heat during the processing), some apparatuses include cleaning water supply means for flowing cleaning water to the downside of the processing chamber. As a method of supplying a water to the inside of the processing chamber, there are known a water circulation type in which the water stored in a water tank is supplied by use of a pump and a water pipe direct connection type in which anelectromagnetic valve is attached to a pipe extending from a water pipe and the water is directly supplied in terms of a water pressure of the water pipe. Additionally, since drainage of the processing chamber contains the processing refuse, some apparatuses include a filter device such as a centrifugal separator for separating the water from the processing refuse. Such a filter device should benecessarily used in the water circulation type, and needs to be desirably used in the water pipe direct connection type. In the known apparatus, since the cleaning water is supplied from the cleaning water supply means at a normal time during the processing of the lens irrespective of the material of th

Method And Apparatus For Cleaning A Jet Engine - Patent 8109807

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:11:13 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the priority of German Patent Application No. 10 2008 021 746.8, filed Apr. 30, 2008, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION The invention relates to an apparatus, an arrangement and a method for cleaning an aircraft jet engine.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Aircraft jet engines possess in a known way one or more compressor stages, a combustion chamber and also one or more turbine stages. In the turbine stages, the hot combustion gases coming from the combustion chamber discharge part of theirthermal and mechanical energy which is utilized in order to drive the compressor stages. Jet engines of commercial aircraft nowadays have most predominantly what is known as a turbofan which is arranged upstream of the compressor stages and, as a rule,has a considerably larger diameter than the compressor stages. The turbofan is likewise driven by the turbine stages and allows a considerable part of the air flowing overall through the engine to flow as what is known as a secondary airstream past thecompressor stages, the combustion chamber and the turbine stages. By means of such a secondary stream, the efficiency of an engine can be increased considerably, and, moreover, care can also be taken to ensure an improved noise insulation of the engine. A contamination of an aircraft jet engine may lead to a reduction in efficiency, thus resulting in an increased fuel consumption and consequently in increased environmental pollution. The contamination may be caused, for example, by insects,dust, salt mist or other environmental impurities. Parts of the engine may be contaminated by combustion residues from the combustion chamber. These impurities form a coating on those parts of an aircraft engine through which air flows, and aredetrimental to the surface quality. The thermodynamic efficiency of the engine is consequently impaired. In this case, in particular, mention must be m

Method Of Surface-finishing Glass Substrate For Magnetic Disks And Glass Substrate For Magnetic Disks - Patent 8109808

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:11:07 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

1. Technical Field The present invention relates to a method of surface-finishing a glass substrate for a magnetic disk used in a hard disk drive and relates to a glass substrate for a magnetic disk. 2. Background Art Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-230621) discloses that attention is focused on the fact that one of the factors governing the mechanical strength of a glass substrate for a magnetic disk is flawspresent on the surface of the inner peripheral edge of the substrate where the maximum tensile stress will occur during the operation of the magnetic disk, and that at least the end face of the inner periphery is etched to achieve a predetermined surfaceroughness. The glass substrate described in Patent Document 1 has the surface of the inner peripheral edge or the outer peripheral edge such that, as measured with a three-dimensional SEM at least randomly selected four places with a reference length of240 .mu.m and a cut-off wavelength of Ra of 80 .mu.m, the mean value of Ra is in the range of 1.0 to 6.0 .mu.m and the mean value of the number of peaks is in the range of 8 to 30. Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent No. 3527075) discloses that a glass substrate has a predetermined surface roughness in order to prevent the generation of particles that cause thermal asperity on the glass substrate for a magnetic disk. Thisdocument is not aimed directly at an increase in the mechanical strength of the glass substrate. The glass substrate has a surface roughness Ra of less than 1 .mu.m and an Rmax of 0.010 to 4 .mu.m (10 to 4,000 nm) at the inner peripheral edge (chamferand side wall). Patent Document 2 describes "edges of the glass substrate subjected to chemical etching (chemical polishing) have satin-finished surfaces. Edge treatment, e.g., chemical etching, that has been performed in the past is not sufficient . . .(snip) . . . . Chemical etching is disadvantageously liable to lead to misalignment of the axes of

Eccentric Transmission With An Imbalance - Patent 8109809

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:11:06 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

CROSS-REFERENCE The invention described and claimed hereinbelow is also described in PCT/EP 2005/054119, filed on Aug. 22, 2005 and DE 102004050800.3, filed on Oct. 19, 2004. This German Patent Application, whose subject matter is incorporated here byreference, provides the basis for a claim of priority of invention under 35 U.S.C. 119 (a)-(d).BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based on an eccentric transmission with an imbalance compensation element. The prior art already includes proposals to equip a hand-held power tool with an eccentric transmission that is provided to convert a revolving rotary motion of an armature shaft into an oscillating rotary motion of a drive shaft in order todrive an insert tool of the hand-held power tool to oscillate. Known eccentric transmissions have disk-shaped imbalance compensation elements that are slid or press-fitted onto the drive shaft.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is based on an eccentric transmission with an imbalance compensation element and with an eccentric element for converting a revolving rotary motion of an armature shaft into an oscillating rotary motion of a drive shaft inorder to drive an insert tool of a hand-held power tool to oscillate. According to the invention, the imbalance compensation element is integral to an additional functional unit. This makes it possible to reduce the number of components and save on production costs and also permits the ruggedness of the eccentrictransmission to be increased. This also has the capacity to advantageously eliminate error sources in an assembly process. In the context of this application, the term "eccentric element" is understood to indicate a device with a drive element situated eccentric to a rotation axis, in particular a drive pin, which, in a particularly advantageous embodiment, can havetwo offset axes parallel to each other. The imbalance compensation element generates a compensation imbalance that is situated opposi

Polishing Slurries - Patent 8105135

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:33:02 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Disclosure The present disclosure is generally related to polishing slurries and methods for polishing workpieces or components, and in particular, polishing slurries incorporating a liquid medium and a particulate abrasive and methods for utilizing thesame. 2. Description of the Related Art Across a wide range of industries it is common to machine workpieces or components, including metal and ceramic components as well as composite components. One mature and intensely studied industry area includes the polishing of semiconductorsubstrates by a process that is known as chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP), in which a slurry is both mechanically and chemically active to remove the deposited materials from a semiconductor substrate. Other art areas have focused purely onmechanical removal, through use of abrasive slurries (also know as free abrasives), containing abrasive particulate material such as diamond, as well as a host of ceramic oxide and non-oxide materials. Among the many types of ceramic and metal components that are subjected to post-formation machining, components formed of hard ceramic materials such as silicon carbide represent a particular challenge. Such components have found industrial usein a wide array of applications, including structural, refractory, and semiconductor processing components. Due to processing constraints associated with conventional ceramic processing including natural process tolerances, ceramic components such assilicon carbide components oftentimes require post-forming machining in which the components are in a densified form but require surface finishing. Given the hardness of typical ceramic components, it is generally laborious, expensive, and timeconsuming to effect final stage machining, which oftentimes includes polishing. In light of the foregoing, many industries continue to seek polishing slurries or free-abrasives and process methodology associated therewith that simultaneously achiev

Low Pressure Polishing Method And Apparatus - Patent 8105134

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:32:37 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

This invention relates to a method of polishing surfaces and an apparatus for polishing or modifying floor surfaces.BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF INVENTION Concrete is traditionally used for floors in both residential and commercial applications in view of its robustness and economic benefits. Depending upon the circumstances, the concrete may be left unfinished, partially finished or completelyfinished wherein a high gloss decorative service is obtained. In warehouses, factories, etc., concrete floors are routinely cleaned by rotary driven machines that employ brushes located on the underside of the machinery whereby the machinery traverses the floor to provide a clean surface. Typically thesefloor cleaning machines have a tendency of progressively deteriorating the surface of the concrete floor. This is caused by the bristles extending into the naturally occurring crevices in the concrete floor thus causing minute particles of the concreteto break away. Through the repeated cleaning utilizing this floor polishing machine is then typically employed to treat the surface of the floor so as to restore the floor back to a desirable appearance. Typically the flooring machines that are used on a routine basis sit idle as they have a limited purpose, which is to clean the floor. These traditional flooring machines are not used to polish the floor, but merely for the single purpose ofcleaning the floor. Likewise, a separate floor polishing machine traditionally is used for the sole purpose of polishing the concrete floor when the floor condition has sufficiently deteriorated. Accordingly, because these machines have limitedpurposes, they are seldom used, thus creating inefficiencies for a business. It will be desirable to forego the aforementioned costly steps by providing an improved cleaning and honing brush that works as an attachment to an ordinary cleaning machine, such as a Tennant or Advance brand scrubber machine. It would bedesirable to provide an improved cl

Method And Apparatus For Removing Material From Microfeature Workpieces - Patent 8105131

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:32:00 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present invention is directed toward methods and apparatus for removing material from microfeature workpieces in the manufacturing of microelectronic devices, micromechanical devices, and/or microbiological devices. Several embodiments ofmethods and apparatus in accordance with the invention are directed toward subpads and pad assemblies for mechanically removing material from microfeature workpieces.BACKGROUND One class of processes for removing materials from microfeature workpieces uses abrasive particles to abrade the workpieces either with or without a liquid solution. For example, mechanical and chemical-mechanical processes (collectively "CMP")remove material from microfeature workpieces in the production of microelectronic devices and other products. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a rotary CMP machine 10 with a platen 20, a head 30, and a planarizing pad 40. The CMP machine 10 may alsohave a conventional subpad 25 between an upper surface 22 of the platen 20 and a lower surface of the planarizing pad 40. A drive assembly 26 rotates the platen 20 (indicated by arrow F) and/or reciprocates the platen 20 back and forth (indicated byarrow G). Since the planarizing pad 40 is attached to the subpad 25, the planarizing pad 40 moves with the platen 20 during planarization. The head 30 has a lower surface 32 to which a microfeature workpiece 12 may be attached, or the workpiece 12 may be attached to a resilient pad 34 in the head 30. The head 30 may be a weighted, free-floating wafer carrier, or the head 30 may beattached to an actuator assembly 36 (shown schematically) to impart rotational motion to the workpiece 12 (indicated by arrow J) and/or reciprocate the workpiece 12 back and forth (indicated by arrow I). The planarizing pad 40 and a planarizing solution 44 define a planarizing medium that mechanically and/or chemically-mechanically removes material from the surface of the workpiece 12. The planarizing solution 44 may be a conventional CMPslurr

Eccentric Grinder - Patent 8105132

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:31:53 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present invention is directed to an eccentric grinderaccording to the preamble of Claim 1.BACKGROUND INFORMATION DE 39 06 549 C2 describes an eccentric grinder that includes an electric drive motor in a housing, the drive shaft of which drives a support shaft of a grinding plate--on the underside of which grinding means are to be attached--via an eccentricsupport. Via the eccentric support of the support shaft, a superposed circular and rotary working motion of the grinding plate--and the grinding means attached thereto--is attained. In the working position, the grinding plate and the grinding means arepressed against the surface of the workpiece to be worked. Due to the support of the support shaft on the drive shaft, the grinding plate may rotate around its own axis only under certain conditions. When the eccentric grinder idles, however, i.e.,when the grinding plate is lifted away from the workpiece to be worked, there is a risk that the grinding plate will begin to rotate at the rotational speed of the drive shaft, due to the bearing friction. To limit the self-rotation of the grinding plate when the eccentric grinder idles, a friction brake is provided, which includes interacting frictional elements on the grinding plate and on the underside--which faces the grinding plate--of thehousing of the eccentric grinder. With the friction brake, when the eccentric grinder idles, an outwardly lying rolling rim on the grinding plate may walk around an inwardly located, associated rolling rim on the housing, in which case self-rotation ofthe grinding disk is not prevented, but the rotational speed of the grinding disk may be reduced--as compared with the rotational speed of the motor--given that the outer rolling rim and the inner rolling rim are separated. Self-rotation is not entirelyprevented in this embodiment, however.DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to design a generic eccentric grinder in such a manner that the self-rota

Airfoil Mask, Airfoil And Mask System - Patent 8105133

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 09:31:47 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

This application claims priority to Singapore Application No. 200800203.2, filed Jan. 9, 2008.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This application relates to a mask for a trailing edge of an airfoil. Airfoils, such as used as compressor blades for gas turbine engines, are in part formed with a shearing operation. The leading edge of the airfoil is initially an unprofiled blunt edge after the shearing operation. Typically, the airfoil and the rest of the blade are placed in a high speed media finishing centrifuge. Media is directed at high speed toward the leading edge such that the initial blunt edge is formed into a smoother rounded edge in a finaldesired shape that helps facilitate airflow. Essentially, small stones are moved at a high speed toward the leading edge to create the rounded surface. In the prior art, the remainder of the airfoil which does not need rounding is masked by tape. Although the tape does protect the airfoil, the tape does not serve to direct the media toward the leading edge. Instead, the thin vinyl tape onlyserves to protect the non-repaired area from erosion by preventing contact from media.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the disclosed embodiment of this invention, a mask for a trailing edge of an airfoil is formed to have a slot extending from an open end inwardly to an inner end. A thicker portion of the mask is spaced further away from the open end andthinner portions are spaced toward the open end. The thicker portion of the mask serves to redirect media stones toward the leading edge, thus creating a more efficient media finishing operation. These and other features of the present invention can be best understood from the following specification and drawings, the following of which is a brief description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a blade and mask. FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the mask and blade within a centrifuge. FIG. 3 shows the removal of the mask from the blade.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE P

Corner Saw - PDF

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:30:23 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present disclosure relates generally to an apparatus for cutting/shaping various materials including stone and other materials. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to an apparatus for cutting corner pieces formed of stone orother materials for use as building faces.BACKGROUND Saws for cutting stone and similar materials are known in the art. Stone may be laid as a structural component or as an aesthetic cladding or veneer on houses, buildings, walls, flooring, etc. There is a demand for corner pieces of facing stonethat can be placed on the corner of a building such as a house. Preferably, the corner pieces have an interior corner cut into the stone so that the stone can be placed on the outside corner of a building, giving the appearance of stone construction. A clean finished product is important to the appearance of the corner piece. Many of the prior art corner cutting systems do not provide the stability needed during the cutting process for a clean, precise cut of the corner in the stone. Someprior art methods include cutting corner pieces by hand using freestanding rock saws, resulting in unwanted spoilage and requiring saw operators to work in close proximity to an exposed blade. Improvements in corner cutting systems are desired.SUMMARY One aspect of the present disclosure relates to an apparatus for cutting stone and other various materials including two conveyor structures arranged at a right angle to each other and two cutting blades arranged at right angles to each otherwherein the distances between the cutting blades and the surfaces of the conveyor structures may correspond to the thickness of respective stone walls forming a corner piece. The cutting apparatus may also be used to cut flat workpieces by using asingle blade. In one example embodiment, the cutting apparatus includes a frame with a first and a second conveyor operatively attached to the frame. The first and the second conveyors are configured to carry a workpiec

Polishing Apparatus - Patent 8100743

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:30:21 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

Substrate Holding Apparatus, Polishing Apparatus, And Polishing Method - Patent 8100739

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:30:07 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate holding apparatus for holding a substrate as a workpiece to be polished and pressing the substrate against a polishing surface, and more particularly to a substrate holding apparatus for holding asubstrate, such as a semiconductor wafer or the like, in a polishing apparatus which planarizes a substrate by polishing the substrate. The present invention also relates to a polishing apparatus having such a substrate holding apparatus, and apolishing method which is carried out by such a polishing apparatus. 2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, semiconductor devices have become more integrated, and structures of semiconductor elements have become more complicated. Further, the number of levels in multi-level interconnects used for a logical system has been increased. Accordingly, irregularities on a surface of a semiconductor device become increased, so that step heights on the surface of the semiconductor device tend to be larger. This is because, in a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, a thin film isformed on a semiconductor substrate, then micromachining processes, such as patterning or forming holes, are performed on the semiconductor substrate, and these processes are repeated many times to form subsequent thin films on the semiconductorsubstrate. When irregularities of a surface of a semiconductor device are increased, the following problems arise: A thickness of a film formed in a portion having a step is relatively small when a thin film is formed on a semiconductor device. An opencircuit is caused by the disconnection of interconnects, or a short circuit is caused by insufficient insulation between interconnect layers. As a result, good products cannot be obtained, and yield tends to be reduced. Further, even if a semiconductordevice initially works normally, reliability of the semiconductor device is lowered after long-term use. At a time of exposure dur

Corner Sander - Patent 8100744

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:29:51 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

The present invention relates to sanding devices and in particular relates to corner sanding devices used for sanding of internal corners wherein the walls are covered with wallboard and/or drywall.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Presently walls in residential and commercial structures are finished using wall board which is generally screwed or nailed to vertical wooden and/or metal studs, the gaps between the individual boards are covered with a joint reinforcementwhich is either a paper and/or a mesh and thereafter a drywall compound is applied thereon. In this patent application the words wallboard and/or drywall are used interchangeably to mean the same thing, namely gypsum board which is covered with paperand used for creation of walls prior to drywall compound being applied. Of particular importance is the finishing of internal corners which are created at the juncture of two wallboards coming together at a corner location. Presently a gap usually exists between the two wall boards which abut each other at the corner. In order to bridge this gap to prevent future cracking of the drywall compound a layer of paper and/or mesh is applied into the corner andthereafter the drywall compound is liberally applied for subsequent sanding. The present device relates to the tool and mechanism used for sanding of the drywall compound after the joint paper and the drywall compound has been applied and dried. There are a number of prior art devices and in particular U.S. Pat. No. 6,325,708 by Jody W. Miles filed on Sep. 28, 2000 and issued on Dec. 4, 2001 titled Device for Sanding a Drywall Corner describes and teaches a corner sander including abase made up of left and right planar wall members which meet at a juncture and/or as in our case at the tip and form a generally v-shape support for the abrasive media to be placed there upon. The V-shaped support is so designed that the sanding padmore aggressively sands the areas in and around the juncture (the tip) of the base

Grinding Method For Wafer Having Crystal Orientation - Patent 8100742

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:29:50 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer grinding method for grinding a wafer having crystal orientation. 2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device fabrication process, a plurality of crossing division lines called streets are formed on the front side of a substantially disk-shaped semiconductor wafer to thereby partition a plurality of rectangular regions wheredevices such as ICs and LSIs are respectively formed. The semiconductor wafer having many devices as mentioned above is divided along these streets to thereby obtain individual semiconductor chips. Also in the case of a wafer composed of a substrate oflithium tantalate, for example, and a plurality of piezoelectric elements provided in the substrate, the wafer is cut along predetermined streets to obtain individual chips, which are widely used in electrical equipment. To reduce the size and weight of each chip, the back side of the wafer is usually ground to reduce the thickness of the wafer to a predetermined thickness prior to dividing the wafer along the streets to obtain the individual chips. Further, aso-called early dicing is generally performed as a wafer dividing method such that the wafer is not fully cut into the individual chips by a cutting apparatus, but a groove having a predetermined depth corresponding to the finished thickness of each chipis formed along each street on the front side of the wafer, and the back side of the wafer is next ground until the bottom of each groove is exposed to the back side of the wafer. It is known that a grinding apparatus for grinding the back side of the wafer includes a chuck table for holding the wafer as a workpiece and grinding means having an annular grinding wheel for grinding the upper surface (back side) of the waferheld on the chuck table, wherein the back side of the wafer is ground by rotating the chuck table, rotating the grinding wheel, and feeding the grinding wheel so that the lower end surface or

Grinding Machine And Method For Grinding Work Pieces Between Centers And For Centerless Grinding In Which The Work Piece Can Be Supported Between A Grinding Wheel, And A Regulating - Patent 8100738

Patents-312 — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:29:10 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Friday, April 13, 2012

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims the priority of Swiss Patent Application No. 0194/07, filed Feb. 6, 2007, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The invention pertains to a grinding machine for grinding work pieces between centers and for centerless grinding, as well as to a grinding method for grinding a work piece between centers. The invention pertains, in particular, to a grinding machine that makes it possible to combine the advantages of grinding between centers with those of centerless grinding. In the well-known traditional method of grinding between centers, the main advantage can be seen in that all ground diameters have the same well-defined center on the work piece axis that lies between the centers. The disadvantage of thismethod is the higher costs caused by the need for centers. The work piece frequently needs to be processed in steps because a driving device initially needs to be attached in order to turn the work piece. In centerless cylindrical grinding, in contrast, the work piece is merely placed on a rest between a grinding wheel and a regulating wheel. The rotation of the work piece is realized with the drive of the regulating wheel, and the grindingprocess is carried out with the driven grinding wheel. Due to this constructive design, there is no need for centers. The advantage of this method can be seen in that it is faster and more economical, particularly for large batch sizes. However, itsdisadvantages are the usually quite high tool costs and the fact that shafts are, under certain circumstances, no longer concentric to centers or bores, etc. For example, the commercially available machine "Kronos L dual" by Mikrosa utilizes a technique that is also referred to as dual grinding. Dual grinding is a combination of the above-described methods. The shafts or parts are initially groundbetween centers. In this case, the work piece is driven by a work pie

Honing Tool Having Enhanced Wear Resistance Properties - Patent 8096859

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:47:48 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

The present invention relates to a honing tool for honing holes in workpieces, and more particularly, to a honing tool having a first abrasive layer therearound of abrasive particles of a first size, including a region having a second abrasivelayer of abrasive layers of a second size sufficiently smaller than the first size, so as to be disposed in interstices between abrasive particles of the first abrasive layer without altering the diametrical size of the first layer, and so as to provideenhanced wear resistance. The tool has particularly good utility for honing blind holes.BACKGROUND ART Honing generally involves moving a honing tool reciprocatingly through a hole or bore of a workpiece, with an outer abrasive surface of the tool in abrading contact with the surface defining the hole or bore, and while rotating the tool. Typically, it is desired to impart very precise cylindricality and roundness to the surface of defining the hole, and a fine surface finish (cross-hatch pattern, etc.) may be sought. Any significant taper, barrel shape, skew, out of roundness, or otherdeviation is considered bad, and could result in scrapping of the workpiece. Cost is also typically important, and thus the consumption rate of honing tools (tool wear) is a concern. Patterns of tool wear are also of concern, as if the abrasive surface of a honing tool wears unevenly, this may produce a corresponding unevenness or non-uniformity in the surface of the hole or bore being honed. Some honing applications, particularly blind holes or bores, that is, holes that have an open end and an opposite closed or blind end, and stepped holes, can present a problem by preventing or limiting movements (overstroking) of the honing toolin one direction, particularly the direction beyond the closed or blind end, or the step. This can be a problem, as the portion of the abrasives on the end of the honing tool used for honing near or to the blind or stepped end of the hole are inabrading contact wit

Power Tool, In Particular Angle Grinder - Patent 8096857

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:47:43 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

Prior art with respect to the general construction: Angle grinders, in particular those for one-handed operation, typically have an electric motor comprising a pole piece and an armature as well as a bevel gear, comprising a pinion, ring gear, and work spindle. The armature shaft is supported inthe motor housing, and the pole piece is usually press-fitted into this housing. The brush holders are likewise as a rule secured in the motor housing. The motor cannot be operated outside the motor housing, since the motor housing has the function ofpositioning the components relative to one another. The pinion is seated directly on the armature shaft of the motor. The gear can likewise not be operated without the armature shaft, since this shaft takes on the function of a gear input shaft. Further, prior art with respect to the gear: The right-angle gear of an electrically operated angle grinder has the tasks of deflecting the flow of force by 90.degree. C. and stepping down the rpm of the typically high-speed electric motor to the lower working rpm. The drive pinion is typically secured directly to the armature shaft of the electric motor and drives the power takeoff spindle via a ring gear. The spindle is supported in the gearbox at two bearing points, one on either side of the ring gear. The bearing points of the motor shaft are typically located in the gearbox and in the motor housing. The fixed bearing of the motor shaft is typically disposed between the pinion and the fan on the armature shaft, while the loose bearing is located onthe shaft end toward the collector. The result is accordingly an assembly with a "floating" pinion. Further, prior art with respect to the motor mount: Electric tools typically have an electric motor, comprising a pole piece and an armature, and the armature shaft is supported in the motor housing, and the pole piece is typically press-fitted into that housing. The brush holders are likewiseas a rule secured in the motor housing.SU

Pre- And Post-process Bore Gaging Using A Honing Feed System Equipped With Feed Force Sensing - Patent 8096853

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:47:41 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

This invention relates generally to gaging of bores, to be honed, and after being honed, and more particularly, to bore gaging using a feed force sensing capability of a feed system of a honing machine, for purposes such as to achieve improvedaccuracy, and making compensation for predicted tool wear for honing the compensation.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Cloutier, et al, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/596,836 entitled Honing Feed System Having Full Control of Feed Force, Rate and Position, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,371,149, is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. The disclosureof Cloutier, et al, U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/842,321, filed Sep. 5, 2006, is also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Currently some new models of honing machines available from Sunnen Products Company are using a feed force sensing device to improve the control and results of the honing process. This technology is described in detail in the above-referencedpending U.S. and international patent applications, Cloutier, et al, Honing Feed System Having Full Control of Feed Force, Rate and Position. Essentially, according to the present invention, the type of feed system described in the above-referenced pending patent application, and other feed systems with force sensing capability, can be used in conjunction with the honing tool itselfto produce reliable pre- and post-processing gaging of the finished bore, or hole, herein interchangeably referred to by the term bore. Furthermore the data gathered and processed by the machine control computer during this step can be used to makeaccurate compensations for abrasive wear of the honing tool. Current bore measuring methods can be generally categorized as post-process methods and in-process methods. The in-process methods primarily consist of either a plug gage that tries to enter the bore during the process or an air gage probe,either separate or built into the tool, measuring the bore during the proc

Machine Tool And Tool, Both With An Automatic Balancing Device - Patent 8096854

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:47:17 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION The invention described and claimed hereinbelow is also described in German Patent Application DE 102006052115.3 filed on Nov. 6, 2006. This German Patent Application, whose subject matter is incorporated here by reference, provides the basisfor a claim of priority of invention under 35 U.S.C. 119(a)-(d).BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a machine tool, preferably a power tool for rotationally driving a preferably disk-shaped tool, e.g., an angle grinder, a polisher, or a circular saw. The present invention also relates to a tool for a machinetool, preferably a disk-shaped tool. When working with machine tools, and with power tools in particular, vibrations occur that may be more or less intense. These vibrations result from an imbalance between the masses of the machine tool and the tool, which are rotating at a highrotational speed. The disk-shaped tools used today, such as grinding disks, rough grinding disks, or polishing disks, have relatively great imbalances and/or a high scattering of imbalance due to the manufacturing processes involved, therefore resultingin intense vibrations of the machine tool at high rotational speeds. These vibrations are transmitted to the operator via the handles and may even result in injury if the machine tool is used for a longer period of time. Standards and working guidelines therefore assign limiting values to vibrations. Thelimiting values for the maximum permissible imbalance that is permitted according to the standards are too high to meet the operator's increased requirements for comfort. The vibrations resulting from imbalances may also tire the operator quickly andresult in increased wear, of the drive and the bearings of the machine tool in particular. It would be feasible in theory to balance tools or machine tools by installing balancing weights or by removing material in specific areas. A procedure of this type would require a great deal of

Polishing Pad Conditioner - Patent 8096858

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:47:16 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

This invention relates to a polishing pad conditioner used to remove clogging substances and foreign matter from a polishing pad used in a chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process.DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART CMP polishing is employed, for example, in machines for polishing semiconductor wafer surfaces, machines used in integrated circuit manufacture for surface planarization at the wiring and insulation layer formation stage, and machines forplanarizing aluminium platters and glass platters utilized as hard disk substrates. In a typical method of CMP polishing, a urethane polishing pad is adhered to a rotating base plate and the rotating plate is pressed onto the surface to be polishedwhile supplying a slurry containing fine abrasive grains thereto. The polishing performance of the polishing pad naturally declines with time in service. In order to mitigate the decline, the polishing pad is conditioned at regular time intervals bygrinding off its surface region so as to keep a fresh surface constantly exposed. The unit that conducts the conditioning is called a "conditioner". It is fabricated by bonding abrasive grains to a metal substrate by electrodeposition, brazing or thelike. Brazing generally enables strong bonding of the abrasive grains because the brazing metal can be melted by increasing its temperature so as to make some elements of the abrasive grains chemically bond with some elements of the brazing metal. Japanese Patent Publication (A) No. S62-34705 teaches a tool that bonds an abrasive grain layer to a support using Pd--Cr--B--Ni type brazing metal. Japanese Patent Publication (A) No. H3-131475 teaches a brazing method using a brazing metal containingelements that readily form carbides, such as Fe, Mo and the like. Japanese Patent Publication (A) No. H10-175156 teaches a conditioner brazed using a brazing metal containing at least one of Ti, Zr and Cr.SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As clear from the foregoing, brazing of abrasive grains to

Accessory With Hub For Use With Multiple Types Of Rotary Tool Mandrels - Patent 8096855

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:47:08 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

BACKGROUND This application is a divisional of co-pending application Ser. No. 11/387,670, filed on Mar. 23, 2006, the disclosure of which is herein totally incorporated by reference in its entirety. This invention relates to the field of hand held rotary tools and related accessories. Hand held rotary tools are widely used by many people, including craftspeople, homeowners, and artists. These rotary tools typically include an outer housing designed to be easily held within a human hand. The housing retains an electric motorwhich is operable to drive a rotatable chuck of the rotary tool. A mandrel may be releasably coupled to the chuck so as to be rotatably driven by the rotary tool. In turn, an accessory may be releasably secured to the mandrel thereby enabling therotary tool to rotatably drive the accessory. The accessory may be a cut-off wheel, a polishing wheel, a grinding wheel, a sanding disc, or any other similar member. There exists a variety of mandrels that are configured to releasably secure an accessory thereto. One such mandrel includes a base having a threaded aperture and a clamping screw that cooperate to clamp the accessory to the mandrel between thebase and the clamping screw. With the accessory so clamped, rotation of the mandrel by the rotary tool causes rotation of the accessory thereby allowing the user to perform work on a workpiece. In order to change an accessory that is secured to a mandrel of the type described above, it is typically necessary to loosen and remove the clamping screw from the base. Of course, in order to loosen the clamping screw, the user must firstobtain an appropriately sized screwdriver, which may not be immediately available to the user. Furthermore, some users find the task of turning a screw tedious. Also, once the clamping screw is separated from meshing engagement from the base, theclamping screw is susceptible to being inadvertently dropped and lost since it is a relatively small, separate component. M

In-situ Performance Prediction Of Pad Conditioning Disk By Closed Loop Torque Monitoring - Patent 8096852

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:47:02 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

FIELD OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad used in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) to manufacture semiconductor devices.BACKGROUND A conventional CMP machine includes a rotating polishing pad, a wafer carrier and a conditioning disk with an abrasive surface used to condition the polishing pad. During CMP processing, a liquid slurry of abrasive particles is poured onto therotating polishing pad and a semiconductor wafer is placed in the wafer carrier. The wafer carrier presses the wafer against the slurry and the rotating polishing pad while the carrier moves the wafer across the width of the polishing pad. The chemicalreaction with the slurry and the physical erosion due to the contact with the abrasive particles causes material to be removed from the wafer and evens out any irregular topography, making the exposed wafer surface planar. The conditioning disk includesan abrasive surface and is coupled to an arm that rotates the conditioning disk and sweeps the conditioning disk abrasive surface against the polishing pad surface. The conditioning disk keeps the particles removed from the wafer from accumulating onthe polishing pad surface and maintains the uniform abrasive character of the polishing pad. In a normal CMP system, the conditioning disk actuator applies a constant compressive force to press the conditioning disk against the polishing pad. The conditioning disk also rotates at a constant rate of rotation and the conditioning disk ismoved across the radius of the polishing pad at a constant sweep rate. When a new polishing pad and a new conditioning disk are installed in a CMP machine, the abrasive surface of the conditioning tends to be very sharp and the rate of material removalfrom the polishing pad is initially high. During the life of the conditioning disk, the abrasive surface is worn down and the sharpness of the conditioning disk is reduced. This causes the rate of materia

Motor-driven Machine Tool - Patent 8096856

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 20:46:42 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

The present invention relates to a motor-driven machine tool which includes a drive shaft which is driven by a drive unit, and an output shafton which the tool is installed, according to the preamble of claim 1.BACKGROUND INFORMATION DE 10 2004 050 798 A1 describes a hand-held power tool with a working shaft which may be driven in an oscillating manner, and on which a tool is installed; the oscillating drive results in a rotational pendulum motion of the tool which may beused for grinding or cutting. The working shaft and/or tool shaft on which the tool is installed is driven by a rotatably connected arm which interacts, as part of an eccentric coupling device, with an eccentric disk which is driven by an electricmotor.DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Based on this prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide a compact, motor-driven machine tool having a rotatably driveable tool. This object is achieved according to the present invention having the features of claim 1. The dependent claims describe expedient developments. The motor-driven machine tool--which is a hand-held power tool in particular, the tool of which carries out a rotational motion, in particular a rotational pendulum motion--includes drive shafts and output shafts which are situated parallel toone another. It is also provided that the output shaft extends at least partially at the level of and parallel to the drive unit. In this manner it is ensured that the output shaft, with the tool installed thereon, is located directly next to the driveunit, including the drive shaft which belongs to the drive unit, the machine tool being short in design in the axial direction and therefore requiring little installation space, given that the output shaft and the drive unit overlap axially. The sameapplies for the direction transversely to the shafts, since the amount of space required by parallel configuration of the output shaft in the transverse direction is not much greater than that require

Substrate Polishing Metrology Using Interference Signals - Patent 8092274

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:40:38 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

BACKGROUND This invention relates generally to semiconductor manufacture, and more particularly to a method for forming a transparent window in a polishing pad for use in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). In the process of fabricating modern semiconductor integrated circuits (ICs), it is necessary to form various material layers and structures over previously formed layers and structures. However, the prior formations often leave the top surfacetopography of an in-process wafer highly irregular, with bumps, areas of unequal elevation, troughs, trenches, and/or other surface irregularities. These irregularities cause problems when forming the next layer. For example, when printing aphotolithographic pattern having small geometries over previously formed layers, a very shallow depth of focus is required. Accordingly, it becomes essential to have a flat and planar surface, otherwise, some parts of the pattern will be in focus andother parts will not. In fact, surface variations on the order of less than 1000 .ANG. over a 25.times.25 mm die would be preferable. In addition, if the irregularities are not leveled at each major processing step, the surface topography of the wafercan become even more irregular, causing further problems as the layers stack up during further processing. Depending on the die type and the size of the geometries involved, the surface irregularities can lead to poor yield and device performance. Consequently, it is desirable to effect some type of planarization, or leveling, of the IC structures. In fact, most high density IC fabrication techniques make use of some method to form a planarized wafer surface at critical points in themanufacturing process. One method for achieving semiconductor wafer planarization or topography removal is the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. In general, the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process involves holding and/or rotating the wafer againsta rotating polishing platen under a contro

Polishing Head And Polishing Apparatus - Patent 8092281

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:40:11 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

The present invention relates to a polishing head for holding a work when a surface of the work is polished and a polishing apparatus provided with it, and particularly to a polishing head for holding a work on a rubber film and a polishingapparatus provided with it.BACKGROUND ART As a apparatus for polishing a surface of a work such as a silicon wafer, a single-side polishing apparatus in which the work is polished by each face and a double-side polishing apparatus in which the both faces are polished at the same time. A general single-side polishing apparatus comprises, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, a turn table 93 onto which a polishing pad 94 is attached, a polishing agent supply mechanism 96, a polishing head 92 and the like. In such a polishingapparatus 91, polishing is performed by holding a work W by the polishing head 92, supplying the polishing agent 95 onto the polishing pad 94 from the polishing agent supply mechanism 96, and rotating the turn table 93 and the polishing head 92,respectively, so as to bring the surface of the work W into sliding contact with the polishing pad 94. As a method of holding the work on the polishing head, there is a method of attaching the work onto a flat disk-shaped plate through an adhesive such as a wax and the like. Other than that, particularly as a holding method of suppressing riseor sag of the work on its outer circumference portion and of improving flatness of the entire work, there is a so-called rubber-chuck method in which a work holding portion is made of a rubber film, a pressurized fluid such as air is poured into a backface of the rubber film, and the rubber film is inflated by a uniform pressure so as to press the work onto the polishing pad (See Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (Kokai) No. H5-69310, for example). An example of configuration of the prior-art rubber chuck polishing head is schematically shown in FIG. 4(a) and an enlarged diagram of a peripheral portion of the polishing head is show

Method Of Fabricating A Part Made Up Of A Plurality Of Thin-walled Tubes And Having A Surface Of Revolution - Patent 8092276

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:39:46 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

The present invention relates to making a three-dimensional part or volume that presents a face in the form of a surface of revolution and that has a structure that is made up of a plurality of cavities separated by walls of small thickness. The invention relates more particularly to machining structures made up of thin-walled hollow bodies in order to make such parts. The fabrication of such parts, such as for example packing structures for fluid exchange columns, comprises making a structure or a block made up of an assembly of thin-walled hollow bodies (e.g. tubes, honeycomb cells, etc.) and then machiningthe block to the shape and dimensions required for the final part. Nevertheless, machining a structure of that type is problematic. Because of the small thickness of the walls, traditional machining tools such as grindwheels or the like are not suitable. The cutting force produced by such tools is too greatand leads to the walls being deformed and/or destroyed, thereby preventing the final part from being shaped. A jet of water under pressure can provide a solution to this problem, since it enables direct contact with the material under attack to be avoided and therefore does not generate a cutting force thereon. Nevertheless, a water jet is mainly usedas a tool for cutting solid materials and not hollow bodies. It is known that using a water jet to cut a hollow body is very imprecise and leads to the appearance of large amounts of taper and flash. FIG. 1 shows a structure 10 made up of twojuxtaposed tubes 11 and 12 being cut by means of a water jet. The structure is cut by delivering a water jet 2 at high speed from a nozzle 1, the jet initially striking the top portion 12a of the wall of tube 12. It can be seen that the jet isdeflected and diverges after passing through the top portion 12a of the wall of the tube 12. Where the following wall, i.e. the bottom portion 12b of the tube 12 will be attacked then becomes imprecise both concerning the positio

Device For Driving A Grinding Machine - Patent 8092282

Patents-312 — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:39:31 GMT

shared by: Patents-312 on: Thursday, April 12, 2012

The present invention relatesto a device at a mobile grinding machine for stone materials and other hard flooring materials and that comprises a rotatably driven disc-shaped housing, which is arranged to support a plurality of grinding disc holders rotatably driven by a belt orchain driven by a motor, which holders are distributed along the circumference of said housing and supported by shafts connected to said housing at a mutual distance from each other. There are previously known various solutions to provide driving of rotatable grinding discs intended to grind stone and other hard materials that floors normally consist of. It is desired to provide driving of the housing that said grindingdiscs are rotatably supported by, but in a direction opposite to said housing in those cases the grinding machine cannot be of the type that said disc is caused to rotate by itself when the grinding discs are driven to rotate. It may namely happen thatthe disc stops to rotate and the grinding discs then dig themselves into the floor material, and then risk causing large and nasty undesired grinding marks in the floor material. By RU 2268132 C1, a grinding disc device is previously known comprising a planetary gear in order to let rotationally drive grinding disc holders having grinding tools carried thereby so that these rotate in the direction opposite to which thehousing is driven to rotate so as to obtain a smooth driving of the grinding disc holders in the desired direction. In that connection, no simple driving device is shown, but drives included are complicated and consist of many different parts. Furthermore, by, for instance, SE 501 448 C2, a solution is previously known to drive the grinding discs to rotate in a common direction, counter-directed to the normal common direction of the grinding discs. Said driving is provided by meansof driving belts. The environment that said grinding machine operates in is often dirty including much whirling dust that may affect