JP4783521B2 - Surface matching apparatus and surface matching method - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a surface aligning device and a surface aligning method for aligning optical components in an aligning device for optical components such as LD modules.
[0002]
[Prior art]
FIG. 1 shows an example of a surface matching apparatus provided with a gimbal mechanism 7. This type of surface matching is performed by using a so-called gimbal mechanism shown as an angle adjusting device in Japanese Patent No. 3090573. In the conventional surface aligning apparatus, the surface to be aligned is pressed against the surface 5 to be aligned with the surface 4 to be aligned with the other component 4 and the surface 2 is moved up and down by the surface aligning component lifting mechanism 2 installed on the column 1. Alignment is performed so that the mating surfaces of the alignment target parts 4 and 5 are aligned.
[0003]
FIG. 2A shows a mating operation procedure when the height level of the mating surface 5 a of the mating target component 5 is aligned with the rotation center 8 of the gimbal mechanism 7. The surface matching target component 5 is subjected to a surface matching operation while being held by the clamp 6 a of the holder 6 on the gimbal mechanism 7. The surface matching operation is performed by pressing the upper surface matching target component 4 against the lower surface matching target component 5. At this time, if the height level of the mating surface 5a is aligned with the rotational center 8 of the gimbal mechanism 7, no lateral frictional force acts on the contact surface, and as shown in FIG. 7 rotates smoothly with high accuracy, and the surface matching surface 5a exactly matches the other surface matching surface 4a.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the case of a surface alignment device using a gimbal mechanism used in an alignment device for optical components, the surface to be aligned of the surface alignment target component can be set at the rotation center 8 of the gimbal mechanism 7. It is necessary to design in a simple shape. For this reason, as described above, the same part to be matched and parts having the same position of the face to be faced can be face-matched by the same face-matching device. The device may not be usable. That is, in the case of a component having a surface to be aligned as described below, a highly accurate surface alignment operation cannot be performed using a conventional apparatus.
[0005]
FIG. 3 (a) shows a surface matching operation procedure when the surface matching surface 9a of the surface alignment target component 9 is positioned at a higher level than the rotation center 8 of the gimbal mechanism 7. FIG. In this case, since the face-matching surface 9a of the face-matching target part 9 is shifted upward from the rotation center 8 on the gimbal mechanism 7, when the face-matching operation is performed, a lateral frictional force is applied to the contact surface. As shown in FIG. 3 (b), it becomes difficult for the face-matching surface 9a of one component 9 to closely match the face-matching surface 4a of the other component 4, and highly precise face-to-face cannot be achieved. Such a defect also occurs in the same manner for parts whose surface-to-surface is lower than the rotation center 8 of the gimbal mechanism 7.
[0006]
FIG. 4 (a) shows an operation procedure in the case of further mating one other component 4 with the primary assembly component 10 that has already been mated and assembled in the previous process. In this case as well, as described above, the surface 10a of the primary assembly component 10 is shifted upward from the center of rotation 8 on the gimbal mechanism 7, so that when the surface alignment operation is performed, the contact surface becomes a contact surface. A lateral frictional force is generated, and as shown in FIG. 4B, the face-matching surface 10a of the primary assembly component 10 becomes difficult to closely match the face-matching surface 4a of the other component 4, and a highly accurate surface Cannot be matched. In this way, even when trying to use the surface aligning apparatus using the gimbal mechanism 7 in a plurality of steps, the same problem occurs.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a surface matching apparatus and a surface matching method that can improve surface alignment accuracy and can expand the types of parts to be used.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
A surface matching device according to the present invention is a surface matching device that matches a surface to be surfaced of both parts by abutting the surface to be surfaced with the other surface to be surfaced against one surface to be surfaced. An elevating and holding mechanism that holds it in a possible manner, a gimbal mechanism that holds the other surface-matching target component so as to be rotatable around the center of rotation, and the other surface-matching target component that is provided in the other surface-matching target component Depending on the size and shape of the level-adjusting holder that holds the face-to-face and the other face-matching target part, the height level of the face-to-face face of the other face-matching target part matches the center of rotation of the gimbal mechanism. as such, the linear guide mechanism for moving the other surface alignment target component held in said level adjustment holder in the vertical direction, the other of which is held by the level adjustment holder A sensor for detecting the height level of the mating surface of the part to be aligned, and based on the detected height level, the height level of the mating surface of the other target part matches the rotation center of the gimbal mechanism. Means for controlling the operation of the linear motion guide mechanism .
[0010]
In the surface matching method according to the present invention, the surface of the other surface-matching component is a surface-matching method in which the surface-matching surface of both components is matched by abutting the other surface-matching target component against one surface-matching target component. The step of detecting the height level of the mating surface, and the other mating target part is moved up and down based on the detected height level, and the height level of the mating surface of the other mating target part is set by the gimbal mechanism. A step of matching with the center of rotation, and a step of matching the surface of the other surface to be aligned with the surface of the surface to be aligned.
[0011]
First, the height level of the mating surface of the other mating target component is detected by the sensor, the other mating target component is moved up and down based on this detection information, and the mating surface of the other mating target component is moved to the gimbal. Align with the center of rotation of the mechanism. Next, the surface-matching surface of the other surface-matching target component is butted against the surface-matching surface of one surface-matching target component. As a result of this butting, the other surface-matching component has a center of rotation coinciding with the surface-matching surface, so that the other surface-matching component is smoothly rotated to the surface-matching surface of one surface-matching component. The face-to-face surfaces match exactly and high-precision face-to-face matching is achieved.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, various preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0013]
(First embodiment)
A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. A column 1 is erected on a base 3, and one surface alignment target component 4 is held at a lower end portion of an elevation holding mechanism 2 provided on the column 1 so as to be movable up and down. The gimbal mechanism 7 is provided substantially at the center of the base 3. The fixed part of the gimbal mechanism 7 is fixed to the upper surface of the base 3, and the movable part of the gimbal mechanism 7 is supported so as to be rotatable around a rotation center 8 positioned above.
[0014]
Various mechanisms such as an air cylinder 11 with a lock mechanism (lock mechanism not shown), a linear scale 12, a level adjustment holder 13, and a linear motion guide mechanism 14 are mounted on the movable portion of the gimbal mechanism 7. The level adjustment holder 13 has a clamp 13b that detachably holds the other surface-matching target component 5 at an upper portion thereof, and a lower portion thereof is connected to a rod of the air cylinder 11.
[0015]
The level adjustment holder 13 has an arm-shaped slider 13a. When the rod of the air cylinder 11 protrudes or retracts, the slider 13a slides along the guide groove 12a of the linear scale 12. These air cylinder 11, guide groove 12a, and slider 13a constitute a linear guide mechanism 14.
[0016]
In this embodiment, an air cylinder is used as a drive source for the linear motion guide mechanism, but the present invention is not limited to this, and a feed screw that is rotated by a servo motor as a drive source for the linear motion guide mechanism. Also, other means such as a linear motor or a piezo element can be used, and the same effect can be obtained by such other means.
[0017]
The laser sensor light emitting unit 15 and the light receiving unit 16 are arranged on the left and right sides of the upper region of the gimbal mechanism 7 so that the laser optical axis passes near the rotation center 8 of the gimbal mechanism 7. The laser sensor light emitting unit 15 and the light receiving unit 16 are movably supported by a lifting mechanism (not shown), and are moved up and down synchronously so that the laser optical axis is kept horizontal.
[0018]
Further, the load cell 18 is inserted between the rod of the air cylinder 11 and the level adjustment holder 13 so that the contact pressure of the surface matching target parts 4 and 5 is detected.
[0019]
The laser sensor light receiving unit 16 and the load cell 18 are connected to the input side of a control device (not shown), and send detection signals to the control device. The drive circuit of the air cylinder 11 is connected to the output side of the control device and receives a command signal from the control device. Further, the output side of the control device is also connected to the drive circuit of the elevation holding mechanism 2 and the laser sensor light emitting unit 15.
[0020]
Next, an operation procedure for aligning the surface alignment surfaces 4a and 5a of the two optical components 4 and 5 using the surface alignment apparatus will be described.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 5A, in the surface matching operation, one surface matching target component 4 is lowered while the surface matching surfaces 4a and 5a are not aligned, and one surface matching target component 4 is aligned with the other surface. It starts by pressing against the target part 5 and preliminarily bringing the parts 4 and 5 into mutual contact. At this time, since the height level of the mating surface 5a does not match the rotation center 8 of the gimbal mechanism 7, the contact is completed with insufficient mating as shown in FIG.
[0022]
Note that this preliminary contact is a process for performing the level height measurement of the mating surface 5a to be performed next more accurately while suppressing the tilt of the other mating target component 5 to be small. If it is within the allowable measurement error, it can be omitted.
[0023]
Next, after raising one surface alignment target component 4, while emitting laser light from the laser sensor light emitting unit 15 toward the light receiving unit 16 as shown in FIG. 5C, the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit 15. , 16 are moved up and down in synchronism to detect the mating surface 5a of the other mating target component 5.
[0024]
The control device compares the detection signal from the sensor with the preset position data of the rotation center 8 on the gimbal mechanism 7, and the amount of positional deviation (the shift amount of the height level) between the mating surface 5a and the rotation center 8. ) By calculation. Further, the control device sends a predetermined command signal to the drive circuit of the air cylinder 11 based on the obtained displacement amount, and lowers (or raises) the level adjustment holding jig 13. As a result, the height level of the mating surface 5a coincides with the height level of the rotation center 8 on the gimbal mechanism 7. The amount of movement of the level adjustment holding jig 13 at this time is measured by the linear scale 12.
[0025]
Next, when one surface alignment target component 4 is lowered and one surface alignment surface 4a is pressed against the other surface alignment surface 5a as shown in FIG. 5D, the rotation center 8 of the gimbal mechanism 7 is moved. Since it matches with the surface matching surface 5a, the gimbal mechanism 7 smoothly rotates and the surface matching surfaces 4a and 5a completely match. As a result, even when the heights of the components are different or when the component mounting position is shifted, a highly accurate surface matching result is obtained.
[0026]
(Second Embodiment)
Next, a surface matching operation according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, description of the part which this embodiment overlaps with the said 1st Embodiment is abbreviate | omitted.
[0027]
In the present embodiment, the primary assembly part 10 that has already been assembled in the previous process is set as the one-side surface alignment target part. Such a mating surface 10a of the primary assembly component 10 can be mated with high accuracy with respect to the mating surface 4a of the mating target component 4 on the other side using the same mating apparatus as described above.
[0028]
(Third embodiment)
Next, the surface matching operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In addition, description of the part which this embodiment overlaps with the said 1st Embodiment is abbreviate | omitted.
[0029]
In the present embodiment, the surface-matching target component 17 having the surface-matching surface 17a lower than the surface-matching surface 5a (the rotational center 8 of the gimbal mechanism) of the surface-matching target component 5 is set as the surface-matching target component on one side. Such a surface matching target component 17 can be surface-matched to the surface matching surface 4a of the surface matching target component 4 on the other side with high accuracy using the same surface matching device as described above.
[0030]
As shown in these figures, by using the surface aligning apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to perform surface alignment of various surface alignment target parts with high accuracy.
[0031]
In the above-described embodiment, in order not to hinder the smooth rotation of the gimbal mechanism 7, the laser sensor light-emitting unit 15 and the light-receiving unit 16 that detect the height level of the face-to-face surfaces 5a, 10a, and 17a are included. Although an example in which the optical sensor is installed separately from the movable part of the gimbal mechanism 7 has been shown, it may be directly attached to the movable part of the gimbal mechanism 7, and the optical sensor is not limited to the laser sensor alone, and various Height detection means can be used.
[0032]
【The invention's effect】
By using the surface matching apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to perform surface alignment of various parts having different surface heights and surface alignment with the same surface alignment apparatus over a plurality of processes. As a result, the usable range of the alignment device equipped with the surface aligning device of the present invention is expanded. In addition, by using the surface matching apparatus of the present invention having a surface-to-surface height measuring function, it is possible to perform surface-aligning work with high accuracy regardless of attachment errors. As a result, the connection quality and the yield after alignment are stabilized with the improvement of the surface alignment accuracy of the alignment device equipped with the surface alignment device of the present invention.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a view showing a main part of an alignment device provided with a gimbal mechanism.
FIG. 2A is a diagram showing a positional relationship before a surface matching operation when a height level of a surface to be surfaced matches a rotation center of a gimbal mechanism, and FIG. The figure which shows the positional relationship after the surface alignment operation in case the height level of the surface of the component surface matches the rotation center of the gimbal mechanism.
3A is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship before a surface matching operation when a height level of a surface to be surfaced is higher than the rotation center of the gimbal mechanism, and FIG. The figure which shows the positional relationship after surface matching operation in case the height level of a surface matching surface is higher than the rotation center of a gimbal mechanism.
FIG. 4A is a diagram showing a positional relationship before another part is faced to an assembled part that has already been faced and assembled in the previous process; FIG. 4B is a face that has already been faced and assembled in the previous process; The figure which shows the positional relationship after surface-matching another part to the assembled part.
FIGS. 5A to 5D are views showing a surface aligning apparatus and a surface aligning method according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively.
FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a surface matching method according to another embodiment. The usage example of the surface alignment apparatus of this invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a surface matching method according to still another embodiment.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 ... Column,
2 ... Elevating and holding mechanism,
3 ... Base,
4, 5, 9, 10, 17 ... parts to be mated (optical parts),
4a, 5a, 9a, 10a, 17a...
6 ... retainer,
6a ... clamp,
7 ... Gimbal mechanism,
8 ... Center of rotation,
11 ... Air cylinder with lock mechanism,
12 ... Linear scale,
12a ... guide groove,
13 ... Level adjustment holder,
13a ... slider,
13b ... clamp,
14 ... Linear motion guide mechanism,
15 ... Laser sensor light emitting section,
16 ... Laser sensor light receiving section,
18 ... Load cell.

Claims (2)

In the surface matching device that matches the surface to be mated with the other surface to be mated with the other surface to be mated with the surface to be mated,
An elevating and holding mechanism for holding one of the surface matching target parts so as to be movable up and down;
A gimbal mechanism that rotatably holds the other surface-matching target part around the rotation center;
A level adjustment holder provided in the gimbal mechanism and holding the other surface-matching target component so as to face one surface-matching target component;
Depending on the size and shape of the other surface-matching target part, the level-adjusting fixture is held so that the height level of the face-matching surface of the other surface-matching target part matches the rotation center of the gimbal mechanism. A linear motion guide mechanism for moving the other surface-matching target component in the vertical direction;
A sensor for detecting a height level of the surface to be mated of the other surface to be mated held by the level adjustment holder;
Means for controlling the operation of the linear motion guide mechanism so that the height level of the mating surface of the other target part matches the rotation center of the gimbal mechanism based on the detected height level;
A surface matching apparatus comprising: In the face-to-face matching method of matching the face-to-face surfaces of both parts by matching the other face-to-face target part against one face-to-face target part,
Detecting the height level of the mating surface of the other mating target part;
Moving the other surface-matching target component in the vertical direction based on the detected height level, and aligning the height level of the surface-matching surface of the other surface-matching target component with the rotation center of the gimbal mechanism;
A process of abutting the mating surface of the other mating target part with the mating surface of the one mating target part;
A surface matching method comprising the steps of:

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