Patent ID: 8348115

Claim:
A scribe line forming apparatus comprising: a vertical crack forming member that has a blade at a tip thereof and is used for forming a vertical crack to be an origination point of a scribe line by pressing the blade against a surface of a brittle substrate with pressure; an impact force applying means for applying an abrupt impact force to the vertical crack forming member in order to generate the vertical crack having a predetermined depth at a desired position in the brittle substrate; a heating means for forming an area having a temperature lower than a softening point of the brittle substrate; a cooling means for cooling the brittle substrate; an arrangement movement means for arranging the heating means, the vertical crack forming member, the impact force applying means, and the cooling means to be positioned so as to move relative to the brittle substrate at predetermined intervals along a planned scribe line that is prearranged on the surface of the brittle substrate; and a control unit that controls driving of the impact force applying means.