JP6233340B2 - Stocker and article supporting method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a stocker and a method for supporting an article .

  Patent Document 1 (JP2003-128209A) shows that a plurality of pins are engaged and positioned in a plurality of recesses provided at the bottom of an article. Patent Document 2 (JPH039-221203A) uses positioning members to position the four corners of three types of large, medium, and small items, and uses tall positioning members for large items and short positioning members for small items. Show. However, when the width of the support device is narrow, positioning by the pins and positioning by the four corners of the article are difficult.

JP2003-128209A JPH039-221203A

The problem of the present invention is that each of the stocker support device and the shelf has two types of articles having a simple structure and different bottom sizes by a support part having a narrower width in the left-right direction than the bottom part of the larger article. It is to enable positioning and support.

According to the present invention, a first article having a first concave portion for positioning at the bottom and a second concave portion for positioning at the bottom, and the bottom is within a range occupied by the bottom of the first article. A stocker comprising a support device and a shelf for supporting the articles together in the same direction ,
The stocker includes a shelf having at least a pair of shelf holders, and a moving body for raising and lowering the support device,
The depth direction of each article is the front-rear direction and the width direction is the left-right direction.
The support device has a width in the left-right direction narrower than the bottom of the first article and a length wider than the depth of the second article in the middle in the front-rear direction, and the upper surface from both outer sides in the front-rear direction. A support part provided with a lower part which is also lowered,
Positioning and supporting both ends in the front-rear direction of the first article by guiding both ends in the front-rear direction of the bottom part of the first article provided on both outer sides in the front-rear direction of the lower portion of the support part A first positioning member that
A movement restricting member for restricting movement in the left-right direction of the first article provided at the support portion and positioned at both ends in the front-rear direction by the first positioning member;
A second positioning member provided at the lower portion of the support portion and positioning and supporting the bottom of the second article ,
The at least one pair of shelf supports is provided with an interval narrower than a width of the bottom portion of the second article and wider than a width of the support portion, and each of the at least one pair of shelf supports is provided along the front-rear direction. A pair of front and rear positioning guides that are longer than the depth of the first article and positioned by guiding both front and rear direction ends of the bottom of the first article, and positioning means that positions the bottom of the second article,
When the moving body moves the support device up and down, the first article and the second article are transferred between the support apparatus and the pair of shelf supports, and the first article is transferred. The first positioning member and the pair of front and rear positioning guides are arranged in the left-right direction along both front and rear ends of the first article .

The article supporting method according to the present invention includes a first article having a first concave portion for positioning at the bottom, a second concave portion for positioning at the bottom, and the bottom of the first article being the bottom of the first article. A method of supporting a second article within an occupied range together in the same direction by a support device and a shelf of a stocker ,
The stocker includes a shelf having at least a pair of shelf holders, and a moving body for raising and lowering the support device,
The depth direction of each article is the front-rear direction and the width direction is the left-right direction.
The support device includes a support portion that is narrower in the left-right direction than the bottom portion of the first article, and the support portion has a length wider than the depth of the second article in the middle in the front-rear direction. , A lower portion is provided with the upper surface being lower than both outer sides in the front-rear direction,
The at least one pair of shelf supports is provided with an interval narrower than a width of the bottom portion of the second article and wider than a width of the support portion, and each of the at least one pair of shelf supports is provided along the front-rear direction. A pair of front and rear positioning guides that are longer than the depth of the first article and positioned by guiding both front and rear direction ends of the bottom of the first article, and positioning means that positions the bottom of the second article,
The movable body moves the support device up and down to transfer the first article and the second article between the support device and the pair of shelf supports,
By guiding both ends in the front-rear direction of the bottom of the first article with the first positioning members provided on both outer sides in the front-rear direction of the lower portion of the support part, the front and rear of the first article Positioning and supporting both ends in the direction;
A step of restricting movement in the left-right direction of the first article whose both ends in the front-rear direction are positioned by the first positioning member by the movement-regulating member provided in the support part;
Positioning and supporting the bottom of the second article by a second positioning member provided in the lower portion of the support ;
Positioning and supporting the front and rear ends of the first article by guiding the front and rear ends of the bottom of the first article by the pair of front and rear positioning guides;
Positioning the bottom of the second article by the positioning means;
And
When the first article is transferred, the first positioning member and the pair of front and rear positioning guides are arranged in the left-right direction along both front and rear ends of the first article.

  In this invention, the first positioning member positions and supports both ends of the article in the front-rear direction, and the movement restricting member provided on the support part restricts the left-right movement of the article. For this reason, both the first article and the second article can be positioned and supported even by a support part having a narrower width in the left-right direction than the bottom part of the first article, and the structure of the support device is simple.

  In particular, the second positioning member is in a short part and does not interfere with the bottom of the first article, and the first positioning member is on both outer sides in the front-rear direction of the low part, and the second article Does not interfere with the bottom of the. Further, interference between the second positioning member and the first article can be avoided without increasing the first positioning member and the movement restricting member. The second positioning member includes, in addition to a plurality of projections described later, a member that positions and supports both ends in the front-rear direction of the second article, and a projection that engages with a recess at the bottom of the second article. A combination of these may be used.

Preferably, the movement restricting member is provided on at least one outer side in the front-rear direction of the short portion, and engages with a first recess in a bottom portion of the first article, whereby the left and right sides of the first article are Ri third positioning member der for positioning the direction position, the pair of Shelf bracket are each provided with a second positioning guide for positioning by guiding both end portions of the left and right direction of the first article. In this case, the third positioning member does not interfere with the bottom of the second article and engages with the first recess of the bottom of the first article, thereby positioning the position of the first article in the left-right direction. it can.

Preferably, the second article has a plurality of second recesses, and the second positioning member engages with the second recess at the bottom of the second article and is provided in the lower portion. height plurality of protrusions der that does not interfere with the bottom portion of the first article is, the positioning means includes a plurality of positioning the second article engages the bottom of the hole of the second article It is a protrusion. The plurality of recesses are, for example, three V-grooves, and the plurality of protrusions are, for example, three pins. In this way, the second article can be accurately positioned and supported by the plurality of protrusions. Moreover, interference with the first article can be avoided by selecting the height of the plurality of protrusions.

  Preferably, the first positioning member includes a tapered surface that guides both ends of the first article in the front-rear direction, and a support surface that supports a bottom portion of the first article, and the tapered surface and the support surface Is extended along the width direction of the article, and the boundary between the tapered surface and the support surface is configured to act as a detent for the first article at the end of the first positioning member. The first positioning member and the third positioning member can position the front and rear and the left and right of the first article, but the orientation of the first article may change around a vertical axis. Therefore, the first positioning member is used as a detent to prevent the direction of the first article from changing.

The top view which shows the state which the scalar arm provided with the support apparatus of the Example is supporting the 1st article | item (FOUP for 450mm wafers). Side view showing a state where the SCARA arm supports the first article The principal part enlarged side view of FIG. 2 which shows positioning of the 1st article | item by a positioning protrusion A vertical sectional view showing a positioning projection (third positioning member) and a concave portion (V-groove for kinematic coupling) of the first article along the IV-IV direction of FIG. Vertical sectional view showing the third positioning member and the concave portion of the first article along the direction VV of FIG. The top view which shows the modification of a positioning protrusion The top view which shows the state where the SCARA arm is supporting the 2nd article (FOUP for 300mm wafer) Side view showing a state in which the SCARA arm supports the second article It is a top view of a shelf holder and shows the state where the first article is placed It is a top view of a shelf holder and shows the state where the second article is placed

  In the following, an optimum embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be shown. The scope of the present invention should be determined according to the understanding of those skilled in the art based on the description of the scope of the claims, taking into account the description of the specification and well-known techniques in this field.

  FIGS. 1-8 shows the scalar arm 4 provided with the support apparatus 2 of the articles | goods in an Example as a hand. The SCARA arm 4 positions and supports the article by the support device 2, and transfers (delivers) the article by advancing / retreating operation and elevating operation to / from a transfer partner such as the shelf receivers 80 and 81. The support device 2 is not limited to the hand of the SCARA arm 4, but may be provided, for example, at the tip of the top plate of the slide fork, or may be provided on a shelf or the like as a fixed support device. 9 and 10 show shelf receivers 80 and 81 on which the SCARA arm 4 transfers articles.

  There are two types of articles, FOUP 52 (first article) for 450 mm wafers and FOUP 62 (second article) for 300 mm wafers, but the type of article itself is arbitrary. It is assumed that the second article is smaller in size than the first article and that the bottom surface thereof is within the range occupied by the bottom surface of the first article. In each figure, the chain line indicates FOUPs 52 and 62, and portions not related to the present invention such as the side flanges of the FOUPs 52 and 62 are omitted. 1, 7, 9, and 10, the bottom structure of the FOUPs 52 and 62 is shown to show the positioning by the support device 2 and the shelf supports 80 and 81.

  1 and 2 show the SCARA arm 4 in a state where a FOUP 52 for a 450 mm wafer is supported. The support device 2 includes a plate 6, which includes tall portions 8 and 9 at the front and rear ends of the plate and a base portion, and a short portion 10 in the middle. The base 9 has a shaft 40 in the tall portion 9, which rotates the support device 2. In this specification, the shaft 40 side of the support device 2 is referred to as a base end, the opposite side of the tall portion 8 is referred to as a front end, and a direction connecting the front end and the base end is referred to as a front-rear direction. A direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction in the horizontal plane is called a left-right direction.

  The horizontal width of the plate 6 is narrower than the horizontal width of the FOUPs 52 and 62 so that the shelf receivers 80 and 81 can support the FOUPs 52 and 62. A positioning guide 12 is provided at the center in the left-right direction of the tall portion 8 on the distal end side, and a pair of positioning guides 16, 16 are provided on the tall portion 9 on the proximal side. Although the positioning guides 12 and 16 have different lengths in the left-right direction, the basic structure is the same, and the tapered surfaces 13 and 17 are inclined so that the lower portion 10 side is lowered, and the lower ends of the tapered surfaces 13 and 17 And horizontal support surfaces 14 and 18 extending toward the lower portion 10 side. Further, the point 19 at the end of the positioning guides 12, 16 on the outer side in the left-right direction on the boundary between the tapered surfaces 13, 17 and the support surfaces 14, 18 serves as a detent for the FOUP 52.

  For example, a rectangular positioning projection 20 in a plan view is provided near the lower portion 10 at the center of the tall portion 8 in the left-right direction, and an R portion is provided at the end of the positioning projection 20 in the left-right direction. Yes. The short portion 10 is provided with, for example, three kinematic coupling pins 22 (hereinafter referred to as pins 22), and the height of the pins 22 is lower than the height of the support surfaces 14 and 18. The upper surface of the lower portion 10 is arranged at a position lower than the upper surface of the tall portion 8 by D, so that the thickness between the tall portions 8 and 9 and the lower portion 10 is thick. There is a difference D. And since the upper surface of the short part 10 exists in a position lower than the upper surface of the tall part 8, the height of the positioning guides 12 and 16 can be made small.

  The SCARA arm 4 includes an arm 32 that rotates about a shaft 36 provided on the base 30, and an arm 34 that rotates about a shaft 38 on the distal end side of the arm 32. A shaft 40 is provided. The SCARA arm 4 is mounted on a movable body that can freely move up and down and horizontally, and this movable body is installed in a stocker or the like that temporarily stores the FOUPs 52 and 62 and reciprocates along the shelf. 4 is raised and lowered. The FOUPs 52 and 62 are transferred between the shelf supports 80 and 81 by combining the expansion and contraction of the SCARA arm 4 and the raising and lowering of the base 30. Instead of the SCARA arm 4, the support device 2 may be provided at the tip of the top plate of the slide fork.

  44 is a first fall prevention member and 46 is a second fall prevention member. The fall prevention members 44, 46 are attached to a support column 48 that stands vertically upward from the arm 34. The height is fixed, the fall prevention member 44 is attached near the upper end of the support column 48, and the fall prevention member 46 is attached to the lower part thereof. ing. The second fall prevention member 46 is rotatable in a horizontal plane around an attachment shaft to the support column 48, and a roller 47 that rotates about a vertical axis is attached to the tip. The first fall prevention member 44 prevents the FOUP 52 for 450 mm wafers from dropping, and the second fall prevention member 46 prevents the FOUP 62 for 300 mm wafers from falling. The fall prevention member 44 restricts the upper end of the door portion 58 of the FOUP 52, and the fall prevention member 46 restricts the upper end of the door portion 68 of the FOUP 62. Further, the fall prevention member 46 moves backward with respect to the FOUP 52 when the roller 47 is pushed by the door portion 58.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the FOUP 52 for 450 mm wafer is provided with a conveyor surface 54 along the four circumferences of the bottom, and the surface that intersects the conveyor surface 54 at the lower part of the side is a conveyor guide surface 55. 54 and the conveyor guide surface 55 are smooth surfaces at specific positions. The bottom of the FOUP 52 is provided with three V-grooves (grooves having a reverse V-shaped cross section) for kinematic coupling. The groove is referred to as a V groove 57. The support device 2 positions the position in the front-rear direction by the front and rear conveyor guide surfaces 55 and the positioning guides 12 and 16, and supports the conveyor surface 54 by the support surfaces 14 and 18. Further, the V-groove 57 on the side opposite to the door portion 58 is positioned by the positioning projection 20 to perform the left-right positioning. Since only the positioning projection 20 may change the direction of the FOUP 52 around the vertical axis, the rotation of the FOUP 52 is prohibited by the rotation stop 19.

  The positioning of the FOUP 52 for a 450 mm wafer is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, the conveyor guide surface 55 is guided by the tapered surface 13 of the positioning guide 12, and the conveyor surface 54 is supported by the support surface 14. Similarly, in the positioning guide 16, the conveyor guide surface 55 is guided by the tapered surface 17, and the conveyor surface 54 is supported by the support surface 18. As a result, the FOUP 52 is positioned in the front-rear direction, and rotation about the vertical axis is prevented by the rotation stopper 19. Since the FOUP 52 is positioned in the horizontal plane in this way, the remaining degree of freedom of movement is only the vertical movement. If a large acceleration is applied to the FOUP 52 by the operation of the SCARA arm 4 or the movement of the moving body equipped with the SCARA arm 4, the FOUP 52 may fall. Therefore, the height of the FOUP 52 is regulated by the first fall prevention member 44 to prevent the fall.

  The positioning projection 20 in the V groove 57 is shown in FIGS. The longitudinal direction of the V-groove 57 and the longitudinal direction of the positioning projection 20 are parallel, and the upper both side ends of the positioning projection 20 are in line contact with the bottom of the V-groove 57 along the longitudinal direction, and the FOUP 52 is positioned along the left-right direction. To do. The line segments that are in line contact are shown as support line segments 72 and 73. The contact between the positioning protrusion and the V-groove 57 is not limited to a line contact, and may be a point contact of four or more points. An example of a point contact at four support points 75 is shown in FIG.

  7 and 8 show the positioning of the FOUP 62 for a 300 mm wafer. The length of the lower portion 10 in the front-rear direction is longer than the depth of the FOUP 62 and supports the FOUP 62 on the lower portion 10. The conveyor surface 64 is not used for positioning, but the three pins 22 are kinematically coupled to the three V-grooves 66 for kinematic coupling, and positioned according to the original specifications of the FOUP 62. This is possible because the FOUP 62 is smaller than the FOUP 52 so that the pin 22 can be disposed at the position of the V-groove 66. Also, since the pin 22 is on the short portion 10, it does not contact the bottom of the FOUP 52. Further, the positioning protrusion 20 is at a position deviated from the bottom surface of the FOUP 62. Instead of providing the plate 6 with a thickness D, interference between the FOUP 52 for the 450 mm wafer and the pin 22 can be avoided even if the support surfaces 14 and 18 of the positioning guides 12 and 16 are made higher than the tip of the pin 22. it can. Since the FOUP 62 is positioned in the horizontal plane by the pins 22, the height of the FOUP 62 is regulated by the second fall prevention member 46 to prevent the fall.

  FIG. 9 shows the support of the FOUP 52 for 450 mm wafers by the shelf supports 80 and 81. Each of the shelf supports 80 and 81 includes a front-rear positioning guide 82, a left-right positioning guide 86, and a front-rear left-right positioning guide 90, and positions the FOUP 52 front-rear and left-right. Reference numerals 83 and 91 denote tapered surfaces inclined in the front-rear direction, and reference numerals 87 and 92 denote tapered surfaces inclined in the left-right direction. These guide the conveyor guide surface 55. 84, 88, 93 are horizontal support surfaces which support the conveyor surface 54.

  FIG. 10 shows the support of the FOUP 62 for 300 mm wafers by the shelf supports 80 and 81. The positioning pin 94 is positioned by engaging with a hole for a forklift pin of the FOUP 62. The positioning pins 94 are accommodated in the V-groove 56 of the 450 mm wafer FOUP 52 and do not contact the FOUP 52.

2 Support device (scalar arm hand)
4 SCARA ARM 6 Plate 8, 9 Tall part 10 Tall part 12, 16 Positioning guide (first positioning member)
13, 17 Tapered surfaces 14, 18 Support surface 19 Non-rotating 20 Positioning protrusion (third positioning member)
22 Kinematic coupling pin (second positioning member)
30 Base 32, 34 Arm 36-40 Shaft 42 Arm 44, 46 Fall prevention member 47 Roller 48 Strut 52 FOUP for 450 mm wafer (first article)
54, 64 Conveyor surface 55 Conveyor guide surface 56, 66 V-groove 58, 68 Door 60, 70 Flange 62 FOUP for 300 mm wafer (second article)
72, 73 Support line segment 74 Positioning protrusion 75 Support point 80, 81 Shelf support 82, 86, 90 Positioning guide 83, 87, 91, 92 Tapered surface 84, 88, 93 Support surface 94 Positioning pin

D Thickness difference

Claims (5)

A first article having a first concave portion for positioning at the bottom, and a second article having a second concave portion for positioning at the bottom, and the bottom portion being within the range occupied by the bottom of the first article. A stocker comprising a support device and a shelf for supporting together in the same direction ,
The stocker includes a shelf having at least a pair of shelf holders, and a moving body for raising and lowering the support device,
The depth direction of each article is the front-rear direction and the width direction is the left-right direction.
The support device has a width in the left-right direction narrower than the bottom of the first article and a length wider than the depth of the second article in the middle in the front-rear direction, and the upper surface from both outer sides in the front-rear direction. A support part provided with a lower part which is also lowered,
Positioning and supporting both ends in the front-rear direction of the first article by guiding both ends in the front-rear direction of the bottom part of the first article provided on both outer sides in the front-rear direction of the lower portion of the support part A first positioning member that
A movement restricting member for restricting movement in the left-right direction of the first article provided at the support portion and positioned at both ends in the front-rear direction by the first positioning member;
A second positioning member provided at the lower portion of the support portion and positioning and supporting the bottom of the second article ,
The at least one pair of shelf supports is provided with an interval narrower than a width of the bottom portion of the second article and wider than a width of the support portion, and each of the at least one pair of shelf supports is provided along the front-rear direction. A pair of front and rear positioning guides that are longer than the depth of the first article and positioned by guiding both front and rear direction ends of the bottom of the first article, and positioning means that positions the bottom of the second article,
When the moving body moves the support device up and down, the first article and the second article are transferred between the support apparatus and the pair of shelf supports, and the first article is transferred. The stocker is configured such that the first positioning member and the pair of front and rear positioning guides are arranged in the left-right direction along both front and rear ends of the first article . The movement restricting member is provided on at least one outer side in the front-rear direction of the short portion, and engages with a first recess at the bottom of the first article, thereby positioning the first article in the left-right direction. Ri third positioning member der for positioning,
2. The stocker according to claim 1, wherein each of the pair of shelf supports includes a second positioning guide for positioning by guiding both ends in the left-right direction of the first article . The second article has a plurality of second recesses, and the second positioning member engages with the second recess at the bottom of the second article and is provided in the lower part of the first article. a plurality of protrusions der height does not interfere with the bottom of the article is,
The stocker according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the positioning means is a plurality of protrusions that engage with a hole in a bottom portion of the second article to position the second article . The first positioning member includes a tapered surface that guides both ends in the front-rear direction of the first article, and a support surface that supports the bottom of the first article,
The tapered surface and the support surface extend along the left-right direction of the article, and the boundary between the tapered surface and the support surface acts as a detent for the first article at the end of the first positioning member. The stocker according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the stocker is configured to do so. A first article having a first concave portion for positioning at the bottom, and a second article having a second concave portion for positioning at the bottom, and the bottom portion being within the range occupied by the bottom of the first article. The support device and the stocker shelf support both in the same direction,
The stocker includes a shelf having at least a pair of shelf holders, and a moving body for raising and lowering the support device,
The depth direction of each article is the front-rear direction and the width direction is the left-right direction.
The support device includes a support portion that is narrower in the left-right direction than the bottom portion of the first article, and the support portion has a length wider than the depth of the second article in the middle in the front-rear direction. , A lower portion is provided with the upper surface being lower than both outer sides in the front-rear direction,
The at least one pair of shelf supports is provided with an interval narrower than a width of the bottom portion of the second article and wider than a width of the support portion, and each of the at least one pair of shelf supports is provided along the front-rear direction. A pair of front and rear positioning guides that are longer than the depth of the first article and positioned by guiding both front and rear direction ends of the bottom of the first article, and positioning means that positions the bottom of the second article,
The movable body moves the support device up and down to transfer the first article and the second article between the support device and the pair of shelf supports,
By guiding both ends in the front-rear direction of the bottom of the first article with the first positioning members provided on both outer sides in the front-rear direction of the lower portion of the support part, the front and rear of the first article Positioning and supporting both ends in the direction;
A step of restricting movement in the left-right direction of the first article whose both ends in the front-rear direction are positioned by the first positioning member by the movement-regulating member provided in the support part;
Positioning and supporting the bottom of the second article by a second positioning member provided in the lower portion of the support ;
Positioning and supporting the front and rear ends of the first article by guiding the front and rear ends of the bottom of the first article by the pair of front and rear positioning guides;
Positioning the bottom of the second article by the positioning means;
And
A method for supporting an article , wherein when the first article is transferred, the first positioning member and the pair of front and rear positioning guides are arranged in the left-right direction along both front and rear ends of the first article .

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