CN115692279A - Conveyor and conveying system - Google Patents

Abstract

A conveyor system, comprising: a transmission unit for transmitting the object in the longitudinal direction by a user; a plurality of processing devices arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction on one side in the width direction of the conveying section; and a conveying structure disposed between the conveying unit and the plurality of processing devices on one side in a width direction of the conveying unit, the conveying structure including: a rail extending along the length direction; and a conveyor provided to be movable along the rail, the conveyor conveying the object between the conveying section and the processing apparatus.

Description

Conveyor and conveying system

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a conveyor and a conveying system.

Background

When thinning the back surface of a predetermined object (e.g., a sapphire wafer), a plurality of wafers are arranged on a block for productivity, and thus a plurality of wafers are simultaneously processed at one time, and the block on which the wafers are mounted is also increased in size.

When 7 4 inch wafers are installed, the size of the block is 360 pie, and the weight of the block is over 10 kg due to the ceramic material. In order to transfer blocks in an automated process, a transfer robot is required, and when a general articulated robot is used as the transfer robot, a large and very expensive robot must be used.

Background art of the present invention has been disclosed in korean patent laid-open publication No. 10-2018-0096121.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a conveyor and a conveying system that are smaller than the prior art and can convey an object.

However, the technical problem to be solved by the embodiments of the present invention is not limited to the technical problems described above, and other technical problems may also exist.

As a means for achieving the above object, a conveyor according to a first aspect of the present invention includes: a base part; an upper and lower rail part extended upward from the base part; a machine body which can move up and down along the upper and lower rail parts; and an arm provided with: a coupling part coupled to the body, a protrusion coupled to the coupling part, protruding forward of the body, and an adsorption part formed at a front end of the protrusion, for adsorbing an object, wherein the arm is relatively rotatable with respect to the body.

The conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a vacuum forming structure, and the suction portion may be formed with one or more suction ports opened downward and a gas transfer passage for communicating the one or more suction ports with the vacuum forming structure.

The conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention further includes a suction guide member provided on a lower surface of the suction portion, and a communication port communicating with the suction port is formed to penetrate the suction guide member in a vertical direction.

In the conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention, the suction part sucks a central region of the object, and the length of the protrusion may be longer than a length from an edge portion of the object facing the machine body to an outermost peripheral portion of the central region.

In the conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention, the object may include: the wafer processing device comprises a circular block body and a plurality of wafers arranged on the block body along the circumferential direction of the block body.

The conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a reinforcing part for supporting the body at a lower side of the body.

The conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention may further include a rotating structure for guiding relative rotation of the upper and lower rail portions to the base portion.

The conveying system according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises: a conveying part for conveying the object in a longitudinal direction; a plurality of processing devices arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction on one side in the width direction of the conveying section; and a conveying structure provided between the conveying portion and the plurality of processing devices on one side in a width direction of the conveying portion, the conveying structure including: a rail extending in the longitudinal direction; and a conveyor provided to be movable along the rail, wherein the conveyor can convey an object between the conveying section and the processing device.

In a conveying system according to an embodiment of the invention, the conveying structure may comprise a plurality of the conveyors.

In the conveying system according to an embodiment of the present invention, the plurality of processing devices may be divided into a plurality of groups, and each of the plurality of conveyors may perform conveying with respect to each of the plurality of groups.

In a transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention, the conveyor includes: an upper and lower rail extending upward from the base portion; the machine body can move up and down along the upper and lower rails; and an arm provided with: and a coupling portion coupled to the body, a protrusion portion protruding from the coupling portion to a front side of the body, and an adsorption portion formed at a front end of the protrusion portion to adsorb an object, wherein the arm is relatively rotatable with respect to the body.

In the transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention, the transfer unit may include a plurality of transfer devices having different heights, one of the plurality of transfer devices may be loaded with the object moved from the transfer unit to the processing device, and another of the plurality of transfer devices may be loaded with the object moved from the processing device to the transfer unit.

The above-described problem solving means are only illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the present invention. In addition to the exemplary embodiments described above, additional embodiments are possible in the drawings and detailed description.

Effects of the invention

According to the means for solving the problem of the present invention, it is possible to realize a conveyor capable of conveying an object and reversing the object without having a multijoint structure, and a conveying system including the conveyor. Accordingly, it is possible to realize low-cost, space-efficient automation that can be used for conveying an object in a thinning process, a grinding process, a DMP process, a CMP process, or the like.

Space efficiency can also be ensured.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a conveyor according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a conveyor according to an embodiment of the invention, viewed from a different angle than fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of an arm of a conveyor according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a schematic conceptual perspective view of a delivery system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 5 is a conceptual perspective view of another example of a transmission system according to an embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a schematic conceptual top view of another example of a transfer system according to an embodiment of the invention.

In the figure:

1: conveyor, 11: base portion, 12: upper and lower rail portions, 13: body, 131: housing, 132: square tube portion, 133: coupling portion, 14: arm, 141: bonding portion, 1411: coupling unit, 1412: coupling unit, 142: projection, 143: adsorption portion, 151: a pipe member, 16: suction guide member, 17: reinforcing portion, 18: rotating structure, 5: transfer structure, 51: track, 6: processing apparatus, 7: loading section, 8: conveying part, 81: conveying device, 82: conveying device, 9: object, 91: block, 92: wafer

Detailed Description

An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains can easily carry out the present invention. The present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. In addition, in order to clearly explain the present invention in the drawings, portions that are not related to the description are omitted, and like reference numerals are used to refer to like portions throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a certain portion is referred to as being "connected" to another portion, this includes not only the case of being "directly connected" but also the case of being "electrically connected" or "indirectly connected" with another element interposed therebetween.

Throughout the specification of the present invention, when a certain component is referred to as being "on", "above", "upper", "lower" or "lower" a component is located on "another component, this includes not only a case where the certain component is in contact with the another component but also a case where the other component is present between the two components.

Throughout the specification, when a part is described as "including" a certain component, unless otherwise specifically stated to the contrary, it means that other components may be included without excluding other components.

In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, terms (upper side, lower side, and the like) relating to directions or positions are set based on the arrangement states of the respective configurations shown in the drawings. For example, referring to fig. 1, the 12-point direction as a whole may be an upper side, a surface facing the 12-point direction as a whole may be an upper surface, the 6-point direction as a whole may be a lower side, and the like.

The present invention relates to a conveyor and a conveying system.

First, a conveyor (hereinafter, referred to as "present conveyor") 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention is explained. Further, the conveyor may use a conveyor having the same or similar meaning as the transfer robot. For reference, the present conveyor 1 may share contents with a transmission system according to an embodiment of the present invention described later.

Referring to fig. 1, the present conveyor 1 includes a base portion 11.

Further, the present conveyor 1 includes upper and lower rail portions 12. The upper and lower rail portions 12 extend upward from the base portion 11.

Further, the present conveyor 1 includes a body 13, and the body 13 is movable up and down along the upper and lower rail portions 12.

Furthermore, the present conveyor 1 comprises an arm 14. An arm 14 provided with: a coupling portion 141 coupled to the body 13; a protrusion 142 coupled to the coupling portion 141 and protruding forward of the body 13; and an adsorption part 143 formed at the tip of the protrusion 142 for adsorbing the object 9.

The arm 14 is relatively rotatable with respect to the body 13.

Referring to fig. 2, for example, the coupling portion 141 may include: a coupling unit 1412 having a circular cross section and coupled to the body 13; and a coupling unit 1411 which is provided at the front end of the coupling unit 1412 to hold the rear end of the protrusion 142 and is coupled to the rear end of the protrusion 142, and the body 13 may include: a housing 131 extending forward and rearward; a square tube 132 provided inside the housing 131 and extending forward and backward; and a coupling part 133 extending forward and backward inside the square tube part 132 and surrounding the coupling unit 1412 of the coupling part 141. The coupling unit 1412 may be coupled to the coupling unit 133 so as to rotate about the front and rear directions while restricting the front and rear movement of the coupling unit 133. For example, although not shown, the coupling unit 1412 may have a circular cross section and be elongated in the front-rear direction, one or more steps protruding outward or inward may be formed on the outer surface of the coupling unit 1412, a recess or step engaged with the outer surface of the coupling unit 1412 may be formed on the inner surface of the coupling unit 133, and the one or more steps may limit the front-rear movement of the coupling unit 1412 and may rotate about the front-rear direction. Whereby rotation of the arm 4 is possible.

By the construction of the arms 14, the present conveyor 1 can easily move and turn heavy blocks.

Further, when the arm 14 sucks the object 9, the sucking part 143 may be a part opposite to the sucked part of the object 9. Next, the adsorption part 143 will be described.

The present conveyor 1 may comprise a vacuum forming structure. For example, the vacuum forming structure may include a vacuum forming part and a pipe member 151.

The adsorption part 143 may be formed with one or more adsorption ports opened downward and a gas transfer passage for communicating the one or more adsorption ports with the vacuum forming structure. The gas moving passage may communicate with the pipe member 151. Therefore, the vacuum forming portion can communicate with the suction port, and when the vacuum forming portion sucks gas (vacuum formation), vacuum (negative pressure) is formed inside the suction port, whereby suction can be performed, and when the vacuum forming portion stops sucking, suction can be interrupted.

Further, the gas movement passage and the pipe member 151 may be directly connected or indirectly connected. For example, the gas moving passage may be directly communicated with the tube member 151, or indirectly communicated with the gas moving passage and the tube member 151 in the form of an additional passage in which one end of the projection 142 is formed to be communicated with the gas moving passage and the other end is communicated with the tube member 151.

Further, the present conveyor 1 may include a suction guide member 16 provided on a lower surface of the suction portion 143.

The suction guide member 16 may be made of a material having elasticity, for example, a flexible material. For example, the adsorption guide member 16 may be made of one or more materials including rubber, silicone, or the like. Further, a communication port that penetrates in the vertical direction and communicates with the suction port may be formed in the suction guide member 16. Therefore, when the suction portion 143 performs suction, a suction force can act on the suction object through the suction port and the communication port communicating with the suction port, and when the suction object is sucked, the suction guide member 16 can elastically deform to reduce the impact force applied to the object.

Further, referring to fig. 1, the adsorption part 143 may adsorb a central region of the object.

Referring to fig. 1, for example, the object 9 may include a circular block 91, and a plurality of wafers 92 arranged on the block 91 in a circumferential direction of the block 91. Therefore, the central region of the block 91 may be a region surrounded by the plurality of wafers 91 and not provided with the wafers 91, and the suction portion 143 may suck the central region of the block 91.

For reference, in the present conveyor, the objects may include: in wafer thinning (thinning), a block made of a ceramic or sapphire material introduced into a thinning processing apparatus, and a plurality of wafers arranged on the block in a circumferential direction of the block.

Further, the length a of the protruding portion 142 may be longer than a length from an edge portion of the object 9 facing the body 13 to an outermost peripheral portion of the central area. When the object 9 includes the circular block 91 and the plurality of wafers 92, the edge portion of the object 9 may refer to a portion facing the length a direction of the protrusion 142 (i.e., a portion facing the body 13) in the outer circumference of the upper surface of the object 9, and the length of the protrusion 142 may be longer than the length from the portion facing the length a direction of the protrusion 142 to the outer circumference of the central region in the outer circumference of the upper surface of the object 9. Thereby, the suction portion 143 of the arm 14 can suck the central region of the object 9 while covering the central region.

Further, a portion of the body 13 facing the rail portion 12 is attached to the rail portion 12 so as to be movable up and down with respect to the rail portion 12. The portion may be referred to as a mounting portion.

Further, a reinforcement portion 17 supporting the body 13 on the lower side of the body 13, for example, a portion of the reinforcement portion 17 facing the rail portion 12 is attached to the rail portion 12 movably up and down. Thereby, the reinforcing portion 17 can support the body 13 and move with the up-and-down movement of the body 13.

Further, referring to fig. 2, the present conveyor 1 may include a rotating structure 18 for guiding the relative rotation of the upper and lower rail portions 12 to the base portion 11. For example, the rotating structure 18 may include: a main rack extending downward from the upper and lower rail portions 12 and located below the base portion 11; a pinion gear positioned at a lower side of the base part 11 and engaged with the main rack; an auxiliary rack located at the lower part of the base part 11 and meshed with the pinion; and a power supply part (including a motor) for rotating the auxiliary rack. When the power supply part rotates the auxiliary rack, the pinion rotates therewith, and the main rack may rotate in the circumferential direction of the upper and lower rail parts 12 as the pinion rotates, thereby completing the rotation of the upper and lower rail parts 12.

As described above, the present conveyor 1 can pick up the central area of the suction object 9, convey it, and place it. At this time, due to the structure of the arm 14 of the present conveyor 1, even if the object 9 includes the block 91 and the plurality of wafers 92 disposed on the block 91 and is heavy, the object 9 can be easily picked up and conveyed with a small scale.

Further, according to the present conveyor 1, since the arm 14 can perform relative rotation with respect to the body 13, the arm 14 can pick up the object 9 and turn it upside down.

Next, a transmission system (hereinafter, referred to as "the present transmission system") according to an embodiment of the present invention is explained. However, the present conveyor system may include the present conveyor described above. Therefore, the content can be shared with the present transmitter. In the description of the present conveyor system, the same reference numerals are used for the same or similar components as those described in the above-described present conveyor, and the redundant description is simplified or omitted.

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, the present conveying system includes a conveying unit 8 for conveying an object 9 in a longitudinal direction. The transfer section 8 may include a transfer device 81. For example, the conveying means 81 may include a conveyor belt and a rotating means for rotating the conveyor belt (e.g., may include 2 or more pulleys). The objects 9 may be loaded on the conveyor belt, and the objects 9 on the conveyor belt may be conveyed by rotating the conveyor belt by the rotating means. Since the structure of such a transfer device 81 is obvious to those skilled in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Further, referring to fig. 4 and 5, the present conveying system may include a loading portion 7 in which the object 9 is prepared in the loading portion 7. The transfer unit 8 can receive and transfer the object 9 from the loading unit 7. For example, the loading portion 7 may be located at one side in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor 81, and the object 9 may be loaded from the loading portion 7 to the conveyor 81 and conveyed in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor 81 (by rotation of the conveyor belt).

Further, referring to fig. 4 and 5, the conveying section 8 may include a plurality of conveying devices 81, 82 having different heights. In other words, the conveying section 8 may include a plurality of conveying devices 81, 82, and the plurality of conveying devices 81, 82 may be arranged in the up-down direction. Thus, the conveying section 8 may include a first conveying device 81, and a second conveying device 82 located below the first conveying device 81. One of the first conveyor 81 and the second conveyor 82 may receive the object 9 from the loading unit 7 and convey the object to the processing device 6 side where the object 9 is to be moved, and the other may receive the object 9 conveyed from the processing device 6 and convey the object to the loading unit 7. Therefore, the directions in which the first conveyor 81 and the second conveyor 82 move the object may be opposite, and accordingly, the directions of rotation of the respective conveyors of the first conveyor 81 and the second conveyor 82 may be different (opposite directions).

Referring to fig. 4 and 5, the present transfer system includes a plurality of processing devices 6. The plurality of processing devices 6 are arranged at intervals along the longitudinal direction of the conveyance section 8 on one side in the width direction of the conveyance section 8. For reference, the processing device 6 may refer to a device that performs a processing process on an object, and for example, the processing device 6 may be a grinder that grinds an object. Alternatively, the processing device 6 may be a processing device that performs thinning. Alternatively, the processing device 6 may be one of a DMP apparatus, a CMP apparatus, a Wax motor, and the like.

For example, referring to fig. 4,2 processing devices 6 may be arranged at intervals in the length direction of the conveyance section 8 on one side in the width direction of the conveyance section 8. Referring to fig. 5, 2 or more processing devices 6 may be disposed at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor 8 on one side of the conveyor 8 in the width direction. In this way, a plurality of numbers of processing devices 6 may be provided.

Further, referring to fig. 4 and 5, the present conveying system includes a conveying structure 5, and the conveying structure 5 is disposed between the conveying section 8 and the plurality of processing devices 6 on one side in the width direction of the conveying section 8.

A conveying structure 5 comprising: a rail 51 extending in the longitudinal direction of the transfer part 8, and the present conveyor 1 described above movably provided along the rail 51.

The present conveyor 1 can convey an object 9 between the conveying section 8 and the processing apparatus 6. In other words, the present conveyor 1 picks up the object 9 from the conveying section 8 and places it on the processing device 6, or picks up the object 9 from the processing device 6 and places it on the conveying section 8.

As described above, the conveying section 8 may include the first conveying device 81 and the second conveying device 82, and, in a case where one of the first conveying device 81 and the second conveying device 82 can receive the object 9 from the loading section 7 and convey it to the processing device 6 side of the object 9 to be moved, and the other can load the object 9 conveyed from the processing device 6 and convey it to the loading section 7, in view of this point, the present conveyor 1 may pick up the object 9 from the one conveying structure and convey it to the processing device 6 side for placement, and may pick up the processed object from the processing device 6 and convey it with the other conveying structure for placement.

Furthermore, with reference to fig. 4 and 5, the conveying structure 5 may comprise more than one present conveyor 1. Referring to fig. 4, when the present conveyor 1 is one, one present conveyor 1 can perform conveyance to a plurality of processing devices 6. For example, when the number of the processing devices 6 is 2 and the number of the own conveyor 1 is one, the own conveyor 1 may move the object 9 between one of the 2 processing devices 6 and the conveying unit 8 and between the other of the 2 processing devices 6 and the conveying unit 8. For example, the present conveyor 1 may convey the object 9 between the other processing apparatus 6 and the conveying unit 8 (for example, the object 9 may be conveyed from the conveying unit 8 to the other processing apparatus 6, or the object 9 may be conveyed from the other processing apparatus 6 to the conveying unit 8) while the one processing apparatus 6 performs the processing process on the object 9 after conveying the object 9 to the one processing apparatus 6.

In addition, with reference to fig. 5, the conveying structure 5 may comprise a plurality of present conveyors 1. At this time, the number of the present conveyors 1 may be smaller than the number of the processing devices 6. Therefore, the plurality of processing devices 6 can be divided into a plurality of groups, and each of the plurality of conveyors can convey the plurality of groups. In this case, the number of packets may correspond to the number of the present conveyors 1. For example, when 4 processing devices 6 are provided and 2 processing devices are provided in the present conveyor 1, the 4 processing devices 6 may be divided into 2 groups of 2 processing devices, and the present conveyor 1 takes charge of conveying for each of the 2 groups. That is, one own conveyor 1 can convey the object 9 between each of the 2 processing devices 6 in a set and the conveying section 8.

Therefore, the present conveyor 1 can pick up the object 9 from the conveying section 8 and place it on one processing device 6 in the group, and then pick up another object 9 and place it on another processing device 6 in the group while one processing device 6 processes the object 9, whereby the object 9 can be conveyed without delay even if each processing device 6 does not have the present conveyor.

Further, the present conveyor 1 includes a base portion 11.

Further, the present conveyor 1 includes upper and lower rail portions 12. The upper and lower rail portions 12 extend upward from the base portion 11.

The conveyor 1 includes a body 13 that can move up and down along the upper and lower rail portions 12.

Furthermore, the present conveyor 1 comprises an arm 14. An arm 14, comprising: a coupling portion 141 coupled to the body 13 and the protruding portion 142, and protruding from the coupling portion 141 toward the front of the body 13; and an adsorption part 143 formed at the front end of the protrusion part for adsorbing the object 9. The arm 14 is relatively rotatable with respect to the body 13.

Since the present conveyor 1 has been described above, a detailed description will be omitted.

The present transport system may further include a plurality of processing devices 6 arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the transport unit 8 on the other side in the width direction of the transport unit 8. In addition, the present conveying system includes a conveying structure 5 disposed between the conveying portion 8 and the plurality of processing devices 6 on the other side in the width direction of the conveying portion 8.

The plurality of processing devices 6 and the transfer structure 5 disposed on the other side in the width direction of the transfer portion 8 correspond to or are the same as the plurality of processing devices 6 and the transfer structure 5 disposed on the one side in the width direction of the transfer portion 8 described above, and therefore, detailed description will be omitted.

In addition, referring to fig. 6, as another example of the present transmission system, the present transmission system may include: the present conveyor 1;2 processing devices 6 respectively positioned at one side and the other side of the conveyor 1; and a loading section 7 located in front of the conveyor 1. In this case, the present conveyor 1 can pick up the object 9 from the loading section 7 and convey it to one of the 2 processing apparatuses 6, pick up the object 9 from the other processing apparatus 6 and place it on the loading section 7, or pick up the object 9 from the loading section 7 and place it on the other processing apparatus 6 in the course of the processing process performed by the one processing apparatus 6.

The above description of the present invention is exemplary, and it should be understood that those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may easily modify the present invention into other specific forms without changing the technical idea or essential features of the present invention. The embodiments described above are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. For example, each component described as a single form may be implemented in a dispersed manner, and similarly, components described as dispersed forms may be implemented in a combined manner.

The scope of the present invention is determined by the scope of claims, not the content of the invention, and should be construed that all modifications or variations derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims (5)

1. A conveyor system, comprising:

a transmission unit for transmitting the object in the longitudinal direction by a user;

a plurality of processing devices arranged at intervals in the longitudinal direction on one side in the width direction of the conveying portion; and

a conveying structure disposed between the conveying section and the plurality of processing devices on one side in a width direction of the conveying section,

the transmission structure includes:

a rail extending along the length direction; and

a conveyor arranged to be movable along the track,

the conveyor conveys the object between the conveying section and the processing device.

2. A conveyor system as in claim 1 wherein the conveyor structure comprises a plurality of the conveyors.

3. The transmission system according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of processing devices are divided into a plurality of groups, and each of the plurality of transmitters performs the transmission with respect to the plurality of groups.

4. The conveyor system of claim 1, wherein the conveyor comprises:

an upper and lower rail extending upward from the base portion;

the machine body can move up and down along the upper and lower rails; and

an arm provided with: a coupling portion coupled to the body, a protruding portion protruding forward of the body from the coupling portion, and an adsorption portion formed at a distal end of the protruding portion for adsorbing an object,

wherein the arm is relatively rotatable with respect to the body.

5. The conveying system according to claim 1, wherein the conveying section is provided with a plurality of conveying devices having different heights,

one of the plurality of transport devices loads an object moved from the transport section to the processing device,

another of the plurality of transport devices carries an object moved from the processing device to the transport unit.

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