EP4049790A1

EP4049790A1 - Silicon rod grinding machine and silicon rod grinding method

Info

Publication number: EP4049790A1
Application number: EP20878608.7A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jianwei Lu; Jinghong SU; Xueming Pan; Xin Li; Qifeng Cao; Chunjun QIAN; Bin Li
Original assignee: Tdg Nissin Precision Machinery Co Ltd
Current assignee: Tdg Nissin Precision Machinery Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-10-24
Filing date: 2020-04-27
Publication date: 2022-08-31
Also published as: EP4049790A4; WO2021077705A1

Abstract

The present application provides a silicon rod grinder and a silicon rod grinding method thereof. A coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device of the silicon rod grinder are respectively arranged at a first machining position and a second machining position of a silicon rod machining platform; a first transfer device and a second transfer device are arranged, passing through the first machining position and the second machining position simultaneously; the first and second transfer devices are respectively configured with silicon rod clamps and driving mechanisms; the first and second transfer devices as well as the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device are controlled through coordination, so that the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device of the silicon rod grinder are working simultaneously, which doubles the grinding efficiency while maintaining the size and cost of the silicon rod grinder, thereby reducing the time of grinding operations and improving economic benefits.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present application relates to the technical field of silicon workpiece machining, and in particular to a silicon rod grinder and a silicon rod grinding method thereof.

BACKGROUND

Nowadays, with the increasing attention on and acceptance of the utilization of green and renewable energy in communities, the field of photovoltaic solar power generation has been increasingly valued and developed. In the field of photovoltaic power generation, common crystalline silicon solar cells are fabricated on high-quality silicon wafers, which are cut with a multi-wire saw and subsequently machined from a drawn or cast silicon ingot.
Taking monocrystalline silicon products as an example, the existing fabrication process of silicon wafers generally and roughly includes the following operations: firstly, an original long silicon rod is cut into a plurality of short silicon rods with a silicon rod cutter; next, a short silicon rod is squared into monocrystalline silicon rods with a silicon rod squarer; then, each silicon rod is machined through operations such as grinding and chamfering, so that the surface of a silicon rod is shaped to satisfy the corresponding flatness and dimensional tolerance requirements; subsequently, the silicon rod is sliced into silicon wafers.
Under normal circumstances, silicon rod grinding and chamfering procedures must include two processes, i.e., coarse grinding and fine grinding. In such procedures, a single silicon rod is loaded for coarse grinding and fine grinding in turn, delivered to be unloaded, and then another silicon rod is loaded, ground and unloaded. This process is repeated by a silicon rod grinder during common bulk machining. Grinding tools of the silicon rod grinder remain idle for a long period of time with a low grinding efficiency, thereby adversely affecting economic benefits of silicon rod machining.

SUMMARY

In view of these shortcomings of related technologies, the present application is intended to provide a silicon rod cutting-grinding integrated machine and a silicon rod cutting-grinding method, so as to solve existing problems in related technologies, such as a low efficiency between operations and poor machining of silicon rods.
To achieve the aforesaid purpose and other related purposes, the present application discloses a silicon rod grinder, including: a base, with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform; a first transfer device, including a liftable first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail arranged along a first direction, as well as a first driving mechanism, used for driving the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod, clamped to move along a first transfer path between the first machining position and the second machining position; a second transfer device, including a liftable second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail arranged along the first direction, as well as a second driving mechanism for driving the second silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped to move along a second transfer path between the first machining position and the second machining position, wherein under the transfer of the second transfer device and the first transfer device, the silicon rod clamped by the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped by the second silicon rod clamp are configured at different heights; a coarse grinding device, arranged at the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, configured to coarsely grind a silicon rod at the first machining position; and a fine grinding device, arranged at the second machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, configured to finely grind a silicon rod at the second machining position.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the first transfer path includes a first transfer section configured along an ascending-descending direction, a second transfer section along a first direction, and a third transfer section along an ascending-descending direction; the second transfer path includes a one-way transfer section along the first direction; the one-way transfer section and the second transfer section along the first direction are configured at different heights.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the first transfer device and the second transfer device are arranged above the silicon rod machining platform by means of a mounting frame, and the first transfer device and the second transfer device are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the mounting frame.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the first silicon rod clamp includes: a clamping arm mounting seat, arranged on the first transfer guide rail; at least two a pair of clamping arms, oppositely arranged along the first direction, and configured to clamp both end faces of a silicon rod; and a clamping arm driving mechanism, configured to drive at least one clamping arm of at least two clamping arms to move along the first direction.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the clamping arms are of a rotary structure; the first silicon rod clamp further includes a clamping arm rotating mechanism, configured to drive clamping arms to rotate.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the second silicon rod clamp includes: a clamping arm mounting seat, arranged on the second transfer guide rail; at least a pair of clamping arms, oppositely arranged along the first direction, and configured to clamp both end faces of a silicon rod; and a clamping arm driving mechanism, configured to drive at least one clamping arm of at least two clamping arms to move along the first direction.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the clamping arms are of a rotary structure; the second silicon rod clamp further includes a clamping arm rotating mechanism, configured to drive clamping arms to rotate.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the first driving mechanism includes: a first movable toothed rail, arranged along the first direction; a first driving gear, arranged at the first silicon rod clamp, and engaged with the first movable toothed rail; and a first driving power source, configured to drive the first driving gear.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the second driving mechanism includes: a second movable toothed rail, arranged along the first direction; a second driving gear, arranged at the second silicon rod clamp and engaged with the second movable toothed rail; and a first driving power source, configured to drive the second driving gear.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the coarse grinding device includes: at least a pair of coarse grinding tools, oppositely arranged at the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform; an extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools, configured to drive at least one coarse grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools to move laterally along a second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the fine grinding device includes: at least a pair of fine grinding tools, oppositely arranged at the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform; an extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools, configured to drive at least one fine grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools to move laterally along a second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, the silicon rod grinder further includes: a silicon rod delivery device, arranged adjacent to the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, and configured to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform or transfer machined silicon rods on the silicon rod machining platform out of the first machining position.
In certain embodiments of the first aspect of the present application, a waiting position is further arranged for the silicon rod machining platform, wherein the silicon rod grinder further includes a silicon rod delivery device, arranged adjacent to the waiting position of the silicon rod machining platform, and configured to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the waiting position of the silicon rod machining platform or transfer machined silicon rods in the waiting position out of the silicon rod machining platform.
The second aspect of the present application further provides a silicon rod grinding method, applied in a silicon rod grinder. The silicon rod grinder includes a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform. The silicon rod grinder further includes a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device includes a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, the second transfer device includes a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism. The silicon rod grinding method includes the following steps:

loading a first silicon rod to the first machining position, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the first silicon rod, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the first silicon rod at the first machining position;
enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along a first transfer path, and enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp to move along a second transfer path, wherein the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on the same straight line parallel to a first direction, but are staggered up and down on different horizontal planes, so that the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the second silicon rod clamp is transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position;
enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the first silicon rod at the second machining position; at this stage, loading a second silicon rod to the first machining position, enabling the second silicon rod clamp in the second transfer device to clamp the second silicon rod, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the second silicon rod at the first machining position;
enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer path, and enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer path, wherein the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on the same straight line parallel to a first direction, but are staggered up and down on different horizontal planes, so that the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped are transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position, and the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position; and
unloading the first silicon rod from the first machining position and loading a third silicon rod, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the third silicon rod, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the third silicon rod at the first machining position; at this stage, enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the second silicon rod at the second machining position.

The third aspect of the present application further provides a silicon rod grinding method, applied in a silicon rod grinder. The silicon rod grinder includes a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a waiting position, a first machining position and a second machining position are arranged for the silicon rod machining platform. The silicon rod grinder further includes a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device includes a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, the second transfer device includes a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism. The silicon rod grinding method includes the following steps:

loading a first silicon rod to the waiting position, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the first silicon rod, enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the waiting position to the first machining position, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the first silicon rod at the first machining position;
enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along a first transfer path, and enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp to move along a second transfer path, wherein the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on the same straight line parallel to a first direction, but are staggered up and down on different horizontal planes, so that the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the second silicon rod clamp is transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position;
enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the first silicon rod at the second machining position; at this stage, loading a second silicon rod to the waiting position, enabling the second silicon rod clamp in the second transfer device to clamp the second silicon rod, enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the waiting position to the first machining position, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the second silicon rod at the first machining position;
enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer path, and enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer path, wherein the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on the same straight line parallel to a first direction, but are staggered up and down on different horizontal planes, so that the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped are transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position, and the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position; and
unloading the first silicon rod from the waiting position and loading a third silicon rod, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the third silicon rod, enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the third silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the waiting position to the first machining position, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the third silicon rod at the first machining position; at this stage, enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the second silicon rod at the second machining position.

As described above, the silicon rod grinder and the silicon rod grinding method of the present application have the following beneficial effects: The coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device of the silicon rod grinder are respectively arranged at the first machining position and the second machining position of the silicon rod machining platform; the first transfer device and the second transfer device are arranged, passing through the first machining position and the second machining position simultaneously; first and second transfer devices are respectively configured with silicon rod clamps and driving mechanisms; positions of first and second silicon rod clamps on first and second transfer devices as well as transfer paths during the transfer are controlled through coordination, so that the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device of the silicon rod grinder are working simultaneously, which doubles the grinding efficiency while maintaining the size and cost of the silicon rod grinder, thereby reducing the time of grinding operations and improving economic benefits.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 2 is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 3 is a structural view of a first silicon rod clamp in a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 4 is an enlarged structural view in position A in FIG. 2.
FIG. 5 is a structural view of a second silicon rod clamp in a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 6 is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 7 is a simplified view of a transfer path for transferring silicon rods in a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 8 is a simplified view of a transfer path for transferring silicon rods in a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 9 is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 10 is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 11 is an operational view of a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 12 is an operational view of a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 13 is an operational view of a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 14 is a structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 15 is a top view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 16 is a structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 17 is a structural view of a first silicon rod clamp in a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 18 is an enlarged structural view in position A in FIG. 16.
FIG. 19 is a structural view of a second silicon rod clamp in a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 20 is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 21 is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 22 is a simplified structural top view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 23 is an operational view of a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 24 is an operational view of a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 25 is an operational view of a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 26 is an operational view of a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 27 is an operational view of a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application.
FIG. 28 is an operational view of a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The implementation methods of the present application will be described below through specific detailed embodiments, and those of ordinary skill in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the contents disclosed in this specification.
In the following description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which describe several embodiments of the present application. It should be understood that other embodiments can also be adopted, and modifications in the mechanical composition as well as structural, electrical and operational aspects can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description should not be considered as a limitation, and the scope of the embodiments of the present application is defined by claims of the published patent only. The terminology herein is used for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only without being intended to limit the present application. Space-related terms, such as "up", "down", "left", "right", "under", "below", "lower", "on", "above" and "upper", may be used herein to describe the relation of one element or feature to another element or feature as shown in figures.
In some cases, though terms such as "first" and "second" are used herein to describe various elements or parameters, and such elements or parameters should not be limited by these terms. These terms are used to distinguish one element or parameter from another element or parameter only. For example, a first direction may be known as a second direction, and vice versa, without departing from the scope of various described embodiments.
Moreover, as used herein, singular forms, such as "a", "an" and "the", are intended to include plural forms as well except that contrary indications are given in the context. It should be further understood that terms "comprise" and "include" indicate the presence of the described feature, step, operation, element, component, item, category and/or group, but do not exclude the presence, appearance or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, items, categories and/or groups. As used herein, terms "or" and "and/or" are interpreted to be inclusive, or to mean any one or any combination thereof. Thus, "A, B or C" or "A, B and/or C" means "any of the following: A; B; C; A and B; A and C; B and C; A, B and C". Exceptions to this definition are possible only when combinations of elements, functions, steps or operations are inherently and mutually exclusive in some specific manner.
In related machining techniques for silicon rods, several procedures such as squaring, cutting, grinding and chamfering are involved.
During machining of silicon materials, several procedures such as squaring, cutting, grinding and chamfering are generally required to obtain silicon wafers for industrial production. An original silicon material is generally a long silicon rod with a cylindrical structure. The long silicon rod is cut into a plurality of short silicon rods with a silicon rod cutter; next, a resulting silicon rod section is squared into monocrystalline silicon rods with a silicon rod squarer, and the cross section of a monocrystalline silicon rod is a quasi-rectangle (including quasi-square); then, the monocrystalline silicon rod requires removal of surface damage, and chamfering on edges and corners to eliminate internal stress, followed by grinding and chamfering, so that the surface of a silicon rod is shaped to satisfy the corresponding flatness and dimensional tolerance requirements, thereby enabling final slicing.
In the process of grinding monocrystalline silicon rods, coarse grinding is required following by fine grinding, so as to achieve coarse grinding and fine grinding tools respectively. In a traditional working mode, a single monocrystalline silicon rod is coarsely ground and then transported to a fine grinding working area for fine grinding. Upon completion of fine grinding, the machined silicon rod is transported out of the working area. This process is repeated in intensive grinding work. The sequence of fine grinding and coarse grinding makes waiting grinding tools inevitable for a silicon rod grinder during operations. For example, fine grinding tools are waiting while coarse grinding tools are working for coarse grinding, vice versa. As a result, it takes a relatively long time for the grinding process.
In embodiments provided by the present application, to clarify definitions of directions and modes of operations between different structures, a three-dimensional space is defined by a first direction, a second direction and a third direction, wherein the first direction, the second direction and the third direction are all linear, and any two of them are perpendicular to each other. A length extension direction of a silicon rod grinder, i.e., a length direction of a monocrystalline silicon rod to be ground on the machine, is defined as the first direction, i.e., a front-rear direction. A width extension direction of a silicon rod grinder, i.e., a left-right direction, is defined as the second direction. A vertical direction, i.e., an up-down or ascending-descending direction, is defined as the third direction.
Reference is made to FIG. 1, which is a structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 1, a silicon rod grinder includes a base 1, a first transfer device 2, a second transfer device 3, a coarse grinding device 4 and a fine grinding device 5.
The silicon rod grinder of the present application is configured to grind a monocrystalline silicon rod. The monocrystalline silicon rod is obtained by cutting an original silicon rod and then squaring it with a silicon rod squaring device. The original silicon rod is generally rod-like monocrystalline silicon grown from a melt by the Czochralski method or the floating zone method.
The base 1 has a silicon rod machining platform 11. A first machining position and a second machining position are arranged for the silicon rod machining platform 11. The silicon rod machining platform 11 is arranged on the upper surface of the base 1. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the machining platform is designed as a rectangle in compliance with the shape of the base 1, and the first machining position and the second machining position respectively correspond to a coarse grinding area and a fine grinding area. As shown in FIG. 1, the first machining position and the second machining position are collinearly arranged at front and rear ends of the silicon rod machining platform 11, and correspondingly monocrystalline silicon rods borne by the platform can be machined separately at the first machining position and the second machining position.
A support structure of a mounting frame 12 is arranged on the upper surface of the base 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper surface of the base 1 is a rectangle, the support structure of the mounting frame 12 is on the outer edge of the rectangle, and the upper surface of the mounting frame 12 is approximately the same in shape and size as the upper surface of the base 1.
The mounting frame 12 is erected on the base 1 in a vertical frame structure. The upper surface of the frame is higher than the silicon rod machining platform 11, and bears the first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3. As shown in FIG. 1, the first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3 are respectively arranged above the first machining position and the second machining position through the mounting frame, the first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3 are parallel along a first direction and opposite or mirrored along a second direction, and projections of loaded silicon rods on a horizontal plane are maintained collinear. The first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3 are arranged above the first machining position and the second machining position through the mounting frame 12, and can be moved and exchanged between the two machining positions.
Reference is made to FIG. 2, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 2 in combination. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first transfer device 2 includes a first silicon rod clamp 21, a first transfer guide rail 22 and a first driving mechanism (not shown in the figures). The first silicon rod clamp 21 is supported by the first transfer guide rail 22; the first transfer guide rail 22 is arranged on the upper surface of the mounting frame 12 along the first direction, so as to limit the movement of the first silicon rod clamp 21 thereon along the first direction; the first driving mechanism is configured to drive the first silicon rod clamp 21 and a silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail 22, and enable the first silicon rod clamp 21 to be transferred between the first machining position and the second machining position. The first silicon rod clamp 21 includes a clamping arm mounting seat 211, at least two clamping arms 212 and a clamping arm driving mechanism 213.
Further reference is made to FIG. 1. For the overall appearance of the first silicon rod clamp 21, the clamping arm mounting seat is arranged above, the part other than the clamping arm mounting seat, including clamping arms, is underslung, the silicon rod clamp mounting seat is supported by the upper surface of the mounting frame 12, and clamping arms extend downwards from the clamping arm mounting seat in the hollow part of the mounting frame 12, so that silicon rods clamped by clamping arms are located on a machining face of the silicon rod machining platform 11.
The clamping arm mounting seat is arranged on the first transfer guide rail 22. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, a guide groove structure fit with the first transfer guide rail 22 is arranged at the bottom of the clamping arm mounting seat, the first transfer guide rail 22 is arranged along the first direction, and a length range of the first transfer guide rail 22 along the first direction at least covers positions of a first working area and a second working area along the first direction, so as to ensure the delivery of a silicon rod clamped by the first silicon rod clamp 21 between the two working areas. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the first transfer guide rail 22 is arranged to span the entire length of the mounting frame along the first direction.
Reference is made to FIG. 3, which is a structural view of the first silicon rod clamp 21 in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 3, a guide rail 2111 along the first direction is further arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat 211, and clamping arms 212 are arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat 211 through the guide rail 2111 and allowed to move along the first direction.
At least a pair of clamping arms 212 are oppositely arranged along the first direction, and used for clamping both end faces of a silicon rod. The silicon rod is a squared slender structure placed with its length direction along the first direction. The end faces are cross sections at both ends along the length direction. The clamping arms 212 hang down from the clamping arm mounting seat 211, and clamping ends of clamping arms are located below the clamping arms 212 and configured to clamp the silicon rod in direct contact.
The clamping arm driving mechanism 213 can drive at least one clamping arm of at least a pair of clamping arms 212 to move along the first direction, so as to adjust the distance between oppositely arranged clamping arms in the pair. The clamping ends of two clamping arms oppositely arranged along the first direction move towards each other along opposite directions to clamp the silicon rod, deliver the silicon rod for grinding between different working areas while keeping it clamped, transport the silicon rod to a bearing position after grinding and then move away from each other to release the machined silicon rod.
In certain implementation modes of this embodiment, the clamping arm driving mechanism 213 can be arranged as a travel motor to drive the clamping arms 212 to move along the guide rail of the clamping arm mounting seat 211.
In an embodiment of the present application, the clamping arm driving mechanism includes a driving motor, a driving gear and a pair of racks. The driving motor drives the gear to rotate. The pair of racks are engaged with two opposite sides on the circumference of the driving gear. To be specific, a line connecting two positions where two racks are engaged with the driving gear passes through a rotation center of the driving gear. When the driving gear rotates, each rack is driven by the gear to move along a rotation direction of the driving gear at the corresponding position where it is engaged. Since two racks are respectively engaged with two opposite sides on the circumference of the driving gear, they move at the same linear speed but along opposite directions when driven by the driving gear. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, each rack of the pair of racks is a slender structure. Teeth engaged with the driving gear are arranged along the length direction. Each rack in the pair is engaged with the driving gear at one end and connected to a clamping arm at the other end. Two racks are driven by the driving gear to move along opposite directions, so that two clamping arms of the pair of clamping arms move towards or away from each other along the guide rail of the clamping arm mounting seat along the first direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the clamping arms are of a rotary structure. As shown in FIG. 3, the first silicon rod clamp further includes a clamping arm rotating mechanism 214 used for driving clamping arms to rotate. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, a rotatable structure is arranged at any clamping end of the pair of the clamping arms 212. As driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism 214, clamping ends of clamping arms rotate along the length direction of the silicon rod, i.e., the first direction, as an axis, and the clamped silicon rod rotates correspondingly along the first direction as the axis. During practical grinding, a silicon rod is required to be ground and chamfered on four faces along the length direction and edges at junctions between any two of the four faces. The clamping arms provided by the present application enable the selection and control of different faces to be ground and different edges of the silicon rod.
In certain implementation modes of this embodiment, clamping ends of at least a pair of clamping arms have contact faces for clamping a silicon rod. When silicon rod clamping ends are two end faces at both ends of a slender structure, contact faces of the clamping ends of the clamping arms can be arranged along a vertical direction or include a plane in the vertical direction. Contact faces are arranged on a rotatable platform. The platform can be arranged as a custom regular geometry or irregular geometry.
In an embodiment of the present application, the rotatable platform can be arranged as a whole hinged with a hinge device with a locking function, and can rotate along the first direction as the axis. An axis of a rotating shaft is connected to the clamping arm rotating mechanism.
In an embodiment of the present application, clamping ends of clamping arms can be arranged as rotatable circular truncated cones. Circular planes of circular truncated cones are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod, and kept stationary with respect to end faces of the silicon rod after being tightly pressed against end faces of the silicon rod. Silicon rod clamping ends further include locking structures. The clamping ends of clamping arms are locked when a selected plane is ground. During switching of different faces to be ground, silicon rod clamping ends are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate along centers of circular truncated cones.
Reference is made to FIG. 4, which is an enlarged structural view of a silicon rod grinder in part A in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 4, clamping ends of the clamping arms include rotatable circular truncated cones and a series of protruding contacts arranged on circular truncated cones. Each contact has a contact plane. Circular truncated cones are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, protruding lengths, i.e. positions along the first direction, of contacts are adjustable. In the process of clamping a silicon rod with poor flatness of end faces, protruding lengths of contacts can be adjusted according to end faces of the silicon rod, so that all contact faces are tightly pressed against end faces of the silicon rod. The protruding lengths are lengths along the first direction from circular planes of circular truncated cones to contact planes of contacts.
In an embodiment of the present application, pressure sensors are arranged at clamping ends of the first silicon rod clamp to adjust protruding lengths of contacts based on detected pressure states. Generally, in the process of clamping a silicon rod, a pair of clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp are driven by the clamping arm driving mechanism, so as to move towards each other along the first direction before contact faces of clamping ends are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod to be clamped, and, if a plurality of contacts are arranged at clamping ends and pressure values of some contacts in contact with end faces of the silicon rod are detected to be less than a set value or a set range, a clamping degree can be modified by adjusting protruding lengths of contacts (generally in a direction of moving towards end faces of the silicon rod); alternatively, each clamping end of the pair of clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp is arranged as a contact face, in the process of clamping the silicon rod, end faces of the pair of clamping arms towards both ends of the silicon rod are driven by the clamping arm driving mechanism, so as to move towards each other to achieve the clamping purpose, after clamping ends are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod, a degree of clamping the silicon rod is detected with pressure sensors, and when a set pressure range is reached, the clamping arm driving mechanism controls the pair of clamping arms to stop moving along opposite directions.
The clamping arm rotating mechanism can be arranged on one clamping arm of the pair of clamping arms, so as to drive clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms and a silicon rod clamped to rotate; alternatively, the clamping arm rotating mechanism is arranged on each clamping arm of the pair of clamping arms, so as to control two clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms to rotate in the same angle and direction through coordinated movements. In certain implementation modes, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can be arranged as a driving motor.
To enable the silicon rod grinder to grind different sides of a silicon rod or chamfer edges, clamping ends of clamping arms are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate. Generally, for a squared monocrystalline silicon rod, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can control clamping ends of clamping arms to rotate by a certain angle such as 90° to grind different sides, or rotate by a certain angle such as 45° or 135° to chamfer different edges. If a grinding face provided by a grinding device is a plane, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can control clamping ends of clamping arms and a silicon rod clamped to rotate at different angles to chamfer the silicon rod repeatedly. For example, after a side of the silicon rod is ground, an edge adjacent to the side and another edge opposite to the edge can be chamfered repeatedly by rotating by a certain angle such as 40°, 45° or 50° to obtain a silicon rod with a smoother transition at junctions of different sides. All the angles above are rotation angles from the initial grinding position. For the chamfering method, reference can be made to patent publications such as CN108942570A . By driving the silicon rod to rotate by a certain angle, grinding tools are laterally fed along the second direction through coordination to grind edges and corners.
The first silicon rod clamp can be, for example, of a lift type. In an implementation mode, a guide rail along the ascending-descending direction is arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat of the first silicon rod clamp. Clamping arms of the silicon rod clamp and the guide rail bearing clamping arms on the clamping arm mounting seat can move along the third direction along the lifting guide rail, so as to control a relative position of the outer surface of the silicon rod to a grinding face of a grinding tool in the vertical direction, so as to select a face to be ground of the silicon rod and a grinding area of the grinding tool. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the lifting guide rail is arranged on a vertical face of the clamping arm mounting seat, and a guide groove fit with the lifting guide rail and a driving mechanism for driving clamping arms to move up and down are arranged correspondingly on clamping arms; the driving mechanism includes a travel screw and a travel motor, and the travel screw is arranged along the lifting guide rail, connected to the travel motor, and driven by the travel motor to drive clamping arms to move along the third direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, a lifting device of the first silicon rod clamp controls clamping arms to move between different working positions of the first transfer device. For example, when moving from a first working position to a second working position or moving from the second working position to the first working position, clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped are driven by an up-down movement driving mechanism to move along the lifting guide rail, for example, to ascend to a certain height along the lifting guide rail, so that the overall height of clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped is above clamping arms of the second silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped. Further, when the first silicon rod clamp is driven by the first driving mechanism to move along the first direction, and the second silicon rod clamp is driven by the second driving mechanism to move along the first direction, the transfer path corresponding to clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped and the transfer path corresponding to clamping arms of the second silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped are spatially presented as two parallel lines along the first direction. The two parallel lines are configured at different heights, and projections on a horizontal plane are collinear in a top view.
Further reference is made to FIG. 1. The first driving mechanism includes a first movable toothed rail, a first driving gear and a first driving power source. The first movable toothed rail is arranged along the first direction in parallel to the first transfer guide rail 22. The first movable toothed rail is fixed on the upper surface of the mounting frame, with a length dimension along the first direction approximately the same as that of the first transfer guide rail 22, and is parallel to and adjacent to the first transfer guide rail 22.
The first driving gear is arranged on the first silicon rod clamp 21 and engaged with the first movable toothed rail to drive the first silicon rod clamp 21 to move along the first transfer guide rail 22. The first driving power source is configured to drive the first driving gear. In an implementation mode of the present application, the first driving gear is arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat of the first silicon rod clamp 21, and driven by the first driving power source to rotate. Teeth of the first driving gear are engaged with the first movable toothed rail, and travel in compliance with the first movable toothed rail. The first silicon rod clamp 21 connected to the first driving gear thereby moves on the first transfer guide rail 22 correspondingly.
In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the first driving power source can be arranged as a driving motor. A power output shaft of the driving motor is axially connected to the first driving gear to control the movement of the first driving gear. Further, the first driving force source controls movements of the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped along the first direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the first driving mechanism can be arranged on the first silicon rod clamp, including a travel motor and a travel screw. The travel screw is arranged along the first transfer guide rail, connected to the travel motor, and driven by the travel motor to drive the first silicon rod clamp to move along the first transfer guide rail.
Further reference is made to FIG. 1. The second transfer device 3 includes a second silicon rod clamp 31, a second transfer guide rail 32 and a second driving mechanism. The second silicon rod clamp 31 is supported by the second transfer guide rail 32; the second transfer guide rail 32 is arranged on the upper surface of the mounting frame 12 along the first direction, so as to limit the movement of the second silicon rod clamp 31 thereon along the first direction; the second driving mechanism is configured to drive the second silicon rod clamp 31 and a silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail 32, and enable the second silicon rod clamp 31 to be transferred between the first machining position and the second machining position.
Reference is made to FIG. 5, which is a structural view of the second silicon rod clamp 31 in a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 5, the second silicon rod clamp 31 includes a clamping arm mounting seat 311, at least two clamping arms 312 and a clamping arm driving mechanism 313.
Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 5 in combination. For the overall appearance of the second silicon rod clamp 31, the clamping arm mounting seat 311 is arranged above, the part other than the clamping arm mounting seat 311, including clamping arms 312, is underslung, the clamping arm mounting seat 311 is supported by the upper surface of the mounting frame 12, and the clamping arms 312 extend downwards from the clamping arm mounting seat 311 in the hollow part of the mounting frame 12, so that silicon rods clamped by the clamping arms 312 are located on a machining face of the silicon rod machining platform 11.
The clamping arm mounting seat 311 is arranged on the second transfer guide rail 32. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, a guide groove structure fit with the second transfer guide rail 32 is arranged at the bottom of the clamping arm mounting seat 311, the second transfer guide rail 32 is arranged along the first direction, and a length range of the second transfer guide rail 32 along the first direction at least covers positions of a first working area and a second working area along the first direction, so as to ensure the delivery of a silicon rod clamped by the second silicon rod clamp 31 between the two working areas. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the second transfer guide rail 32 is arranged to span the entire length of the mounting frame 12 along the first direction.
Reference is made to FIGS. 1, 3 and 5 in combination. As shown in the figures, the second transfer guide rail 32 and the first transfer guide rail 22 are parallel and symmetrical. The clamping arm mounting seat 211 of the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the clamping arm mounting seat 311 of the second silicon rod clamp 31 move respectively on parallel paths defined by the first transfer guide rail 22 and the second transfer guide rail 32. When the first silicon rod clamp 21 and a silicon rod clamped are transferred between different machining positions, the second silicon rod clamp 31 and a silicon rod clamped can also be transferred between different machining positions. Movements of the clamping arm mounting seat 211 of the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the clamping arm mounting seat 311 of the second silicon rod clamp 31 are independent of each other. The first transfer guide rail 22 and the second transfer guide rail 32, which define movement ranges of clamping arm mounting seats on two transfer devices, are respectively arranged at different spatial positions without interfering with each other.
In an embodiment of the present application, a guide rail along the first direction is further arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat. Further reference is made to FIG. 5. The clamping arms 312 are arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat 311 through the horizontal guide rail 3111 along the first direction and allowed to move along the first direction.
The pair of clamping arms 312 are oppositely arranged along the first direction, and used for clamping both end faces of a silicon rod. The silicon rod is a squared slender structure placed with its length direction along the first direction. The end faces are cross sections at both ends along the length direction. The clamping arms hang down from the clamping arm mounting seat, and clamping ends of the clamping arms are located below clamping arms and configured to clamp the silicon rod in direct contact.
The clamping arm driving mechanism 313 can drive at least one clamping arm of the clamping arms 312 to move along the first direction, so as to adjust the distance between oppositely arranged clamping arms in the pair. Clamping ends of the two clamping arms oppositely arranged along the first direction move towards each other along opposite directions to clamp the silicon rod, deliver the silicon rod for grinding between different working areas while keeping it clamped, transport the silicon rod to a bearing position after grinding and then move away from each other to release the machined silicon rod. In certain implementation modes of this embodiment, the clamping arm driving mechanism 314 can be arranged as a travel motor to drive the clamping arms 312 to move along the guide rail 3111 of the clamping arm mounting seat 311.
In an embodiment of the present application, the clamping arm driving mechanism includes a driving motor, a driving gear and a pair of racks. The driving motor drives the driving gear to rotate. The pair of racks are engaged with two opposite sides on the circumference of the driving gear. Namely, a line connecting two positions where two racks are engaged with the driving gear passes through a rotation center of the driving gear. When the driving gear rotates, each rack is driven by the gear to move along a rotation direction of the driving gear at the corresponding position where it is engaged. Since two racks are respectively engaged with two opposite sides on the circumference of the driving gear, they move at the same linear speed but along opposite directions when driven by the driving gear. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, each rack of the pair of racks is a slender structure. Teeth engaged with the driving gear are arranged along the length direction. Each rack in the pair is engaged with the driving gear at one end and connected to a clamping arm at the other end. Two racks are driven by the driving gear to move along opposite directions, so that two clamping arms of the pair of clamping arms move towards or away from each other along the guide rail of the clamping arm mounting seat along the first direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the clamping arms are of a rotary structure. As shown in FIG. 5, the second silicon rod clamp 31 further includes a clamping arm rotating mechanism 314, used for driving clamping arms to rotate. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, a rotatable structure is arranged at a clamping end of any clamping arm of the pair of the clamping arms 312. As driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism 314, the clamping ends of the clamping arms rotate along the length direction of the silicon rod, i.e., the first direction, as an axis, and the clamped silicon rod rotates correspondingly along the first direction as the axis. During practical grinding, a silicon rod is required to be ground and chamfered on four faces along the length direction and edges at junctions between any two of the four faces. Clamping arms provided by the present application enable the selection and control of different faces to be ground and different edges of the silicon rod.
In certain implementation modes of this embodiment, contact faces of the clamping ends of the clamping arms can be arranged along a vertical direction or include a plane in the vertical direction. Contact faces are arranged on a rotatable platform. The platform can be arranged as a custom regular geometry or irregular geometry.
In an embodiment of the present application, the rotatable platform can be arranged as a whole hinged with a hinge device with a locking function, and can rotate along the first direction as the axis. An axis of a rotating shaft is connected to the clamping arm rotating mechanism.
In an embodiment of the present application, clamping ends of clamping arms can be arranged as rotatable circular truncated cones. Circular planes of circular truncated cones are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod, and kept stationary with respect to end faces of the silicon rod after being tightly pressed against end faces of the silicon rod. Silicon rod clamping ends further include locking structures. The clamping ends of clamping arms are locked when a selected plane is ground. During switching of different faces to be ground, silicon rod clamping ends are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate along centers of circular truncated cones.
Further reference is made to FIG. 4. In an embodiment of the present application, clamping ends of the clamping arms include rotatable circular truncated cones and a series of protruding contacts arranged on circular truncated cones. Each contact has a contact plane. Circular truncated cones are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, protruding lengths, i.e. positions along the first direction, of contacts are adjustable. In the process of clamping a silicon rod with poor flatness of end faces, protruding lengths of contacts can be adjusted according to end faces of the silicon rod, so that all contact faces are tightly pressed against end faces of the silicon rod. The protruding lengths are lengths along the first direction from circular planes of circular truncated cones to contact planes of contacts.
In an embodiment of the present application, pressure sensors are arranged at clamping ends of the silicon rod clamp to adjust protruding lengths of contacts based on detected pressure states. Generally, in the process of clamping a silicon rod, the pair of clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp are driven by the clamping arm driving mechanism, so as to move towards each other along the first direction before contact faces of clamping ends are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod to be clamped, and, if a plurality of contacts are arranged at clamping ends and pressure values of some contacts in contact with end faces of the silicon rod are detected to be less than a set value or a set range, a clamping degree can be modified by adjusting protruding lengths of contacts (generally in a direction of moving towards end faces of the silicon rod); alternatively, each clamping end of the pair of clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp is arranged as a contact face, in the process of clamping the silicon rod, end faces of the pair of clamping arms towards both ends of the silicon rod are driven by the clamping arm driving mechanism, so as to move towards each other to achieve the clamping purpose, after clamping ends are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod, a degree of clamping the silicon rod is detected with pressure sensors, and when a set pressure range is reached, the clamping arm driving mechanism controls the pair of clamping arms to stop moving along opposite directions.
Further reference is made to FIG. 5. The clamping arm rotating mechanism 314 can be arranged on one clamping arm of a pair of clamping arms 312 to drive clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms and a silicon rod clamped to rotate.
In another embodiment, the clamping arm rotating mechanism is arranged on each clamping arm of the pair of clamping arms, so as to control two clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms to rotate in the same angle and direction through coordinated movements. In certain implementation modes, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can be arranged as a driving motor.
To enable the silicon rod grinder to grind different sides of a silicon rod or chamfer edges, clamping ends of clamping arms are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate. Generally, for a squared monocrystalline silicon rod, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can control clamping ends of clamping arms to rotate by a certain angle such as 90° to grind different sides, or rotate by a certain angle such as 45° or 135° to chamfer different edges. If a grinding face provided by a grinding device is a plane, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can control clamping ends of clamping arms and a silicon rod clamped to rotate at different angles to chamfer the silicon rod repeatedly. For example, after a side of the silicon rod is ground, an edge adjacent to the side and another edge opposite to the edge can be chamfered repeatedly by rotating by a certain angle such as 40°, 45° or 50° to obtain a silicon rod with a smoother transition at junctions of different sides. All the angles above are rotation angles from the initial grinding position. For the chamfering method, reference can be made to patent publications such as CN108942570A . By driving the silicon rod to rotate by a certain angle, grinding tools are laterally fed along the second direction through coordination to grind edges and corners.
In an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 5, the second silicon rod clamp 31 is of a lift type. In an implementation mode, the lifting guide rail 315 along the third direction is arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat 311 of the second silicon rod clamp 31. The clamping arms 312 of the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the guide rail 3111 bearing the clamping arms 312 on the clamping arm mounting seat 311 can move along the third direction along the lifting guide rail 315 to control a relative position of the outer surface of the silicon rod to a grinding face of a grinding tool in the vertical direction, so as to select a face to be ground of the silicon rod and a grinding area of the grinding tool. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the lifting guide rail 315 is arranged on a vertical face of the clamping arm mounting seat 311, and a guide groove fit with the lifting guide rail 315 and a driving mechanism for driving the clamping arms 312 to move up and down are arranged correspondingly on the clamping arms 312; the driving mechanism includes a travel screw and a travel motor, and the travel screw is arranged along the lifting guide rail, connected to the travel motor, and driven by the travel motor to drive clamping arms to move along the third direction.
Further reference is made to FIG. 1. The second driving mechanism (not shown in the figure) includes a second movable toothed rail, a second driving gear and a second driving power source. The second movable toothed rail is arranged along the first direction in parallel to the second transfer guide rail. The second movable toothed rail is fixed on the upper surface of the mounting frame 12, with a length dimension along the first direction approximately the same as that of the second transfer guide rail 32, and is parallel to and adjacent to the second transfer guide rail 32.
The second driving gear is arranged on the second silicon rod clamp 31 and engaged with the second movable toothed rail to drive the second silicon rod clamp 31 to move along the second transfer guide rail 32. The second driving power source is configured to drive the second driving gear. In an implementation mode of the present application, the second driving gear is arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat of the second silicon rod clamp 31, and driven by the second driving power source to rotate. Teeth of the second driving gear are engaged with the second movable toothed rail, and travel in compliance with the second movable toothed rail. The second silicon rod clamp 31 connected to the second driving gear thereby correspondingly moves on the second transfer guide rail 32.
In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the second driving power source can be arranged as a driving motor. A power output shaft of the driving motor is axially connected to the second driving gear to control the movement of the second driving gear. Further, the second driving force source controls movements of the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped along the first direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the second driving mechanism can be arranged on the second silicon rod clamp, including a travel motor and a travel screw. The travel screw is arranged along the second transfer guide rail, connected to the travel motor, and driven by the travel motor to drive the second silicon rod clamp to move along the second transfer guide rail.
In an actual arrangement, to reduce the size of the silicon rod grinder while maintaining the designed machining efficiency, the clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamp together with silicon rods clamped are collinear in a top projection view. A collinear direction is the first direction. The lifting device of the first silicon rod clamp controls clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped to ascend to a certain height, so that clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp and the clamped silicon rod as well as clamping arms of the second silicon rod clamp and a clamped silicon rod, which are collinear on the top projection view, are configured at different heights. This satisfies the need for no collision of the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped with the second silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped during the transfer, and realizes the safe transfer of two silicon rod clamps between different machining positions.
Reference is made to FIG. 6 which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. Reference is made to FIGS. 1 and 6 in combination. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3 are respectively erected at left and right ends of the mounting frame 12, the second transfer device 3 includes a second transfer guide rail 32, and the second transfer guide rail 32 is arranged in parallel to the first transfer guide rail 22. The first silicon rod clamp 21 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 respectively borne on the first transfer guide rail 22 and the second transfer guide rail 32 have the same structure, and work independently under the control of the corresponding driving devices. Under the transfer of the second transfer device and the first transfer device, the silicon rod clamped by the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped by the second silicon rod clamp are configured at different heights.
The first silicon rod clamp 21 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 are of asymmetric structures along the second direction. The first silicon rod clamp 21 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 are opposite, i.e., mirrored along the second direction. When clamped by the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 or ground by the coarse grinding tools 41 and the fine grinding tools 51 simultaneously, silicon rods are on the same straight line in space. The same straight line is a straight line along the first direction. The first silicon rod clamp 21 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 can move along the first transfer guide rail 22 and the second transfer guide rail 32 respectively, and freely move along the first direction. Both silicon rod clamps are configured with lifting guide rails, so that silicon rods clamped are exchangeable through movements along the third direction and the first direction, and are staggered on different horizontal planes during movements.
Movement ranges of a lifting guide rail of the first silicon rod clamp 21 and a lifting guide rail of the second silicon rod clamp 31 along the third direction can satisfy the requirement that clamping ends of clamping arms of two silicon rod clamps and silicon rods clamped are in different height intervals.
The first transfer path is a path along which a silicon rod clamped is transferred by the first silicon rod clamp 21 from the first machining position to the second machining position or from the second machining position to the first machining position.
The second transfer path is a path along which a silicon rod clamped is transferred by the second silicon rod clamp 31 from the first machining position to the second machining position or from the second machining position to the first machining position.
Reference is made to FIGS. 7 and 8, which are simplified views of a first transfer path corresponding to a silicon rod clamped by a first silicon rod clamp and a second transfer path corresponding to a silicon rod clamped by a second silicon rod clamp in an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 7, the first transfer path includes a first transfer section S1 along an ascending-descending direction, i.e., the third direction, a second transfer section S2 along the first direction, and a third transfer section S3 along the ascending-descending direction; the second transfer path includes a one-way transfer section S4 along the first direction.
Specifically, when positions of the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod (a) clamped as well as the second silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod (b) clamped are switched between the first machining position and the second machining position, a transfer path of the silicon rod (a) clamped by the first silicon rod clamp can be as follows:

Starting from an initial position shown in FIG. 7, the silicon rod (a) clamped by the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod (b) clamped by the second silicon rod clamp are on the same horizontal plane or on horizontal planes at similar heights in two machining positions respectively, and the clamping ends of the clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod (a) clamped move to a certain height along the lifting guide rail, forming the first transfer section S1 along the ascending-descending direction;
Then, the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod (a) clamped are driven by a first driving device to move along the first direction along the first transfer guide rail, forming the second transfer section S2 along the first direction, and both ends of the second transfer section are located at the first machining position and the second machining position respectively;
As the silicon rod (a) clamped by the first silicon rod clamp is transferred along the first direction, forming the second transfer section S2, the second silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod (b) clamped as a whole are driven by a second driving device to move along the first direction, forming the one-way transfer section S4 along the first direction, and both ends of the one-way transfer section are located at the first machining position and the second machining position respectively, e.g., as the first silicon rod clamp is transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position, the second silicon rod clamp is transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position;
After the second silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod (b) clamped leave the second machining position, the clamping ends of the clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped descend under the control of a lifting device, forming the third transfer section S3 along the ascending-descending direction.

Reference is made to FIGS. 7 and 8 in combination. In a state shown in FIG. 8, a transfer is completed after the silicon rod (a) clamped by the first silicon rod clamp and silicon rod (b) clamped by the second silicon rod clamp are respectively transferred from an initial machining position to another machining position.
As shown in FIG. 8, according to demands of machining, when the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod (a) clamped as well as the second silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod (b) clamped require to be transferred from one machining position to another machining position again, they can be transferred in compliance with a similar way, e.g., the silicon rod (a) clamped by the first silicon rod clamp ascents to a certain height along the lifting guide rail, forming the first transfer section S1 along the ascending-descending direction; further, the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod (a) clamped as a whole move along the first transfer guide rail, forming the second transfer section S2 along the first direction, and the direction of the second transfer section S2 is controlled by the first driving device and can be from the first machining position to the second machining position or from the second machining position to the first machining position; at this stage, the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod (b) clamped are driven by the second driving device to move along the first direction, forming the one-way transfer section S4 along the first direction; then, the silicon rod (a) clamped by the first silicon rod clamp descends along the corresponding lifting guide rail, forming the third transfer section S3 along the ascending-descending direction.
Upon completion of the transfer, machining positions of the first silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamp together with the silicon rods clamped are exchanged again. During machining of a plurality of silicon rods, grinding devices at the first machining position and the second machining position can work simultaneously. After a machined silicon rod is unloaded, a new silicon rod to be ground is loaded. The above-mentioned process of transferring silicon rods is repeated.
The heights of the first transfer section S1 and the third transfer section S3 along the ascending-descending direction in the first transfer path are adjusted by the lifting device of the first silicon rod clamp, and in practical operations, within a lifting range allowed by the lifting guide rail, lifting heights corresponding to the first transfer section S1 and the third transfer section S3 can be controlled according to requirements of the transfer; the one-way transfer section S4 along the first direction in the second transfer path and the second transfer section along the first direction in the first transfer path are configured at different heights, which satisfies the requirement that during the transfer, silicon rod (a) clamped by the first silicon rod clamp and silicon rod (b) clamped by the second silicon rod clamp are configured at different heights, and the two silicon rods are staggered up and down, thereby realizing the safe transfer.
In another embodiment of the present application, both clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp and clamping arms of the second silicon rod clamp can move along the first direction and the third direction in space. Namely, the second transfer path corresponding to the silicon rod clamped by the second silicon rod clamp also includes a transfer section along the ascending-descending direction, and the lifting height of the second silicon rod clamp is controlled by the lifting device of the second silicon rod clamp. For the actual transfer, it should be understood that the first transfer path and the second transfer path are not unique fixed paths, and collisions between structures of a silicon rod grinder or between silicon rods can be avoided during the transfer, as long as transfer sections of the first transfer path and the second transfer path along the first direction are configured at different heights that satisfy requirements of the safe transfer.
Reference is made to FIG. 9, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the first transfer device 2 and/or the second transfer device 3 are transferring silicon rods. Both the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 are configured with lifting guide rails. Heights of a silicon rod clamped by the first silicon rod clamp 21 and a silicon rod clamped by the second silicon rod clamp 31 are adjustable within allowable movement ranges defined by lifting guide rails. The formed first transfer path and second transfer path are also not unique, and actual adjustments can be made according to requirements of the safe transfer, as long as two silicon rods and clamps do not overlap within height ranges occupied by them. Height ranges occupied by silicon rods and clamps are from lower surfaces of silicon rods clamped or lower surfaces of clamping ends of clamping arms to upper surfaces of horizontal guide rails bearing clamping arms.
Further reference is made to FIG. 2. The coarse grinding device 4 includes at least a pair of coarse grinding tools 41 and an extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools 42.
The pair of coarse grinding tools 41 are arranged at the first machining position. The pair of coarse grinding tools 41 are oppositely arranged along the second direction. In certain implementation methods, the coarse grinding tools 41 include grinding wheels and a rotating shaft. Two grinding wheels with certain granularity and roughness are oppositely arranged for two symmetrical faces to be ground of a silicon rod clamped respectively. In certain implementation methods, grinding wheels are circular with through holes at their centers. Grinding wheels are made of abrasive grains and a bonding agent by means of consolidation, feature surfaces with abrasive grain portions, and rotate in contact with a surface of a silicon rod to be ground. Coarse grinding wheels have a certain size and density of abrasive grains with pores in grinding wheels. An abrasive of grinding wheels can be arranged as abrasive grains with hardness greater than that of silicon materials, such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, diamond and cubic boron nitride, according to requirements of grinding silicon rods.
The extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools 42 is configured to drive at least one coarse grinding tool 41 of the pair of coarse grinding tools 41 to move laterally along a second direction. The second direction is defined as a width direction of the silicon rod grinder, perpendicular to the first direction. The extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools 42 controls the displacement of at least one coarse grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools 41 along the second direction, so as to adjust a relative distance between two coarse grinding tools of the pair of coarse grinding tools 42 along the second direction, thereby controlling the feed amount in the grinding process, which further determines the grinding amount.
In certain implementation modes, each pair of coarse grinding tools are configured with an extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools. In an embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools includes a sliding guide rail 422, a driving motor 421 and a ball screw (not shown in the figure). The sliding guide rail 422 is arranged along the second direction at the first machining position of the base. A guide groove fit with the sliding guide rail 422 along the second direction is arranged at the bottom of the coarse grinding tools 41. The ball screw is arranged along the sliding guide rail 422 and axially connected to the driving motor 421.
In an embodiment of the present application, one grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools is configured with the driving motor and the ball screw. The relative distance between coarse grinding tools is changed by means of moving one grinding tool of the pair of oppositely arranged grinding tools.
In an embodiment of the present application, each grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools is configured with the driving motor and the ball screw. The driving motors can individually control positions of the corresponding grinding tools along the second direction, or enable two grinding tools to move away from or towards each other at the same linear speed based on a certain synergistic relationship. For example, in the grinding process, as the pair of coarse grinding tools are oppositely fed towards each other at the same speed along the second direction, grinding wheels of the pair of coarse grinding tools rotate at the same linear speed for grinding.
In an embodiment of the present application, a pair of coarse grinding tools are driven by the same driving motor to oppositely move along the second direction at equal speeds. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools includes a driving motor, a driving gear, a pair of racks and a guide rail. The guide rail is arranged along the second direction at the first machining position on the base. A guide groove fit with the guide rail along the second direction is arranged at bottoms of coarse grinding tools. The driving motor drives the gear to rotate. The pair of racks are engaged with two opposite ends of the driving gear. As the driving gear rotates, the pair of racks are driven to move towards or away from each other along opposite directions at linear speeds at both ends of the gear. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, each rack of the pair of racks is engaged with the driving gear at one end, and connected to a respective coarse grinding tool at the other end, so that the pair of coarse grinding tools move away from or towards each other along the guide rail along the second direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the coarse grinding device further includes cooling devices for cooling the at least a pair of coarse grinding tools, thereby reducing damage to a surface layer of a silicon rod during grinding, and improving the grinding efficiency and service life of grinding wheels. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, cooling devices include cooling water pipes, flow guide grooves and flow guide holes. In certain implementation modes, protective covers are arranged along outer edges on circumferences of grinding wheels, so as to prevent cooling water from entering the driving motor for rotating grinding wheels. Cooling water pipes are connected to a cooling water source at one end, and to surfaces of protective covers of grinding wheels on the other end. Flow guide grooves are arranged on protective covers, and serve as contact points between protective covers and cooling water pipes. Flow guide holes are arranged in cooling grooves. A coolant for the cooling device can be common cooling water. Cooling water is pumped through cooling water pipes connected to the cooling water source into flow guide grooves and flow guide holes on surfaces of grinding wheels, and guided to contact faces between grinding wheels and a silicon rod ground for cooling. During grinding with grinding wheels, as grinding wheels rotate, cooling water from flow guide holes enter grinding wheels by means of centrifugation for sufficient cooling.
The pair of coarse grinding tools correspond to the at least a pair of clamping arms. In the grinding process, a silicon rod clamped by a pair of opposite clamping arms is moved along the first direction to control the sequence of grinding and chamfering on sides, edges and corners of the silicon rod. The silicon rod can be fully ground along its length direction by means of reciprocating movements. A pair of oppositely arranged coarse grinding tools are moved along the second direction to determine the feed amount for grinding on contact faces between grinding tools and the silicon rod.
Further reference is made to FIG. 2. The fine grinding device 5 includes at least a pair of fine grinding tools 51, and an extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools 52.
The pair of fine grinding tools 51 are arranged at the first machining position. The pair of fine grinding tools 51 are oppositely arranged along the second direction. In certain implementation modes, fine grinding tools 51 include grinding wheels and a rotating shaft. Two grinding wheels with certain granularity and roughness are oppositely arranged for two symmetrical faces to be ground of a silicon rod clamped respectively. In certain implementation modes, grinding wheels are circular with through holes at their centers. Grinding wheels are made of abrasive grains and a bonding agent by means of consolidation, feature surfaces with abrasive grain portions, and rotate in contact with a surface of a silicon rod to be ground. Fine grinding wheels are of a certain size and density of abrasive grains with pores in grinding wheels. In particular, the size of abrasive grains of grinding wheels of fine grinding tools is smaller than that of grinding wheels of coarse grinding tools, so that a face of a silicon rod is ground with greater surface smoothness; alternatively, the density of abrasive grains of grinding wheels of fine grinding tools is greater than that of grinding wheels of coarse grinding tools, thereby realizing greater smoothness.
An abrasive of grinding wheels can be arranged as abrasive grains with hardness greater than that of silicon materials, such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, diamond and cubic boron nitride, according to requirements of grinding silicon rods.
The extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools 52 is configured to drive at least one fine grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools 51 to move laterally along a second direction. The second direction is defined as a width direction of the silicon rod grinder, perpendicular to the first direction. The extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools 52 controls the movement of at least one fine grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools 51 along the second direction, so as to control a relative distance between two grinding tools of the pair of coarse grinding tools 51 along the second direction, thereby controlling the feed amount in the grinding process, which further determines the grinding amount.
In certain implementation modes, each pair of coarse grinding tools are configured with an extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools. In an embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools includes a sliding guide rail 522, a driving motor 521 and a ball screw. The sliding guide rail 522 is arranged along the second direction at the first machining position of the base. A guide groove fit with the sliding guide rail 522 along the second direction is arranged at the bottom of the fine grinding tools 51. The ball screw is arranged along sliding guide rail 522 and axially connected to the driving motor 521.
In an embodiment of the present application, one grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools is configured with the driving motor and the ball screw. The relative distance between fine grinding tools is changed by means of moving one grinding tool of the pair of oppositely arranged grinding tools.
In an embodiment of the present application, each grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools is configured with the driving motor and the ball screw. The driving motors can individually control positions of the corresponding grinding tools along the second direction, or enable two grinding tools to move away from or towards each other at the same linear speed based on a certain synergistic relationship. For example, in the grinding process, as the pair of fine grinding tools are oppositely fed towards each other at the same speed along the second direction, grinding wheels of the pair of fine grinding tools rotate at the same linear speed for grinding.
In an embodiment of the present application, a pair of fine grinding tools are driven by the same driving motor to oppositely move along the second direction at equal speeds. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools includes a driving motor, a driving gear, a pair of racks and a guide rail. The guide rail is arranged along the second direction at the first machining position on the base. A guide groove fit with the guide rail along the second direction is arranged at the bottom of fine grinding tools. The driving motor drives the gear to rotate. The pair of racks are engaged with two opposite ends of the driving gear. As the driving gear rotates, the pair of racks are driven to move towards or away from each other along opposite directions at linear speeds at both ends of the gear. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, each rack of the pair of racks is engaged with the driving gear at one end, and connected to a respective fine grinding tool at the other end, so that the pair of fine grinding tools move away from or towards each other along the guide rail along the second direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the fine grinding device further includes cooling devices for cooling the at least a pair of fine grinding tools, thereby reducing damage to a surface layer of a silicon rod during grinding, and improving the grinding efficiency and service life of grinding wheels. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, cooling devices include cooling water pipes, flow guide grooves and flow guide holes. In certain implementation modes, protective covers are arranged along outer edges on circumferences of grinding wheels, so as to prevent cooling water from entering the driving motor for rotating grinding wheels. Cooling water pipes are connected to a cooling water source at one end, and to surfaces of protective covers of grinding wheels on the other end. Flow guide grooves are arranged on protective covers, and serve as contact points between protective covers and cooling water pipes. Flow guide holes are arranged in cooling grooves. A coolant for the cooling device can be common cooling water. Cooling water is pumped through cooling water pipes connected to the cooling water source into flow guide grooves and flow guide holes on surfaces of grinding wheels, and guided to contact faces between grinding wheels and a silicon rod ground for cooling. During grinding with grinding wheels, as grinding wheels rotate, cooling water from flow guide holes enter grinding wheels by means of centrifugation for sufficient cooling.
The pair of fine grinding tools correspond to the at least a pair of clamping arms. In the grinding process, a silicon rod clamped by a pair of oppositely arranged clamping arms is moved along the first direction to control the sequence of grinding and chamfering on sides, edges and corners of the silicon rod. The silicon rod can be fully ground along its length direction by means of reciprocating movements. A pair of oppositely arranged fine grinding tools are moved along the second direction to determine the feed amount for grinding on contact faces between grinding tools and the silicon rod.
By means of the silicon rod grinder provided by the present application, during practical grinding, the first machining position and the second machining position can work simultaneously for coarse grinding and fine grinding of different silicon rods respectively. In an example, a monocrystalline silicon rod to be ground is delivered to the first machining position and ground by the coarse grinding device when clamped by the first silicon rod clamp. Upon completion of coarse grinding, the clamp of the first silicon rod clamp is driven by the lifting device to allow clamping arms and the silicon rod clamped to ascent to a certain height. Then, the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped are driven by the first driving device to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position. At the second machining position, clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp descend along the corresponding lifting guide rail for grinding between the fine grinding device and the silicon rod clamped; a silicon rod clamped by the second silicon rod clamp is being coarsely ground at the first machining position while the silicon rod clamped by the first silicon rod clamp is being finely ground, and fine grinding of the silicon rod at the second machining position is completed when coarse grinding is completed; the coarsely ground silicon rod is transferred by the second transfer device to the second machining position for fine grinding, the finely ground silicon rod clamped by the first transfer device is delivered out of the silicon rod machining platform, and during the transfer, lifting devices of the first silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamp adjust heights of clamping arms and silicon rods clamped respectively, so that the first transfer path and the second transfer path together with silicon rods and clamping structures on transfer paths are mutually staggered during the transfer; then, the first transfer device continues to clamp an unground silicon rod, indicating that the aforesaid process is repeated.
In certain embodiments of the present application, the first silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamp include a plurality of pairs of clamping arms oppositely arranged along the first direction. A plurality of pairs of oppositely arranged coarse grinding tools and fine grinding tools are arranged at the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device respectively. In certain implementation modes, the number of pairs of clamping arms on the first silicon rod clamp, the second silicon rod clamp, the coarse grinding device or the fine grinding device is the same as that of the pairs of grinding tools. The driving mechanisms of each pair of clamping arms and each pair of grinding tools are relatively independent, thereby enabling the relatively independent transfer between the first machining position and the second machining position for grinding of a plurality of silicon rods at the same time.
In some embodiments of the present application, the silicon rod grinder further includes a silicon rod delivery device, wherein the silicon rod delivery device is used to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the first machining position or transfer ground silicon rods out of the silicon rod machining platform.
Reference is made to FIG. 10, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 10, the silicon rod delivery device 6 is adjacent to the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform 11, and runs through the first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3. In an embodiment of the present application, the silicon rod delivery device 6 can be arranged as a conveyor belt mechanism for conveying silicon rods on transfer devices to the first machining position along the second direction. Both ends of a conveyor belt can be arranged on left and right sides of the base. A conveying distance covers the width of the silicon rod grinder. According to demands of machining, silicon rods can be transferred from a loading position to the first transfer guide rail or the second transfer guide rail at the first machining position, or transferred from the first machining position or the second machining position, out of the silicon rod machining platform, to an unloading position. The loading position and the unloading position can be the same position at the same end of the silicon rod delivery device, or can be arranged respectively at either end along the second direction, i.e., left and right ends, of the silicon rod delivery device.
In certain implementation modes of the present application, the silicon rod delivery device 6 can also be arranged as a chain conveying mechanism or a double-speed chain mechanism for transferring silicon rods between different machining positions and the loading position or the unloading position along the second direction.
In certain embodiments of the present application, a waiting position (not shown in the figure) is further arranged for the silicon rod machining platform 11. The silicon rod grinder further includes a silicon rod delivery device 6. The waiting position is arranged on a side of the base along the second direction, and can be used as a position for loading silicon rods to be machined and unloading machined silicon rods.
The silicon rod delivery device 6 is adjacent to the waiting position of the silicon rod machining platform 11, and is configured to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the waiting position of the silicon rod machining platform 11 or transfer machined silicon rods in the waiting position out of the silicon rod machining platform 11. In an implementation mode, the silicon rod delivery device 6 can be arranged as a conveyor belt mechanism for conveying silicon rods on transfer devices to the first machining position along the second direction. Both ends of a conveyor belt can be arranged on left and right sides of the base. A conveying distance covers the width of the silicon rod grinder. According to demands of machining, silicon rods can be transferred from a loading position to the first transfer guide rail or the second transfer guide rail at the first machining position, or transferred from the first machining position or the second machining position, out of the silicon rod machining platform 11, to an unloading position. The loading position and the unloading position can be the same position at the same end of the silicon rod delivery device, or can be arranged respectively at either end along the second direction, i.e., left and right ends, of the silicon rod delivery device.
In certain implementation modes of the present application, the silicon rod delivery device can also be arranged as a chain conveying mechanism or a double-speed chain mechanism for transferring silicon rods between different machining positions and the loading position or the unloading position along the second direction.
By means of the silicon rod grinder provided by the present application, during grinding of silicon rods, the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device in the first working position and the second working position can respectively grind silicon rods at different grinding stages, which doubles the grinding efficiency while maintaining the size and cost of the silicon rod grinder, thereby reducing the time of machining silicon rods and improving economic benefits.
To realize the use of the silicon rod grinder provided by the present application, the present application further provides a silicon rod grinding method in the second aspect. The silicon rod grinding method can be used in a silicon rod grinder. The silicon rod grinder includes a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform; the silicon rod grinder further includes a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device includes a liftable first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, and the second transfer device includes a liftable second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism.
The fine grinding device and the coarse grinding device are respectively located at different machining positions; in examples provided by the present application, the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device are respectively arranged at the first machining position and the second machining position. The fine grinding device includes at least a pair of fine grinding tools, which can grind two opposite sides of a silicon rod simultaneously; the coarse grinding device includes at least a pair of coarse grinding tools, which can grind two opposite sides of a silicon rod simultaneously. In certain implementation modes, at least one grinding tool of the pair of grinding tools of the coarse grinding device freely moves along the second direction, and at least one grinding tool of the pair of grinding tools of the fine grinding device freely moves along the second direction. The grinding amount of silicon rods can be controlled in the grinding processes of coarse grinding operations and fine grinding operations.
The first driving mechanism drives the first silicon rod clamp to move along the first transfer guide rail; the second driving mechanism drives the second silicon rod clamp to move along the second transfer guide rail. The first transfer guide rail and the second transfer guide rail are arranged on the base in parallel, and both are arranged along the first direction.
The first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. In the embodiments provided by the present application, the first direction is a length direction of the base, and the second direction is a width direction of the base.
In certain embodiments, the silicon rod grinders in which the silicon rod grinding method can be applied include a silicon rod grinder in any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-10.
The silicon rod grinding method includes the following steps:
Reference is made to FIG. 11, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder performing a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application. In a state shown in FIG. 11, the first silicon rod 71 is loaded to the first machining position, the first silicon rod clamp 21 in the first transfer device clamps the first silicon rod 71, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the first silicon rod 71 at the first machining position. In certain implementation modes, the first silicon rod 71 moves along the first direction when clamped by the first silicon rod clamp 21, and in the coarse grinding process and the subsequent fine grinding process, the first silicon rod clamp 21 drives the first silicon rod 71 to move, so that a contact face between the first silicon rod 71 and grinding tools moves from one end to the other end of the silicon rod, so as to complete grinding on two opposite sides; alternatively, the first silicon rod clamp 21 drives the first silicon rod 71 to move back and forth along the first direction, so that a contact face between the first silicon rod 71 and coarse grinding tools fully covers sides of the first silicon rod 71 during the movement. The first silicon rod clamp 21 includes at least a pair of clamping arms. Clamping arms are rotatable. The first silicon rod 71 can rotate along the axis of the first direction when clamped by clamping arms, so as to realize grinding and chamfering on different sides of the first silicon rod 71 by means of switching.
Reference is made to FIG. 12, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder performing a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application. In a state shown in FIG. 12, after the first silicon rod 71 at the first machining position is coarsely ground, the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so as to transfer the first silicon rod 71 from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the fine grinding device 5 finely grinds the first silicon rod 71; at this stage, the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp to move along the second transfer path, so as to transfer the second silicon rod clamp from the second machining position to the first machining position; the second silicon rod 72 is loaded to the first machining position, the second silicon rod clamp 31 in the second transfer device clamps the second silicon rod 72, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the second silicon rod 72 at the first machining position. During the transfer, the lifting device of the first silicon rod clamp 21 controls the clamping arms and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to ascend to a certain height, so that the first silicon rod 71 and the clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp 21 are on a different horizontal plane from that of the clamping arms of the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod clamped, and then the first driving device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 to move along the first direction from the first machining position to the second machining position.
In certain implementation modes, the second silicon rod 72 moves along the first direction when clamped by the second silicon rod clamp 31, and in the coarse grinding process and the subsequent fine grinding process, the second silicon rod clamp 31 drives the second silicon rod 72 to move, so that a contact face between the second silicon rod 72 and the grinding tools moves from one end to the other end of the silicon rod, so as to complete grinding on two opposite sides; alternatively, the second silicon rod clamp 31 drives the second silicon rod 72 to move back and forth along the first direction, so that a contact face between the second silicon rod 72 and the grinding tools fully covers sides of the second silicon rod 72 during the movement. The second silicon rod clamp 31 includes at least a pair of clamping arms. The clamping arms are rotatable. The second silicon rod 72 can rotate along the axis of the first direction when clamped by clamping arms, so as to realize grinding and chamfering on different sides of the second silicon rod 72 clamped by means of switching.
Reference is made to FIG. 13, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder performing a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application. When the first silicon rod 71 at the second machining position is finely ground, the second silicon rod 72 at the first machining position is coarsely ground. As shown in FIG. 13, the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so as to transfer the first silicon rod 71 from the second machining position to the first machining position, then first silicon rod 71 is unloaded from the first machining position and a third silicon rod is loaded, the first silicon rod clamp 21 in the first transfer device clamps the third silicon rod, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the third silicon rod at the first machining position; at this stage, the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail to transfer the second silicon rod 72 from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the fine grinding device 5 finely grinds the second silicon rod 72 at the second machining position. In the process of transferring the first silicon rod 71 from the second machining position to the first machining position while transferring the second silicon rod 72 from the first machining position to the second machining position, displacements of both the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 together with the first silicon rod and the second silicon rod clamped respectively include movements along the first direction. The first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer path, and the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to move along the second transfer path. The lifting device of the first silicon rod clamp 21 controls the height of a horizontal plane where the corresponding clamping arms and the first silicon rod 71 are located, while the lifting device of the second silicon rod clamp 31 controls the height of a horizontal plane where the corresponding clamping arms and the second silicon rod 72 clamped are located, so that the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on horizontal planes at different heights, namely, they are staggered along the third direction in space during the movement. This can avoid collisions between two silicon rod clamps due to overlapping paths during the movement along the first direction.
When the second silicon rod 72 at the second machining position is finely ground, the third silicon rod at the first machining position is coarsely ground. The second driving mechanism of the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to be transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position along the second transfer guide rail, and meanwhile, the corresponding lifting device adjusts the height of the second transfer path, so as to unload the ground second silicon rod 72 and load a new silicon rod to be ground.
By means of the silicon rod grinding method provided by the present application, different silicon rods can be coarsely ground and finely ground respectively on the same silicon rod grinding equipment at the same time, which reduces the grinding waiting time, and a large number of silicon rods can be ground and circulated by repeating the aforesaid grinding steps.
The present application further provides a silicon rod grinding method that can be used in a silicon rod grinder.
The silicon rod grinder includes a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a first machining position, a second machining position and a waiting position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform; the silicon rod grinder further includes a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device includes a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, and the second transfer device includes a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism.
The waiting position is adjacent to the first machining position, and is used to load silicon rods to be ground required to be transferred to the machining position, or unload ground silicon rods.
The fine grinding device and the coarse grinding device are respectively located at different machining positions; in the embodiments provided by the present application, the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device correspond to the first machining position and the second machining position respectively.
The fine grinding device includes at least a pair of fine grinding tools, which can grind two opposite sides of a silicon rod simultaneously; the coarse grinding device includes at least a pair of coarse grinding tools, which can grind two opposite sides of a silicon rod simultaneously. In certain implementation modes, grinding tools of both the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device freely move along the second direction. For a silicon rod clamped at the first machining position, at least one coarse grinding tool of a pair of coarse grinding tools of the coarse grinding device can move along the second direction to control the grinding amount of the ground silicon rod during coarse grinding operations; for a silicon rod clamped at the second machining position, at least one fine grinding tool of a pair of fine grinding tools of the fine grinding device can move along the second direction to control the grinding amount of the ground silicon rod during fine grinding operations.
The first driving mechanism drives the first silicon rod clamp to move along the first transfer guide rail; the second driving mechanism drives the second silicon rod clamp to move along the second transfer guide rail. The first transfer guide rail and the second transfer guide rail are arranged on the base in parallel, and both are arranged along the first direction.
The first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. In the embodiments provided by the present application, the first direction is a length direction of the base, and the second direction is a width direction of the base.
In certain embodiments, the silicon rod grinders in which the silicon rod grinding method can be applied include a silicon rod grinder in any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1-10.
The silicon rod grinding method includes the following steps:
A first silicon rod is loaded to the waiting position, the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device clamps the first silicon rod, and the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail to transfer the first silicon rod from the waiting position to the first machining position. In a state shown in FIG. 11, the first silicon rod 71 is transferred to the first machining position, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the first silicon rod 71 at the first machining position; at this stage, the second silicon rod 72 is loaded to the waiting position, and second silicon rod clamp 31 in the second transfer device clamps the second silicon rod 72.
In certain implementation modes, the first silicon rod 71 moves along the first direction when clamped by the first silicon rod clamp 21, and in the coarse grinding process and the subsequent fine grinding process, the first silicon rod clamp 21 drives the first silicon rod 71 to move from one end to the other end, so as to complete grinding on two opposite sides; alternatively, the first silicon rod clamp 21 drives the first silicon rod 71 to move back and forth along the first direction, so that a contact face between the first silicon rod 71 and the coarse grinding tools fully covers sides of the first silicon rod 71 during the movement. The first silicon rod clamp 21 includes at least a pair of clamping arms. Clamping arms are rotatable. The first silicon rod 71 can rotate along the axis of the first direction when clamped by clamping arms, so as to realize grinding and chamfering on different sides of the first silicon rod 71 by means of switching.
After the first silicon rod 71 at the first machining position is coarsely ground, the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so as to transfer the first silicon rod 71 from the first machining position to the second machining position in compliance with the first transfer path, and the fine grinding device 5 finely grinds the first silicon rod 71; at this stage, the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 to move along the second transfer path, so as to transfer the second silicon rod clamp 31 from the second machining position to the waiting position; then the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail to transfer the second silicon rod 72 from the waiting position to the first machining position, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the second silicon rod 72 at the first machining position. In a state shown in FIG. 12, the first silicon rod 71 is transferred to the second machining position and ground by fine grinding tools; the second silicon rod 72 is transferred to the first machining position and ground by coarse grinding tools. The lifting device of the first silicon rod clamp 21 controls the height of a horizontal plane where the corresponding clamping arms and the first silicon rod 71 are located, while the lifting device of the second silicon rod clamp 31 controls the height of a horizontal plane where the corresponding clamping arms are located, so that the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on horizontal planes at different heights, namely, they are staggered along the third direction in space during the movement.
In the process of transferring the first silicon rod 71 from the second machining position to the first machining position while transferring the second silicon rod 72 from the first machining position to the second machining position, both the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 together with the first silicon rod 71 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped respectively move along the first direction. The first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer path, and the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to move along the second transfer path. The lifting device of the first silicon rod clamp 21 controls the height of a horizontal plane where the corresponding clamping arms and the first silicon rod 71 are located, while the lifting device of the second silicon rod clamp 31 controls the height of a horizontal plane where the corresponding clamping arms and the second silicon rod 72 clamped are located, so that the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on horizontal planes at different heights, namely, they are staggered along the third direction in space during the movement. This can avoid collisions between two silicon rod clamps due to overlapping paths during the movement along the first direction.
In certain implementation methods, the second silicon rod 72 moves along the first direction when clamped by the second silicon rod clamp 31, and in the coarse grinding process and the subsequent fine grinding process, the second silicon rod clamp 31 drives the second silicon rod 72 to move, so that a contact face between the second silicon rod 72 and the grinding tools moves from one end to the other end of the silicon rod, so as to complete grinding on two opposite sides; alternatively, the second silicon rod clamp 31 drives the second silicon rod 72 to move back and forth along the first direction, so that a contact face between the second silicon rod 72 and the grinding tools fully covers sides of the second silicon rod 72 during the movement. The second silicon rod clamp 31 includes at least a pair of clamping arms. The clamping arms are rotatable. The second silicon rod 72 can rotate along the axis of the first direction when clamped by clamping arms, so as to realize grinding and chamfering on different sides of the second silicon rod 72 clamped by means of switching.
When the first silicon rod 71 at the second machining position is finely ground, the second silicon rod 72 at the first machining position is coarsely ground. In a state shown in FIG. 13, the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so as to transfer the first silicon rod 71 from the second machining position to the waiting position, then the first silicon rod 71 is unloaded from the waiting position and a third silicon rod is loaded; the first silicon rod clamp 21 in the first transfer device clamps the third silicon rod, the first driving device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the third silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail to transfer the third silicon rod from the waiting position to the first machining position, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the third silicon rod at the first machining position; at this stage, the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail to transfer the second silicon rod 72 from the first machining position to the second machining position, and fine grinding device 5 finely grinds second silicon rod 72 at the second machining position. In the process of transferring the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped from the second machining position to the first machining position along the first transfer path while transferring the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped from the first machining position to the second machining position along the second transfer path, the lifting device of the first silicon rod clamp 21 controls the height of a horizontal plane where the corresponding clamping arms and the first silicon rod 71 are located, while the lifting device of the second silicon rod clamp 31 controls the height of a horizontal plane where the corresponding clamping arms and the second silicon rod 72 clamped are located, so that the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on horizontal planes at different heights, namely, they are staggered along the third direction in space during the movement. This can avoid collisions between two silicon rod clamps due to overlapping paths during the movement along the first direction.
The first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 are transferred to the first machining position, and then further moved along the first direction as driven by the first driving device, thereby being transferred to the waiting position for subsequent unloading, followed by loading of a third silicon rod.
When the second silicon rod 72 at the second machining position is finely ground, the third silicon rod 73 at the first machining position is coarsely ground. The second driving mechanism of the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to be transferred from the second machining position to the waiting position along the second transfer guide rail, so as to unload the ground second silicon rod 72 and load a new silicon rod to be ground.
The present application further provides a silicon rod grinder and a silicon rod grinding method thereof, which can reduce the waiting time for treating silicon rods between different procedures and improve the efficiency of machining silicon rods in comparison with a traditional working mode, in which a single monocrystalline silicon rod is coarsely ground and then transported to a fine grinding working area for fine grinding, Upon completion of fine grinding, the machined silicon rod is transported out of the working area, and this process is repeated in intensive grinding work.
Reference is made to FIG. 14, which is a structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 14, a silicon rod grinder includes a base 1, a first transfer device 2, a second transfer device 3, a coarse grinding device 4 and a fine grinding device 5.
The silicon rod grinder of the present application is configured to grind a monocrystalline silicon rod. The monocrystalline silicon rod is obtained by cutting an original silicon rod and then squaring it with a device for squaring silicon rods. The original silicon rod is generally rod-like monocrystalline silicon grown from a melt by the Czochralski method or the floating zone method.
The base 1 has a silicon rod machining platform 11. A first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform 11. The silicon rod machining platform 11 is arranged on the upper surface of the base 1. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the machining platform is designed as a rectangle in compliance with the shape of the base 1, and the first machining position and the second machining position respectively correspond to a coarse grinding area and a fine grinding area. As shown in FIG. 14, the first machining position and the second machining position are oppositely arranged to be symmetrical and parallel on front and rear sides of the silicon rod machining platform 11, and correspondingly monocrystalline silicon rods borne by the platform can be machined separately at the first machining position and the second machining position.
The first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3 are arranged above the silicon rod machining platform 11 through the mounting frame 12. The mounting frame 12 is erected on the base 1 in a vertical frame structure. The upper surface of the frame is higher than the silicon rod machining platform 11, and bears the first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3. In an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 14, the first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3 are arranged in parallel on left and right sides of the mounting frame 12. A support structure of the mounting frame 12 is arranged on the upper surface of base 1. In the illustrated embodiment, the upper surface of the base 1 is a rectangle, the support structure of the mounting frame 12 is on the outer edge of the rectangle, and the upper surface of the mounting frame 12 is approximately the same in shape and size as the upper surface of base 1.
Reference is made to FIG. 15, which is a simplified structural top view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 15, the first transfer device 2 includes a first silicon rod clamp 21, a first transfer guide rail 22 and a first driving mechanism (not shown in the figure). The first silicon rod clamp 21 is supported by the first transfer guide rail 22; the first transfer guide rail 22 is arranged on the upper surface of the mounting frame along the first direction, so as to limit the movement of the first silicon rod clamp 21 thereon along the first direction. The first driving mechanism is configured to drive the first silicon rod clamp 21 and a silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail 22, and enable the first silicon rod clamp 21 to be transferred between the first machining position and the second machining position.
Reference is made to FIG. 16, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in Figure 16, the first silicon rod clamp 21 includes a clamping arm mounting seat 211, at least two clamping arms 212 and a clamping arm driving mechanism 213.
Further reference is made to FIG. 14. For the overall appearance of the first silicon rod clamp, the clamping arm mounting seat is arranged above, the part other than the clamping arm mounting seat, including clamping arms, is underslung, the silicon rod clamp mounting seat is supported by the upper surface of the mounting frame, and clamping arms extend downwards from the clamping arm mounting seat in the hollow part of the mounting frame, so that silicon rods clamped by clamping arms are located on a machining face of the silicon rod machining platform.
The clamping arm mounting seat is arranged on the first transfer guide rail 22. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, a guide groove structure fit with the first transfer guide rail 22 is arranged at the bottom of the clamping arm mounting seat, the first transfer guide rail 22 is arranged along the first direction, and a length range of the first transfer guide rail 22 along the first direction at least covers positions of a first working area and a second working area along the first direction, so as to ensure the delivery of a silicon rod clamped by the first silicon rod clamp between the two working areas. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the first transfer guide rail 22 is arranged to span the entire length of the mounting frame along the first direction.
Reference is made to FIG. 17, which is a structural view of first silicon rod clamp 21 in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 17, a guide rail along the first direction is further arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat 211, and the clamping arms 212 are arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat 211 through the guide rail and allowed to move along the first direction.
The pair of clamping arms 212 are oppositely arranged along the first direction, and used for clamping both end faces of a silicon rod. The silicon rod is a squared slender structure placed with its length direction along the first direction. The end faces are cross sections at both ends along the length direction. The clamping arms 212 hang down from the clamping arm mounting seat 211, and clamping ends of the clamping arms are located below the clamping arms 212 and configured to clamp the silicon rod in direct contact.
The clamping arm driving mechanism 213 can drive at least one clamping arm of the pair of clamping arms 212 to move along the first direction, so as to adjust the distance between oppositely arranged clamping arms in the pair. Clamping ends of two clamping arms oppositely arranged along the first direction move towards each other along opposite directions to clamp the silicon rod, deliver the silicon rod for grinding between different working areas while keeping it clamped, transport the silicon rod to a bearing position after grinding and then move away from each other to release the machined silicon rod. In certain implementation modes of this embodiment, the clamping arm driving mechanism 213 can be arranged as a travel motor to drive the clamping arms 212 to move along the guide rail of the clamping arm mounting seat 211.
In an embodiment of the present application, the clamping arm driving mechanism 213 includes a driving motor, a driving gear and a pair of racks. The driving motor drives the gear to rotate. The pair of racks are engaged with two opposite ends of the driving gear. As the driving gear rotates, the pair of racks are driven to move towards or away from each other along opposite directions at linear speeds at both ends of the gear. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, each rack of the pair of racks is engaged with the driving gear at one end, and connected to a respective clamping arm at the other end, so that the pair of clamping arms move away from or towards each other along the guide rail of the clamping arm mounting seat along the first direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the clamping arms are of a rotary structure. In an embodiment shown in FIG. 17, the first silicon rod clamp further includes a clamping arm rotating mechanism 214, used for driving clamping arms 212 to rotate. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, a rotatable structure is arranged at either clamping end of the pair of clamping arms 212 or at both clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms 212. As driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism 214, clamping ends of the clamping arms rotate along the length direction of the silicon rod, i.e., the first direction, as an axis, and the clamped silicon rod rotates correspondingly along the first direction as the axis. During practical grinding, a silicon rod is required to be ground and chamfered on four faces along the length direction and edges at junctions between any two of the four faces. Clamping arms provided by the present application enable the selection and control of different faces to be ground and different edges of the silicon rod.
In certain implementation modes of this embodiment, clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms have contact faces for clamping a silicon rod. When silicon rod clamping ends are two end faces at both ends of a slender structure, contact faces of the clamping ends of the clamping arms can be arranged along a vertical direction or include a plane in the vertical direction. Contact faces are arranged on a rotatable platform. The cross section of the platform can be arranged as a custom regular geometry or irregular geometry.
In an embodiment of the present application, the rotatable platform can be arranged as a whole hinged with a hinge device with a locking function, and can rotate along the first direction as the axis. An axis of a rotating shaft is connected to the clamping arm rotating mechanism.
In an embodiment of the present application, clamping ends of clamping arms can be arranged as rotatable circular truncated cones. Circular planes of circular truncated cones are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod, and kept stationary with respect to end faces of the silicon rod after being tightly pressed against end faces of the silicon rod. Silicon rod clamping ends further include locking structures. The clamping ends of clamping arms are locked when a selected plane is ground. During switching of different faces to be ground, silicon rod clamping ends are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate along centers of circular truncated cones.
Reference is made to FIG. 18 which is an enlarged structural view of a silicon rod grinder in part A in FIG. 16. As shown in FIG. 18, clamping ends of the clamping arms include rotatable circular truncated cones and a series of protruding contacts arranged on circular truncated cones. Each contact has a contact plane. Circular truncated cones are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, protruding lengths, i.e. positions along the first direction, of contacts are adjustable. In the process of clamping a silicon rod with poor flatness of end faces, protruding lengths of contacts can be adjusted according to end faces of the silicon rod, so that all contact faces are tightly pressed against end faces of the silicon rod. The protruding lengths are lengths along the first direction from circular planes of circular truncated cones to contact planes of contacts.
In an embodiment of the present application, pressure sensors are arranged at clamping ends of the first silicon rod clamp to adjust protruding lengths of contacts based on detected pressure states. Generally, in the process of clamping a silicon rod, a pair of clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp is driven by the clamping arm driving mechanism, so as to move towards each other along the first direction before contact faces of clamping ends are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod to be clamped, and, if a plurality of contacts are arranged at clamping ends and pressure values of some contacts in contact with end faces of the silicon rod are detected to be less than a set value or a set range, a clamping degree can be modified by adjusting protruding lengths of contacts (generally in a direction of moving towards end faces of the silicon rod); alternatively, each clamping end of the pair of clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp is arranged as a contact face, in the process of clamping the silicon rod, end faces of the pair of clamping arms towards both ends of the silicon rod are driven by the clamping arm driving mechanism, so as to move towards each other to achieve the clamping purpose, after clamping ends are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod, a degree of clamping the silicon rod is detected with pressure sensors, and when a set pressure range is reached, the clamping arm driving mechanism controls the pair of clamping arms to stop moving along opposite directions.
The clamping arm rotating mechanism can be arranged on one clamping arm of a pair of clamping arms to drive clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms and a silicon rod clamped to rotate; alternatively, the clamping arm rotating mechanism is arranged on each clamping arm of a pair of clamping arms to control two clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms to rotate in the same angle and direction through coordinated movements. In certain implementation modes, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can be arranged as a driving motor.
To enable the silicon rod grinder to grind different sides of a silicon rod or chamfer edges, clamping ends of clamping arms are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate. Generally, for a squared monocrystalline silicon rod, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can control clamping ends of clamping arms to rotate by a certain angle such as 90° to grind different sides, or rotate by a certain angle such as 45° or 135° to chamfer different edges. If a grinding face provided by a grinding device is a plane, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can control clamping ends of clamping arms and a silicon rod clamped to rotate at different angles to chamfer the silicon rod repeatedly. For example, after a side of the silicon rod is ground, an edge adjacent to the side and another edge opposite to the edge can be chamfered repeatedly by rotating by a certain angle such as 40°, 45° or 50° to obtain a silicon rod with a smoother transition at junctions of different sides. All the angles above are rotation angles from the initial grinding position. For the chamfering method, reference can be made to patent publications such as CN108942570A . By driving the silicon rod to rotate by a certain angle, grinding tools are laterally fed along the second direction through coordination to grind edges and corners.
In an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 16, the first silicon rod clamp is of a lift type. In an implementation mode, the first silicon rod clamp includes a lifting guide rail, and a driving device along an ascending-descending direction. Clamping arms of the silicon rod clamp and a horizontal guide rail bearing clamping arms on a silicon rod mounting seat can move along the third direction along the lifting guide rail, so as to control a relative position of the outer surface of the silicon rod to a grinding face of a grinding tool in the vertical direction, so as to select a face to be ground of the silicon rod and a grinding area of the grinding tool. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the lifting guide rail is arranged on a vertical face of the silicon rod mounting seat, and a guide groove fit with the lifting guide rail and a driving mechanism for driving clamping arms to move up and down are arranged correspondingly on clamping arms; the driving mechanism includes a travel screw and a travel motor, and the travel screw is arranged along the lifting guide rail, connected to the travel motor, and driven by the travel motor to drive clamping arms to move along the third direction. In another implementation mode, both clamping arm cantilevers of the pair of clamping arms are arranged as extension and retraction devices, and driven by extension and retraction driving mechanisms to move up and down simultaneously.
Further reference is made to FIG. 15. The first driving mechanism includes a first movable toothed rail, a first driving gear and a first driving power source. The first movable toothed rail is arranged along the first direction in parallel to the first transfer guide rail 22. In an embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the first movable toothed rail is fixed on the upper surface of the mounting frame, with a dimension along the first direction approximately the same as that of the first transfer guide rail 22, and is parallel to and adjacent to the first transfer guide rail 22.
The first driving gear is arranged on the first silicon rod clamp 21 and engaged with the first movable toothed rail to drive the first silicon rod clamp 21 to move along the first transfer guide rail 22. The first driving power source is configured to drive the first driving gear. In an implementation mode of the present application, the first driving gear is arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat of the first silicon rod clamp 21, and driven by the first driving power source to rotate. Teeth of the first driving gear are engaged with the first movable toothed rail, and travel in compliance with the first movable toothed rail. The first silicon rod clamp 21 connected to the first driving gear thereby correspondingly moves on the first transfer guide rail 22.
In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the first driving power source can be arranged as a driving motor. A power output shaft of the driving motor is axially connected to the first driving gear to control the movement of the first driving gear. Further, the first driving force source controls movements of the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped along the first direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the first driving mechanism can be arranged on the first silicon rod clamp, including a travel motor and a travel screw. The travel screw is arranged along the first transfer guide rail, connected to the travel motor, and driven by the travel motor to drive the first silicon rod clamp to move along the first transfer guide rail.
Further reference is made to FIG. 15. The second transfer device 3 includes a second silicon rod clamp 31, a second transfer guide rail 32 and a second driving mechanism. The second silicon rod clamp 31 is supported by the second transfer guide rail 32; the second transfer guide rail 32 is arranged on the upper surface of the mounting frame along the first direction, so as to limit the movement of the second silicon rod clamp 31 thereon along the first direction; the second driving mechanism is configured to drive the second silicon rod clamp 31 and a silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail 32, and enable the second silicon rod clamp 31 to be transferred between the first machining position and the second machining position.
As shown in Figure 15, the second transfer guide rail 32 and the first transfer guide rail 22 are arranged in parallel along the first direction. The first silicon rod clamp 21 of the first transfer device 2 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 of the second transfer device 3 move respectively on parallel paths defined by the first transfer guide rail 22 and the second transfer guide rail 32. When the first silicon rod clamp 21 and a silicon rod clamped are transferred between different machining positions, the second silicon rod clamp 31 and a silicon rod clamped can also be transferred between different machining positions. Movements of the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the second silicon rod clamp 31 are independent of each other. The transfer guide rails defining the corresponding movement ranges are respectively arranged at different spatial positions without interfering with each other.
In an embodiment of the present application, top views of both the base and the mounting frame of the silicon rod grinder are shown as regular rectangles. Both the first transfer guide rail and the second transfer guide rail are arranged along the first direction in a parallel and symmetrical manner. The symmetry line is a central axis of the base along the first direction.
Further reference is made to FIG. 16. As shown in the figure, the second silicon rod clamp 31 includes a clamping arm mounting seat 311, at least two clamping arms 312 and a clamping arm driving mechanism 313.
Further reference is made to FIG. 14. For the overall appearance of the second silicon rod clamp, the clamping arm mounting seat is arranged above, the part other than the clamping arm mounting seat, including clamping arms, is underslung, the silicon rod clamp mounting seat is supported by the upper surface of the mounting frame, and clamping arms extend downwards from the clamping arm mounting seat in the hollow part of the mounting frame, so that silicon rods clamped by clamping arms are located on a machining face of the silicon rod machining platform.
The clamping arm mounting seat is arranged on the second transfer guide rail 32. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, a guide groove structure fit with the second transfer guide rail 32 is arranged at the bottom of the clamping arm mounting seat, the second transfer guide rail 32 is arranged along the first direction, and a length range of the second transfer guide rail 32 along the first direction at least covers positions of a first working area and a second working area along the first direction, so as to ensure the delivery of a silicon rod clamped by the second silicon rod clamp between the two working areas. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the second transfer guide rail 32 is arranged to span the entire length of the mounting frame along the first direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, a guide rail along the first direction is further arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat. Reference is made to FIG. 19 which is a structural view of a second silicon rod clamp in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 19, the clamping arms 312 are arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat 311 through the guide rail 3111 and allowed to move along the first direction.
The pair of clamping arms 312 are oppositely arranged along the first direction, and used for clamping both end faces of a silicon rod. The silicon rod is a squared slender structure placed with its length direction along the first direction. The end faces are cross sections at both ends along the length direction. Clamping arms hang down from the clamping arm mounting seat, and clamping ends of clamping arms are located below clamping arms and configured to clamp the silicon rod in direct contact.
The clamping arm driving mechanism 313 can drive at least one clamping arm of the pair of clamping arms to move along the first direction, so as to adjust the distance between oppositely arranged clamping arms in the pair. Clamping ends of two clamping arms oppositely arranged along the first direction move towards each other along opposite directions to clamp the silicon rod, deliver the silicon rod for grinding between different working areas while keeping it clamped, transport the silicon rod to a bearing position after grinding and then move away from each other to release the machined silicon rod. In certain implementation modes of this embodiment, the clamping arm driving mechanism can be arranged as a travel motor to drive clamping arms to move along the guide rail of the clamping arm mounting seat.
In an embodiment of the present application, the clamping arm driving mechanism includes a driving motor, a driving gear and a pair of racks. The driving motor drives the gear to rotate. The pair of racks are engaged with two opposite ends of the driving gear. As the driving gear rotates, the pair of racks are driven to move towards or away from each other along opposite directions at linear speeds at both ends of the gear. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, each rack of the pair of racks is engaged with the driving gear at one end, and connected to a respective clamping arm at the other end, so that the pair of clamping arms move away from or towards each other along the guide rail of the clamping arm mounting seat along the first direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, clamping arms are of a rotary structure. In an embodiment shown in FIG. 19, the second silicon rod clamp further includes a clamping arm rotating mechanism 314, used for driving the clamping arms 312 to rotate. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, a rotatable structure is arranged at either clamping end or at both clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms 312. As driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism 314, clamping ends of the clamping arms 312 rotate along the length direction of the silicon rod, i.e., the first direction, as an axis, and the clamped silicon rod rotates correspondingly along the first direction as the axis. During practical grinding, a silicon rod is required to be ground and chamfered on four faces along the length direction and edges at junctions between any two of the four faces. Clamping arms provided by the present application enable the selection and control of different faces to be ground and different edges of the silicon rod.
In certain implementation modes of this embodiment, clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms have contact faces for clamping a silicon rod. When silicon rod clamping ends are two end faces at both ends of a slender structure, contact faces of the clamping ends of the clamping arms can be arranged along a vertical direction or include a plane in the vertical direction. Contact faces are arranged on a rotatable platform. The cross section of the platform can be arranged as a custom regular geometry or irregular geometry.
In an embodiment of the present application, the rotatable platform can be arranged as a whole hinged with a hinge device with a locking function, and can rotate along the first direction as the axis. An axis of a rotating shaft is connected to the clamping arm rotating mechanism.
In an embodiment of the present application, clamping ends of clamping arms can be arranged as rotatable circular truncated cones. Circular planes of circular truncated cones are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod, and kept stationary with respect to end faces of the silicon rod after being tightly pressed against end faces of the silicon rod. Silicon rod clamping ends further include locking structures. The clamping ends of clamping arms are locked when a selected plane is ground. During switching of different faces to be ground, silicon rod clamping ends are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate along centers of circular truncated cones.
Further reference is made to FIG. 18. The clamping ends of the clamping arms include rotatable circular truncated cones and a series of protruding contacts arranged on circular truncated cones. Each contact has a contact plane. Circular truncated cones are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, protruding lengths, i.e. positions along the first direction, of contacts are adjustable. In the process of clamping a silicon rod with poor flatness of end faces, protruding lengths of contacts can be adjusted according to end faces of the silicon rod, so that all contact faces are tightly pressed against end faces of the silicon rod. The protruding lengths are lengths along the first direction from circular planes of circular truncated cones to contact planes of contacts.
In an embodiment of the present application, pressure sensors are arranged at clamping ends of the silicon rod clamp to adjust protruding lengths of contacts based on detected pressure states. Generally, in the process of clamping a silicon rod, a pair of clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp are driven by the clamping arm driving mechanism, so as to move towards each other along the first direction before contact faces of clamping ends are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod to be clamped, and, if a plurality of contacts are arranged at clamping ends and pressure values of some contacts in contact with end faces of the silicon rod are detected to be less than a set value or a set range, a clamping degree can be modified by adjusting protruding lengths of contacts (generally in a direction of moving towards end faces of the silicon rod); alternatively, each clamping end of the pair of clamping arms of the first silicon rod clamp is arranged as a contact face, in the process of clamping the silicon rod, end faces of the pair of clamping arms towards both ends of the silicon rod are driven by the clamping arm driving mechanism, so as to move towards each other to achieve the clamping purpose, after clamping ends are in contact with end faces of the silicon rod, a degree of clamping the silicon rod is detected with pressure sensors, and when a set pressure range is reached, the clamping arm driving mechanism controls the pair of clamping arms to stop moving along opposite directions.
The clamping arm rotating mechanism can be arranged on one clamping arm of a pair of clamping arms to drive clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms and a silicon rod clamped to rotate; alternatively, the clamping arm rotating mechanism is arranged on each clamping arm of a pair of clamping arms to control two clamping ends of the pair of clamping arms to rotate in the same angle and direction through coordinated movements. In certain implementation modes, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can be arranged as a driving motor.
To enable the silicon rod grinder to grind different sides of a silicon rod or chamfer edges, clamping ends of clamping arms are driven by the clamping arm rotating mechanism to rotate. Generally, for a squared monocrystalline silicon rod, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can control clamping ends of clamping arms to rotate by a certain angle such as 90° to grind different sides, or rotate by a certain angle such as 45° or 135° to chamfer different edges. If a grinding face provided by a grinding device is a plane, the clamping arm rotating mechanism can control clamping ends of clamping arms and a silicon rod clamped to rotate at different angles to chamfer the silicon rod repeatedly. For example, after a side of the silicon rod is ground, an edge adjacent to the side and another edge opposite to the edge can be chamfered repeatedly by rotating by a certain angle such as 40°, 45° or 50° to obtain a silicon rod with a smoother transition at junctions of different sides. All the angles above are rotation angles from the initial grinding position. For the chamfering method, reference can be made to patent publications such as CN108942570A . By driving the silicon rod to rotate by a certain angle, grinding tools are laterally fed along the second direction through coordination to grind edges and corners.
In an embodiment of the present application, as shown in FIG. 16, the second silicon rod clamp 31 is of a lift type. In an implementation mode, a guide rail along the ascending-descending direction is arranged on the clamping arm mounting seat 311 of the second silicon rod clamp 31. The clamping arms 312 of the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the guide rail bearing clamping arms on the silicon rod mounting seat can move along the third direction along the lifting guide rail, so as to control a relative position of the outer surface of the silicon rod to a grinding face of a grinding tool in the vertical direction, so as to select a face to be ground of the silicon rod and a grinding area of the grinding tool. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the lifting guide rail is arranged on a vertical face of the silicon rod mounting seat, and a guide groove fit with the lifting guide rail and a driving mechanism for driving clamping arms to move up and down are arranged correspondingly on the clamping arms 312; the driving mechanism includes a travel screw and a travel motor, and the travel screw is arranged along the lifting guide rail, connected to the travel motor, and driven by the travel motor to drive clamping arms to move along the third direction. In another implementation mode, both clamping arm cantilevers of the pair of clamping arms 312 are arranged as extension and retraction devices, and driven by extension and retraction driving mechanisms to move up and down simultaneously.
Further reference is made to FIG. 15. The second driving mechanism includes a second movable toothed rail, a second driving gear and a second driving power source. The second movable toothed rail is arranged along the first direction in parallel to the second transfer guide rail. In an embodiment shown in FIG. 15, the second movable toothed rail is fixed on the upper surface of the mounting frame, with a dimension along the first direction approximately the same as that of the second transfer guide rail, and is parallel to and adjacent to the second transfer guide rail.
The second driving gear is arranged on the second silicon rod clamp 31 and engaged with the second movable toothed rail to drive second silicon rod clamp 31 to move along second transfer guide rail 32. The second driving power source is configured to drive the second driving gear. In an implementation mode of the present application, the second driving gear is arranged on the silicon rod mounting seat of the second silicon rod clamp 31, and driven by the second driving power source to rotate. Teeth of the second driving gear are engaged with the second movable toothed rail, and travel in compliance with the second movable toothed rail. The second silicon rod clamp 31 connected to the second driving gear thereby correspondingly moves on second transfer guide rail 32.
In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the second driving power source can be arranged as a driving motor. A power output shaft of the driving motor is axially connected to the second driving gear to control the movement of the second driving gear. Further, the second driving force source controls movements of the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped along the first direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the second driving mechanism can be arranged on the second silicon rod clamp, including a travel motor and a travel screw. The travel screw is arranged along the second transfer guide rail, connected to the travel motor, and driven by the travel motor to drive the second silicon rod clamp to move along the second transfer guide rail.
Reference is made to FIG. 20, which is a structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 20, the coarse grinding device 4 includes at least a pair of coarse grinding tools 41, and an extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools 42.
The pair of coarse grinding tools 41 are arranged at the first machining position. The pair of coarse grinding tools 41 are oppositely arranged along the second direction. In certain implementation modes, the coarse grinding tools 41 include grinding wheels and a rotating shaft. Two grinding wheels with certain granularity and roughness are oppositely arranged for two symmetrical faces to be ground of a silicon rod clamped respectively. In certain implementation modes, grinding wheels are circular with through holes at their centers. Grinding wheels are made of abrasive grains and a bonding agent by means of consolidation, feature surfaces with abrasive grain portions, and rotate in contact with a surface of a silicon rod to be ground. Coarse grinding wheels have a certain size and density of abrasive grains with pores in grinding wheels. An abrasive of grinding wheels can be arranged as abrasive grains with hardness greater than that of silicon materials, such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, diamond and cubic boron nitride, according to requirements of grinding silicon rods.
The extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools 42 is configured to drive the at least one coarse grinding tool 41 of the pair of coarse grinding tools 41 to move laterally along a second direction. The second direction is defined as a width direction of the silicon rod grinder, perpendicular to the first direction. The extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools 42 controls the movement of at least one coarse grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools 41 along the second direction, so as to adjust a relative distance between two coarse grinding tools of the pair of coarse grinding tools 42 along the second direction, thereby controlling the feed amount in the grinding process, which further determines the grinding amount. When silicon rods are borne and transferred by the first transfer device and/or the second transfer device to the second machining position through the first machining position, or when ground silicon rods are delivered out of a machining position through the first machining position, the at least a pair of coarse grinding tools 41 is controlled by extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools 42 to move along the second direction, forming a safe transfer path for silicon rods, indicating that no collision happens between the first transfer device and/or the second transfer device together with silicon rods borne and coarse grinding tools 41 during the transfer.
Reference is made to FIG. 21, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an embodiment of the present application. As shown in FIG. 21, in certain implementation modes, each pair of coarse grinding tools 41 are configured with an extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools. The extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools includes a sliding guide rail 422, a driving motor 421 and a ball screw (not shown in the figure). The sliding guide rail 422 is arranged along the second direction at the first machining position of the base. A guide groove fit with the sliding guide rail 422 along the second direction is arranged at the bottom of the coarse grinding tools 41. The ball screw is arranged along sliding guide rail 422 and axially connected to the driving motor 421.
In an embodiment of the present application, one grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools is configured with the driving motor and the ball screw. The relative distance between coarse grinding tools is changed by means of moving one grinding tool of the pair of oppositely arranged grinding tools.
In an embodiment of the present application, each grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools is configured with the driving motor and the ball screw. The driving motors can individually control positions of the corresponding grinding tools along the second direction, or enable two grinding tools to move away from or towards each other at the same linear speed based on a certain synergistic relationship. For example, in the grinding process, as the pair of coarse grinding tools are oppositely fed towards each other at the same speed along the second direction, grinding wheels of the pair of coarse grinding tools rotate at the same linear speed for grinding.
In an embodiment of the present application, a pair of coarse grinding tools are driven by the same driving motor to oppositely move along the second direction at equal speeds. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools includes a driving motor, a driving gear, a pair of racks and a guide rail. The guide rail is arranged along the second direction at the first machining position on the base. A guide groove fit with the guide rail along the second direction is arranged at bottoms of coarse grinding tools. The driving motor drives the gear to rotate. The pair of racks are engaged with two opposite ends of the driving gear. As the driving gear rotates, the pair of racks are driven to move towards or away from each other along opposite directions at linear speeds at both ends of the gear. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, each rack of the pair of racks is engaged with the driving gear at one end, and connected to a respective coarse grinding tool at the other end, so that the pair of coarse grinding tools move away from or towards each other along the guide rail along the second direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the coarse grinding device further includes cooling devices for cooling the at least a pair of coarse grinding tools, thereby reducing damage to a surface layer of a silicon rod during grinding, and improving the grinding efficiency and service life of grinding wheels. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, cooling devices include cooling water pipes, flow guide grooves and flow guide holes. In certain implementation modes, protective covers are arranged along outer edges on circumferences of grinding wheels, so as to prevent cooling water from entering the driving motor for rotating grinding wheels. Cooling water pipes are connected to a cooling water source at one end, and to surfaces of protective covers of grinding wheels on the other end. Flow guide grooves are arranged on protective covers, and serve as contact points between protective covers and cooling water pipes. Flow guide holes are arranged in cooling grooves. A coolant for the cooling device can be common cooling water. Cooling water is pumped through cooling water pipes connected to the cooling water source into flow guide grooves and flow guide holes on surfaces of grinding wheels, and guided to contact faces between grinding wheels and a silicon rod ground for cooling. During grinding with grinding wheels, as grinding wheels rotate, cooling water from flow guide holes enter grinding wheels by means of centrifugation for sufficient cooling.
The pair of coarse grinding tools correspond to the at least a pair of clamping arms. In the grinding process, a silicon rod clamped by a pair of opposite clamping arms is moved along the first direction to control the sequence of grinding and chamfering on sides, edges and corners of the silicon rod. The silicon rod can be fully ground along its length direction by means of reciprocating movements. A pair of oppositely arranged coarse grinding tools are moved along the second direction to determine the feed amount for grinding on contact faces between grinding tools and the silicon rod.
Further reference is made to FIG. 20. The fine grinding device 5 includes at least a pair of fine grinding tools 51, and an extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools 52.
The pair of fine grinding tools 51 are arranged at the first machining position. The pair of fine grinding tools 51 are oppositely arranged along the second direction. In certain implementation modes, the fine grinding tools 51 include grinding wheels and a rotating shaft. Two grinding wheels with certain granularity and roughness are oppositely arranged for two symmetrical faces to be ground of a silicon rod clamped respectively. In certain implementation modes, grinding wheels are circular with through holes at their centers. Grinding wheels are made of abrasive grains and a bonding agent by means of consolidation, feature surfaces with abrasive grain portions, and rotate in contact with a surface of a silicon rod to be ground. Fine grinding wheels are of a certain size and density of abrasive grains with pores in grinding wheels. In particular, the size of abrasive grains of grinding wheels of fine grinding tools is smaller than that of grinding wheels of coarse grinding tools, so that a face of a silicon rod is ground with greater surface smoothness; alternatively, the density of abrasive grains of grinding wheels of fine grinding tools is greater than that of grinding wheels of coarse grinding tools, thereby realizing greater smoothness.
An abrasive of grinding wheels can be arranged as abrasive grains with hardness greater than that of silicon materials, such as aluminum oxide, silicon carbide, diamond and cubic boron nitride, according to requirements of grinding silicon rods.
The extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools 52 is configured to drive at least one fine grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools 51 to move laterally along a second direction. The second direction is defined as a width direction of the silicon rod grinder, perpendicular to the first direction. The extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools 52 controls the movement of at least one fine grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools 51 along the second direction, so as to control a relative distance between two opposite grinding tools of the pair of coarse grinding tools 51 along the second direction, thereby controlling the feed amount in the grinding process, which further determines the grinding amount. When silicon rods are borne and transferred by the first transfer device and/or the second transfer device to the first machining position through the second machining position, or when ground silicon rods are delivered out of a machining position through the second machining position, the at least a pair of fine grinding tools 51 are controlled by the extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools 52 to move along the second direction, forming a safe transfer path for silicon rods, indicating that no collision happens between the first transfer device and/or the second transfer device together with silicon rods borne and fine grinding tools 51 during the transfer.
Further reference is made to FIG. 21. In certain implementation modes, each pair of fine grinding tools 51 are configured with an extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools. The extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools includes a sliding guide rail 522, a driving motor 521 and a ball screw (not shown in the figure). The sliding guide rail 522 is arranged along the second direction at the first machining position of the base. A guide groove fit with sliding guide rail 522 along the second direction is arranged at the bottom of fine grinding tools 51. The ball screw is arranged along the sliding guide rail 522 and axially connected to the driving motor 521.
In an embodiment of the present application, one grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools is configured with the driving motor and the ball screw. The relative distance between fine grinding tools is changed by means of moving one grinding tool of the pair of oppositely arranged grinding tools.
In an embodiment of the present application, each grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools is configured with the driving motor and the ball screw. The driving motors can individually control positions of the corresponding grinding tools along the second direction, or enable two grinding tools to move away from or towards each other at the same linear speed based on a certain synergistic relationship. For example, in the grinding process, as the pair of fine grinding tools are oppositely fed towards each other at the same speed along the second direction, grinding wheels of the pair of fine grinding tools rotate at the same linear speed for grinding.
In an embodiment of the present application, a pair of fine grinding tools are driven by the same driving motor to oppositely move along the second direction at equal speeds. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, the extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools includes a driving motor, a driving gear, a pair of racks and a guide rail. The guide rail is arranged along the second direction at the first machining position on the base. A guide groove fit with the guide rail along the second direction is arranged at the bottom of fine grinding tools. The driving motor drives the gear to rotate. The pair of racks are engaged with two opposite ends of the driving gear. As the driving gear rotates, the pair of racks are driven to move towards or away from each other along opposite directions at linear speeds at both ends of the gear. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, each rack of the pair of racks is engaged with the driving gear at one end, and connected to a respective fine grinding tool at the other end, so that the pair of fine grinding tools move away from or towards each other along the guide rail along the second direction.
In an embodiment of the present application, the fine grinding device further includes cooling devices for cooling the at least a pair of fine grinding tools, thereby reducing damage to a surface layer of a silicon rod during grinding, and improving the grinding efficiency and service life of grinding wheels. In an implementation mode of this embodiment, cooling devices include cooling water pipes, flow guide grooves and flow guide holes. In certain implementation modes, protective covers are arranged along outer edges on circumferences of grinding wheels, so as to prevent cooling water from entering the driving motor for rotating grinding wheels. Cooling water pipes are connected to a cooling water source at one end, and to surfaces of protective covers of grinding wheels on the other end. Flow guide grooves are arranged on protective covers, and serve as contact points between protective covers and cooling water pipes. Flow guide holes are arranged in cooling grooves. A coolant for the cooling device can be common cooling water. Cooling water is pumped through cooling water pipes connected to the cooling water source into flow guide grooves and flow guide holes on surfaces of grinding wheels, and guided to contact faces between grinding wheels and a silicon rod ground for cooling. During grinding with grinding wheels, as grinding wheels rotate, cooling water from flow guide holes enter grinding wheels by means of centrifugation for sufficient cooling.
The pair of fine grinding tools correspond to the at least a pair of clamping arms. In the grinding process, a silicon rod clamped by a pair of oppositely arranged clamping arms is moved along the first direction to control the sequence of grinding and chamfering on sides, edges and corners of the silicon rod. The silicon rod can be fully ground along its length direction by means of reciprocating movements. A pair of oppositely arranged fine grinding tools are moved along the second direction to determine the feed amount for grinding on contact faces between grinding tools and the silicon rod.
By means of the silicon rod grinder provided by the present application, during practical grinding, the first machining position and the second machining position can work simultaneously for coarse grinding and fine grinding of different silicon rods respectively. In an embodiment, a monocrystalline silicon rod to be ground is delivered to the first machining position, a pair of coarse grinding tools of the coarse grinding device are driven by the extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools to move laterally to both sides of the silicon rod, and the silicon rod is ground by the coarse grinding device when clamped by a pair of clamping arms of the first transfer device clamps by means of coordination; upon completion of coarse grinding, clamping arms of the first transfer device transfer the coarsely ground silicon rod to the second machining position along the first direction, fine grinding tools at the second machining position is driven by the extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools to move to both sides of the silicon rod, then the silicon rod is finely ground through coordination of clamping arms of the first transfer device and fine grinding tools, meanwhile, another silicon rod to be ground can be placed at the first machining position and clamped by clamping arms of the second transfer device, coarse grinding tools are driven by the extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools to move to both sides of the second transfer guide rail (i.e., both sides of the silicon rod to be ground) for coarse grinding, fine grinding of the silicon rod at the second machining position is completed when coarse grinding is completed, the coarsely ground silicon rod is transferred by the second transfer device to the second machining position for fine grinding, the finely ground silicon rod clamped by the first transfer device is delivered out of the silicon rod machining platform, and the first transfer device continues to clamp an unground silicon rod, indicating that the aforesaid process is repeated.
In certain embodiments of the present application, the first silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamp include a plurality of pairs of clamping arms oppositely arranged along the first direction. A plurality of pairs of oppositely arranged coarse grinding tools and fine grinding tools are arranged at the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device respectively. In certain implementation modes, the number of pairs of clamping arms on the first silicon rod clamp, the second silicon rod clamp, the coarse grinding device or the fine grinding device is the same as that of the pairs of grinding tools. The driving mechanisms of each pair of clamping arms and each pair of grinding tools are relatively independent, thereby enabling the relatively independent transfer between the first machining position and the second machining position for grinding of a plurality of silicon rods at the same time.
In some embodiments of the present application, the silicon rod grinder further includes a silicon rod delivery device, wherein the silicon rod delivery device is used to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the first machining position or transfer ground silicon rods out of the silicon rod machining platform.
Further reference is made to FIG. 14. The silicon rod delivery device 6 is adjacent to the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, and runs through the first transfer device 2 and the second transfer device 3. In an embodiment of the present application, the silicon rod delivery device 6 can be arranged as a conveyor belt mechanism for conveying silicon rods on transfer devices to the first machining position along the second direction. Both ends of a conveyor belt can be arranged on left and right sides of the base. A conveying distance covers the width of the silicon rod grinder. According to demands of machining, silicon rods can be transferred from a loading position to the first transfer guide rail or the second transfer guide rail at the first machining position, or transferred from the first machining position or the second machining position, out of the silicon rod machining platform, to an unloading position. The loading position and the unloading position can be the same position at the same end of the silicon rod delivery device, or can be arranged respectively at either end along the second direction, i.e., left and right ends, of the silicon rod delivery device.
In certain implementation modes of the present application, silicon rod delivery device 6 can also be arranged as a chain conveying mechanism or a double-speed chain mechanism for transferring silicon rods between different machining positions and the loading position or the unloading position along the second direction.
In certain embodiments of the present application, a waiting position is further arranged for the silicon rod machining platform, and the silicon rod grinder further includes a silicon rod delivery device.
Reference is made to FIG. 22, which is a structural view of a silicon rod grinder in an example of the present application. As shown in FIG. 22, waiting position 113 is arranged on a side of the base along the second direction, and can be used as a position for loading silicon rods to be machined and unloading machined silicon rods.
The silicon rod delivery device 6 is adjacent to the waiting position 113 of the silicon rod machining platform 11, and is configured to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the waiting position 113 of the silicon rod machining platform 11 or transfer machined silicon rods in the waiting position 113 out of the silicon rod machining platform 11. In an implementation mode, the silicon rod delivery device 6 can be arranged as a conveyor belt mechanism for conveying silicon rods on transfer devices to the first machining position along the second direction. Both ends of a conveyor belt can be arranged on left and right sides of the base. A conveying distance covers the width of the silicon rod grinder. According to demands of machining, silicon rods can be transferred from a loading position to the first transfer guide rail or the second transfer guide rail at the first machining position, or transferred from the first machining position or the second machining position, out of the silicon rod machining platform 11, to an unloading position. The loading position and the unloading position can be the same position at the same end of the silicon rod delivery device, or can be arranged respectively at either end along the second direction, i.e., left and right ends, of the silicon rod delivery device.
In certain implementation modes of the present application, the silicon rod delivery device 6 can also be arranged as a chain conveying mechanism or a double-speed chain mechanism for transferring silicon rods between different machining positions and the loading position or the unloading position along the second direction.
By means of the silicon rod grinder provided by the present application, during grinding of silicon rods, the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device in the first working position and the second working position can respectively grind silicon rods at different grinding stages, which doubles the grinding efficiency while maintaining the size and cost of the silicon rod grinder, thereby reducing the time of machining silicon rods and improving economic benefits.
To realize the use of the silicon rod grinder provided by the present application, the present application further provides a silicon rod grinding method in the second aspect. The silicon rod grinding method can be used in a silicon rod grinder. The silicon rod grinder includes a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform; the silicon rod grinder further includes a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device includes a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, and the second transfer device includes a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism.
The fine grinding device and the coarse grinding device are respectively located at different machining positions; in the embodiments provided by the present application, the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device correspond to the first machining position and the second machining position respectively.
The fine grinding device includes at least a pair of fine grinding tools, which can grind two opposite sides of a silicon rod simultaneously; the coarse grinding device includes at least a pair of coarse grinding tools, which can grind two opposite sides of a silicon rod simultaneously. In certain implementation modes, at least one grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools of the coarse grinding device freely moves along the second direction, and at least one fine grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools of the fine grinding device freely moves along the second direction. For a silicon rod clamped on the first transfer guide rail or the second transfer guide rail at the first machining position, the coarse grinding device can move to both sides of the silicon rod along the second direction for coarse grinding operations, and control the grinding amount of the ground silicon rod during coarse grinding operations; for a silicon rod clamped on the first transfer guide rail or the second transfer guide rail at the second machining position, the fine grinding device can move to both sides of the silicon rod along the second direction for fine grinding operations, and control the grinding amount of the ground silicon rod during fine grinding operations.
The first driving mechanism drives the first silicon rod clamp to move along the first transfer guide rail; the second driving mechanism drives the second silicon rod clamp to move along the second transfer guide rail. The first transfer guide rail and the second transfer guide rail are arranged on the base in parallel, and both are arranged along the first direction.
The first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. In embodiments provided by the present application, the first direction is a length direction of the base, and the second direction is a width direction of the base.
In certain embodiments, the silicon rod grinders in which the silicon rod grinding method can be applied include a silicon rod grinder in any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 14-22.
The silicon rod grinding method includes the following steps:
Reference is made to FIG. 23, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder performing a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application. In a state shown in FIG. 23, the first silicon rod 71 is loaded to the first machining position, the first silicon rod clamp 21 in the first transfer device clamps the first silicon rod 71, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the first silicon rod 71 at the first machining position. In certain implementation modes, the first silicon rod 71 moves along the first direction when clamped by the first silicon rod clamp 21, and in the coarse grinding process and the subsequent fine grinding process, the first silicon rod clamp 21 drives the first silicon rod 71 to move, so that a contact face between the first silicon rod 71 and the grinding tools moves from one end to the other end of the silicon rod, so as to complete grinding on two opposite sides; alternatively, the first silicon rod clamp 21 drives the first silicon rod 71 to move back and forth along the first direction, so that a contact face between the first silicon rod 71 and the coarse grinding tools fully covers sides of the first silicon rod 71 during the movement. The first silicon rod clamp 21 includes at least a pair of clamping arms. The clamping arms are rotatable. The first silicon rod 71 can rotate along the axis of the first direction when clamped by clamping arms, so as to realize grinding and chamfering on different sides of the first silicon rod 71 by means of switching.
Reference is made to FIG. 24 which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder performing a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application. In a state shown in FIG. 24, after the first silicon rod 71 at the first machining position is coarsely ground, the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail 22 to transfer the first silicon rod 71 from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the fine grinding device 5 finely grinds the first silicon rod 71; at this stage, the second silicon rod 72 is loaded to the first machining position, the second silicon rod clamp 31 in the second transfer device clamps second silicon rod 72, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the second silicon rod 72 at the first machining position.
In certain implementation modes, the second silicon rod 72 moves along the first direction when clamped by the second silicon rod clamp 31, and in the coarse grinding process and the subsequent fine grinding process, the second silicon rod clamp 31 drives the second silicon rod 72 to move, so that a contact face between the second silicon rod 72 and grinding tools moves from one end to the other end of the silicon rod, so as to complete grinding on two opposite sides; alternatively, the second silicon rod clamp 31 drives the second silicon rod 72 to move back and forth along the first direction, so that a contact face between the second silicon rod 72 and grinding tools fully covers sides of the second silicon rod 72 during the movement. The second silicon rod clamp 31 includes at least a pair of clamping arms. The clamping arms are rotatable. The second silicon rod 72 can rotate along the axis of the first direction when clamped by clamping arms, so as to realize grinding and chamfering on different sides of the second silicon rod 72 clamped by means of switching.
Reference is made to FIG. 25, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder performing a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application. When the first silicon rod 71 at the second machining position is finely ground, the second silicon rod 72 at the first machining position is coarsely ground. In a state shown in FIG. 25, the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail 22 to transfer the first silicon rod 71 from the second machining position to the first machining position, then the first silicon rod 71 is unloaded from the first machining position and the third silicon rod 73 is loaded, the first silicon rod clamp 21 in the first transfer device clamps the third silicon rod 73, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the third silicon rod 73 at the first machining position; at this stage, the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail 32 to transfer the second silicon rod 72 from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the fine grinding device 5 finely grinds the second silicon rod 72 at the second machining position.
When the second silicon rod 72 at the second machining position is finely ground, the third silicon rod 73 at the first machining position is coarsely ground. The second driving mechanism of the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to be transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position along the second transfer guide rail 32, so as to unload the ground second silicon rod 72 and load a new silicon rod to be ground.
By means of the silicon rod grinding method provided by the present application, different silicon rods can be coarsely ground and finely ground respectively on the same silicon rod grinding equipment at the same time, which reduces the grinding waiting time, and a large number of silicon rods can be ground and circulated by repeating the aforesaid grinding steps.
The present application further provides a silicon rod grinding method that can be used in a silicon rod grinder.
The silicon rod grinder includes a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a first machining position, a second machining position and a waiting position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform; the silicon rod grinder further includes a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device includes a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, and the second transfer device includes a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism.
The waiting position is adjacent to the first machining position, and is used to load silicon rods to be ground required to be transferred to the machining position, or unload ground silicon rods.
The fine grinding device and the coarse grinding device are respectively located at different machining positions; in embodiments provided by the present application, the coarse grinding device and the fine grinding device correspond to the first machining position and the second machining position respectively.
The fine grinding device includes at least a pair of fine grinding tools, which can grind two opposite sides of a silicon rod simultaneously; the coarse grinding device includes at least a pair of coarse grinding tools, which can grind two opposite sides of a silicon rod simultaneously. In certain implementation modes, at least one grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools of the coarse grinding device freely moves along the second direction, and at least one fine grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools of the fine grinding device freely moves along the second direction. For a silicon rod clamped on the first transfer guide rail or the second transfer guide rail at the first machining position, the coarse grinding device can move to both sides of the silicon rod along the second direction for coarse grinding operations, and control the grinding amount of the ground silicon rod during coarse grinding operations; for a silicon rod clamped on the first transfer guide rail or the second transfer guide rail at the second machining position, the fine grinding device can move to both sides of the silicon rod along the second direction for fine grinding operations, and control the grinding amount of the ground silicon rod during fine grinding operations.
The first driving mechanism drives the first silicon rod clamp to move along the first transfer guide rail; the second driving mechanism drives the second silicon rod clamp to move along the second transfer guide rail. The first transfer guide rail and the second transfer guide rail are arranged on the base in parallel, and both are arranged along the first direction.
The first direction and the second direction are perpendicular to each other. In embodiments provided by the present application, the first direction is a length direction of the base, and the second direction is a width direction of the base.
In certain embodiments, the silicon rod grinders in which the silicon rod grinding method can be applied include a silicon rod grinder in any of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 14-22.
The silicon rod grinding method includes the following steps:
A first silicon rod is loaded to the waiting position, the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device clamps the first silicon rod, and the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail to transfer the first silicon rod from the waiting position to the first machining position. Reference is made to FIG. 26, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder performing a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application. In a state shown in FIG. 26, the first silicon rod 71 is transferred to the first machining position, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the first silicon rod 71 at the first machining position; at this stage, the second silicon rod 72 is loaded to waiting position 113, and the second silicon rod clamp 31 in the second transfer device clamps the second silicon rod 72.
In certain implementation modes, the first silicon rod 71 moves along the first direction when clamped by the first silicon rod clamp 21, and in the coarse grinding process and the subsequent fine grinding process, the first silicon rod clamp 21 drives the first silicon rod 71 to move from one end to the other end, so as to complete grinding on two opposite sides; alternatively, the first silicon rod clamp 21 drives the first silicon rod 71 to move back and forth along the first direction, so that a contact face between the first silicon rod 71 and the coarse grinding tools fully covers sides of the first silicon rod 71 during the movement. The first silicon rod clamp 21 includes at least a pair of clamping arms. The clamping arms are rotatable. The first silicon rod 71 can rotate along the axis of the first direction when clamped by clamping arms, so as to realize grinding and chamfering on different sides of the first silicon rod 71 by means of switching.
After the first silicon rod 71 at the first machining position is coarsely ground, the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail 22 to transfer the first silicon rod 71 from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the fine grinding device 5 finely grinds the first silicon rod 71; at this stage, the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail 32, so as to transfer the second silicon rod 72 from the waiting position 113 to the first machining position, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the second silicon rod 72 at the first machining position. Reference is made to FIG. 27, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder performing a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application. In a state shown in FIG. 27, the first silicon rod 71 is transferred to the second machining position and ground by fine grinding tools; the second silicon rod 72 is transferred to the first machining position and ground by coarse grinding tools.
In certain implementation modes, the second silicon rod 72 moves along the first direction when clamped by the second silicon rod clamp 31, and in the coarse grinding process and the subsequent fine grinding process, the second silicon rod clamp 31 drives the second silicon rod 72 to move, so that a contact face between the second silicon rod 72 and the grinding tools moves from one end to the other end of the silicon rod, so as to complete grinding on two opposite sides; alternatively, the second silicon rod clamp 31 drives the second silicon rod 72 to move back and forth along the first direction, so that a contact face between the second silicon rod 72 and the grinding tools fully covers sides of the second silicon rod 72 during the movement. The second silicon rod clamp 31 includes at least a pair of clamping arms. The clamping arms are rotatable. The second silicon rod 72 can rotate along the axis of the first direction when clamped by clamping arms, so as to realize grinding and chamfering on different sides of the second silicon rod 72 clamped by means of switching.
Reference is made to FIG. 28, which is a simplified structural view of a silicon rod grinder performing a silicon rod grinding method in an embodiment of the present application. When the first silicon rod 71 at the second machining position is finely ground, the second silicon rod 72 at the first machining position is coarsely ground. In a state shown in FIG. 28, the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the first silicon rod 71 clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail 22 to transfer the first silicon rod 71 from the second machining position to the waiting position 113, then the first silicon rod 71 is unloaded from the waiting position 113 and the third silicon rod 73 is loaded; the first silicon rod clamp 21 in the first transfer device clamps the third silicon rod 73, the first driving device drives the first silicon rod clamp 21 and the third silicon rod 73 clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail 22 to transfer the third silicon rod 73 from the waiting position 113 to the first machining position, and the coarse grinding device 4 coarsely grinds the third silicon rod 73 at the first machining position; at this stage, the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail 32 to transfer the second silicon rod 72 from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the fine grinding device 5 finely grinds the second silicon rod 72 at the second machining position.
When the second silicon rod 72 at the second machining position is finely ground, the third silicon rod 73 at the first machining position is coarsely ground. The second driving mechanism of the second transfer device drives the second silicon rod clamp 31 and the second silicon rod 72 clamped to be transferred from the second machining position to the waiting position 113 along the second transfer guide rail 32, so as to unload the ground second silicon rod 72 and load a new silicon rod to be ground.
Through the aforesaid instances, the present application provides the following examples, which are represented by serial numbers in the description below, e.g., numbers 1, 2, 3, 4... can represent embodiment 1, embodiment 2, embodiment 3, embodiment 4... respectively. The present application herein provides:

1. A silicon rod grinder, including:
- a base, with a silicon rod machining platform; wherein a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform;
- a first transfer device, including a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail arranged along a first direction, and a first driving mechanism for driving the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped to move along a first transfer guide rail between the first machining position and the second machining position;
- a second transfer device, including a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail arranged along the first direction, and a second driving mechanism for driving the second silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped to move along a second transfer guide rail between the first machining position and the second machining position;
- a coarse grinding device, arranged at the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, configured to coarsely grind a silicon rod at the first machining position; and
- a fine grinding device, arranged at the second machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, configured to finely grind a silicon rod at the second machining position.
2. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 1, wherein the first transfer device and the second transfer device are arranged above the silicon rod machining platform by means of a mounting frame.
3. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 1, wherein the first silicon rod clamp includes:
- a clamping arm mounting seat, arranged on the first transfer guide rail;
- at least two clamping arms, oppositely arranged along the first direction, and configured to clamp both end faces of a silicon rod; and
- a clamping arm driving mechanism, configured to drive at least one clamping arm of at least two clamping arms to move along the first direction.
4. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 3, wherein the first silicon rod clamp is of a lift type.
5. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 3, wherein clamping arms are of a rotary structure; the first silicon rod clamp further includes a clamping arm rotating mechanism, configured to drive clamping arms to rotate.
6. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 1, wherein the second silicon rod clamp includes:
- a clamping arm mounting seat, arranged on the second transfer guide rail;
- at least a pair of clamping arms, oppositely arranged along the first direction, and configured to clamp both end faces of a silicon rod; and
- a clamping arm driving mechanism, configured to drive at least one clamping arm of at least two clamping arms to move along the first direction.
7. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 6, wherein the second silicon rod clamp is of a lift type.
8. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 6, wherein clamping arms are of a rotary structure; the second silicon rod clamp further includes a clamping arm rotating mechanism, configured to drive clamping arms to rotate.
9. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 1, wherein the first driving mechanism includes:
- a first movable toothed rail, arranged along the first direction;
- a first driving gear, arranged at the first silicon rod clamp, and engaged with the first movable toothed rail; and
- a first driving power source, configured to drive the first driving gear.
10. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 1, wherein the second driving mechanism includes:
- a second movable toothed rail, arranged along the first direction;
- a second driving gear, arranged at the second silicon rod clamp, and engaged with the second movable toothed rail; and
- a first driving power source, configured to drive the second driving gear.
11. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 1, wherein the coarse grinding device includes:
- at least a pair of coarse grinding tools, oppositely arranged at the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform;
- an extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools, configured to drive at least one coarse grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools to move laterally along a second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.
12. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 1, wherein the fine grinding device includes:
- at least a pair of fine grinding tools, oppositely arranged at the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform;
- an extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools, configured to drive at least one fine grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools to move laterally along a second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.
13. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 1, further including: a silicon rod delivery device, arranged adjacent to the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, and configured to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform or transfer machined silicon rods on the silicon rod machining platform out of the first machining position.
14. The silicon rod grinder of embodiment 1, wherein a waiting position is further arranged for the silicon rod machining platform, and the silicon rod grinder further includes a silicon rod delivery device, arranged adjacent to the waiting position of the silicon rod machining platform, and configured to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the waiting position of the silicon rod machining platform or transfer machined silicon rods in the waiting position out of the silicon rod machining platform.
15. A silicon rod grinding method, applied in a silicon rod grinder, wherein the silicon rod grinder includes a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform; the silicon rod grinder further includes a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device includes a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, and the second transfer device includes a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism; wherein the silicon rod grinding method includes the following steps:
- loading a first silicon rod to the first machining position, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the first silicon rod, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the first silicon rod at the first machining position;
- enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position, enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the first silicon rod at the second machining position, at this stage, loading a second silicon rod to the first machining position, enabling the second silicon rod clamp in the second transfer device to clamp the second silicon rod, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the second silicon rod at the first machining position; and
- enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position, unloading the first silicon rod from the first machining position and loading a third silicon rod, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the third silicon rod, enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the third silicon rod at the first machining position; at this stage, enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position, and enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the second silicon rod at the second machining position.
16. A silicon rod grinding method, applied in a silicon rod grinder, wherein the silicon rod grinder includes a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a waiting position, a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform; the silicon rod grinder further includes a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device includes a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, and the second transfer device includes a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism; wherein the silicon rod grinding method includes the following steps:
- loading a first silicon rod to the waiting position, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the first silicon rod, enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the waiting position to the first machining position, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the first silicon rod at the first machining position;
- enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the first silicon rod, driving the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail to the first machining position through the first driving mechanism, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the first silicon rod at the first machining position; at this stage, loading a second silicon rod to the waiting position, and enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp to clamp the second silicon rod;
- enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position, and enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the first silicon rod at the second machining position; at this stage, enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the waiting position to the first machining position, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the second silicon rod at the first machining position; and
- enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the second machining position to the waiting position, unloading the first silicon rod from the waiting position and loading a third silicon rod, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the third silicon rod, enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the third silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the waiting position to the first machining position, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the third silicon rod at the first machining position; at this stage, enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position, and enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the second silicon rod at the second machining position.

These embodiments illustrate principles and effects of the present application only, and are not intended to limit the present application. Those of ordinary skill in the art can make modifications or changes to these embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes made by those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and technical ideas disclosed in the present application should also fall within the scope covered by claims of the present application.

Claims

A silicon rod grinder, comprising:
a base, with a silicon rod machining platform; wherein a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform;

a first transfer device, comprising a liftable first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail arranged along a first direction, and a first driving mechanism for driving the first silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped to move along a first transfer path between the first machining position and the second machining position;

a second transfer device, comprising a liftable second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail arranged along the first direction, and a second driving mechanism for driving the second silicon rod clamp and a silicon rod clamped to move along a second transfer path between the first machining position and the second machining position; wherein under the transfer of the second transfer device and the first transfer device, the silicon rod clamped by the first silicon rod clamp and the silicon rod clamped by the second silicon rod clamp are configured at different heights;

a coarse grinding device, arranged at the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, configured to coarsely grind a silicon rod at the first machining position; and

a fine grinding device, arranged at the second machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, configured to finely grind a silicon rod at the second machining position.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, wherein the first transfer path comprises a first transfer section along an ascending-descending direction, a second transfer section along the first direction, and a third transfer section along the ascending-descending direction; the second transfer path comprises a one-way transfer section along the first direction; the one-way transfer section and the second transfer section along the first direction are configured at different heights.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, wherein the first transfer device and the second transfer device are arranged above the silicon rod machining platform by means of a mounting frame, and the first transfer device and the second transfer device are respectively arranged on opposite sides of the mounting frame.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, wherein the first silicon rod clamp comprises:
a clamping arm mounting seat, arranged on the first transfer guide rail;

at least two clamping arms, oppositely arranged along the first direction, and configured to clamp both end faces of a silicon rod; and

a clamping arm driving mechanism, configured to drive at least one clamping arm of at least two clamping arms to move along the first direction.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 4, wherein the clamping arms are of a rotary structure; the first silicon rod clamp further comprises a clamping arm rotating mechanism, configured to drive clamping arms to rotate.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, wherein the second silicon rod clamp comprises:
a clamping arm mounting seat, arranged on the second transfer guide rail;

at least a pair of clamping arms, oppositely arranged along the first direction, and configured to clamp both end faces of a silicon rod; and

a clamping arm driving mechanism, configured to drive at least one clamping arm of at least two clamping arms to move along the first direction.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 6, wherein the clamping arms are of a rotary structure; the second silicon rod clamp further comprises a clamping arm rotating mechanism, configured to drive clamping arms to rotate.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, wherein the first driving mechanism comprises:
a first movable toothed rail, arranged along the first direction;

a first driving gear, arranged at the first silicon rod clamp, and engaged with the first movable toothed rail; and

a first driving power source, configured to drive the first driving gear.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, wherein the second driving mechanism comprises:
a second movable toothed rail, arranged along the first direction;

a second driving gear, arranged at the second silicon rod clamp, and engaged with the second movable toothed rail; and

a first driving power source, configured to drive the second driving gear.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, wherein the coarse grinding device comprises:
at least a pair of coarse grinding tools, oppositely arranged at the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform;

an extending and retracting mechanism for coarse grinding tools, configured to drive at least one coarse grinding tool of the pair of coarse grinding tools to move laterally along a second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, wherein the fine grinding device comprises:
at least a pair of fine grinding tools, oppositely arranged at the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform;

an extending and retracting mechanism for fine grinding tools, configured to drive at least one fine grinding tool of the pair of fine grinding tools to move laterally along a second direction, wherein the second direction is perpendicular to the first direction.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, further comprising: a silicon rod delivery device, arranged adjacent to the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform, and configured to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the first machining position of the silicon rod machining platform or transfer machined silicon rods on the silicon rod machining platform out of the first machining position.
The silicon rod grinder of claim 1, wherein a waiting position is further arranged for the silicon rod machining platform, and the silicon rod grinder further comprises a silicon rod delivery device, arranged adjacent to the waiting position of the silicon rod machining platform, and configured to transfer silicon rods to be machined to the waiting position of the silicon rod machining platform or transfer machined silicon rods in the waiting position out of the silicon rod machining platform.
A silicon rod grinding method, applied in a silicon rod grinder, wherein the silicon rod grinder comprises a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform; the silicon rod grinder further comprises a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device comprises a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, and the second transfer device comprises a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism; wherein the silicon rod grinding method comprises the following steps:
loading a first silicon rod to the first machining position, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the first silicon rod, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the first silicon rod at the first machining position;

enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along a first transfer path, and enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp to move along a second transfer path, wherein the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on the same straight line parallel to a first direction, but are staggered up and down on different horizontal planes, so that the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the second silicon rod clamp is transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position;

enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the first silicon rod at the second machining position; at this stage, loading a second silicon rod to the first machining position, enabling the second silicon rod clamp in the second transfer device to clamp the second silicon rod, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the second silicon rod at the first machining position;

enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer path, and enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer path, wherein the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on the same straight line parallel to a first direction, but are staggered up and down on different horizontal planes, so that the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped are transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position, and the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position; and

unloading the first silicon rod from the first machining position and loading a third silicon rod, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the third silicon rod, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the third silicon rod at the first machining position; at this stage, enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the second silicon rod at the second machining position.
A silicon rod grinding method, applied in a silicon rod grinder, wherein the silicon rod grinder comprises a base with a silicon rod machining platform, wherein a waiting position, a first machining position and a second machining position are configured for the silicon rod machining platform; the silicon rod grinder further comprises a first transfer device, a second transfer device, a coarse grinding device and a fine grinding device, wherein the first transfer device comprises a first silicon rod clamp, a first transfer guide rail and a first driving mechanism, and the second transfer device comprises a second silicon rod clamp, a second transfer guide rail and a second driving mechanism; wherein the silicon rod grinding method comprises the following steps:
loading a first silicon rod to the waiting position, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the first silicon rod, enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the waiting position to the first machining position, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the first silicon rod at the first machining position;

enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along a first transfer path, and enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp to move along a second transfer path, wherein the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on the same straight line parallel to a first direction, but are staggered up and down on different horizontal planes, so that the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position, and the second silicon rod clamp is transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position;

enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the first silicon rod at the second machining position; at this stage, loading a second silicon rod to the waiting position, enabling the second silicon rod clamp in the second transfer device to clamp the second silicon rod, enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the waiting position to the first machining position, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the second silicon rod at the first machining position;

enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer path, and enabling the second driving mechanism in the second transfer device to drive the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped to move along the second transfer path, wherein the first transfer path and the second transfer path are on the same straight line parallel to a first direction, but are staggered up and down on different horizontal planes, so that the first silicon rod clamp and the first silicon rod clamped are transferred from the second machining position to the first machining position, and the second silicon rod clamp and the second silicon rod clamped are transferred from the first machining position to the second machining position; and

unloading the first silicon rod from the waiting position and loading a third silicon rod, enabling the first silicon rod clamp in the first transfer device to clamp the third silicon rod, enabling the first driving mechanism in the first transfer device to drive the first silicon rod clamp and the third silicon rod clamped to move along the first transfer guide rail, so that they are transferred from the waiting position to the first machining position, and enabling the coarse grinding device to coarsely grind the third silicon rod at the first machining position; at this stage, enabling the fine grinding device to finely grind the second silicon rod at the second machining position.