JP2000044059A - Handler device housing mechanism - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent measured ICs housed in trays from jumping and so on because the trays are caught by other members when a table on which the trays are piled up, is vertically moved. SOLUTION: This handler device housing mechanism is equipped with a housing part 60 which piles up trays each of which houses devices to be measured, for housing them. This housing part 60 is equipped with a table on which the piled up trays are rested, and with a tray aligning guide aligning the horizontal positions of the piled-up trays. The tray aligning guide is composed of longitudinal guides 5 and 5 which push the piled-up trays from both the front and rear directions for aligning their horizontal positions in the longitudinal direction of the tray 1, and with transverse guides 4 and 4 which push the piled-up trays 1 from both the right and left directions for aligning their horizontal positions in the right and left directions and of cylinders 6,... horizontally moving the transverse guides 4 and 4 in the approaching/parting directions.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device accommodating mechanism of a handler provided in an auto handler of a horizontal transport system and having an accommodating portion for accommodating trays accommodating measured devices to be measured.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional device storage mechanism provided in a horizontal transfer type auto handler will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8 show the structure of a conventional device storage mechanism. FIG. 7 is a front view and FIG. 8 is a side view. 9 is a plan view showing a storage unit constituting the device storage mechanism of FIG. 7, and FIG. 10 is a front view showing the storage unit of FIG. 9, showing a state in which the stacked and stored trays are horizontally displaced. ing.

FIGS. 7 and 8 show a conventional device storage mechanism.
As shown in the figure, the supply unit 30 for supplying the tray 1, the first transport unit 40 for transporting the tray 1 to a position for accommodating the measured IC 25 (device to be measured), the measured IC 25
The second transport means 50 transports the tray 1 storing the IC 1 to the storage section 60A, the storage section 60A storing the tray 1 storing the measured IC 25, and the like. As shown in FIG. 8, the storage unit 60A includes a table 2 on which the trays 1 containing the measured ICs 25 are stacked and placed, corner guides 3 for guiding the four corners of the trays 1 stacked on the table 2,. And an upper surface detecting sensor (not shown) for detecting an upper surface position of the trays 1 stacked on the table 2. As shown in FIG. 9, the table 2 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape, and has cutouts 2 at its four corners.
a,... are formed. At the edge of the table 2, tray guides 2A, 2A, 2B, 2B for positioning the tray 1 (the lowermost tray 1) placed on the table 2 are provided in an upright state. The elevator unit 27 includes the motor 20, the ball screw 21, the table support member 26, and the like. The rotation of the motor 20 is controlled by the ball screw 2
After being converted into linear motion by the first and table support members 26, the motion is transmitted to the table 2. In the storage section 60A,
The trays 1 conveyed by the second conveying means 50 are sequentially stacked on the table 2. At this time, the elevator unit 27 moves the table 2 up and down.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional device storage mechanism, as shown in FIG. 10, a stacking error occurs in the trays 1 stacked on the table 2 due to the influence of its own dimensional accuracy and warpage. In some cases, horizontal displacement (horizontal displacement or vertical displacement) may occur. When the elevator unit 27 descends on the table 2 in the shifted state, the stacked trays 1
.., Etc., the inclined state occurs, and as a result, the measured IC 25 accommodated in the tray 1 may jump and spill into the apparatus. Further, once the tray 1 was tilted, the trays 1 to be stacked thereafter could not be normally stacked.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and eliminates the horizontal displacement generated in the trays stacked on the table so that the table can be moved up and down. An object of the present invention is to provide a device storage mechanism of a handler that prevents a measured IC stored in a tray from jumping due to the tray being caught by another member.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device storage mechanism for a handler having a storage unit for stacking and storing trays storing devices to be measured. Section, a table on which the stacked trays are placed, and a tray alignment guide for adjusting the horizontal position of the trays stacked on the table,
Was provided.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the storage unit includes the table on which the stacked trays are placed and the tray alignment guide for adjusting the horizontal position of the trays stacked on the table, the tray is stacked on the table. Even if the tray is displaced in the horizontal direction due to the influence of, for example, dimensional accuracy or warpage, the displacement is eliminated by the tray alignment guide. Therefore, even if the table on which the trays are stacked is moved, for example, in the vertical direction, the stacked trays are not caught by other members and tilted as in the related art. Therefore, the device to be measured accommodated in the tray does not jump.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the device storage mechanism for the handler according to the first aspect, the tray alignment guide presses the trays stacked on the table from both front and rear directions to move the trays in the front and rear direction. A vertical guide for adjusting the horizontal position, and a horizontal guide for adjusting the horizontal position of the tray in the left-right direction by pressing the trays stacked on the table from both left and right directions.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the trays stacked on the table have their horizontal positions in the front-rear direction adjusted by the vertical guides, and their horizontal positions in the left-right direction adjusted by the horizontal guides.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the device storage mechanism for a handler according to the second aspect, the vertical guide and the horizontal guide are configured to simultaneously press a plurality of trays stacked on the table.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the vertical guide and the horizontal guide are configured to simultaneously press a plurality of trays stacked on the table, the horizontal positions of the trays stacked on the table can be adjusted in a short time.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the device storage mechanism of the handler according to the second or third aspect, the vertical guide and the horizontal guide are horizontally moved by driving of an electric driving means, and are moved on the table. The trays stacked on each other are pressed.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the vertical guide and the horizontal guide are moved horizontally by the driving of the electric driving means, and press the trays stacked on the table.

As the electric driving means, for example, a cylinder, a solenoid, a motor and the like combined with an electromagnetic valve can be mentioned.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the device storage mechanism for the handler according to the fourth aspect, a structure is provided in which movement range limiting means for limiting a movement range of the vertical guide and the horizontal guide is provided.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the moving range of the vertical guide and the horizontal guide is limited by the moving range restricting means. Therefore, the pressing force when the vertical guide and the horizontal guide press the trays stacked on the table is limited, and the breakage of the trays is prevented.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show the structure of a device storage mechanism according to the present invention, wherein FIG. 1 is a front view and FIG. 2 is a side view. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a storage unit that constitutes the device storage mechanism of FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a supply unit constituting the device storage mechanism of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a transport shuttle constituting the device storage mechanism of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the device storage mechanism of this embodiment has a supply unit 3 for supplying a tray 1.
0, the tray 1 supplied from the supply unit 30 is measured IC
The first transport unit 40 for transporting the tray 25 containing the measured IC 25 to the storage unit 60A, and the first transport unit 40 for transporting the tray 1 containing the measured IC 25 to the storage unit 60A. It is composed of a storage section 60 for storing.

As shown in FIG. 5, the supply section 30 includes tray guides 7, 4 for guiding the four corners of the stacked trays 1.
, Holding claws 9 for supporting the lowermost trays 1 stacked,
9. Cylinders 9A, 9A for horizontally moving holding claws 9, 9
And the like. The holding claws 9, 9 are arranged to face each other with the tray 1 interposed therebetween, and move horizontally in a direction approaching and separating from each other by driving the cylinders 9A, 9A. In a state where the holding claws 9 and 9 are close to each other, the substantially U-shaped tips of the holding claws 9 and 9 are fitted into the cutouts 1A formed on the lower end side of the tray 1, and the tray 1 is supported. While
When the holding claws 9, 9 are separated from each other, the tips of the holding claws 9, 9 are detached from the notch 1A of the tray 1, and the tray 1
Is opened (movable downward).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first transport means 40 includes a receiving table 1 provided below the supply section 30.
4. Cylinder 14 for moving cradle 14 up and down
A, Rail 1 arranged in parallel below supply unit 30
0, 10; rails 11, 11 provided continuously to these rails 10, 10; cylinders 11A, 11 for horizontally moving these rails 11, 11 in directions of approaching and separating.
A, pressing the tray 1 on the rails 10 and 10
It is constituted by a pusher 13 and the like that move to the positions 1 and 11.

In the first transporting means 40, first, the cradle 14 is raised by driving the cylinder 14A, and
After once lifting the stacking tray 1 of the cylinders 9A, 9
By driving A, the holding claws 9, 9 are horizontally moved in a direction to separate from each other, so that the tray 1 can be moved downward. Thereafter, when the cradle 14 is lowered to a predetermined position, the holding claws 9, 9 are horizontally moved in the approaching direction, and the holding claws 9, 9 are moved.
9 is the notch 1A of the second tray 1 from the bottom.
After that, the receiving table 14 is lowered, and
Is separated and placed on the rail 10. Then, the tray 1 placed on the rail 10 is
After being moved to the rails 11 by the pressing of, the measured IC 25 gripped by the storage hand 24 is stored in the tray 1. When the storage of the IC 25 is completed, the tray 1 is transported to the storage section 60 by the second transport means 50.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second transfer means 50 is provided on a receiving table 2 provided below the rails 11 and 11.
2. Cylinder 22 for vertically moving cradle 22
A, the tray 1 transferred from the rails 11
The transport shuttle 19 transports the transport shuttle to zero. The transport shuttle 19 is, as shown in FIG.
Of the tray 1, holding claws 16, 16 for holding the tray 1, cylinders 16A, 16A for horizontally moving the holding claws 16, 16, and the like. In the center of the transport shuttle 19, an opening 19A through which the opened tray 1 is inserted is formed. The holding claws 16, 16 are arranged to face each other with the tray 1 interposed therebetween, and are horizontally moved in a direction of approaching and separating from each other by driving the cylinders 16 </ b> A, 16 </ b> A to pinch or open the tray 1.

In the second transfer means 50, the cylinder 22A
The pedestal 22 is raised by the drive of
Once the upper tray 1 (the tray 1 in which the storage of the measured IC 25 is completed) is once lifted, the cylinders 11A, 11
By driving A, the rails 11 and 11 are horizontally moved in a direction away from each other, and the cradle 22 is lowered to place the tray 1 on the transport shuttle 19. Thereafter, the transport shuttle 19 transports the tray 1 to the storage unit 60.

As shown in FIG. 2, the storage section 60 includes a table 2 on which the trays 1 containing the measured ICs 25 are stacked and placed, a corner guide 3 for guiding the four corners of the trays 1 stacked on the table 2, and a table. An elevator unit 27 for moving the tray 2 vertically and a vertical guide 5, which presses the tray 1 stacked on the table 2 from both front and rear directions (as viewed from FIG. 2) to adjust the horizontal position of the tray 1 in the front and rear direction.
5. Lateral guides 4, 4, which press the trays 1 stacked on the table 2 from both left and right directions (as viewed from FIG. 2) to adjust the horizontal position of the trays 1 in the left and right directions.
(Electric drive means) for horizontally moving the cylinders 5 and 5 in the direction of approaching and separating, and an upper surface detection sensor (not shown) for detecting the upper surface position of the trays 1 stacked on the table 2. .

The table 2 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape, and at the edge thereof, tray guides 2A and 2B for positioning the tray 1 placed thereon (the lowermost tray 1) stand upright. It is provided in a state. Elevator unit 27
Are motor 20, ball screw 21, table support member 2
6 and so on. The rotational drive of the motor 20 is transmitted to the table 2 after being converted into linear motion by the ball screw 21 and the table support member 26.

As shown in FIG. 3, the vertical guides 5, 5 are opposed to each other so as to sandwich the tray 1 on the table 2 from both front and rear directions. It is arranged opposite to a position sandwiched from both left and right directions. Each of the vertical guides 5, 5 and the horizontal guides 4, 4 is formed in a substantially flat plate shape, and has contact portions 5a, 5a, 4a, 4a, 5a, 5a, 4a which are in contact with the tray 1 on the table 2 when pressed.
a, 4a are protruded. The movement of the vertical guides 5, 5 and the horizontal guides 4, 4 in the pressing direction is restricted by the locking by the tray guides 2A, 2B. Therefore, the pressing force when the vertical guides 5, 5 and the horizontal guides 4, 4 press the trays 1 stacked on the table 2 is limited, and the trays 1 are prevented from being damaged.

In the storage section 60, after the elevator section 27 raises the table 2 to a position detected by the upper surface detection sensor, the holding claws 1 are driven by driving the cylinders 16A, 16A.
The trays 6 and 16 are horizontally moved in a direction away from each other, and the transported tray 1 is placed on the trays 1 stacked on the table 2 (or on the table 2). Then, by driving the cylinders 6,..., The vertical guides 5, 5 are horizontally moved in a direction approaching each other to adjust the horizontal position of the trays 1 stacked on the table 2 in the front-rear direction. The tray 1 is horizontally moved in a direction approaching each other to adjust the horizontal position of the tray 1 in the left-right direction. When the horizontal position of the trays 1 stacked on the table 2 is adjusted in this way, the table 2 is lowered by driving the elevator unit 27.

As described above, according to the device accommodating mechanism of the handler of this embodiment, the tray 1 supplied from the supply section 30 has been measured by the first transport means 40.
After being transported to the storage position of C25 and storing the measured IC 25, the storage section 60A is
And is stored in the storage section 60A. here,
The storage unit 60 is provided with vertical guides 5 and 5 for adjusting the horizontal position of the tray 1 stacked on the table 2 in the front-rear direction, and horizontal guides 4 and 4 for adjusting the horizontal position of the tray 1 in the left-right direction. Therefore, even if the trays 1 stacked on the table 2 are displaced in the horizontal direction due to the influence of, for example, dimensional accuracy, warpage, etc., the dislocations are reduced by the vertical guides
And the horizontal guides 4 and 4. Therefore, the table 2 on which the trays 1 are stacked is placed on the elevator 2
Even if the tray 7 is moved in the vertical direction, the stacked trays 1 do not fall on the corner guides 3,... Therefore, the measured IC 25 stored in the tray 1 does not jump.

In this embodiment, the cylinders 6,... Have been exemplified as the electric driving means. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the vertical guides 5, 5 and the horizontal guides 4, 4 are moved toward and away from each other. If it can be moved horizontally in the direction, it can be constituted by, for example, a solenoid, a linear motion mechanism using a motor as a drive source, or the like. In addition, the specific configurations, methods, and the like specifically shown can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the invention.

[0031]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the storage section includes the table on which the stacked trays are placed and the tray alignment guide for adjusting the horizontal position of the trays stacked on the table. Trays stacked on
For example, even if a horizontal deviation occurs due to the influence of dimensional accuracy, warpage, or the like, the deviation is eliminated by the tray alignment guide. Therefore, even if the table on which the trays are stacked is moved, for example, in the vertical direction, the stacked trays are not caught by other members and tilted as in the related art. Therefore, the device to be measured accommodated in the tray does not jump.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the trays stacked on the table have their horizontal positions in the front-rear direction adjusted by the vertical guides, and their horizontal positions in the left-right direction adjusted by the horizontal guides.

According to the third aspect of the invention, since the vertical guide and the horizontal guide are configured to simultaneously press a plurality of trays stacked on the table, the horizontal positions of the trays stacked on the table can be adjusted in a short time.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the vertical guide and the horizontal guide are moved horizontally by the driving of the electric driving means, and press the trays stacked on the table.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the moving range of the vertical guide and the horizontal guide is limited by the moving range limiting means. Therefore, the pressing force when the vertical guide and the horizontal guide press the trays stacked on the table is limited, and the breakage of the trays is prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a configuration of a device storage mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the device storage mechanism of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a storage unit constituting the device storage mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a supply unit constituting the device storage mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a transport shuttle constituting the device storage mechanism of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a configuration of a conventional device storage mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the device storage mechanism of FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a storage section constituting the device storage mechanism of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a front view showing the storage section of FIG. 9, showing a state in which trays stacked and stored are shifted in the horizontal direction.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Tray 1A Notch 2 Table 2A Tray guide (moving range restricting means) 2B Tray guide (moving range restricting means) 3 Corner guide 4 Horizontal guide (Tray aligning guide) 5 Vertical guide (Tray aligning guide) 6 Cylinder (Electric) 25) Measured IC (device to be measured) 27 Elevator unit 30 Supply unit 40 First transfer unit 50 Second transfer unit 60 Storage unit

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2G003 AG11 AH07 3F029 AA08 BA01 BA09 CA08 DA04 DA06 4M106 AA04 DG02 DG03

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A device storage mechanism of a handler having a storage unit for stacking and storing trays accommodating devices to be measured, wherein the storage unit includes a table on which the stacked trays are placed, and a table stacked on the table. A device storage mechanism for a handler, comprising: a tray alignment guide for adjusting a horizontal position of the tray. 2. The tray alignment guide comprises: a vertical guide for pressing the trays stacked on the table from both front and rear directions to adjust the horizontal position of the trays in the front and rear direction; and a tray for stacking the trays stacked on the table in both left and right directions. 2. The device storage mechanism for a handler according to claim 1, further comprising: a horizontal guide for adjusting the horizontal position of the tray in the left-right direction by pressing the device from the side. 3. The device storage mechanism for a handler according to claim 2, wherein said vertical guide and said horizontal guide press a plurality of trays stacked on said table at the same time. 4. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said vertical guide and said horizontal guide are horizontally moved by driving of an electric driving means to press a tray stacked on said table.
Or the device storage mechanism of the handler according to 3. 5. A device storage mechanism for a handler according to claim 4, further comprising a movement range restricting means for restricting a movement range of said vertical guide and said horizontal guide.