JP2000128309A - Fork device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fork device for discharging static electricity charged in a workpiece. SOLUTION: A fork device 5 is fixedly provided in the housing chamber 3 of a carrying vehicle main body 2, and is equipped with four fork members of lower 6, second 7, middle 8, and upper 9 formed of aluminum material. A conductive cushioning member 22 is fittably mounted onto the upper surface 9b of the fork 9, and first and second static eliminating brushes 25 and 26 are fixedly provided on the front and rear side surfaces of the forks 9 and 7 respectively.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a fork device, and more particularly to a fork device capable of removing static electricity charged on a work placed on a fork for delivery.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various electronic components such as glass substrates and semi-finished semiconductor products are transported to the next process as semi-finished products after undergoing a predetermined manufacturing process. Then, this kind of semi-finished electronic component is stored in a cassette and transported to the next step by a transport vehicle.

[0003] By the way, when the cassette is moved by a carrier, static electricity may be charged due to friction with air or the like. When static electricity charged in the cassette touches the electronic components, the cassette may be electrically destroyed. Therefore, it is necessary to remove static electricity charged on the cassette.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway front view of a conventional carrier 71. As shown in FIG. The transport vehicle main body 72 is formed of an iron housing, and an accommodation room 73 is provided at an upper portion of a central position thereof. Delivery ports 74 are provided on both sides of the accommodation room 73. Further, a fork device 76 on which a cassette 75 for transfer is placed is provided at a central position of the carrier body 72.
Is provided.

The fork device 76 is of a four-stage slide type and includes four fork members of an upper fork 77, a middle fork 78, a second fork 79 and a lower fork 80 in order from the top. Each fork 7
7 to 80 are formed of an aluminum plate. Each of these forks 77 to 80 is connected to a known linear guide mechanism (not shown) so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in FIG. 4). Four conductive rubbers 82 are attached to the upper surface 81 of the upper fork 77, and the cassette 75 is mounted on the conductive rubber 82.

When static electricity is charged on the cassette 75 placed on the conductive rubber 82, the static electricity is transferred to the iron carrier body 72 via the conductive rubber 82 and the aluminum forks 77 to 80. It is designed to be discharged.

[0007]

However, the electrical resistance of the conductive rubber 82 is not sufficiently reduced, and the conductive rubber 82 cannot be discharged to a low potential that satisfies the static electricity charged in the cassette 75. Therefore, it is not enough to protect the electronic components housed in the cassette 75 from electrostatic damage.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic component which, when charged on a work such as an electronic component mounted on a fork for delivery or a cassette for storing the electronic component, reliably discharges the charged static electricity. To provide a fork device capable of protecting the device from electrostatic damage.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a plurality of conductive fork members slide and a buffer member provided on the uppermost fork member. In a fork device for transferring a workpiece, at least one of the plurality of conductive fork members is provided with a static elimination brush.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the fork device according to the first aspect, the static elimination brush is provided on a fork member so as not to contact the work.

[0011] The invention described in claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
The gist of the present invention is that the static elimination brush is fixed to at least the side surface of the fork member at the uppermost stage.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the fork member is provided with the discharging brush, when the work approaches the discharging brush, the static electricity charged on the work is discharged through the discharging brush. As a result, the work is neutralized.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the static elimination brush is not in contact with the work, so that the work and the static elimination brush are not scraped by contact and do not generate dust. As a result, the periphery of the fork device can be kept clean.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the static elimination brush is fixed to the side surface of the uppermost fork member, when the work is placed on the uppermost fork member, discharge is immediately performed via the static elimination brush. Is made. As a result, the work is neutralized.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which a fork device of the present invention is embodied in a carrier will be described below with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view for explaining a transport vehicle, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a fork device provided in the transport vehicle, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the fork device. In FIG. 1, a carrier body 2 of a carrier 1 is formed of an iron casing. The accommodation room 3 is provided in the upper part of the center position of the carrier body 2, and the transfer ports 4 are provided on both left and right sides of the accommodation room 3.

A fork device 5 is fixedly provided in the accommodation room 3 of the carrier 2. The fork device 5 includes four fork members of a lower fork 6, a second fork 7, a middle fork 8, and an upper fork 9 in order from the bottom. Each fork 6-9 as a fork member
Is formed of an aluminum material.

An iron motor casing 10 is fixed to the bottom surface 3a of the accommodation chamber 3, and a fork motor 11 is built in the casing 10. A lower fork 6 is fixedly mounted on an upper surface of a casing 10 part of which protrudes upward from a bottom surface 3a of the storage chamber 3.

The lower fork 6 fixed to the upper surface of the casing 10 has a guide groove 6a formed on the lower surface thereof in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, and a rack (a left side surface in FIG. 3) is provided on one side of the guide groove 6a. 12 are provided. or,
A rotary shaft 11a of the fork motor 11 is rotatably penetrated through the lower fork 6, and a pinion 1
3 is fixed.

A second fork 7 is provided above the lower fork 6. In the second fork 7, an iron slide plate S1 provided on the upper surface of the lower fork 6 and a slide plate S2 provided on the lower surface of the second fork 7 are in sliding contact with each other, and slide in the left-right direction in FIG. A guide groove 7a is formed on the lower surface of the second fork 7 in the left-right direction, a rack 14a is provided on one side surface (the right side surface in FIG. 3) of the guide groove 7a, and the other side surface (FIG. 3). , A rack 14b is provided on the left side. A pinion 13 fixed to a rotating shaft 11a protruding from the upper surface of the lower fork 6 meshes with a rack 14a provided in the guide groove 7a. Therefore, when the fork motor 11 rotates forward and backward, the second fork 7 moves in the left-right direction with respect to the lower fork 6.

In FIG. 1, a rotary shaft 15 is rotatably supported by the forks 6 and 7 at the right position of the lower fork 6 and at the center position of the second fork 7. Lower and upper pinions 16 and 17 are fixed to the lower end and the upper end of the rotating shaft 15. And the lower pinion 1
6 meshes with a rack 12 provided in the guide groove 6a of the lower fork 6. Therefore, when the second fork 7 moves in the left-right direction with respect to the lower fork 6, the lower pinion 16, that is, the rotating shaft 15 rotates forward and backward.

A middle fork 8 is provided above the second fork 7. In the middle fork 8, an iron slide plate S3 provided on the upper surface of the second fork 7 and a slide plate S4 provided on the lower surface of the middle fork 8 are in sliding contact with each other, and slide in the left-right direction in FIG. A guide groove 8a is formed in the lower surface of the middle fork 8 in the left-right direction, and a rack 18 is provided on one side surface of the guide groove 8a.
The upper pinion 17 fixed to the rotating shaft 15 protruding from the upper surface of the second fork 7 meshes with the rack 18 provided in the guide groove 8a. Therefore, when the rotation shaft 15, that is, the upper pinion 17 rotates forward and backward, the middle fork 8
Moves left and right with respect to the second fork 7.

In FIG. 1, a rotary shaft 19 is rotatably supported on the right side of the second fork 7 and the center of the middle fork 8 with respect to the two forks 7, 8. Lower and upper pinions 20 and 21 are fixed to the lower end and the upper end of the rotating shaft 19. And the lower pinion 2
0 meshes with the rack 14b provided in the guide groove 7a of the second fork 7. Therefore, when the middle fork 8 moves in the left-right direction with respect to the second fork 7, the lower pinion 20, that is, the rotating shaft 19 rotates forward and backward.

An upper fork 9 is provided above the middle fork 8. In the upper fork 9, an iron slide plate S5 provided on the upper surface of the middle fork 8 and a slide plate S6 provided on the lower surface of the upper fork 9 are in sliding contact with each other, and slide in the left-right direction in FIG. A guide groove 9a is formed on the lower surface of the upper fork 9 in the left-right direction, and a rack 22 is provided on one side surface of the guide groove 9a. An upper pinion 21 fixed to a rotation shaft 19 protruding from the upper surface of the middle fork 8 meshes with a rack 22 provided in the guide groove 9a. Therefore, the rotation shaft 19,
That is, when the upper pinion 21 rotates forward and backward, the upper fork 9 moves in the left-right direction with respect to the middle fork 8.

That is, for example, when the fork motor 11 rotates forward, the second fork 7 moves rightward with respect to the lower fork 6. With the movement of the second fork 7, the middle fork 8 moves rightward with respect to the second fork 7. Further, as the middle fork 8 moves, the upper fork 9 moves rightward with respect to the middle fork 8. Then, as shown in FIG. 1, each of the forks 7 to 9 of the fork device 5 extends to the delivery position.

When the fork motor 11 rotates in the reverse direction with the forks 7 to 9 extended to the transfer position, the second fork 7 moves leftward with respect to the lower fork 6. With the movement of the second fork 7, the middle fork 8 moves to the left with respect to the second fork 7. Further, with the movement of the middle fork 8, the upper fork 9 moves to the left with respect to the middle fork 8. And each fork 6-9 is contained in the accommodation room 3
It is housed in a state of being stacked inside.

As shown in FIG. 2, buffer members 23 are attached to the four corners of the upper surface 9b of the upper fork 9, respectively. Each buffering member 23 is made of conductive rubber, and a cassette 24 as a work containing electronic components is placed on the upper surface thereof. Therefore, when the fork device 5 is extended to the transfer position, the transfer of the cassette 24 is performed. When the forks 6 to 9 of the fork device 5 are stacked and housed in the housing chamber 3, the cassette 24 is conveyed while being mounted on the buffer member 23.

A first static elimination brush 25 is fixed on the front side surface of the upper fork 9 (see FIG. 1). The first static elimination brush 25 is a mounting portion 25 made of an aluminum material that is fixedly attached to the upper fork 9 with a screw.
a and a brush portion 25b formed by implanting a large number of thin wires made of aluminum material on the upper surface of the mounting portion 25a. The upper surface of the brush part 25b is arranged horizontally, and in the present embodiment, the cassette 24
Is set so that the distance between the lower surface of the cassette 24 and the upper surface of the brush portion 25b is 1 mm to 2 mm in a state where is mounted. Therefore, the first neutralization brush 25 includes the upper fork 9, the slide plates S6 and S5, the middle fork 8, the slide plates S4 and S3, the second fork 7,
The casing 10 is electrically connected to the casing 10 via the slide plates S2 and S1 and the lower fork 6.

On the rear side surface of the second fork 7 (see FIG. 1), a second neutralization brush 26 is fixed. The second neutralization brush 26 is screwed to the second fork 7. The mounting portion 26a is made of an aluminum material that is closely attached and extended upward, and the brush portion 26b is formed by implanting a large number of thin wires made of an aluminum material on the upper surface of the mounting portion 26a. . The upper surface of the brush portion 26b is arranged horizontally. Similarly, in the present embodiment, when the cassette 24 is placed on the buffer member 23, the gap between the lower surface of the cassette 24 and the upper surface of the brush portion 26b is increased. It is set to be 1 mm to 2 mm. Accordingly, the second charge removing brush 26 is electrically connected to the casing 10 via the second fork 7, the slide plates S2, S1, and the lower fork 6.

Next, the features of the transport vehicle 1 provided with the fork device 5 configured as described above will be described below. (1) In the present embodiment, the first static elimination brush 25 is fixed to the upper fork 9. did. Therefore, the upper fork 9
When the cassette 24 is placed on the buffer member 23 for transport, the static electricity charged in the cassette 24 is discharged through the buffer member 23 made of conductive rubber, and immediately after the first static elimination. The brush 25 discharges. Then, the static electricity discharged to the first discharging brush 25 is discharged to the casing 10. Therefore, the discharge amount is much larger than the discharge of static electricity by only the buffer member 23 provided on the upper fork 9, and the electronic components housed in the cassette 24 can be protected from electrostatic breakdown.

(2) In the present embodiment, the second discharging brush 26 is fixed to the second fork 7. Therefore, the cassette 24 placed on the buffer member 23 of the upper fork 9
Slides and is guided into the accommodation chamber 3, static electricity is generated by friction between the cassette 24 and air, and the cassette 24 is charged. The static electricity charged in the cassette 24 is discharged via the buffer member 23 made of conductive rubber. In addition, when the cassette 24 moves above the second neutralizing brush 26, the second static eliminating brush 26 Is discharged. Then, the static electricity discharged to the second static elimination brush 26 is discharged to the casing 10.

Therefore, even when the electronic components housed in the cassette 24 are stored in the cassette 24, the amount of discharge is much larger than that of the electrostatic discharge generated only by the buffer member 23 provided in the upper fork 9. Can be protected from destruction. Moreover, in this case, the first static elimination brush 25
Since the static electricity is discharged through the gate, the static electricity can be more reliably discharged.

(3) In the present embodiment, the first and second static elimination brushes 25 and 26 are set at an interval at which the cassette 24 can be discharged without contacting the cassette 24. Therefore, the cassette 24 and the first and second neutralization brushes 25,
There is no problem that dust is generated due to the contact of 26.

(4) In the present embodiment, the first and second static elimination brushes 25 and 26 are formed of an aluminum material. Therefore, the discharge efficiency can be improved because the electric resistance is small.

The embodiment of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but may be implemented as follows. O The first static elimination brush 25 may be provided on the upper surface of the upper fork 9 for implementation.

All or all of the forks 6 to 9 of the fork device 5 are appropriately selected and the first and second neutralization brushes 25 and 2 are selected.
6 may be provided so as not to collide with each other when the static elimination brushes are slid and moved. As a matter of course, one of the forks 6 to 9 may be provided with a neutralization brush.

The first and second neutralization brushes 25 and 26 may be formed of a conductive material other than aluminum, such as iron, copper, gold, and silver. The forks 6 to 9 of the fork device 5 may be formed of a conductive metal material other than aluminum.

Although the conductive rubber is used as the cushioning member 23, any material may be used as long as it is an elastic member having conductivity. The slide plates S1 to S6 may be formed of a conductive metal material other than iron.

The number of forks of the fork device 5 may be changed as appropriate. The fork device 5 may be applied to a device other than the transport vehicle 1, for example, a fork device used for a stacker crane in an automatic warehouse.

The technical ideas other than the inventions described in the claims that can be understood from the above embodiment will be described below together with the effects. (1) The fork device according to claim 1, wherein the static elimination brush is formed of an aluminum material. Since the static elimination brush is formed of an aluminum material having a small electric resistance, the discharge efficiency can be improved.

(2) A carrier equipped with the fork device according to claim 1. The work transported by the transport vehicle can be reliably protected from electrostatic breakdown due to static electricity.

[0042]

As described in detail above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, static electricity charged on the work can be reliably eliminated.

According to the invention described in claim 2, according to claim 1
In addition to the advantageous effects described in (1), the periphery of the fork device can be kept clean. According to the invention described in claim 3,
The work placed on the fork device can be immediately discharged.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view for explaining a transport vehicle.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of a fork device provided in the transport vehicle.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a fork device provided in the transport vehicle.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway front view for explaining a conventional transport vehicle.

[Explanation of symbols]

5 fork device, 6-9 lower fork, second fork, middle fork and upper fork as fork member, 23 buffer member, 24 cassette as work, 25, 26 first static elimination brush as static elimination brush And a second static elimination brush.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A fork device in which a plurality of conductive fork members slide and transfer a workpiece on a buffer member provided on an uppermost fork member, wherein at least one of the plurality of conductive fork members is provided. A fork device comprising a static elimination brush. 2. The fork device according to claim 1, wherein the neutralization brush is provided on a fork member so as not to contact the work. 3. The fork device according to claim 1, wherein the static elimination brush is fixed to at least a side surface of a top fork member.