JP2002289673A - Carrying in/out apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry in or out a plate-like object certainly and smoothly without complicated works such as adjustment of a device for storing the plate-like object and an object-carrying in/out apparatus, in the case that the plate-like object is carried in or out by using the carrying in/out apparatus. SOLUTION: The carrying in/out apparatus 10 that carries out the plate-like objects W1, W2, etc., stored in a cassette 70 or carries the plate-like objects into the cassette 70 comprises, at least, a holding part 11 for attracting and holding the plate-like object, and a folding arm 16 for carrying the holding part 11 into the cassette or retracting it from the cassette. The holding part 11 is formed in a turnable manner by a predetermined angle taking the advancing/retracting direction of the folding arm 16 as the center of rotation by an actuating part 12, and also formed in a turnable manner by both of depression angle and elevation angle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carry-in / out device for carrying out a plate-like object such as a semiconductor wafer contained in a cassette and carrying the plate-like object into the cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A back surface of a semiconductor wafer having a plurality of circuits such as ICs and LSIs formed on a front surface is ground to a predetermined thickness by using, for example, a grinding device 40 shown in FIG.

[0003] The grinding apparatus 40 includes cassette mounting tables 73 and 74 on which a cassette 70 for accommodating a semiconductor wafer before grinding and a cassette 71 for accommodating a semiconductor wafer after grinding are mounted. A loading / unloading device 41 for loading / unloading the semiconductor wafer into / from the cassette 71, a centering table 42 for positioning the semiconductor wafer at a predetermined position, a first transport unit 43 for transporting the semiconductor wafer W, and a second Conveying means 4
4, a turntable 49 provided with four chuck tables 45, 46, 47, and 48 for sucking and holding the semiconductor wafer on the upper part; grinding means 50 and 60 for grinding the semiconductor wafer W held on each chuck table; A cleaning device 62 for cleaning the semiconductor wafer after the grinding.

As shown in FIG. 10, a plurality of semiconductor wafers W1, W2,... Before grinding are accommodated in a cassette 70, which are picked up one by one by a loading / unloading device 41 and placed on a centering table 42. Is placed. Then, after the alignment of the semiconductor wafer W is performed on the centering table 42, the semiconductor wafer W is sucked by the first transporting means 43 and the first transporting means 43 pivots to move the chuck at the position of the chuck table 45. The semiconductor wafer W is placed on the table 46.

Next, the turntable 49 is rotated by a required angle and the semiconductor wafer W held on the chuck table 46 is positioned immediately below the grinding means 50 as shown in the figure.

The grinding means 50 is connected to a slide part 51, and is guided by a guide rail 52 provided in a vertical direction. The slide part 51 is driven by a pulse motor 53 and moves up and down. Also move up and down.

In the grinding means 50, the driving source 5
A grinding wheel 57 is mounted via a mounter 56 on the tip of a spindle 55 connected to the spindle 4 and disposed vertically, and a grinding wheel 58 for rough grinding is fixed to a lower portion of the grinding wheel 57. The grinding wheel 58 is driven by the drive source 54 and the spindle 55 rotates.
The grinding means 50 descends while rotating, and the rotating grinding wheel 58 contacts the back surface of the semiconductor wafer W to grind the back surface.

After the rough grinding, the semiconductor wafer W held on the chuck table 46 is positioned immediately below the grinding means 60 by rotating the turntable 49 by a required angle, and is fixed to the grinding wheel 59 of the grinding means 60. The back surface is finish-ground by the action of the grinding wheel 61 for finish grinding. On the other hand, the semiconductor wafer held on the chuck table 45 is positioned immediately below the grinding means 50,
Here, rough grinding is performed under the action of the grinding means 50.

At this time, the chuck table 45 is automatically positioned at the position where the chuck table 46 was located before the rotation of the turntable 49. And
The semiconductor wafer to be ground next is unloaded from the cassette 70 and placed on the centering table 42, and after being aligned, is transported to the chuck table 45 by the first transporting means 43 and placed thereon.

As described above, the semiconductor wafers are sequentially taken out from the cassette 70, and the semiconductor wafers are sucked and held by the respective chuck tables, and the semiconductor wafers are successively received by the action of the grinding means 50, 60 while the turntable 49 rotates. The back surface of the wafer is being ground.

Then, the semiconductor wafer after the finish grinding is transferred to the cleaning device 62 by the second transfer means 44, and after being cleaned, is stored in the cassette 71 by the transfer device 41. Thus, all the semiconductor wafers W after the grinding are accommodated in the cassette 71.

[0012]

In the carrying-in / out device 41, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG.
Are provided with suction portions 75 and 76 on the surface thereof. And
After the holding portion 77 is positioned below the semiconductor wafer W1 to be inserted into the cassette 70 and unloaded as shown in FIG. 11B, the holding portion 11 is slightly raised as shown in FIG. The semiconductor wafer is sucked by the suction portions 75 and 76, and the semiconductor wafer W1 is carried out by the retreat of the holding portion 77 as shown in FIG. 11D. Therefore, in order to carry out and carry in the plate-like object reliably and smoothly, it is necessary that the holding portion 77 of the carry-in / out device 41 and the plate-like object are parallel.

However, when the loading / unloading device 41 is incorporated into the grinding device 40, an assembling error may occur, and the cassette mounting tables 73 and 74 may be inclined. 41 holding part 77
And the plate-like object accommodated in the cassette 70 may not be parallel. If the holding portion 77 and the plate-shaped object are not parallel to each other, it will be difficult to carry out and carry out the plate-shaped object reliably and smoothly. A complicated operation such as adjusting the installation state of the cassette mounting tables 73 and 74 or the carry-in / out device 41 is required.

Further, when the plate-like material washed in the cleaning device 62 is picked up and stored in the cassette 71 by the carry-in / out device 41, the plate-like material placed in the cleaning device 62 and the holding portion 77 are separated. It is necessary that they are parallel, but if they are not parallel, it is necessary to adjust the inclination of the cleaning device 62, and furthermore, the carry-in / out device 41
It is also necessary to adjust the relative positional relationship with.

As described above, when the plate-like object is carried out or carried in by using the carry-in / out device, the work can be reliably and securely carried out without performing complicated operations such as adjusting the device for accommodating the plate-like material and the carry-in / out device. There is a problem in smoothly carrying in and out a plate-like object.

[0016]

As a specific means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a carrying-in / out device for carrying out a plate-like material contained in a cassette or carrying a plate-like material into a cassette. And a holding unit that sucks and holds the plate-like object,
A bending arm that allows the holding portion to enter the cassette or retract from the cassette; the holding portion is configured to be rotatable by a required angle around the advancing and retreating direction of the bending arm by the driving portion, and is configured to have a downward Provided is a carry-in / out device configured to be able to move up and down in a supine direction.

In this carrying-in / out device, the holding portion has at least a first support portion and a second support portion for supporting the plate-like object, and the first support portion and the second support portion have A first plate-like object detection sensor and a second plate-like object detection sensor for detecting a plate-like object are respectively provided, and the first plate-like object detection sensor and the second plate-like object detection sensor are used to detect a plate-like object. The rotation angle and the elevation angle centered on the advancing and retreating direction of the holding unit are detected while detecting the presence of an object, and the holding unit has a common base for the first support and the second support, A third plate-shaped object detection sensor for detecting a plate-shaped object is provided at the base,
While detecting the presence of the plate-like object by the first plate-like object detection sensor, the second plate-like object detection sensor, and the third plate-like object detection sensor, the rotation angle or the elevation angle of the holding unit about the advance / retreat direction. Is adjusted, the first plate-shaped object detection sensor, the second plate-shaped object detection sensor, and the third plate-shaped object detection sensor are configured to detect the presence of a plate-shaped object by a change in capacitance. The detection sensor, the loading / unloading device is controlled by the control device, and the adjusted rotation angle and elevation angle are stored as adjustment data in storage means provided in the control device, and the storage unit is stored based on the stored content. It is an additional requirement that the rotation angle and the elevation angle of are adjusted.

In the loading / unloading device configured as described above, the holding portion for sucking the plate-like object is configured to be rotatable at a required angle around the advancing and retreating direction of the bending arm and to be able to move up and down in the down and up directions. With this configuration, when the plate-like object to be carried out and the holding unit are not parallel, the holding unit can be adjusted so as to be parallel to the plate-like object by rotating and / or elevating the holding unit.

Also, by providing at least two plate-like object detection sensors in the holder, the inclination between the plate-like object and the holder in one direction can be detected, and another plate-like object is provided on the base. By providing the detection sensor, it is possible to detect the inclination between the plate-like object and the holding unit in two directions.

Further, since each plate-like object detection sensor is a capacitance sensor, erroneous recognition is eliminated and plate-like objects can be reliably detected.

If the rotation angle and the elevation angle when the holding unit is adjusted are stored as adjustment data in a storage unit provided in the control device, the holding unit can be controlled by the control device. It is not necessary to move the cassette or the carry-in / out device each time to carry out the carry-in / out of the plate-like material and the carry-in / out of the plate-like material between a plurality of cassettes.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As an embodiment of the present invention, FIG.
The following describes the carry-in / out device 10 shown in FIG. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and demonstrated about the site | part comprised similarly to a prior art example.

The loading / unloading device 10 includes a holding section 11 for holding a plate-like object, a driving section 12 for driving the holding section 11, a first arm 13 and a second arm 14, and a first arm 13 and a second arm 14. A bending arm 16 comprising a first arm rotating means 15 for rotating the arm 13, a second arm rotating means 17 for rotating the second arm 14, and a vertical moving means 18 for driving the bending arm 16 in the vertical direction. It is composed of

The holding portion 11 is formed in a flat shape, and has a base portion 19.
, The first support portion 20 and the second support portion 21 project in the same direction, and as shown in FIG. 2, the surfaces of the first support portion 20 and the second support portion 21 A first suction unit 22 and a second suction unit 23 for sucking and holding a plate-like object.
And a first plate-shaped object detection sensor 24 and a second plate-shaped object detection sensor 25. Further, the base 19 is provided with a third plate-like object detection sensor 26.

Here, the first plate-like object detection sensor 24,
For example, the second plate-like object detection sensor 25 and the third plate-like object detection sensor 26 have a capacitance that changes when the plate-like object approaches, and detects the presence of the plate-like object based on the change. An electrical detection sensor can be used. In addition, a photosensor including a pair of a light emitting element and a light receiving element such as a photocoupler can be used, but in this case, erroneous recognition may occur due to surface luminance or scattered light of the plate-like object. It is desirable to use an electrostatic detection sensor that can reliably detect the presence of a plate-like object without any problem.

The holding section 11 and the driving section 12 are driven by the first arm turning means 15 to turn the first arm 13 and driven by the second arm turning means 17 to turn the second arm 14. Further, the bending arm 16 can be positioned at a desired position and height by the vertical movement of the bending arm 16 by the vertical movement means 18.

The holding unit 11 is driven by a driving unit 12 so as to be able to move up and down in an elevation direction A and a depression direction B shown in FIG. 3, and to rotate in a forward rotation direction P and a reverse rotation direction shown in FIG. It is rotatable in the direction Q.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, a first drive source for rotating the holding unit 11 in the forward rotation direction P and the reverse rotation direction Q shown in FIG. And a second motor 28, which is a drive source for raising and lowering the holding unit 11 in the lowering direction A and the raising direction B shown in FIG.

The rotating shaft 29 of the first motor 27 is
0, and the rotating unit 30 rotates as the rotating shaft 29 is driven and rotated by the first motor 27. The rotating unit 30 includes a second motor 28.
Is fixed, and a ball screw 31 is connected to the rotating shaft of the second motor 28.
1a is formed rounded.

The rotating portion 30 is rotatably engaged with a hinge 32 formed integrally with the holding portion 11 at an engaging portion 33.
Further, the rotating portion 30 and the hinge 32 are connected by a spring 34, and the spring 34 is urged in a direction to push the hinge 32.

In the state where the second motor 28 is not driven, as shown in FIG. 5, the tip portion 31a contacts the contact portion 32a, and the balance is maintained by the bias of the spring 34, so that the holding portion 11 is level. State.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
8, when the ball screw 31 is moved in the direction in which the ball screw 31 is pulled, the lower portion of the hinge 32 is pushed out by the force of the spring 34, whereby the holding portion 11 is moved up and down in the direction of the up-and-down direction A, and conversely, the ball screw 31 is pushed out. When the distal end portion 31a contacts the contact portion 32a and pushes the upper portion of the hinge 32, the upper portion of the hinge 32 is pushed out, and the holding portion 11 descends in the downward direction A. As described above, the hinge 32 rotates in any direction about the engagement portion 33, and the holding portion 11 is moved up and down accordingly.

A suction passage 3 communicating with the first suction unit 22 and the second suction unit 23 is provided inside the hinge 32 and the holding unit 11.
5 is formed, and the suction path 35 communicates with the suction source via the rotary joint 36 in the rotating unit 30.

When the semiconductor wafers stored in the cassette 70 shown in FIG. 1 are carried out, usually, the semiconductor wafers at the lowermost position are successively carried out, and finally the semiconductor wafer W1 at the uppermost position is carried out. In some cases, a desired semiconductor wafer in the cassette 70 may be unloaded, so the case of unloading the semiconductor wafer W1 will be described here.

First, referring to FIG. 1, when the semiconductor wafer W1 is to be unloaded from the cassette 70, the holding section 11 is moved under the semiconductor wafer W1. When the first plate-like object detection sensor 24 and the second plate-like object detection sensor 25 simultaneously detect the presence of the semiconductor wafer W1, the semiconductor wafer W1 and the holding unit 1
1 is parallel, and there is no need to adjust the holding portion 11.

However, since the cassette mounting table 73 is inclined or the carrying-in / out device 10 is installed inclined, for example, as shown in FIG.
May not be parallel in the X-axis direction. In the illustrated example, the inclination is exaggerated for easy understanding,
The end of the semiconductor wafer W1 in the + X direction is slightly higher than the end in the -X direction and is inclined.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 8B, even if the holding portion 11 is made to enter under the semiconductor wafer W1,
Although the semiconductor wafer W1 can be detected by the third plate-like object detection sensor 26 but the semiconductor wafer W1 cannot be detected by the first plate-like object detection sensor 24 and the second plate-like object detection sensor 25, FIG. Drive unit 12 shown in FIG.
The driving of the second motor 28 constituting the
Until the semiconductor wafer W1 becomes parallel to the semiconductor wafer W1, that is, the semiconductor wafer W1 is detected not only by the third plate-like object detection sensor 26 but also by the first plate-like object detection sensor 24 and the second plate-like object detection sensor 25. 8A, the distal end of the holding unit 11 is moved up and down in the direction of the elevation direction A, and as shown in FIG. 8C, the holding unit 11 is lifted up by the first suction unit 22 and the second suction unit 23. The semiconductor wafer W1 is sucked and carried out as shown in FIG.

On the other hand, contrary to the examples of FIGS.
When the end in the + X direction of the semiconductor wafer W1 is inclined downward from the end in the -X direction (not shown), the holding unit 1
1 is lowered in the direction of the lowering direction B to hold the holding portion 11
And the semiconductor wafer W1 are brought into a parallel state and then sucked and carried out.

In some cases, the semiconductor wafer accommodated in the cassette 70 and the holder 11 are not parallel in the Y-axis direction. In this case, by driving the first motor 27 shown in FIG. 5, the holding unit 11 is rotated in the forward rotation direction P or the reverse rotation direction Q shown in FIG. Are made parallel and then sucked and carried out.

Further, the semiconductor wafer and the holding part 11 are
There is a case where it is not parallel in both the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction. In this case, the holding unit 11 is appropriately rotated in the forward rotation direction P or the reverse rotation direction Q shown in FIG. 4 and is moved upward and downward in the elevation direction A or the downward direction B shown in FIG. , Semiconductor wafer W1 and holding unit 11
And can be parallel.

As shown in FIG. 1, a control device 37 is connected to the carry-in / out device 10, and the control device 37 controls the rotation, the elevation movement, the vertical movement, and the advance / retreat of the holding unit 11 collectively. Control device 37
Is provided with storage means 38 such as a memory, so that the angle of rotation and / or elevation of the holding unit 11 can be stored as adjustment data. Therefore, the productivity can be improved by unloading the semiconductor wafers W2, W3,... While rotating and / or raising and lowering the holding unit 11 by the stored angle.

For example, in the grinding apparatus 40 shown in FIG. 9 shown in the conventional example, not only the unloading but also the work of loading the semiconductor wafer after grinding and cleaning into the cassette 71 is required. Similarly to the cassette 70, the inclination is rotated and / or lowered so that the semiconductor wafer accommodated in the cassette 71 and the holder 11 are parallel to each other, and the information is transmitted to the controller 37.
If the storage unit 38 is stored, the loading operation is performed while the holding unit 11 is raised and / or rotated based on the stored contents, thereby performing a complicated operation such as adjusting the inclination of the cassette 71. And the loading operation can be performed efficiently.

It should be noted that the results of the determination of the presence / absence of the semiconductor wafer W by the first plate-shaped object detection sensor 24, the second plate-shaped object detection sensor 25, and the third plate-shaped object detection sensor 26 are monitored. 39 can be displayed. For example, a first plate-shaped object detection sensor 24, a second plate-shaped object detection sensor 25, and a third plate-shaped object detection sensor 26
If the determination result is the same, "OK" is displayed, and if the determination result is different, "NG" is displayed, so that the operator can easily know whether the semiconductor wafer and the holding unit 11 are horizontal. In the case of "NG", it is desirable to emit a warning sound so as to surely notify the operator.

In this embodiment, the case where a semiconductor wafer is carried in and out has been described as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a plate-like object other than a semiconductor wafer. Further, the spinner table for holding the semiconductor wafer in the cleaning device 62 shown in FIG. 9 is inclined not only when the semiconductor wafer and the holding unit 11 are not parallel, but also when the semiconductor device and the holding unit 11 are not parallel. The invention can be applied.

[0045]

As described above, in the carrying-in / out device according to the present invention, the holding portion for sucking the plate-like object is configured to be rotatable by a required angle around the advancing / retreating direction of the bending arm as the center of rotation, and the lifting / lowering direction and the elevation direction. When the plate to be unloaded is not parallel to the holding part, the holding part is rotated and / or raised and lowered so that it is parallel to the plate. can do. Therefore, troublesome work such as adjusting the installation state of the plate-like object and the cassette or the like accommodating the plate-like object becomes unnecessary, and productivity is improved.

Further, by providing at least two plate-like object detection sensors in the holder, the inclination between the plate-like object and the holder in one direction can be detected, and another plate-like object is provided on the base. By providing the detection sensor, it is possible to detect the inclination between the plate-like object and the holding unit in two directions. Therefore, it is possible to automatically adjust the holding portion and the plate-shaped object to be parallel based on the detection result.

Further, since each plate-like object detection sensor is a capacitance sensor, erroneous recognition is eliminated and plate-like objects can be reliably detected, thereby increasing reliability.

If the rotation angle and the elevation angle when the holding section is adjusted are stored as adjustment data in the storage means provided in the control device, the control device holds the rotation angle and the elevation angle for each corresponding cassette based on the adjustment data. Parts can be controlled, so that loading and unloading of multiple plate-like objects and loading and unloading of plate-like objects between multiple cassettes are performed smoothly. No adjustment is required, and productivity is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of an embodiment of a carry-in / out device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a holding unit and a driving unit constituting the carrying-in / out device.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a raising and lowering movement of a holding unit constituting the carrying-in / out device.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing rotation of a holding unit constituting the carrying-in / out device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal structure of a holding unit and a driving unit constituting the carrying-in / out device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a holding unit constituting the carrying-in / out device is moved up and down.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which a holding unit constituting the carrying-in / out device is moved down in a down direction.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing a procedure for unloading a semiconductor wafer stored in a cassette that is not horizontal in the X-axis direction.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a grinding device.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a cassette containing semiconductor wafers.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a procedure for unloading a semiconductor wafer stored in a cassette using a conventional unloading device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Loading / unloading device 11 ... Holding part 12 ... Drive part 13 ... First arm 14 ... Second arm 15 ... First arm turning movement means 16 ... Bending arm 17 ... Second arm turning movement means 18 ... Vertical movement means 19 ... Base 20: first support 21: second support 22: first suction unit 23: second suction unit 24: first plate-like object detection sensor 25: second plate-like object detection sensor 26 ... third plate detection sensor 27 ... first motor 28 ... second motor 29 ... rotating shaft 30 ... rotating part 31 ... ball screw 32 ... hinge 33 ... engaging part 34 ... spring 35 ... suction path 36 ... rotary Joint 37: Control device 38: Storage means 39: Monitor 40: Grinding device 41: Carry-in / out device 42: Centering table 43: First conveying means 44: Second conveying means 45, 46, 47, 48: Chat Table 49 Turntable 50, 60 Grinding means 51 Slide part 52 Guide rail 53 Pulse motor 54 Drive source 55 Spindle 56 Mounters 57, 59 Grinding wheels 58, 61 Grinding grindstone 62 Cleaning device 70 , 71: Cassette 73, 74: Cassette mounting table 75, 76: Suction unit 77: Holding unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (reference) B65G 1/00 547 B65G 1/00 547B 49/07 49/07 DF term (reference) 3C007 AS03 BS15 BT01 CV07 CW07 CY02 CY03 CY39 DS03 ES02 ET02 EV02 EV13 EV17 EV19 EW14 FS01 FT11 HS04 HS27 HT20 HT36 KS20 KS29 KS31 KV04 KX08 LV05 MS14 MS28 NS09 NS13 3F022 AA08 CC02 EE05 KK10 KK18 MM70 GA02 GA03 GA03 JA13 JA17 JA25 JA32 JA51 KA10 LA12 MA13 PA02

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A loading / unloading device for unloading a plate-like object stored in a cassette or loading a plate-like object into a cassette, comprising: a holding unit that sucks and holds the plate-like object; At least a bending arm which is inserted into or retracted from the cassette, wherein the holding portion is configured to be rotatable by a required angle about a direction of rotation of the bending arm by a driving portion as a center of rotation, and to be lowered and raised. A loading / unloading device that can be raised and lowered in the direction. 2. The holding portion has at least a first support portion and a second support portion for supporting a plate-like object, and the first support portion and the second support portion have a plate-like shape. A first plate-like object detection sensor and a second plate-like object detection sensor for detecting an object are respectively provided, and a plate-like object is detected by the first plate-like object detection sensor and the second plate-like object detection sensor. The carry-in / out device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation angle and the elevation angle of the holding unit around the forward / backward direction are adjusted while detecting the presence of the vehicle. 3. The holding section has a common base for the first support section and the second support section, and a third plate detection sensor for detecting a plate is disposed on the base. While the first plate-like object detection sensor, the second plate-like object detection sensor, and the third plate-like object detection sensor detect the presence of a plate-like object, centering on the advance / retreat direction of the holding unit The carry-in / out device according to claim 2, wherein the rotation angle or the elevation angle is adjusted. 4. The first plate-shaped object detection sensor, the second plate-shaped object detection sensor, and the third plate-shaped object detection sensor detect electrostatic presence by detecting a change in capacitance. The carry-in / out device according to claim 2 or 3, which is a sensor. 5. The carrying-in / out device is controlled by a control device, and the adjusted rotation angle and elevation angle are stored as adjustment data in storage means provided in the control device, and a holding unit is provided based on the stored contents. 5. The carry-in / out device according to claim 1, wherein the rotation angle and the elevation angle are adjusted.