JP2003040421A - Object conveyer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an object conveyer which can convey even an easily deflecting object by utilizing a progressive wave generated by a vibration plate with a simple constitution. SOLUTION: This object conveyer 11 is provided with a frame comprising a base plate 12 and a pair of side walls 13, and both the side walls 13 are provided so as to extend along a conveying route of a conveyed object 14. A plurality of support shafts 15 are supported in parallel and horizontally mutually with a prescribed space apart between both the side walls 13, and a roller 16 engaged with one end of the conveyed object 14 to relatively movably support it is supported to freely rotate to both ends of the support shaft 15. A long vibration plate 17 is arranged so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the support shaft 15 in the upper part of the shaft 15, in the cross directional center of the base plate 12. The vibration plate 17 is formed in rectangular flat plate shape in a width narrower than that of the conveyed object 14, and the conveyed object 14 can be held floatable in its central part. The vibration plate 17 is excited by horns 18a, 18b constituting an excitation means, to generate a progressive wave.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an object transporting device, and more particularly to an object transporting device that utilizes a traveling wave generated by vibration of a vibrating plate to apply thrust without contacting a transported object. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a plate-like object such as a glass substrate or a silicon wafer is conveyed, an object levitating / conveying device for conveying the object in a levitating state without coming into contact with the object is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-2770.
No. 33 publication and the like. In this device, the object is levitated and conveyed by the radiation pressure of the sound wave generated by the vibrating body. When the object is transported in a levitated state, it is necessary to provide a guide unit so that the object does not deviate from the transportation path. In the device described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-277033, as shown in FIG. 5, guides 52 are provided on both sides of a vibrating body (vibrating plate) 51 along the longitudinal direction (direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 5). ing. The guide 52 plays a role of reflecting a sound wave generated by the vibrating body 51 and holding the sound wave so that the sound wave exists along the guide 52. As a result, the object 53 levitated by the vibrating body 51 is guided along the guide 52 in a state in which direct contact with the guide 52 is suppressed. In addition, without providing the structure in which the sound wave exists along the guide 52, if the guide 52 is simply provided and the object 53 tries to deviate from the transport path, the object 53 comes into contact with the inner surface of the guide 52 and the deviation is avoided. There are also things.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-169427, as a substrate transfer device for transferring a flexible object such as a glass substrate, as shown in FIG. 6, a belt transfer means 55 for supporting a glass substrate 54 at both ends thereof. And the glass substrate 54
And a levitation device 56 for preventing flexure of the device. The belt conveying means 55 is a driving roller 57.
The belt 59 is wound between the driven roller 58 and the driven roller 58. The levitation device 56 includes an ultrasonic vibration generator 61 arranged on the movable table 60 and a vibrating body 51 excited by the ultrasonic vibration generator 61. Then, the movable base 60 moves the belt 5 while the standing wave is generated by the vibrating body 51 to levitate the glass substrate 54 and prevent the bending.
9 is moved in synchronization with the movement of 9.

[0004]

However, in the former method of providing the guide 52, it is necessary to secure a space considerably wider than the width of the transported object along the transport path in order to provide the guide 52, and the apparatus is large. The problem is that Further, it is troublesome to process the guide so that sound waves exist along the guide 52. On the other hand, in the configuration in which the guides 52 are brought into contact with each other to avoid deviation from the transport path, the object 53 may be in a state of alternately contacting the guides on both sides, and the object 53 may be easily damaged.

Further, in the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-169427, the glass substrate 54 is conveyed with both ends thereof always in contact with the belt 59, and the levitation device 56 prevents the glass substrate 54 from bending. It is configured to generate standing waves. Therefore, in addition to the levitation device 56, another drive means for moving the glass substrate 54 is required, which increases the cost. Also, maintenance of the belt drive unit is required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and the object thereof is to allow even a flexible object to be conveyed by using a traveling wave generated by a diaphragm with a simple structure. An object is to provide an object transfer device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, in the invention according to claim 1, it is arranged along the transport path of the transported object and engages with at least one end of the transported object. A supporting portion for supporting the transported object so as to be relatively movable, a long diaphragm, and an excitation means for exciting the diaphragm to generate a traveling wave for applying a thrust to the transported object. It was

According to the present invention, the transported object is moved by being given a thrust by the action of the traveling wave generated in the diaphragm while at least one end is supported by the supporting portion. Although the transported object is not completely in a non-contact state, it is transported along the transportation path in a state where only the end of the transported object is in contact with the support portion.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the vibrating plate is horizontally arranged, and the supporting portions support the transported object at both left and right ends in a traveling direction. . According to the present invention, the left and right ends of the transported object are always in contact with the support portion, so that the transported object can be transported in a more stable state even when the transported object is wide.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the supporting portion is arranged at a position where it abuts a lower end of the conveyed member so as to support the conveyed member in a substantially vertical state, and the vibration is generated. A plurality of plates are arranged at a position where a thrust due to a traveling wave can be applied from both sides to the transferred body supported by the support portion. According to the present invention, since the transported object is transported in the vertical state, the support portion may be arranged only at the position corresponding to the lower end of the transported object, and the number of the supporting portions can be reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the support portion is arranged at a position where it can be supported at its lower end in a state where the transferred body is tilted, and the diaphragm is the above-mentioned. It is arranged at a position where a thrust due to a traveling wave can be applied from the side that prevents the angle formed with the horizontal direction of the transported object supported by the support portion from decreasing. According to the present invention, it is possible to stably convey a wide object to be conveyed in a state in which the number of supporting portions is reduced and the number of diaphragms is not increased.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the invention according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, the supporting portion is composed of a roller rotatably supported, It is provided so as to be able to contact the transported body at the lower end and a position that restricts movement in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction.
According to the present invention, since the support portion is supported by the free roller, when the thrust is applied by the traveling wave, the transported body is smoothly moved while being supported by the support portion.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the supporting portion is in contact with the lower end portion of the transported body, and the end portion of the transported body. And a roller having a contactable portion. According to the present invention, since one roller has a function of restricting the downward movement and the widthwise movement of the transported body, the transported body can be supported in a stable state by a small number of rollers. .

[0014]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (First Embodiment) A first embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an object transporting apparatus for transporting a transported object in a horizontal state will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. To do.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the object transfer device 1
1 includes a frame including a base plate 12 and a pair of side walls 13. Both side walls 13 are arranged so as to extend along the transport path of the transported object 14. Both sidewalls 13
A plurality of support shafts 1 are provided in parallel with each other with a predetermined space therebetween.
5 is supported horizontally. Both ends of the support shaft 15, the side wall 13
The inner side of the
A roller 16 serving as a support portion for supporting the relative movement of the roller is rotatably supported. That is, each roller 16 is arranged along the transport path of the transported object 14.

The roller 16 has a large diameter portion 16a and a small diameter portion 1
As shown in FIG. 2, the peripheral surface of the small-diameter portion 16b is configured to be capable of contacting the lower surface end portion of the transported body 14, and the end surface of the large-diameter portion 16a is the widthwise end portion of the transported body 14. It is possible to contact with. That is, the small-diameter portion 16b constitutes a portion that can come into contact with the lower end of the transported body 14, and the large-diameter portion 16a constitutes a portion that can come into contact with the end of the transported body 14. Further, one roller 16 is configured to have an action of restricting the downward movement and the widthwise movement of the transported body 14. It should be noted that each pair of rollers 16 has a large diameter portion 16
It is arranged so that the distance between the inner end faces of a is slightly larger than the width of the transported body 14.

At the center of the base plate 12 in the width direction, a long diaphragm 17 is arranged above the support shaft 15 so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the support shaft 15. Diaphragm 17
Is formed in a rectangular flat plate shape narrower than the width of the transferred body 14, and the transferred body 14 can be floated and held at the center thereof.
The vibrating plate 17 has horns 18a, 18 constituting an exciting means.
b is fastened by a screw 19 at its tip. The horns 18a and 18b are formed in a flat and substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and are attached to the diaphragm 17 in the vicinity of both ends in the longitudinal direction thereof so as to be orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.

The horns 18a and 18b are fixed to the vibrator 20 on the surface opposite to the surface to which the diaphragm 17 is fastened. The tip surfaces of the horns 18a and 18b are formed in a plane orthogonal to the axial direction of the vibrator 20, and the horns 18a and 18b
b and the center axis of the vibrator 20 are arranged in a state of extending in the vertical direction.

A so-called Langevin type oscillator is used as the oscillator 20, and a pair of ring-shaped piezoelectric elements 21a, 21 are used.
b. A ring-shaped electrode plate 22 is arranged between the piezo elements 21a and 21b, and
The vibrator 20 is configured by tightening and fixing metal blocks 23a and 23b, which are in contact with the surface of the electrode b, which is opposite to the surface in contact with the electrode plate 22, with bolts (not shown). The bolt is screwed into a screw hole (not shown) formed in the metal block 23a from the metal block 23b side. Both metal blocks 23a and 23b are in a state of being electrically connected to each other via a bolt. Metal block 23a
A flange 24 (shown in FIG. 1 (b) and FIG. 2) at the upper end of the
And the metal block 23a is formed on the base plate 12
It is fixed to the base plate 12 by a bolt (not shown) in a state of being fitted in a hole (not shown) formed in the.

Horn 1 fastened to one end of diaphragm 17
The vibrator 20 that excites 8a is connected to the oscillator 25. The electrode plate 22 is connected to the oscillator 25 via the wiring 26a, and the ground terminal of the oscillator 25 is connected to the metal block 23b via the wiring 26b. Horn 18a, 1
8b, the vibrator 20, and the oscillator 25 constitute an exciting means for exciting the diaphragm 17.

FIG. 1 (b) is a schematic side view of the object transporting device 11 showing the supporting state of the vibrating plate 17, in which the side wall 13, the support shaft 15 and the roller 16 are omitted. As shown in FIG. 1B, the vibrators 20 that vibrate the horn 18b that is fastened to the other end of the diaphragm 17 are connected to load circuits 27 that are resistors R and coils L and serve as energy conversion means. ing. That is, the excitation means is configured to generate a traveling wave on the diaphragm 17 from the horn 18a side toward the horn 18b.

Next, the operation of the apparatus configured as described above will be described. The oscillator 20 has a predetermined resonance frequency (for example, 2
The horns 18a and 18b vibrate longitudinally and the diaphragm 17 is excited through the horns 18a and 18b to perform flexural vibration. Due to the radiation pressure of the sound wave radiated from the diaphragm 17, the central portion of the transferred body 14 is moved to the diaphragm 1
Levitate from the surface of 7. The levitation distance is, for example, several ten to one.
It is 00 μm. Further, both ends of the transported body 14 are held in contact with the rollers 16.

The vibration of the diaphragm 17 is transmitted to the vibrator 20 connected to the load circuit 27, and the piezoelectric elements 21a and 21b forming the vibrator 20 convert the vibration energy, which is mechanical energy, into electric energy. This electric energy is converted into Joule heat by the resistance R of the load circuit 27 and is dissipated. Therefore, the vibration wave generated on the diaphragm 17 becomes a traveling wave that travels in one direction (in this embodiment, a traveling wave that travels from the horn 18a side to the horn 18b side), and the transported object 14 moves from one end side of the diaphragm 17 to another. Vibration plate 1 to the end side
7 is conveyed in a levitated state. The conveyance is stopped by stopping the driving of the oscillator 25.

Since the body 14 to be conveyed is wide and easily bent, if it is conveyed in a floating state only with the traveling wave generated from the diaphragm 17 without supporting the left and right ends, stable conveyance can be achieved due to slight imbalance. Can not be. However, in this embodiment, since the transferred body 14 is supported by the rollers 16 at both left and right ends, the moving body 14 is moved by being given a thrust by the traveling wave generated from the vibrating plate 17. It is conveyed in a stable state along the.

When the object to be transferred 14 is applied to the transfer of a thin glass plate, for example, the end of the object to be transferred 14 is always in contact with the roller 16, so that dirt or scratches may occur. However, there is no problem because the end of the glass plate will eventually become an unused part that will not be a product.

This embodiment has the following effects. (1) With the end portion of the transferred body 14 supported by the support portion (roller 16) arranged along the transfer path, the diaphragm 1
The transported object 14 is transported by applying a thrust to the transported object 14 by the traveling wave generated from 7. Therefore,
The transported object 14 is not completely in a non-contact state, but is stably transported along the transportation path in a state where only the end portion of the transported object 14 contacts the roller 16. That is, even a flexible object can be conveyed by using the traveling wave generated by the diaphragm 17 with a simple configuration without providing thrust applying means other than the means for generating the traveling wave. In addition, the maintenance work of the drive unit is reduced.

(2) The vibrating plate 17 is horizontally arranged, and the rollers 16 support the transported body 14 at both left and right sides in the traveling direction. Therefore, since the left and right ends of the transported body 14 are always in contact with the rollers 16, the transported body 14 can be transported in a more stable state even when the transported body 14 is wide.

(3) The supporting portion for supporting the end portion of the transported body 14 is composed of the roller 16 rotatably supported. Therefore, the end of the transported body 14 can be supported with a simple structure, and the transported body 14 can be smoothly moved with a small thrust.

(4) The roller 16 has a function of restricting the downward movement and the widthwise movement of the transported body 14 by a single roller, so that the number of rollers 14 is small.
Can be supported in a stable state.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment differs greatly from the previous embodiment in that the transported object 14 is transported in a vertical state and that thrust is applied to the transported object 14 from the left and right sides of the traveling direction by traveling waves. There is. The same parts as those in the above embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the object carrying device 30. The roller 31 as a support portion is rotatably supported by a frame (not shown) arranged along the transport path. The roller 31 is arranged at a position abutting the lower end thereof so as to support the transported body 14 in a substantially vertical state. A plurality of vibrating plates 17 are arranged at positions where thrust of traveling waves can be applied to both sides of the conveyed body 14 supported by the rollers 31. In this embodiment, above the roller 31, the conveyed body 14 is symmetrically arranged at a position sandwiching the conveyed body 14 from both left and right sides such that the width direction thereof coincides with the vertical direction.

Horns 18a and 18b are connected to both ends of each diaphragm 17 in the longitudinal direction, and a vibrator 20 connected to an oscillator 25 is connected to one of the horns 18a. The vibrator 20 connected to the load circuit 27 is connected to the other horn 18b. Note that the load circuit 27 and the like are omitted in FIG.

The distance between the vibrating plate 17 and the transported object 14 in the non-excited state is 1 mm or less or the wavelength λ of the traveling wave when the planar transported object 14 is vertically arranged.
½ of n times (n is a natural number) are arranged at symmetrical positions. This is because the thrust of the traveling wave generated from the diaphragm 17 is very close to the diaphragm 17 in the near field (several 10 μm
This is because the distance from the surface of the vibrating plate 17 is n times (n is a natural number) half the wavelength λ of the sound wave emitted from the vibrating plate 17, in addition to (100 μm).

In this apparatus, when the pair of left and right vibrating plates 17 are excited while the transported body 14 is supported by the rollers 31, traveling waves of the same intensity act on both the left and right sides of the transported body 14, and The carrier 14 is given thrust by the traveling wave and is conveyed in the traveling direction of the traveling wave.

This embodiment is (1) of the above embodiment.
In addition to the effects of (3) and (3), it has the following effects. (5) Since the transported object 14 is transported in a vertical state, the width occupied by the transportation path is reduced except for the location where the excitation means is disposed.

(6) Since the rollers 31 support the transported body 14 only at their lower ends, the number of rollers 31 required to support the transported body 14 of the same size can be reduced. The embodiment is not limited to the above, and may be configured as follows, for example.

The configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the transported body 14 is transported in the horizontal state or the vertical state, and the configuration in which the transported body 14 is transported in an inclined state may be adopted. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, the roller 32 as a support portion is arranged at a position where it can contact the lower end of the transported body 14. The vibration plate 17 is a roller 32.
It is arranged at a position where a thrust by a traveling wave can be applied from the side that prevents the angle formed with the horizontal direction of the transported body 14 supported by the. The roller 32 has a large diameter portion 32a.
And a small diameter portion 32b, and the transferred body 14 is supported by the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter portion 32b and the end surface of the large diameter portion 32a. The angle θ formed by the transferred body 14 with respect to the horizontal direction is appropriately set depending on the material and weight of the transferred body 14. When the weight is heavy, it is preferable to increase the angle θ in order to increase the proportion of the load supported by the roller 32. In this embodiment, the number of diaphragms 17 and excitation means can be halved when the same transported object 14 is transported, as compared to the second embodiment.

In the first embodiment, when the transferred body 14 is wide, a plurality of diaphragms 17 may be arranged in parallel. In this case, the wide target object 14 can be transported in a more stable state.

○ The transferred object 1 as in the first embodiment
4 is configured to be transported in a horizontal state, when the support portion is configured by rollers, the roller that supports the lower end portion of the transported body 14 and the left and right end portions of the transported body 14 are brought into contact with each other to transport the transported body 14.
A roller that functions to restrict the movement of the sheet in the width direction may be separately provided.

○ In the second embodiment, the roller 3
A groove may be formed on the peripheral surface of the carrier 1, and the transported body 14 may be supported by the roller 31 in a state of being engaged with the groove. In this case, the shake of the transported body 14 in the left-right direction is reduced.

In the configuration in which the transported body 14 is transported in an inclined state, instead of the configuration in which the lower end and the lower side surface of the transported body 14 are supported by one roller 32, they are respectively separated by different rollers. It may be configured to support.

The roller 16 in the first embodiment
Was rotatably supported on the support shaft 15 whose both ends are supported,
It may be configured to be supported on a cantilevered support shaft. Instead of using the roller as the bearing, a belt wound between rotatable pulleys may be used, or a fixed support member having a contact surface with low frictional resistance may be provided.

The oscillators 20 provided at both ends of the diaphragm 17 are configured to be selectively switchable and connectable to the oscillator 25 and the load circuit 27, respectively. In this case, by switching between the state in which the oscillator 25 is connected and the state in which the load circuit 27 is connected, the transport direction of the transported object 14 can be selected.

When the transport distance is long, a plurality of object transport devices 11 may be arranged in series to configure the object transport device. In the apparatus for transporting the transported object 14 in the horizontal state as in the first embodiment, the shape of the transported object 14 is not limited to a quadrangle such as a rectangle, but an arbitrary shape such as a triangle, another polygon or a circle. Good as

In the device of the second embodiment or the device configured to convey the transported object 14 in an inclined state, in the device configured to support the lower end of the transported object 14 by the support portion, the transported object 14 The shape is a shape such as a quadrangle or a triangle that can be conveyed with the long straight part as the lower end.

The fixing of the diaphragm 17 to the horns 18a and 18b is not limited to the fastening with screws, but an adhesive may be used, or brazing or welding may be used for fixing. The oscillator 20 is not limited to the Langevin type oscillator, and another oscillator may be used.

The invention (technical idea) understood from the above embodiment will be described below. (1) In the invention according to claim 2 or 6,
The vibrating plate is arranged in the center of the transport path so as to extend along the transport path.

(2) In the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and (1), the transported object is a glass substrate. (3) A bearing portion, which engages with at least one end of the transported object and supports the transported object so as to be relatively movable, is disposed along the transport path, and the transported object in a state of being supported by the bearing portion, An object transporting method for transporting an object to be transported along a transport path by applying a thrust force by a traveling wave generated by excitation of a diaphragm.

[0049]

As described above in detail, according to the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, even a flexible object can be conveyed using a traveling wave generated by the diaphragm with a simple structure. be able to.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a schematic perspective view of an object transporting device according to a first embodiment, and FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing a relationship between a roller, a transported body, and a vibrating plate.

FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of the object transporting device according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a schematic front view of an object transporting device according to another embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic front view of a conventional object levitation transport device.

FIG. 6 is a partial schematic perspective view of an object transporting device according to another conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

11, 30 ... Object transporting device, 14 ... Transported object, 16, 3
1, 32 ... Rollers as bearings, 17 ... Vibration plate, 18
a, 18b ... Horns constituting excitation means, 20 ... similarly oscillators, 25 ... similarly oscillators.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) B65G 49/06 B65G 49/06 Z 5H680 54/00 54/00 H01L 21/68 H01L 21/68 A H02N 2 / 00 H02N 2/00 C F term (reference) 3F021 AA01 BA00 CA04 CA05 3F033 BA06 BB02 BC01 BC10 GA06 GA09 GD07 3F037 BA03 BA15 CA14 CB02 5D107 AA12 BB06 CC04 CD03 FF03 5F031 CA02 CA05 GA53 GA61 PA13 PA01 PA01 PA18 PA00 PAH DD14 DD53 DD65 DD82 FF31

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. Arranged along the transport path of the transported object,
A support portion that engages with at least one end of the transported body to support the transported body in a relatively movable manner, a long vibration plate, and to apply a thrust force to the transported body by exciting the vibration plate. And an exciting means for generating a traveling wave of the object. 2. The object transporting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the vibrating plate is arranged horizontally, and the supporting portions support the transported object at both left and right sides in a traveling direction. 3. The support portion is arranged at a position abutting the lower end thereof so as to support the transported object in a substantially vertical state, and the vibrating plate is provided with respect to the transported object supported by the supporting portion. The object transporting device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the object transporting devices are arranged at positions where thrusts of traveling waves can be applied from both sides. 4. The supporting portion is arranged at a position where it can be supported at its lower end in a state where the transferred body is tilted, and the vibration plate is arranged in a horizontal direction with respect to the transferred body supported by the supporting portion. 2. The structure is arranged at a position where a thrust due to a traveling wave can be applied from the side that prevents the angle formed from becoming smaller.
The object transporting device according to. 5. The supporting portion is composed of a roller rotatably supported, and abuts on the transported body at a lower end of the transported body and a position for restricting movement in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction. The object transporting device according to any one of claims 2 to 4, which is provided so as to be capable. 6. The support portion is constituted by a roller having a portion capable of contacting an end portion of a lower surface of the transported body and a portion capable of contacting an end portion of the transported body. 2. The object levitation device according to 2.