JP2003133407A - Cassette discriminating device and plate-shape work loading/unloading system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To protect a platelike object or a platelike work holding unit against damage when the platelike work is loaded into or unloaded from each of slots which are provided at prescribed intervals in cassettes even though there reside a plurality kinds of cassettes having different slot intervals. SOLUTION: This platelike work loading/unloading system 50 is equipped with, at least, a cassette 11b provided with slots which are provided at a prescribed slot interval to house platelike works and a discriminating part 48 which indicates a slot interval, a cassette mounting region 51 where the cassette 11b is mounted, a cassette recognizing means 52 which recognizes the discriminating part 48 of the cassette 11b mounted on the cassette mounting region 51, a loading/unloading means 12 which unloads the platelike work housed in the cassette 11b or loads the platelike work into the cassette 11b as it advances or retreats while holding the platelike work with a holder 12a, and a control means 53 which controls the loading/unloading means 12 on the basis of the recognition result of the cassette recognizing means 52.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cassette discriminating apparatus which is arranged in a processing apparatus and discriminates a type of a cassette for accommodating a plate-like article, and a plate-like article for carrying in and out a plate-like article using the cassette discriminating apparatus. Regarding loading / unloading system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a processing apparatus for processing a plate-like object such as a semiconductor wafer, the plate-like object is housed in a cassette 60 shown in FIG. 5, for example. For example, in a grinding device for grinding the back surface of a semiconductor wafer, a plurality of semiconductor wafers before grinding are accommodated in this cassette 60, and after the grinding, they are accommodated in a cassette 60 having the same structure and conveyed to the next step.

A housing groove 6 is provided on the inner side of both sides of the cassette 60.
1 is formed, the two accommodation grooves 61 facing each other form a slot, and the semiconductor wafer W is accommodated in each slot. Therefore, at the time of unloading, the holding portion 63 that constitutes the loading / unloading means 62 is provided in each slot. You must position it at a height and then enter. Similarly, the holding unit 63 holds the semiconductor wafer in the holding unit 63 during loading.
3 must be positioned at the height corresponding to each slot. Therefore, it is necessary to intermittently move the holding portion 63 up and down when carrying in and out.

Therefore, the operator inputs and sets a space (slot space) between adjacent slots in advance to a control unit (not shown) for controlling the operation of the holding unit 63. The holding portion 63 is intermittently moved up and down.

[0005]

However, while the slot spacing may differ from cassette to cassette, some cassettes have the same appearance even if the slot spacing is different. Therefore, the operator erroneously sets the slot spacing value. It may happen.

If the holding unit 63 is operated with the setting value being wrong, the holding unit 63 may collide with the semiconductor wafer to damage the semiconductor wafer or damage the holding unit 63. There is a problem.

Therefore, even when there are a plurality of types of cassettes having different slot intervals, there is a problem in preventing the semiconductor wafer from being damaged or the holding portion holding the semiconductor wafer from being damaged.

[0008]

As a concrete means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a cassette provided with a plurality of slots for accommodating plate-like objects at a predetermined slot interval and provided with an identification portion indicating the slot interval. There is provided a cassette discriminating apparatus including at least a cassette placing area on which the cassette is placed and a cassette recognizing unit for recognizing an identifying portion of the cassette placed on the cassette placing area.

In this cassette discriminating apparatus, the identification portion is a notch groove, and the cassette recognizing means obtains the slot interval based on the switch which is turned on / off depending on the presence or absence of the notch groove and the on / off state of the switch. An additional requirement is that at least the slot interval determining means is configured.

Further, according to the present invention, a plurality of slots for accommodating plate-like objects are formed at a predetermined slot interval, a cassette provided with an identification portion indicating the slot interval, a cassette mounting area in which the cassette is mounted, and a cassette. Cassette recognizing means for recognizing the identification part of the cassette placed in the placement area, and carrying out and retracting the plate-like object in the holding part to carry out the plate-like object accommodated in the cassette and the plate-like object to the cassette There is provided a plate-shaped article loading / unloading system including at least loading / unloading means for loading / unloading and a control means for controlling the loading / unloading means based on the recognition result in the cassette recognition means.

In this plate-like material loading / unloading system, the identification portion is a notch groove, and the cassette recognizing means is a switch for turning on / off depending on the presence or absence of the notch groove and a slot interval based on the on / off state of the switch. And a slot interval discriminating means for determining a slot interval discriminating means for intermittently moving a holding part to carry in and out a plate-like object in advance. The value of the determined slot interval is compared with the value of the intermittent movement amount stored in the intermittent movement amount storage means, and the value of the slot interval determined by the slot interval determination means and the intermittent movement amount storage means are stored. When the value of the intermittent movement amount is different, a notifying means for notifying the fact is provided, and the value of the slot interval determined by the slot interval determining means and the intermittent transfer are provided. If the stored intermittent movement amount is different to the amount storing means, and additional requirements to be stored the value of the discriminant slot intervals intermittent movement amount storage means.

According to the present invention configured as described above,
When the cassette on which the identification portion indicating the slot interval is formed is placed in the cassette placing area, the slot interval can be automatically obtained by the cassette recognizing means.
The operator can know in advance if a cassette with a slot interval different from the preset slot interval is placed, and by newly setting the slot interval, the holding unit that constitutes the carrying-in / out means can be held. The intermittent movement amount of the part can be set to an appropriate value.

If the control means automatically adjusts the intermittent movement amount based on the comparison result of the obtained slot interval and the intermittent movement amount stored in the intermittent movement amount storage means, the operation by the operator can be performed. It is possible to safely carry in and out a plate-shaped object without using it.

[0014]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.
The cassette discriminating device and the plate-like material loading / unloading system mounted on the grinding device 10 shown in FIG.

First, the outline of the grinding apparatus 10 will be described. A plurality of semiconductor wafers W to be ground are accommodated in a cassette 11a. And carry-in / out means 12
Is carried out to be carried to the alignment means 13, and after being aligned here, it is carried to the chuck table 15 by the first carrying means 14 and placed with its back surface facing up.

The chuck tables 15, 16 and 17 are rotatable and move with the rotation of the turntable 18.
The chuck table 15 that has suction-held is rotated rightward by a predetermined angle (120 degrees in the illustrated example) to be positioned immediately below the first grinding means 20.

The first grinding means 20 is supported by a pair of guide rails 22 provided along a wall portion 21 provided upright from the base 19 and is vertically moved by driving a drive source 23. It is configured to move up and down as the support portion 24 moves up and down. In the first grinding means 20, a grinding wheel 27 is attached to the tip of a rotatably supported spindle 25 via a mounter 26, and a grinding wheel 28 for rough grinding is provided below the grinding wheel 27. It is fixed in an annular shape.

On the back surface of the semiconductor wafer W positioned immediately below the first grinding means 20, the first grinding means 20 is ground and fed downward with the rotation of the spindle 25, and the rotating grinding wheel 28 is placed on the back surface. By contacting, rough grinding is performed.

Then, the turntable 18 is rotated counterclockwise by the same amount, so that the roughly ground semiconductor wafer W is positioned immediately below the second grinding means 30.

The second grinding means 30 is guided by a pair of guide rails 31 arranged vertically on the wall portion 21 and is supported by a support portion 33 which moves up and down by the drive of a drive source 32, and the support portion 33. It is configured to move up and down as it moves up and down. In this second grinding means 30, a grinding wheel 36 is attached to the tip of a rotatably supported spindle 34 via a mounter 35, and a grinding wheel 37 for finish grinding is provided below the grinding wheel 36. It is fixed in an annular shape, and differs from the first grinding means 20 only in the type of grinding wheel.

On the back surface of the semiconductor wafer W positioned directly below the second grinding means 30, the second grinding means 30 is ground and fed downward with the rotation of the spindle 34, and the rotating grinding wheel 37 is on the back surface. Finishing grinding is performed by contact.

Semiconductor wafer W whose back surface is finish-ground
Is transferred to the cleaning means 39 by the second transfer means 38 and placed on the spinner table 40, where the grinding dust is removed by cleaning.

Then, the semiconductor wafer W after cleaning is accommodated in the cassette 11b by the plate-like material loading / unloading system 50.

As shown in FIG. 2, each of the cassettes 11a and 11b has a first side wall 42 and a second side wall 43 in which a plurality of supporting grooves 41 for supporting the plate-like object are formed, and a plate-like object at the rear. A rear wall 44 that is supported from the side, a bottom plate 45 that is installed between the lower end of the first side wall and the lower end of the second side wall and is formed in a strip shape, the upper end of the first side wall 42 and the second side wall 43. And a top plate 46 that is installed between the upper end of the plate and an opening 47 that serves as a loading / unloading port for the plate-shaped material.

As shown in FIG. 3, one slot is formed by the two opposing support grooves 41 formed in the first side wall 42 and the second side wall 43, and two slots adjacent to each other in the vertical direction are formed. The interval is the slot interval X,
The slot interval X is determined for each cassette according to the thickness of the semiconductor wafer accommodated therein.

An identification portion indicating the slot interval X of the cassette is formed at either part of the cassette 11a or 11b. For example, a notch groove 48 is formed in the lower portion of the first side wall 42 of the cassette 11a, 11b,
This is the identification section. On the other hand, although not shown,
There are some cassettes in which the cutout groove is not formed, and in the case of such a cassette, the point where the cutout groove is not formed is the identification portion. The identification portion is not limited to the cutout groove, and a hole or the like may be provided, for example.

For example, when the notch groove 48 is formed as in the cassettes 11a and 11b, the slot interval is 7 mm, and when the notch groove is not formed, the slot interval is 5 mm. Indicates.

The plate-like material carrying-in / out system 50 includes the cassette 1
This is a system for automatically carrying in a semiconductor wafer after grinding according to the slot interval of 1b, and as shown in FIG. 4, a cassette 11b, a cassette mounting area 51 on which the cassette 11b is mounted, and a cassette 11b. A cassette recognizing means 52 for recognizing the slot interval, a carry-in / carry-out means 12 for carrying the semiconductor wafer W into or out of the cassette 11b, and a control means 53 for controlling the operation of the carry-in / carry-out means 12. And at least consists of. And in this, the cassette mounting area 5
1 and the cassette recognizing unit 52 constitute a cassette discriminating device 54.

The loading / unloading means 12 is provided with a holding portion 12a which can be moved up and down and swung under the control of the control means 53.
The semiconductor wafer W is held in the holding portion 12a and is moved in and out of the cassette 11b to carry in and out.

The cassette recognizing means 52 is provided in the cassette mounting area 51 and is turned on / off by being retracted, a detection circuit 56 for detecting the on / off state of the switch 55, and a state of the detection circuit 56. Cassette 11b
Slot interval determination means 57 for determining the slot interval of
It comprises an intermittent movement amount storage means 58 in which the vertical intermittent movement amount of the holding part 12a at the time of carrying in and out of the semiconductor wafer W is stored in advance.

The switch 55 is in a state of protruding upward from the base 19 when the cassette 11b having the cutout groove 48 is placed in the cassette placing area 51, so that the detection circuit 56 does not conduct, but When the cassette without the notch groove is placed, the switch 55 is retracted under the base 19, so that the detection circuit 56 becomes conductive.

Since the size of the cassette 11b varies depending on the size of the semiconductor wafer to be housed, the switch 55 can be arranged at a position where the cassette 11b can be retracted regardless of its size. desirable.

The intermittent movement amount storage means 58 stores the intermittent movement amount of the holding portion 12a in the vertical direction when the semiconductor wafer W is loaded and unloaded, and the value can be input from the operation panel 41. .

The slot interval determination means 57 stores the value of the slot interval when the detection circuit 56 is conductive and the value of the slot interval when the detection circuit 56 is not conductive, in association with each other.
The slot interval can be automatically obtained according to the presence or absence of conduction. For example, it is stored such that the pitch is 5 mm when it is conducted and the pitch is 7 mm when it is not conducted.

The slot interval determination means 57 compares the value of the slot interval obtained by monitoring the conduction / non-conduction of the detection circuit 56 with the value of the intermittent movement amount read from the intermittent movement amount storage means 58. . When the two values are equal, it is determined that the intermittent movement amount stored in the intermittent movement amount storage means 58 is appropriate, and the semiconductor wafer W can be reliably loaded and unloaded, and the intermittent movement amount storage means 58 is determined.
Under the control of the controller 53, the semiconductor wafer is loaded / unloaded while intermittently moving the holding unit 12a constituting the loading / unloading unit 12 in the vertical direction based on the value stored in

On the other hand, if the two values are not equal, it is considered that the loading and unloading will be used as it is. Therefore, a signal to that effect is transmitted to the control means 53 so that the loading and unloading of the semiconductor wafer W is not performed. , Slot interval determination means 5
The notification means 59 connected to 7 is notified by a signal that the intermittent movement amount is incorrect.

When the notification means 59 receives the above notification from the slot interval determination means 58, it notifies the operator that the intermittent movement amount is incorrect by sounding a warning sound or blinking the screen. When the operator inputs the correct intermittent movement amount from the operation panel 41, the value of the intermittent movement amount newly input is overwritten in the intermittent movement amount storage means 58. Then, the slot interval discriminating means 57 reads out the value, and when it is confirmed that it is equal to the slot spacing discriminated by the slot interval discriminating means 57, a signal to that effect is given by the control means 53.
To notify.

When the control means 53 receives this signal,
The holding section 12a is driven to start loading / unloading of the semiconductor wafer W. At this time, loading and unloading are performed while indexing the holding portion 12a in the vertical direction by the intermittent movement amount stored in the intermittent movement amount storage means 58.

Further, in the slot interval judging means 57, the cassette 1 placed in the cassette placing area 51 is placed.
If the value of the slot interval of 1b is not equal to the value of the intermittent movement amount stored in the intermittent movement amount storage means 58,
If the difference between the two values is calculated and the value is transferred to the control means 53, the intermittent movement amount of the holding portion 12a can be made proper by considering the difference in the control means 53.
From the slot interval determination means 57 to the intermittent movement amount storage means 58
Similarly, by writing the correct intermittent movement amount, the semiconductor wafer W can be loaded and unloaded with the appropriate intermittent movement amount. Thus, if the intermittent movement amount is automatically adjusted without the operator's operation, it is extremely efficient.

Since loading and unloading can be carried out in accordance with the slot intervals of the cassettes loaded in the cassette loading area 51, it is possible to prevent damage to the plate-like object and damage to the loading and unloading means. .

In the present embodiment, as an example of the identification portion, the case of identifying two types, that is, the cassette in which the notch groove 48 is formed and the cassette in which the notch groove 48 is not formed are described. When there are three or more, for example, a plurality of switches are provided and each switch is turned on / on.
The slot interval can be determined by the combination of OFF.

In this embodiment, the cassette discriminating apparatus for discriminating the cassette containing the ground semiconductor wafers and the system using the cassette discriminating apparatus have been described, but the cassette 11a for storing the semiconductor wafers before grinding is described. Similarly, a cassette discriminating device and a carry-in / carry-out system using the same can be applied.

[0043]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the cassette on which the identification portion indicating the slot interval is formed is placed in the cassette placing area, the slot interval can be automatically obtained by the cassette recognizing means.
The operator can know in advance when a cassette having a slot interval different from the preset slot interval is placed. Therefore, by newly setting the slot interval, the intermittent movement amount of the holding portion constituting the carry-in / out means can be set to an appropriate value, so that damage to the plate-like object or damage to the carry-in / out means can be prevented. Can be prevented.

If the control means automatically adjusts the intermittent movement amount based on the comparison result of the obtained slot interval and the intermittent movement amount stored in the intermittent movement amount storage means, the operation by the operator can be performed. It is efficient because the plate-like material can be safely carried in and out without using it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a grinding device which is an example of a device to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a cassette whose slot intervals are determined according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the cassette.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing how a plate-like object is carried in and out of a conventional cassette.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Grinding device 11a, 11b ... Cassette 12 ... Carry-in / out means 13 ... Positioning means 14 ... First transport means 15, 16, 17 ... Chuck table 18 ... Turntable 19 ... Base 20 ... 1st grinding means 21 ... Wall part 22 ... Guide rail 23 ... Drive source 24 ... Support part 25 ... Spindle 26 ... Mounter 27 ... Grinding wheel 28 ... Grinding wheel 30 ... Second grinding means 31 ... Guide rail 32 ... Drive source 33 ... Support part 34 ... Spindle 35 ... Mounter 36 ... Grinding Wheel 37 ... Grinding wheel 38 ... Second conveying means 39 ... Cleaning means 40 ... Spinner table 41 ... Support groove 42 ... First side wall 43 ... Second side wall 44 ... Rear wall 45 ... Bottom plate 46 ... Top plate 47 ... Opening 48 ... Notch groove 50 ... Plate-like material loading / unloading system 51 ... Cassette mounting area 52 ... Cassette recognition means 53 ... Control means 54 ... Cassette discriminating device 55 ... Switch 56 ... Detection circuit 57 ... Slot interval determination means 58 ... Intermittent movement amount storage means 59 ... Notification means 60 ... Cassette 61 ... Storage groove 62 ... Carrying in / out means 63 ... Holding unit

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Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A cassette mounting area in which a plurality of slots for accommodating plate-like objects are formed at predetermined slot intervals, and a cassette having an identification portion indicating the slot intervals is mounted, and a cassette mounting area. A cassette discriminating device comprising at least a cassette recognizing means for recognizing an identifying portion of a placed cassette. 2. The identification section is a notch groove, and the cassette recognizing means is a switch that is turned on / off depending on the presence or absence of the notch groove, and a slot interval determination that determines a slot interval based on the on / off state of the switch. The cassette discriminating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cassette discriminating apparatus comprises at least a means. 3. A cassette having a plurality of slots for accommodating plate-like objects formed at predetermined slot intervals, and having a discriminating portion indicating the slot intervals, a cassette mounting area in which the cassette is mounted, and the cassette. By cassette recognition means for recognizing the identification part of the cassette placed in the placement area, and by holding the plate-like object in the holding part and moving it back and forth,
At least a loading / unloading means for unloading the plate-like material stored in the cassette and loading the plate-like material into the cassette, and a control means for controlling the loading / unloading means based on the recognition result of the cassette recognition means are provided. Plate loading / unloading system. 4. The identification unit is a notch groove, and the cassette recognizing means is a switch that is turned on / off depending on the presence or absence of the notch groove, and a slot interval determination that determines a slot interval based on the on / off state of the switch. The plate-like article carrying-in / out system according to claim 3, which is configured at least by means. 5. An intermittent movement amount storage means for storing in advance an intermittent movement amount when a holding member is intermittently moved and a plate-like object is carried in and out is provided, and in the slot interval determination means, a value of the determined slot interval is provided. The plate-like article carrying-in / out system according to claim 4, wherein a value of the intermittent movement amount stored in the intermittent movement amount storage means is compared. 6. A notifying means for notifying, when the value of the slot interval determined by the slot interval determining means and the value of the intermittent movement amount stored in the intermittent movement amount storage means are different, to that effect. The plate-like material loading / unloading system described in. 7. If the value of the slot interval determined by the slot interval determination means and the intermittent movement amount stored in the intermittent movement amount storage means are different, the determined slot interval value is stored in the intermittent movement amount storage. The plate-like article carrying-in / out system according to claim 5, which is stored in the means.