JP2007210774A - Workpiece conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a workpiece conveying device capable of easily performing the inch changeover thereof, and unifying the position of pads. <P>SOLUTION: The workpiece conveying device comprises a plurality of arms 9 having suction units 5 for sucking a frame F with a workpiece W mounted thereon on each fore end, and movable along a guide rail 4b, and a size changing means for simultaneously and uniformly changing the positions of the suction units 5 by simultaneously and uniformly moving the plurality of arms 9 by a cam mechanism according to the size of the frame F. Inch changeover can be easily performed by unifying the positions of pads. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece conveyance device that conveys a workpiece such as a semiconductor device or an electronic component, and more particularly to a workpiece conveyance device that can efficiently cope with workpieces having different inch sizes in a dicing apparatus.

  Conventionally, a dicing apparatus is used as an apparatus for cutting a workpiece such as a semiconductor device or an electronic component. FIG. 4 shows an example of such a workpiece. As shown in FIG. 4, the workpiece W is a plate-like object having a semiconductor device, an electronic component, or the like formed on the surface thereof, and the back surface is attached to a dicing tape T having an adhesive material on the upper surface. The workpiece W adhered to the dicing tape T is mounted on the frame F via the dicing tape T. In this state, the workpiece W mounted on the frame F is transported between a dicing apparatus, a die bonding apparatus, or other apparatuses, and various processes are performed by each apparatus.

  At this time, as a workpiece conveying device that conveys the workpiece W between the devices, a device that conveys the frame F by vacuum suction is generally used (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, a workpiece transfer device that transfers a frame F on which a workpiece W is mounted is provided with a transfer arm as shown in FIG. 5. The transfer arm is provided with a plurality of suction portions 71 on a transfer arm main body 70 connected to a moving mechanism (not shown). A pad 72 is provided at the tip of the suction portion 71 and a tube 73 is connected thereto. The tube 73 is connected to a vacuum generation source (not shown). By operating the vacuum generation source, the suction unit 71 sucks and conveys the frame F with the pad 72.

  In the conventional workpiece transfer device, the position of the pad 72 (suction portion 71) is determined for each inch size of the workpiece to be transferred. When transferring a workpiece different in inch size from the previously transferred workpiece. In this case, it is necessary to manually change the position of the pad 72 (suction portion 71) and switch the inch.

  FIG. 6 shows the state of inch switching of the work transfer device. 6 (a) is a plan view, FIG. 6 (b) is a front view, FIG. 6 (c) is a cross-sectional view about the center line in the longitudinal direction of one horizontal arm 70a shown in FIG. 6 (a), and FIG. ) Is a cross-sectional view of the center line in the longitudinal direction of the movable plate 74 provided at the tip of the horizontal arm 70a shown in FIG. In FIGS. 6A and 6B, the solid line indicates a 12-inch workpiece, and the broken line indicates an 8-inch workpiece. FIGS. 6C and 6D show the case of a 12-inch workpiece.

  As shown in FIGS. 6A, 6C, and 6D, the movable plate 74 provided with the suction portion 71 (pad 72) extends to the left and right perpendicular to the transfer arm main body 70. Plungers 75 provided on the movable plate 74 are fixed to the left and right sides of the provided horizontal arm 70a by fitting into the grooves 76 provided on the horizontal arm 70a. The grooves 76 are formed at positions corresponding to the 12-inch workpiece and the 8-inch workpiece, respectively, with respect to the horizontal arm 70a.

  For example, when a frame F1 indicated by a solid line on which a 12-inch workpiece is mounted is transported, the movable plate 74 is attached to the left and right ends of the horizontal arm 70a as indicated by a solid line. Further, when switching from this state to transfer the frame F2 indicated by the broken line on which the 8-inch workpiece is mounted, the movable plate 74 formed so as to surround the horizontal arm 70a as shown in FIG. 6D. The frame body 74a is slid along the horizontal arm 70a, and the plunger 75 which has been fitted in the groove 76 corresponding to the 12-inch workpiece is removed so that the plunger 75 is fitted in the groove 76 corresponding to the 8-inch workpiece. Like that. In this way, the plunger 75 of each of the left and right movable plates 74 and the groove 76 corresponding to the 12-inch workpiece are released to move the movable plate 74 to the inside. 6 (a) and 6 (b), the plunger 75 of the movable plate 74 is again fitted into the groove 76 corresponding to the 8-inch workpiece at the position shown by the broken line, thereby moving the movable plate 74 to the horizontal arm 70a. Secure to.

Thus, conventional inch switching has been performed by manually changing the mounting position of the movable plate 74 having the left and right pads 72 separately.
JP-A-7-169716

  However, as described above, in the conventional workpiece transfer device, the position where the movable plate having the pad is attached to the left and right of the transfer arm body is manually changed separately on the left and right, so the work is troublesome and the left and right movable There is a problem in that it is difficult to evenly arrange the positions of all the four pads provided by two on the plate so as to be point-symmetric with respect to the center of the workpiece.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a work transfer device that can easily change inches and make the positions of pads equal.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a plurality of arms each having a suction portion that sucks a frame on which a workpiece is mounted, each tip having a suction portion and movable along the guide rail. And a size switching means that simultaneously moves the plurality of arms according to the size of the frame evenly by a cam mechanism to uniformly change the position of the suction portion at the same time. I will provide a.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, even when workpieces having different inch sizes are continuously conveyed, the inch switching of the adsorption unit of the conveyance device is easily performed with one touch so that the positions of the pads of the adsorption unit are uniform. be able to.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the size switching means includes a disk-shaped lever that has a hole having a predetermined shape and is rotatable around the center thereof, and is slidable within the hole having the predetermined shape. It comprises a rib provided at the end opposite to the side having the adsorbing portion of the arm to be engaged, and the disc-shaped lever is rotated so that the rib slides in the hole. The position of the adsorption part is changed by moving the arm along the guide rail.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the cam mechanism for switching the inch size is constituted by a disc-shaped lever having a hole of a predetermined shape and a rib formed on an arm sliding in the hole, Inch switching can be performed simply by rotating a disk-shaped lever.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the arm is formed so as to extend from the central part of the disc-shaped lever in a straight line toward the outside in four directions, and the hole is formed in the four directions. For each extended arm, the rib is elongated in an arc shape from the center of the lever toward the circumference so that it is point-symmetrical with respect to the center of the disk-shaped lever so that the rib slides inside the lever. It is formed.

  According to invention of Claim 3, by rotating a disk-shaped lever, a rib slides in the circular arc hole arrange | positioned point-symmetrically, and the position of an adsorption | suction part can be changed equally. .

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the rib rotates between the disc-shaped levers, so that the rib is located between the position closest to the center of the disc-shaped lever and the position farthest from the center. Is slid in the hole so as to move along the guide rail.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the suction portion provided at the tip of the arm can be easily moved between the two positions simply by rotating the disk-shaped lever.

  As described above, according to the present invention, even when workpieces having different inch sizes are continuously transferred, the inch switching of the suction portion of the transfer device can be performed with one touch so that the positions of the pads of the suction portion are equal. It can be done easily.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a workpiece transfer device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, the configuration of a dicing apparatus in which the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention is incorporated will be described.

  FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of the dicing apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the dicing apparatus 10 is arranged so as to face each other and perform high-speed motor built-in spindles 11 and 11 each having a blade 12 and a wheel cover (not shown) attached thereto at the tip thereof. And a microscope 13 for observing a work attached in the vicinity of the spindle 11 and a work table 16 for sucking and holding the work.

  In addition, the dicing apparatus 10 mounts workpiece transfer devices 1 and 1 that transfer workpieces, a spinner 15 that spin-cleans processed workpieces W, and a cassette 17 that stores a large number of workpieces mounted on a frame. And an elevator 14 as a load port.

  The blade 12 is rotated at a high speed from 20,000 rpm to 100,000 rpm by the spindle 11, and moves in the Y direction and the Z direction together with the spindle 11 by a moving axis (not shown).

  The work table 16 holds the work W by suction, reciprocates in the X direction by a moving shaft (not shown), and rotates in the θ direction.

  The workpiece transfer device 1 is provided with a frame holding mechanism 2 covered with a cover 3 at the tip, and the frame holding mechanism 2 sucks the frame on which the workpiece is mounted to transfer the workpiece. Two workpiece conveyance devices 1 are installed, one of which conveys the workpiece W without dirt before processing and after cleaning, and the other of which conveys the workpiece W to which dirt after processing has adhered.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the workpiece W is mounted on the frame F, supplied from the cassette 17 to the dicing device 10, and conveyed to the work table 16 by one workpiece conveyance device 1 and held by suction. The workpiece W held by suction is cut vertically and horizontally as shown in FIG. 4 by the blade 12 rotating at high speed.

  The cut workpiece W is transferred to the spinner 15 by the other workpiece transfer device 1 and subjected to spinner cleaning, and then returned to the cassette 17 again.

  Next, the configuration of the work transfer device according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the frame holding mechanism 2 of the workpiece transfer device 1 according to the present invention with the cover removed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the frame holding mechanism 2 has arms 9 that extend from the center of the octagonal holding mechanism main body 4 in a straight line toward the outside in four directions, and each of the four arms 9. The suction part 5 provided with a pad 28 is attached to the tip part. A connector 8 is provided on the side surface of the suction portion 5, and the connector 8 and a T connector 29 attached to the holding mechanism body 4 are connected by a suction air tube 20.

  Although not shown, the T connector 29 is connected to the ejector via a piping path extending to the port provided in the holding mechanism body 4 and the suction air tube, and the air in the pad 28 is discharged from the ejector. It has come to be.

  As a result, the suction unit 5 sucks and sucks the frame F with the pad 28. Although not shown, a pressure sensor is provided in the pipe between the suction unit 5 and the ejector, and the vacuum pressure value in the pad 28 is detected, and the frame F is sucked with an appropriate vacuum pressure. Or whether the suction of the frame F is released.

  In the present embodiment, by using a cam mechanism, it is possible to easily perform inch switching of the workpiece transfer device. Hereinafter, a configuration for performing inch switching will be described.

  The holding mechanism body 4 includes an octagonal frame body 4 a and guide rails 4 b provided in a cross shape so as to be orthogonal to each other inside the frame body 4 a, and constitutes a cam mechanism in the holding mechanism body 4. A disk-shaped lever 30 is provided. The lever 30 has a central axis 31 at the intersection of guide rails 4b provided in a cross shape, and is attached to the holding mechanism body 4 so as to be rotatable around the central axis 31. In addition, the lever 30 is provided with an arc-shaped elongated hole 32 from the vicinity of the center toward the circumferential side.

  Further, the arm 9 having the suction portion 5 at the tip passes through the frame body 4a of the holding mechanism main body 4, and has a rib (projection portion) 34 at the opposite end portion along the guide rail 4b. It is slidable.

  The rib 34 is fitted in the arc-shaped hole 32 of the lever 30, and slides and slides in the hole 32 as the lever 30 rotates. It moves between the end portions 32b. The arm 9 moves along the guide rail 4b by the movement of the rib 34 as described above.

  FIG. 3A is a plan view of the frame holding mechanism 2, and FIG. 3B is a front view of the frame holding mechanism 2.

  3A and 3B, a frame F1 for mounting a 12-inch workpiece is indicated by a solid line, and a frame F2 for mounting an 8-inch workpiece is indicated by a broken line.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, the frame holding mechanism 2 is provided with a central shaft 31 at the intersection of four guide rails 4b formed in the holding mechanism main body 4 so as to intersect at right angles in the center. A disc-shaped lever 30 is provided so as to be rotatable around the central axis 31. An arc-shaped hole 32 is formed in the lever 30 from the center to the circumferential side, and a rib 34 formed on the other end of the arm 9 having the suction portion 5 at one end slides into the hole 32. It is fitted (engaged) with a margin so that it can move. When the lever 30 is rotated, the hole 32 is also rotated, and accordingly, the rib 34 is moved linearly along the guide rail 4b while sliding in the hole 32.

  The solid line in FIG. 3A shows the case where the rib 34 is located on the outermost periphery side of the hole 32. At this time, the suction portion 5 at the tip of the arm 9 is located farthest from the center. It corresponds to the frame F1 for mounting a 12-inch workpiece.

  Here, when the lever 30 is rotated clockwise as indicated by an arrow in the figure, the rib 34 slides and slides in the hole 32 along with the rotational movement of the arc-shaped hole 32, and the outer peripheral side up to now. From the position of the end portion 32b, as shown by the arrow A in the figure, the guide moves along the guide rail 4b toward the center.

  When the lever 30 is rotated 90 degrees, the rib 34 moves to the position of the end portion 32a closest to the center of the hole 32 and stops there. This position is a position corresponding to the frame F2 for mounting the 8-inch workpiece indicated by a broken line in the drawing.

  Further, when the lever 30 is turned counterclockwise as opposed to the arrow shown in the drawing, the rib 34 moves from the end portion 32a on the center side of the hole 32 to the end portion 32b on the outer peripheral side. The suction part 5 moves to a position away from the center as indicated by an arrow B, and corresponds to the frame F1 on which a 12-inch workpiece is mounted.

  In this way, by rotating the lever 30 as the cam mechanism provided inside the holding mechanism main body 4, the arm 9 having the suction portion 5 slides along the guide rail 4 b, and around the holding mechanism main body 4 around the four sides. The position of the provided pad 28 can be changed simultaneously.

  At this time, a cam mechanism including a lever 30 provided with an arc-shaped hole 32 and a rib 34 sliding in the hole 32 is configured to be point-symmetric with respect to the central axis 31, thereby providing four pads 28. Can be changed simultaneously and evenly.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the position of the pad can be easily and evenly changed by one touch only by rotating the lever constituting the cam mechanism for inch switching.

  In the example described above, the hole with which the rib formed on the lever is engaged is formed in an elongated arc shape from the center of the disk-shaped lever toward the circumferential side. It is not limited to such a shape, as long as the rib formed on the arm slides inside the hole as the disk-shaped lever rotates and the arm can move along the guide rail Any shape is acceptable. For example, the holes may be formed in a convex set surrounded by two arc-shaped curves, and the ribs may slide along the circumference.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the rotation of the lever of the cam mechanism for performing inch switching is manually performed, but the present invention is not limited to such manual switching of inches. For example, the inch can be automatically switched by rotating the lever using a rotary cylinder.

  In this embodiment, the case where the workpiece transfer device is mounted on the dicing device has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention is suitable for a bonding device, a transfer device that moves between devices, and the like. It is applicable to.

  As mentioned above, although the workpiece conveyance apparatus of this invention was demonstrated in detail, this invention is not limited to the above example, In the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention, it is possible to perform various improvement and deformation | transformation. Of course.

It is a perspective view which shows the whole structure of the dicing apparatus by which the workpiece conveyance apparatus concerning this invention is mounted. It is a perspective view which shows the frame holding mechanism of the workpiece conveyance apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. (A) is a top view which shows a frame holding mechanism, (b) is a front view which shows a frame holding mechanism. It is a perspective view which shows the workpiece | work mounted in the flame | frame. It is the perspective view which showed the conventional frame holding mechanism. (A) is a top view which shows the conventional frame holding mechanism, (b) is a front view which shows a frame holding mechanism, (c) is related with the center line of the longitudinal direction of the horizontal arm shown to Fig.6 (a). It is sectional drawing, (d) is sectional drawing regarding the centerline of the longitudinal direction of the movable plate provided in the front-end | tip part of the horizontal arm shown to Fig.6 (a).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conveyance apparatus, 2 ... Frame holding mechanism, 3 ... Cover, 4 ... Holding mechanism main body, 5 ... Adsorption part, 8 ... Connector, 9 ... Arm, 10 ... Dicing apparatus, 11 ... Spindle, 12 ... Blade, 14 ... Elevator , 15 ... Spinner, 16 ... Work table, 17 ... Cassette, 20 ... Suction air tube, 28 ... Pad, 29 ... T connector, 30 ... Lever, 31 ... Center axis, 32 ... (Arc-shaped) hole, 34 ... Rib, W ... work (wafer), F ... frame

Claims (4)

A plurality of arms that have a suction portion that sucks a frame on which a workpiece is mounted at each tip and are movable along the guide rail;
A workpiece transfer apparatus comprising: a size switching unit that simultaneously and uniformly moves the plurality of arms according to a size of the frame by a cam mechanism to uniformly change the position of the suction portion.   The size switching means includes a disc-shaped lever having a hole of a predetermined shape and rotatable around the center thereof, and a side having an adsorbing portion of the arm that is slidably engaged in the hole of the predetermined shape And a rib provided at the opposite end of the plate, and the disc-shaped lever is rotated to slide the rib in the hole and move the arm along the guide rail. The workpiece transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the suction unit is changed by the operation.   The arms are formed so as to extend outward in four directions linearly from the center of the disk-shaped lever, and the holes are formed on the disks with respect to the arms extending in the four directions. 3. The rib is formed so as to be elongated in an arc shape from the center of the lever toward the circumferential side so as to be symmetric with respect to the center of the lever. The workpiece transfer device described in 1.   The rib is moved along the guide rail between a position closest to the center of the disk-shaped lever and a position farthest from the center by rotating the disk-shaped lever. The work conveying apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the work conveying apparatus slides in the hole.

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