JP2009072026A - Forwarding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide means for removing and collecting wear powder on a contact surface of a driving opposite member of a forwarding apparatus employing an ultrasonic motor for a long time. <P>SOLUTION: The forwarding apparatus 1 has the ultrasonic motor 12, and the driving opposite member 16 having a contact surface 19 to which a vibrator 18 of the ultrasonic motor 12 contacts. In the forwarding apparatus 1, wear powder removing/collecting mechanisms 21 are provided on both sides along the contact surface 19 of the ultrasonic motor 12. The wear powder removing/collecting mechanisms 21 each include: a roller 24 rolling on the contact surface 19; a brush 26 sliding on the external circumferential surface of the roller 24; a collecting section 31 for collecting the wear power removed by the brush 26; a sliding section 32 between the brush 26 and the external circumferential surface of the roller 24; and a case 27 for covering a portion between the sliding section 32 and the collecting section 31. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention is for positioning by linear movement or rotational movement of a table of a mechanical device used in an environment where non-magnetism is required, such as a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a liquid crystal manufacturing apparatus, and a measuring apparatus using X-rays or electron beams. The present invention relates to a feeding device used for the moving mechanism.

Generally, a motor using a magnetic field, such as a stepping motor, is used as a drive source of a feeding device used in a moving mechanism for positioning a table of a mechanical device.
On the other hand, semiconductor manufacturing devices, liquid crystal manufacturing devices, measuring devices, and the like are increasingly equipped with devices using magnetic fields such as electron beams, and motors using magnetic fields are used as feeders for such mechanical devices. If used, measurement accuracy and the like are reduced by the magnetic field.

For this reason, an ultrasonic motor using a piezoelectric element that does not use a magnetic field has been used as a drive source used in a feeding device that requires non-magnetism.
In such an ultrasonic motor, two rectangular piezoelectric ceramic plates provided with four electrodes covering approximately ¼ on one surface are juxtaposed in the moving direction, and a plurality of these are stacked and each piezoelectric ceramic plate is stacked. A vibrator is provided with a vibrator, and the tip of the vibrator is moved elliptically by the vibration of the piezoelectric ceramic plate. The tip of the vibrator is brought into contact with the contact surface of the drive partner member to generate a driving force due to peristalsis. Or the ultrasonic motor itself is moved (for example, refer patent document 1).

At the contact portion between the tip portion of the vibrator of the ultrasonic motor and the contact surface of the driving counterpart member, frictional motion accompanied by slip is repeatedly performed by peristalsis, and the vibrator and the driving counterpart member generated thereby Due to the wear of the contact surface, the contact between the tip of the vibrator and the contact surface of the driving counterpart member becomes unstable, which is a factor that reduces the life of the ultrasonic motor.
In addition, if the ultrasonic motor and the drive partner member are moved relative to each other while the abrasion powder generated by the abrasion at the contact portion remains adhered to the contact surface, the abrasion powder adhered to the contact surface promotes the wear, and the ultrasonic wave The problem of further reducing the life of the motor arises.

Further, when the abrasion powder is scattered around, if it adheres to the surrounding equipment, it causes a failure of the equipment, and if it adheres to the product, it causes a problem of increasing product defects.
In order to remove such abrasion powder, the conventional feeder is provided with rollers that rotate in contact with the contact surface of the drive counterpart member on both sides of the moving direction of the table of the ultrasonic motor, and on the outer peripheral surface of this roller. The wear powder adhering to the roller is dissolved by the cleaning liquid that attaches the wear powder and captures the wear powder on the contact surface, and dissolves the wear powder contained in the cleaning roller pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the roller. It is removed (for example, refer to Patent Document 2).

In addition, wear powder removal and recovery mechanisms with brushes charged with static electricity are provided on both sides of the ultrasonic motor table in the moving direction, and the brushes are brought into contact with the contact surface of the drive partner member to absorb and hold the wear powder by static electricity. The wear powder on the contact surface is captured, the brush is lifted from the contact surface by the linear motion means, the brush is periodically rotated by the rotating mechanism and moved onto the tray, and the brush area on the side where the wear powder is adsorbed and held is There is also one that removes the wear powder by removing electricity and collects the dropped wear powder in a tray (for example, see Patent Document 3).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-184382 (mainly, paragraph 7 of page 7 to paragraph 0060 of page 8; FIGS. 10 and 11) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-18446 (mainly paragraph 0028 on page 5, FIGS. 1 and 5) JP 2000-142471 A (mainly paragraphs 0034-0037 on the fifth page, FIG. 3)

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 2 described above, the abrasion powder adhered to the outer peripheral surface of the roller that rotates in contact with the contact surface of the drive partner member is dissolved and removed by the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning roller. Therefore, in the case of continuous operation, it is necessary for the roller to continue to capture the wear powder while rotating and to be removed by the cleaning liquid, and when the dissolving capacity of the cleaning liquid becomes saturated, the roller wears. There is a problem that the powder capturing ability is lowered, and it is difficult to sufficiently remove the wear powder on the contact surface.

  Further, in the technique of Patent Document 3, a brush charged with static electricity is brought into contact with a contact surface of a driving counterpart member to adsorb and hold the wear powder, which is lifted from the contact surface by a linear motion means, and rotated by a rotation mechanism. Since the wear powder that has been removed by discharging the brush and discharging it to the tray is collected in the tray, the static electricity charged on the brush is affected by the external environment such as humidity and discharged from the contact surface. It may be difficult to capture the wear powder, and it is necessary to examine the material used for the brush, the location of insulation, grounding, etc., making it difficult to remove the wear powder stably while controlling static electricity. There is a problem of becoming.

In addition, in order to collect the wear powder adsorbed and held by the brush in the tray, actuators such as linear motion means and rotation mechanisms are required, requiring space for installing these, and the large size of the wear powder removal and collection mechanism. There is a problem that the feeder becomes larger with the increase in size.
The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide means for removing and collecting the wear powder on the contact surface of the drive counterpart member over a long period of time with a simple structure. And

  In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention provides a feeding device including an ultrasonic motor and a driving partner member on which a contact surface with which a vibrator of the ultrasonic motor comes into contact is provided. Wear powder removal and recovery mechanisms are provided on both sides in the direction along the contact surface. The wear powder removal and recovery mechanism is in sliding contact with the roller rolling on the contact surface and the outer peripheral surface of the roller, and adheres to the outer peripheral surface. Wear powder removing means for removing the worn powder, a collecting part for collecting the wear powder removed by the wear powder removing means, at least a sliding contact portion between the wear powder removing means and the outer peripheral surface of the roller, and And a case that covers a space between the sliding contact portion and the recovery portion.

  As a result, the present invention can remove the abrasion powder captured from the contact surface by the outer peripheral surface of the roller by the abrasion powder removing means during one rotation of the roller, and always recovers the capturing ability while driving the opponent. The wear powder on the contact surface of the member can be stably captured, and the wear powder removed by the wear powder removing means can be directly collected in the collecting section without being scattered outside, An effect is obtained that a feeding device having a simple structure that removes and collects wear powder over a long period of time can be obtained.

  Embodiments of a feeding device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 is an explanatory view showing the upper surface of the feeding device of the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a view taken in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion B in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows a powder removal collection | recovery mechanism.
1 and 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a feeding device.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a base as a fixed body, which is a relatively thick thick rectangular plate-shaped member made of a steel material such as alloy steel, and the rails 5 of the two linear guide devices 4 along the longitudinal direction thereof. Are arranged in parallel by a plurality of mounting bolts 6.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a table as a moving body, which is a relatively thick rectangular plate-shaped member made of a steel material such as alloy steel, and is attached to the slider 9 (see FIG. 2) of the linear guide device 4 and mounting bolts 10. It is installed by.
The table 8 of this embodiment is attached to two sliders 9 respectively mounted on the two rails 5, and the table 8 can reciprocate with respect to the base 2 by the slider 9 moving on the rails 5. It is supported.

Reference numeral 12 denotes an ultrasonic motor. As shown in FIG. 2, a motor fixing plate is provided on a surface of the table 8 on the base 2 side (hereinafter, this surface is referred to as a rear surface and the opposite surface is referred to as a front surface). It is fixed by a fixing bolt 14 inserted through 13.
Reference numeral 16 denotes a driving counterpart member, which is a columnar member made of a conductive ceramic such as alumina titanium carbide (Al ₂ O ₃ —TiC), and is provided between the two rails 5 of the base 2. The surface is fixed by the installation bolt 17 to the bottom surface of the installation groove 2a dug in the movement direction of the table 8 (simply referred to as the movement direction), and the surface facing the ultrasonic motor 12 is the ultrasonic motor. The vibrator 18 that vibrates by the 12 piezoelectric elements 12a (see FIG. 3) contacts and functions as a contact surface 19 that generates a driving force by peristalsis.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the piezoelectric elements 12 a of the ultrasonic motor 12 are arranged in two layers in a single layer, and a plurality of layers are stacked in the depth direction of the paper surface in FIG. 3. One vibrator 18 is provided for each.
The table 8 on which the ultrasonic motor 12 is mounted reciprocates linearly along the contact surface 19 of the drive counterpart member 16 by the driving force generated by the contact of the vibrator 18.

Reference numeral 21 denotes a wear powder removing and collecting mechanism, as shown in FIG. 3, on the mounting bracket 22 fixed to the ultrasonic motor 12 on both sides in the moving direction of the ultrasonic motor 12, that is, on both sides in the direction along the contact surface 19. It is assembled and arranged.
Reference numeral 24 denotes a roller, which is made of a rubber material such as synthetic rubber, and has an attachment width Ws of the vibrator 18 of the ultrasonic motor 12 shown in FIG. 4 (of the piezoelectric elements 12a disposed at both ends of the plurality of stacked piezoelectric elements 12a). This is the length obtained by adding the outer diameter of the vibrator 18 to the distance between the centers of the vibrators 18). The length is longer than the width Wa of the contact surface 19, and the outer diameter of the roller shaft 25 is the inner diameter. It is a thick cylindrical member, and the inner peripheral surface thereof is joined to the roller shaft 25, and the outer peripheral surface has a function of adhering and capturing the wear powder.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a brush as a means for removing abrasion powder. The brush 26 is fixed in the case 27 on the opposite side across the contact surface 19 of the driving counterpart member 16 and the roller 24, and its hair tip is slidably contacted with the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24. Thus, it has a function of peeling off and removing the wear powder adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24.
For this reason, the rubber material forming the roller 24 has an adhesive force sufficient to capture the abrasion powder and an adhesion force that is not so strong that the abrasion powder adhered by the brush 26 can be easily peeled off. .

In this case, if the rubber material is made of fluororubber that generates less gas in a vacuum atmosphere, it can be applied to the feeding device 1 that operates in a vacuum atmosphere.
Reference numeral 28 denotes a roller pressing spring, which is a compression coil spring that is fixed to the mounting bracket 22 side of the case 27 and is inserted through a support shaft 29 that is loosely fitted into the fitting hole 22 a of the mounting bracket 22. And exerts a biasing force in a direction to separate them from each other.

As a result, the case 27 that rotatably supports the roller shaft 25 is urged toward the driving counterpart member 16, and the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 formed on the roller shaft 25 is pressed against the contact surface 19, so that the ultrasonic motor 12. As the roller moves, the roller 24 rotates about the roller shaft 25 and rolls on the contact surface 19.
Reference numeral 31 denotes a recovery portion, which is a recess formed integrally with the case 27 of the wear powder removal recovery mechanism 21 and is disposed on the base 2 side of the sliding contact portion 32 between the brush 26 and the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 (see FIG. 2), and the wear powder that is peeled off by the brush 26 and falls from the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 is collected and collected.

  The case 27 of this embodiment includes a sliding contact portion 32 between the brush 26 and the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24, a scattering prevention portion 27 a that covers the space between the sliding contact portion 32 and the collection portion 31, and a roller from the sliding contact portion 32. An extension part 27b that covers the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 and extends in the vicinity of the contact surface 19 is formed. The inner side of the extension part 27b faces the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 with a slight gap, and the roller A plurality of steps (two in this embodiment) are provided on both sides of the roller 24 in the moving direction of the leakage prevention rib 35 formed with a facing surface 35 a having a length equivalent to 24.

The abrasion powder removal and recovery mechanism 21 configured as described above moves as the ultrasonic motor 12 moves.
At this time, on both sides of the moving direction of the ultrasonic motor 12, the roller 24 made of a rubber material pressed against the contact surface 19 of the driving counterpart member 16 by the roller pressing spring 28 removes the abrasion powder generated on the contact surface 19. Roll while adhering to the outer peripheral surface.

The abrasion powder adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 is carried into the case 27 as the roller 24 rotates, and is peeled off from the outer peripheral surface by the brush 26 slidably contacting the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 on the opposite side of the contact surface 19. Removed.
The abrasion powder removed by the brush 26 falls and accumulates on the collection unit 31 provided in the case 27 by gravity.

  At this time, the case 27 of this embodiment is provided with a slidable contact portion 32 between the brush 26 and the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 and a scatter preventing portion 27a that covers the space between the slidable contact portion 32 and the collection portion 31. Since the wear powder falls in the space formed by the portion 27a, the wear powder removed by the brush 26 from the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 does not scatter to the surroundings, and even without using a special device such as an actuator. The wear powder can be directly collected in the collection unit 31.

In addition, since the extension portion 27b of the case 27 is provided with a leakage prevention rib 35 formed with a facing surface 35a facing the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 with a slight gap, The wear powder accumulated in the collection unit 31 is prevented from flowing out of the case 27.
Furthermore, since the abrasion powder once captured on the outer peripheral surface of the roller 24 of this embodiment is removed by the brush 26 during one rotation, it becomes possible to recover its capturing ability during one rotation. Wear powder can be stably captured from the contact surface 19 while always maintaining the original capturing ability.

  Furthermore, since the collection unit 31 of this embodiment is formed on the case 27 of the wear powder removal and collection mechanism 21 disposed on both sides in the moving direction of the ultrasonic motor 12, the collection unit 31 is installed on the back surface of the table 8. Even if the length of the moving direction of the table 8 is effectively used, the total moving distance of the vibrator 18 during the operation period in the continuous operation, the operation conditions, etc. are taken into consideration without disturbing the movement of the table 8. It is possible to easily secure a volume necessary and sufficient for recovering the amount of generated abrasion powder.

  Further, when the driving partner member 16 is formed of ceramics having high electrical insulation properties such as alumina, zirconia, silicon nitride, etc., the contact surface 19 is charged by the vibrator 18 perturbing the contact surface 19, thereby causing wear. Although the phenomenon that the powder is adsorbed on the contact surface 19 occurs, the driving counterpart member 16 of this embodiment is made of conductive ceramics, and therefore, the wear surface is prevented from being adsorbed due to the charging of the contact surface 19. Capture can be made more reliable.

  As described above, the wear powder removal and recovery mechanism 21 of the present embodiment can prevent the wear powder from being scattered around the surface, and can always recover the wear powder capturing ability of the roller 24 on the contact surface 19. Since the captured wear powder is directly collected by the collecting unit 31 of the case 27 by gravity, even when the operation of the feeding device 1 is performed for a long period of time, the case 27 is commensurate with the amount of generated wear powder. It is possible to easily secure the volume of the recovery unit 31 and continue to capture the wear powder on the contact surface 19, and to maintain the surrounding environment of the feeding device 1 in a clean state for a long period of time. .

  In addition, it eliminates the need for restrictions on the location of materials, insulation, grounding, etc. associated with removing wear powder while controlling static electricity, additional equipment for this, and actuators that move to the tray position for collecting wear powder. Thus, it is possible to obtain a low-cost feeding device 1 that can recover wear powder over a long period of time and prevent scattering with a simple structure, and to reduce the size of the wear powder removal and recovery mechanism 21. Thus, the feeder 1 can be reduced in size.

In the present embodiment, the roller 24 is described as being formed of a rubber material in a thick cylindrical shape. However, the roller shaft 25 is formed in a stepped shaft shape having a large diameter portion having an outer diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the roller 24. It may be formed by bonding a rubber material to the outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion. In short, as long as the outer peripheral surface is formed of a rubber material, any form of roller 24 may be used.
As described above, in this embodiment, the roller that rolls on the contact surface on both sides in the direction along the contact surface of the ultrasonic motor, the brush that slides on the outer peripheral surface of the roller, and the wear removed by the brush. By providing a wear powder removing and collecting mechanism comprising a collecting part for collecting powder, a sliding contact part between the brush and the outer peripheral surface of the roller, and a case covering between the sliding contact part and the collecting part, The abrasion powder captured from the contact surface by the outer peripheral surface can be removed by the brush while the roller makes one rotation, and the initial capture capability is maintained while always recovering the capture capability, and the contact surface of the driving counterpart member It is possible to stably capture the wear powder on the top, and to collect the wear powder removed by the brush directly in the collecting part without splashing outside, so that the wear powder on the contact surface can be collected over a long period of time. And remove It can be obtained feeder simple structure to yield.

In addition, by providing a leakage prevention rib that forms an opposing surface facing the outer peripheral surface of the roller through a gap in the extension part of the case, the removed wear powder and the wear powder accumulated in the recovery part are exposed to the outside of the case. Can be prevented from flowing out.
Furthermore, since the outer peripheral surface of the roller is formed of a rubber material, the wear powder on the contact surface can be easily attached, and the capture of the wear powder can be performed reliably.

In addition, since the rubber material on the outer peripheral surface of the roller is fluoro rubber, the feeding device can be used in a vacuum atmosphere.
Furthermore, the drive partner member is made of conductive ceramics, so that the wear powder can be more reliably captured by preventing the wear powder from being adsorbed by charging of the contact surface.
In the above embodiment, the wear powder removing means is described as a brush, but the wear powder removing means is not limited to the above, and may be a scraper or the like. In short, any material may be used as long as it can remove and remove the abrasion powder adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the roller.

In the above embodiment, the driving partner member is described as a columnar member. However, the driving partner member is a circular member such as a disk or a ring, and the ultrasonic motor itself is a circular member with its outer peripheral surface as a contact surface. You may make it rotate and move around.
Furthermore, although the ultrasonic motor is described as being installed on the table, the ultrasonic motor is installed on the base, the driving counterpart member is installed on the table, and the driving counterpart member is moved by the ultrasonic motor to move the table. It may be.

Explanatory drawing which shows the upper surface of the feeder of an Example. 1. A direction arrow view of FIG. Part B enlarged view of FIG. Explanatory drawing which shows the abrasion powder removal collection | recovery mechanism seen from the C direction of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Feeder 2 Base 2a Installation groove 4 Linear guide device 5 Rail 6, 10 Mounting bolt 8 Table 9 Slider 12 Ultrasonic motor 13 Motor fixing plate 14 Fixing bolt 16 Drive partner member 17 Installation bolt 18 Vibrator 19 Contact surface 21 Wear Powder removal / recovery mechanism 22 Mounting bracket 22a Fitting hole 24 Roller 25 Roller shaft 26 Brush 27 Case 27a Spattering prevention part 27b Extension part 28 Roller pressing spring 29 Support shaft 31 Recovery part 32 Sliding part 35 Leakage prevention rib 35a Opposing surface

Claims (5)

In a feeding device comprising an ultrasonic motor and a drive counterpart member on which a contact surface with which the vibrator of the ultrasonic motor comes into contact is formed,
On both sides of the ultrasonic motor in the direction along the contact surface, a wear powder removal and recovery mechanism is provided,
The wear powder removing and collecting mechanism is
A roller that rolls on the contact surface;
Abrasion powder removing means that slidably contacts the outer circumferential surface of the roller and removes the abrasion powder adhering to the outer circumferential surface;
A collection unit for collecting the wear powder removed by the wear powder removing means;
At least a sliding contact portion between the wear powder removing means and the outer peripheral surface of the roller, and a case covering between the sliding contact portion and the recovery portion. In claim 1,
The case has an extending portion that covers the outer peripheral surface of the roller and extends to the vicinity of the contact surface;
2. A feeding device according to claim 1, wherein a leakage preventing rib is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the roller, the leakage preventing rib having an opposing surface facing the gap through a gap. In claim 1 or claim 2,
A feeding device, wherein an outer peripheral surface of the roller is made of a rubber material. In claim 3,
The feeding device, wherein the rubber material is fluororubber. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 4,
The feeding device characterized in that the driving counterpart member is made of conductive ceramics.

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