JP2009290038A - Chuck opening/closing mechanism using magnetic force - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve such a drawback that a structure of a chuck mechanism itself is large and complicated, and a drive means of a chuck cannot directly be installed inside a vacuum chamber. <P>SOLUTION: This chuck opening/closing mechanism using a magnetic force comprises: a positioning stage 1 fixed to an upper end part of a ball spline shaft 5; a pair of magnets 6c provided on both sides of a lower portion of the positioning stage 1; an electromagnet 6d provided in a horizontal arm part 3 located opposing to the magnet 6c; a magnet 6b which is provided in a vertical arm part 2 located opposing to the electromagnet 6d, and has the same polarity with the magnet 6c; and a magnet 6a which is provided in the vertical arm part 2 located opposing to the magnet 6b, and has a different polarity from the magnet 6b. The chuck opening/closing mechanism switches a direction a current flowing to the electromagnet 6d, lifts up and down the horizontal arm part 3 and swings the vertical arm part 2 around a joint part 3a provided in the horizontal arm part 3 for opening and shutting to grab a work or carrier W, and is positioned and fixed to the positioning stage 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a chuck opening / closing mechanism that simultaneously positions and fixes a work or a carrier that transports the work by a very simple mechanism using a magnet and an electromagnet.

  Conventionally, an electric motor, an air cylinder, or the like has been used as a power source for a mechanism for positioning and fixing a workpiece such as a crystal resonator or a wafer or a carrier for conveying a large number of these workpieces at a predetermined position of a processing apparatus.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3A (Patent Document 1), in this type of substrate chucking apparatus, the chuck 14 includes a horizontal arm portion 16 and a vertical arm portion 17 rising from the horizontal arm portion 16. A substrate holding portion 15 for holding a substrate (workpiece) W is provided at the upper end of the vertical arm portion 17. And the chuck | zipper 14 is penetrated by the through-hole 9 for guides provided in the two support members 18 planted from the base part (not shown) so that the horizontal arm part 16 can slide to a horizontal direction. Yes.

  Further, an inclined guide long hole 11 is formed in the upper portion of the chuck opening / closing guide member 10 so that the upper end portion is located closer to the center and the lower end portion is located closer to the outer side. A guide pin 12 drilled at the end of the horizontal arm portion 16 is slidably engaged. A driving means 13 such as an electric motor or an air cylinder is connected to the lower end of the chuck opening / closing member 10, and the chuck opening / closing guide 10 can be slid in the vertical direction and stopped at an arbitrary position. .

  Accordingly, by stopping the chuck opening / closing guide 10 at an arbitrary position by the driving means 13 such as an electric motor or an air cylinder, the substrate W of an arbitrary size can be held by the substrate holding portion 15 and the chuck 14 is only in the horizontal direction. Since it moves, the positioning of the substrate W during the chucking operation of the substrate W can be performed smoothly and easily.

  However, in the conventional chucking device of this type, an electric motor or an air cylinder is used as the driving means 13 for moving the chuck opening / closing guide 10. Therefore, in order to secure a mounting space for the driving means, the chuck mechanism As a result, the structure itself becomes large, and there is a problem that these driving means cannot be directly installed in the vacuum chamber and used.

In addition, if positioning and fixing of a workpiece or the like is performed simultaneously in separate vertical and horizontal directions, two expensive power sources (driving means) are required, and the chuck mechanism becomes complicated and expensive. There was also a problem.
JP 2005-203651 A

  The problems to be solved by the present invention are that the structure of the chuck mechanism itself is large and complicated, and that the chuck driving means cannot be directly installed in the vacuum chamber.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a ball spline shaft that is vertically provided on a base, a ball spline portion that is screwed to the ball spline shaft, and a pair of horizontal splines that are horizontally provided on the ball spline portion. A pair of arm portions, a pair of vertical arm portions that are swingably provided on the horizontal arm portion, a positioning stage fixed to the upper end portion of the ball spline shaft, and both sides of the lower portion of the positioning stage. At least a pair of provided magnets, an electromagnet provided in the horizontal arm portion at a position facing the magnet, and a magnet having the same polarity as the magnet provided in the vertical arm portion at a position facing the electromagnet A magnet having a polarity different from that of the magnet provided on the vertical arm portion so as to face the magnet, and switching a flow direction of a current flowing through the electromagnet. Magnetic force characterized by raising and lowering a flat arm part and swinging the vertical arm part around a joint part provided on the horizontal arm part to position and fix a workpiece or a carrier by closing the vertical arm part. The present invention relates to a utilized chuck opening / closing mechanism.

  A workpiece or a carrier for transporting the workpiece can be simultaneously positioned and fixed at a predetermined position from a vertical direction and a horizontal direction in a vacuum atmosphere by a single power source by a simple chuck mechanism using magnetic force.

  Embodiments of a chuck opening / closing mechanism using magnetic force according to the present invention (hereinafter referred to as “chuck opening / closing mechanism”) will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the chuck opening / closing mechanism of the present invention is a plan view for positioning and fixing a work (for example, a crystal resonator) or a carrier W (hereinafter referred to as “work”) that houses and conveys a plurality of works. It comprises a positioning stage 1 having an arbitrary shape (for example, a square shape or a circular shape) and a roller 1a that is rotatably attached to the left and right ends of the positioning stage 1 by brackets. It is possible to prevent the vertical arm 2 from coming into direct contact with the work W and damaging the work by coming into contact with the roller 1a.

  Furthermore, a ball screw shaft 5 that is mounted upright on the positioning stage 1 and supported and fixed to the base 8, a ball spline portion 4 that is screwed into the screw portion of the ball screw shaft 5 to rotate and move up and down, Four (two pairs), for example, are supported on the upper surface of the ball spline part 4 and moved up and down together with the ball spline part 4 and arranged in a cross shape in plan view as shown in FIG. It consists of a horizontal arm part 3 and two pairs of vertical arm parts 2 that can swing within a predetermined range in the horizontal direction via a joint part 3a.

  A chuck claw 2 a that holds the workpiece W from its upper surface and fixes it to the positioning stage 1 is attached to the tip of each vertical arm portion 2. For example, four electrode stones 6d are opposed to predetermined positions of the horizontal arm portion 3, and S pole and N pole magnets 6a and 6b are opposed to predetermined positions of the two pairs of vertical arm portions 2, respectively. Attached. Further, N pole magnets 6c attached to two pairs of vertical arm portions 2 are provided at predetermined positions (incorporated) of the positioning stage 1 so as to face the electromagnets 6d.

  Note that the opening / closing angle of the vertical arm portion 2 adjusts the contact state with the side surface of the positioning stage 1 by adjusting the entering / exiting of the adjusting screw provided in the vertical arm portion 2.

  Here, the strength of the magnetic force generated from the electromagnet 6d is controlled by adjusting the amount of current passed through the cables 7a and 7b, and the strength of the magnetic force of the magnets (permanent magnets) 6a to 6c is as follows. These opposing distances are controlled by adjusting the positions of mounting bolts and the like.

  Next, an operation method of the chuck opening / closing mechanism of the present invention will be described.

  The chuck mechanism of the present invention is disposed in, for example, a vacuum chamber, and the vacuum chamber is maintained in a vacuum state. First, as shown in FIG. 1A, for example, four electromagnets 6d are supplied with current in a predetermined direction. The polarity is set to the S pole. Thereby, the N-pole magnet 6c attached to the positioning stage 1 attracts the electromagnet 6d attached to the horizontal arm portion 3, and the ball spline portion until the upper surface of the electromagnet 6d contacts the lower surface of the N-pole magnet 6c. Since the upper surface of 4 is connected via a ball bearing, the lower surface of the horizontal arm portion 3 is lifted together with the rotating and rising ball spline portion 4 and is fixed by the chuck claw 2a in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). Is done.

  At the same time, in the vertical and horizontal directions (XY axis directions), the N-pole magnet 6b attached to the vertical arm portion 2 and the N-pole magnet 6c attached to the lower portion of the positioning stage 1 repel each other. The part 2 swings about the joint part 3a in the opening direction, and the positioning in the vertical and horizontal directions (XY axis directions) is released, and the chuck opening / closing mechanism is in the open state.

  In this open state, the workpiece W that has already been processed and inspected is taken out from the positioning stage 1, and the workpiece W to be newly positioned and processed is transported to the upper surface of the positioning stage 1 from above by an arm such as a transport robot. To do.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2A, a current is passed through the electromagnet 6d in the direction opposite to the previous energization direction by the changeover switch, and the polarity of the electromagnet 6d is changed from the S pole to the N pole. Due to this change in polarity, the N-pole magnet 6c attached to the lower part of the positioning stage 1 and the electromagnet 6d changed to the N-pole repel each other, and the two pairs of horizontal arms 3 are lowered so that two pairs of A chucking claw 2a provided at the tip of the vertical arm portion 2 comes into contact with the workpiece W and is fixed to the positioning stage 1 in the vertical direction (Z-axis direction). At the same time, the N-pole magnet 6c attached to the positioning stage 1 attracts the S-pole magnet 6b attached to the vertical arm portion 2, and the two pairs of vertical arm portions 2 swing inwardly about the joint portion 5a. Positioning and gripping in the vertical and horizontal directions (XY direction) is performed in contact with the end surface of the closed workpiece W.

  According to the chuck opening / closing mechanism using the magnetic force of the present invention configured as described above, an electromagnet and a magnet are used as a power source. Therefore, the vertical direction (Z-axis direction) and the horizontal direction (XY) are used by one power source. Axial positioning and fixing (so-called chucking) can be performed simultaneously.

  Here, as the work W to be chucked, a circular object (for example, a semiconductor wafer) can be positioned and fixed in addition to a rectangular object, but in this case, the inside of the chucking claw 2a is formed in an arc shape. Further, the workpiece W may be gripped directly inside the upper end portion of the vertical arm portion 2 without using the chucking claws 2a.

  In addition, since the chuck opening / closing mechanism of the present invention does not use an electric motor, an air cylinder, or the like as a power source, a power source composed of an electromagnet / magnet can be directly disposed in a vacuum atmosphere such as a vacuum chamber.

  Furthermore, by adjusting the magnetic force, the workpiece, carrier and the like can be fixed with an appropriate pressure as compared with a mechanical chuck opening / closing mechanism, and therefore, breakage thereof can be prevented. As a result, the production equipment using the chucking mechanism can be further reduced in size and space.

  In particular, in the chuck opening / closing mechanism of the present invention, a workpiece having the same size and shape can be gripped and the workpiece tolerance can be allowed, so that the workpiece is not damaged.

  The chuck opening / closing mechanism using the magnetic force of the present invention can be widely used for the chucking of articles such as crystal oscillators, semiconductor wafers, glass substrates and the like that need to be positioned and fixed at predetermined positions and carriers of these articles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a chuck opening / closing mechanism using magnetic force according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 (a) is a front view showing a state in which a chucking claw is opened and a workpiece is released. (B) is the top view which looked at the chuck | zipper opening / closing mechanism of the open state shown to Fig.1 (a) from upper direction. FIG. 2 is a view showing an embodiment of a chuck opening / closing mechanism using the magnetic force of the present invention shown in FIG. 1, wherein FIG. 2 (a) is a front view of a state in which a chucking claw is closed and a workpiece is fixed. 2 (b) is a plan view of the closed chuck opening / closing mechanism shown in FIG. 2 (a) as viewed from above. It is a front view of the chuck | zipper mechanism of the workpiece | work (board | substrate) which used the conventional electric motor and the air cylinder as a motive power source of the chuck | zipper opening / closing mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Positioning stage 2 Vertical arm part 2a Chucking claw 3 Horizontal arm part 4 Ball spline part 5 Ball screw shaft 6 Magnet (electromagnet)
7 Cable 8 Base W Workpiece, work carrier

Claims (7)

A ball spline shaft 5 provided vertically on the base 8;
A ball spline portion 4 screwed into the ball spline shaft 5;
A pair of horizontal arm portions 3 provided horizontally on the ball spline portion 4;
A pair of vertical arms 2 swingably provided on the horizontal arm 3;
A positioning stage 1 fixed to the upper end of the ball spline shaft 5;
At least a pair of magnets 6c provided on both sides of the lower portion of the positioning stage 1,
An electromagnet 6d provided on the horizontal arm 3 at a position facing the magnet 6c;
A magnet 6b having the same polarity as the magnet 6c provided in the vertical arm 2 at a position facing the electromagnet 6d;
A magnet 6a having a polarity different from that of the magnet 6b provided on the vertical arm 2 so as to face the magnet 6b;
Consists of
The horizontal arm 3 is moved up and down and the vertical arm 2 is swung around the joint 3a provided on the horizontal arm 3 by switching the flow direction of the current flowing through the electromagnet 6d. A chuck opening / closing mechanism using magnetic force, characterized by positioning and fixing to the upper surface of the positioning stage 1.   The chuck opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the workpiece or the carrier W is a square in a plan view.   The chuck opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a shape of the workpiece or the carrier is circular in a plan view.   The horizontal arm portion 3 is composed of at least a pair of cross-shaped arm portions, and the vertical arm portions 2 are swingably disposed at both ends of the horizontal arm portion 3, respectively. Item 2. The chuck opening / closing mechanism according to Item 1.   The chuck opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a chucking claw (2a) is detachably attached to an upper end of the vertical arm portion (2).   2. The chuck opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the strength of the magnetic force of the electromagnet 6 d is controlled by adjusting an amount of current flowing to the electromagnet 6 d.   2. The chuck opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the strength of the magnetic force of the magnets 6a, 6b, 6c is controlled by adjusting a facing distance therebetween.

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