JP2015013353A - Workpiece release device and release method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a workpiece release device capable of releasing a workpiece in a carrier hole of a work carrier surely in spite of an inexpensive and simple structure, and a release method for surely releasing the workpiece by using the workpiece release device.SOLUTION: The workpiece release device for releasing a workpiece in a carrier hole of a work carrier disposed on a lower mold platen of a polishing device is configured so that a suction pad 122 of a robot hand 12 sucks the workpiece directly on the workpiece where a transfer robot 11 is fitted to the carrier hole, and a fluid injection device 123 injects water for releasing the workpiece. The release method using the workpiece release device is also provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece peeling device for peeling a workpiece in a carrier hole of a workpiece carrier from a lower surface plate, and a peeling method using the workpiece peeling device.

  Double-side polishing equipment (including lapping and polishing) automates the loading work of unprocessed workpieces into the double-side polishing equipment and the work collection work after processing, thereby reducing the processing cost by stabilizing the quality and saving labor. There is an active movement for reduction.

  However, there are various problems that hinder automation. For example, the workpiece is often a thin workpiece made of a material that is very brittle, such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass disk, or a quartz wafer, and the load acting upon handling such a thin workpiece causes damage to the workpiece. There is a problem that it is easy. When the workpiece is gripped (or attracted) or in contact with the polishing apparatus, if there is contact with a peripheral device, it is necessary to reduce the load on the workpiece.

  In the automation process, there is a problem of sticking of the workpiece after polishing. Thin workpieces tend to stick to the upper and lower surface plates of the double-side polishing machine after the polishing process is completed, and if the workpiece sticks to the upper surface plate when the upper surface plate rises, it becomes impossible to proceed to the subsequent process. , Processing is interrupted. Further, it takes time and effort to peel off the attached thin workpiece. In the worst case, the stuck workpiece may fall on the way and break on the lower surface plate, which may cause a major hindrance to the machining process. Therefore, many measures have been proposed to solve the problem of sticking to the upper and lower surface plates.

  For example, what is disclosed in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-301136, title of invention “Wafer Extraction Method”) is known. In this prior art, a mesh-like groove is provided on the surface of the lower surface plate, a linear or plate-shaped wafer takeout jig is placed in the groove, and the wafer is pulled out of the groove after the processing is finished. Is simultaneously peeled from the surface of the lower surface plate. According to this prior art, the wafer adhered on the lower surface plate after polishing can be reliably peeled off.

  However, since the take-out jig and the wafer are at least linearly contacted, there is a concern of damaging the wafer at the contact portion, and particularly when the sticking force is large, a large load acts on the contact portion, so cracking / There is an increased risk of chipping and the like.

  In addition, a device that lifts and lowers the entire jig is fixed around the lower surface plate, but it is a big equipment cost to install such a large operating device in an environment where the polishing liquid etc. is scattered. Not only is it necessary, but also a lot of labor is required for maintenance and inspection, and the burden on the equipment side becomes very large.

  Moreover, what was disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-203269, title of invention “Product Adhering Prevention Device in Wrapping and Polishing Machine”) is known. This prior art is provided with air or liquid outlets that open while being distributed over the entire surface of the platen. To make it easier. According to this prior art, the product is not damaged when the product is taken out, and there is no mistake in taking out the product even in the automated apparatus.

However, the structure in which the opening is provided on the entire surface of the lower surface plate through the through hole, the cost for processing becomes very large, and at the same time, the passage of the through hole having a huge length is intermittently removed from the opening. Since air or liquid needs to be blown out, the operation management is very complicated.
In addition, the lower surface plate in the lapping process is a consumable part because it is thinned by wear, and the production cost is high each time.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7 of Patent Document 2, it is relatively easy to apply the same measures to the upper surface plate. This is because the upper surface of the upper surface plate is empty except for the suspended structure near the center, and it is easy to install a device that supplies air or liquid to each through-hole. This is due to the fact that it is possible to easily realize gravity drop from a common liquid container or the like and distribution to a plurality of hoses.

  However, the lower surface plate is equipped with a device for driving and transmitting the internal gear and sun gear for rotating and revolving the carrier, and a structure for driving and supporting the lower surface plate while ensuring the rigidity of the lower surface plate. It is impossible to adopt the same structure as that of the above, and since the gravity drop of the liquid cannot be used and the restrictions on design and maintenance are extremely large, the realization is not easy.

  Further, what is disclosed in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-320388, title of invention “planar polishing apparatus and work removal method”) is known. This prior art discloses a method in which one end of a workpiece after machining is lifted and separated from the surface plate, and then the entire workpiece is lifted and taken out from the lower surface plate. ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the workpiece | work stuck on the surface plate can be peeled without difficulty by the surface tension of the liquid in the interface between a workpiece | work and a surface plate.

  In general, when a workpiece is peeled manually using an adsorbing tool, the workpiece is not lifted in a horizontal state, but is empirically lifted from the end portion of the workpiece and gradually lifted up and peeled off. Such a method is equally effective in an automated system, and such a method has been empirically adopted. It is very effective to increase the thickness of the liquid layer by forming a liquid layer at the sticking interface. Further, peeling from the end portion promotes the flow of the liquid layer and contributes to increasing the thickness of the liquid layer at the sticking interface, which is also a very effective method.

  However, in this prior art, when the workpiece thickness is sufficiently large and the material is strong, or the end shape is chamfered or rounded, the contact area of the workpiece is relatively small and the sticking force is small. In this case, it can be applied only to the case, and when these conditions are not satisfied, there is a high possibility that the workpiece end will be damaged or broken. The scope of the present invention is generally limited.

  There is also a prior art that uses fluid ejection to promote workpiece peeling. For example, what is disclosed in Patent Document 4 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63-164236, name of invention “plate-shaped object holding device”) is known. This prior art discloses a structure and method for peeling a plate-like body such as a wafer from an adsorption surface by spraying a fluid toward the outer peripheral edge of the side surface opposite to the adsorption surface. According to this method, since the wafer can be floated by supplying a fluid to the interface between the wafer and the suction surface, the suction from the top is facilitated.

  However, if the end face shape of the wafer or the like is not rounded or chamfered as shown, it is difficult for the fluid to enter the lower side of the wafer, and when supplying air as the fluid, the wafer may float and swing. There is a risk of damage due to contact with the surrounding structure.

  In other words, the phenomenon that the fluid enters the suction surface of the wafer or the like and floats is largely unstable, and the behavior greatly varies depending on the shape of the end face of the wafer, the surface of the suction surface, or the fixing method of the wafer. In addition, the optimum condition must be found individually for the way of applying the fluid to the peripheral edge (direction, flow rate, pressure, etc.).

  Further, what is disclosed in Patent Document 5 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-38857, “Waxless Polishing Wafer Holding Plate”) is known. In this prior art, in the apparatus for storing and polishing the wafer in the through hole of the wafer holding plate (work carrier), when the fluid is ejected to the wafer adsorption surface in the same manner as in Patent Document 4, the wafer is peeled off. In addition, since the jet flow cannot be applied to the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface of the wafer due to the outer wall of the through hole of the holding plate, a spray peeling structure is disclosed in which a part of the jet plate is cut out to form a path for applying the jet flow. By adopting such a structure, it is possible to take the same means as in Patent Document 4, but it has the same problems pointed out in Patent Document 4.

  Moreover, what was disclosed by patent document 6 (Unexamined-Japanese-Patent No. 8-229807, name of invention "wafer polisher") is known. This prior art employs the same means as the above-mentioned Patent Document 4 as means for peeling the wafer from the wafer holding member, and further, as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 5, secures a path for allowing the jet to pass through. Therefore, the template is notched, but has the same problem pointed out in Patent Document 4.

  The prior art common to the above-mentioned Patent Documents 4, 5, and 6 is a method of injecting fluid to the outer peripheral edge of the workpiece that is adsorbed and allowing the fluid to enter the interface between the workpiece and the adsorption surface. Because it is greatly affected by the following conditions, care must be taken when using it.

The workpiece end face could not be applied unless it had an appropriate round or chamfered shape.
In addition, the effect may be limited in a workpiece having a large adsorption area, and it is difficult to release the sticking of the entire workpiece.

In addition, since the fluid injection condition causes the fluid to permeate the adsorption surface, a jet having a high energy density is applied, so that some equipment is required.
In addition, since the jet also hits the workpiece in the peeled state, a fluid load acts on the workpiece surface, and care must be taken for the occurrence of scratches and cracks.
In addition, there is a high possibility that sufficient effects cannot be obtained unless optimum conditions are set for the position and direction to which the jet is applied.

JP-A-2-301136 JP-A-61-203269 JP-A-11-320388 JP 63-164236 A JP-A-9-38857 JP-A-8-229807

  For the problem of sticking to the lower surface plate, measures like the prior art of Patent Document 2 have been proposed, but the upper side is released like the upper surface plate, and the fluid is distributed using gravity. Since it is difficult to adopt a structure such as dropping, there has been a problem that the structure of the apparatus becomes very complicated and the equipment cost increases to realize these structures. Moreover, it was necessary to peel the work in the carrier hole of the work carrier, which was difficult.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and the object thereof is a workpiece peeling device that reliably peels a workpiece in a carrier hole of a workpiece carrier, despite its inexpensive and simple configuration. And it is providing the peeling method which peels a workpiece | work reliably using this workpiece | work peeling apparatus.

The invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is
A workpiece peeling device for peeling a workpiece in a carrier hole of a work carrier on a lower surface plate of a polishing device,
A transfer robot,
A robot hand that is moved by a transfer robot and sucks the workpiece by a suction pad directly above the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the workpiece;
A fluid ejecting device mounted on the robot hand and ejecting fluid to the outer peripheral side of the workpiece in the vicinity of the peeling start position;
The robot hand is positioned directly above the workpiece fitted in the carrier hole, and is lifted at a low speed while sucking the workpiece by the suction pad of the robot hand. A workpiece peeling device is characterized in that the fluid ejecting device ejects fluid so as to enter a vertical gap formed between the outer peripheral end portions and the workpiece.

The invention according to claim 2 of the present invention is
The workpiece peeling apparatus according to claim 1,
A force sensor is provided at a connection portion between the transfer robot and the robot hand,
When the vertical peeling force acting on the force sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold when the robot hand raises the workpiece at a low speed while adsorbing the workpiece and peels the workpiece from the lower surface plate. The peeling apparatus is characterized in that the rising speed is set small and the rising speed is gradually increased when the vertical peeling force acting on the force sensor is smaller than a predetermined threshold value.

The invention according to claim 3 of the present invention is
The workpiece peeling apparatus according to claim 1,
The suction pad peels the workpiece having a large shape and a large peeling area, and has a support structure having a degree of freedom of expansion and contraction in the vertical direction with respect to the suction surface, and is a circle eccentric from the center of the workpiece. It is on and is provided at a position opposite to the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the work, the center position of the work and the peeling start position of the work as viewed from the side,
When the workpiece is lifted at a low speed while being sucked by the robot hand, a force for pulling up the workpiece in the vertical direction is applied to each suction pad arranged at each position when the workpiece is peeled from the lower surface plate. The workpiece peeling device is characterized in that the timing is set to be different, and the timing is determined by the raised position of the robot hand.

The invention according to claim 4 of the present invention is
In the workpiece peeling apparatus according to claim 3,
A force sensor is provided at a connection portion between the transfer robot and the robot hand,
When the vertical peeling force acting on the force sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold when the robot hand raises the workpiece at a low speed while adsorbing the workpiece and peels the workpiece from the lower surface plate. A peeling apparatus characterized in that the rising speed is set small and the rising speed is gradually increased when the vertical peeling force acting on the force sensor is smaller than a predetermined threshold value. did.

The invention according to claim 5 of the present invention is
It is the peeling method using the workpiece | work peeling apparatus of Claim 3,
In the step of raising the robot hand at a low speed while adsorbing workpieces by all the adsorption pads, and peeling the workpiece from the lower surface plate,
The force of pulling up the workpiece from the suction pad arranged in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the workpiece acts, and gradually peels off the peeling start position of the workpiece,
With respect to the vertical gap between the lower surface plate generated at the end of the workpiece due to this peeling, the fluid ejecting device located at the opposite position blows fluid to the boundary surface to which the inside is adhered. While exfoliating by infiltrating the fluid,
A force for pulling up the workpieces acts in the order of the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the workpiece, the center position of the workpiece, and the position opposite to the peeling start position of the workpiece as viewed from the side. The whole workpiece is peeled off as
It was set as the peeling method characterized by this.

The invention according to claim 6 of the present invention is
A peeling method using the workpiece peeling device according to claim 4,
In the step of raising the robot hand at a low speed while adsorbing workpieces by all the adsorption pads, and peeling the workpiece from the lower surface plate,
The force of pulling up the workpiece from the suction pad arranged at a position eccentric from the center of the workpiece acts, and the workpiece is gradually peeled off from the peeling start position,
With respect to the vertical gap between the lower surface plate generated at the end of the workpiece due to this peeling, the fluid ejecting device located at the opposite position blows fluid to the boundary surface to which the inside is adhered. While exfoliating by infiltrating the fluid,
A force for pulling up the workpieces acts in the order of the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the workpiece, the center position of the workpiece, and the position opposite to the peeling start position of the workpiece as viewed from the side. When the peeling force in the vertical direction acting on the force sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold during this time, the rising speed is set small, and the force sensor If the acting vertical peel force is smaller than the threshold value determined in advance, the rising speed is set gradually larger.
It was set as the peeling method characterized by this.

  According to the present invention as described above, in spite of an inexpensive and simple configuration, the workpiece peeling device that reliably peels the workpiece in the carrier hole of the workpiece carrier, and the workpiece peeling device using this workpiece peeling device It is possible to provide a peeling method for peeling off.

1 is an overall view of a polishing system. It is explanatory drawing of a work carrier. It is a top view of the robot hand of a workpiece | work peeling apparatus. It is a front view of the robot hand of a workpiece | work peeling apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the state which the robot hand of a workpiece | work peeling apparatus presses and adsorb | sucks the workpiece | work of a carrier hole. It is explanatory drawing of the state which the robot hand of a workpiece | work peeling apparatus pulls up the workpiece | work of a carrier hole from a right end. FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram of a fluid ejecting apparatus, FIG. 7A is an explanatory diagram of an ejection state viewed from a plane, and FIG. 7B is an explanatory diagram of an ejection state viewed from a side surface. It is explanatory drawing of the state which the robot hand of a workpiece | work peeling apparatus pulls up the workpiece | work of a carrier hole from the whole. It is explanatory drawing of the detection of the force and moment by a force sensor. It is explanatory drawing of the double-side polish apparatus and work carrier of the other form for implementing this invention. It is an enlarged view of the work carrier of other forms for carrying out the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the robot hand of the workpiece | work peeling apparatus of the other form for implementing this invention, Fig.12 (a) is a top view of a robot hand, FIG.12 (b) is a side view of a robot hand. It is explanatory drawing of the fitting state of the workpiece | work by the robot hand of the workpiece | work peeling apparatus of the other form for implementing this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the robot hand of the workpiece | work peeling apparatus of the other form for implementing this invention.

  Then, the workpiece | work peeling apparatus and peeling method of the form for implementing this invention are demonstrated, referring FIGS. 1-9. FIG. 1 is an overall view of a polishing system 1 including a workpiece peeling device according to the present invention, which includes a workpiece peeling device 10, a workpiece feeding / discharging device 20, and a double-side polishing device 30, and automatically handling a number of workpieces 40 after polishing. This is a system for separating and collecting from the double-side polishing apparatus 30. The workpiece peeling apparatus 10 of FIG. 1 constitutes a single-sheet (single-wafer type) workpiece handling system.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the workpiece peeling apparatus 10 includes a transfer robot 11 and a robot hand 12. The transfer robot 11 is a six-axis articulated robot that can move in three directions around each of three axes (X axis, Y axis, Z axis) and each of the three axes in a three-dimensional space. A robot hand 12 is provided at the tip of the transfer robot 11. The operation of the workpiece peeling apparatus 10 will be described in detail later.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the workpiece supply / discharge device 20 includes a loading table 21, a first loading cassette 22 that stores a plurality of unprocessed workpieces 40, and a second load that stores a plurality of unprocessed workpieces 40. Cassette 23, unloading table 24, first unloading cassette 25 for storing a plurality of processed workpieces 40, second unloading cassette 26 for storing a plurality of processed workpieces 40, and workpieces 40 A work handling robot 27 for carrying in / out is provided.

  In FIG. 1, the double-side polishing apparatus 30 shows a state where the upper surface plate is raised and the inside can be seen. In addition to the upper surface plate (not shown), a lower surface plate 31, a work carrier 32, an internal gear 33 and a sun gear 34 are provided. Prepare. The work carrier 32 further includes a carrier hole 32a as shown in FIG. 2, and the work 40 is disposed in the carrier hole 32a. Then, the upper surface plate is lowered, and the work carrier is moved by the internal gear 33 and the sun gear 34 in a state where the front and back surfaces of the work 40 arranged in the carrier hole 32a of the work carrier 32 are in contact with the upper surface plate and the lower surface plate 31. The front and back surfaces of the work 40 are polished by moving the planet 32.

  The polishing system 1 constitutes an automatic handling system to which the workpiece handling robot 27 and the transfer robot 11 are applied, and the workpiece peeling device 10 is provided between the workpiece supply / discharge device 20 and the double-side polishing device 30. The workpiece is loaded and unloaded by the following series of operations.

First, the loading of the workpiece 40 onto the double-side polishing apparatus 30 will be described.
(A) The workpiece handling robot 27 of the workpiece supply / discharge device 20 takes the unprocessed workpiece 40 from the first loading cassette 22 (or the second loading cassette 23) and places the workpiece 40 on the loading table 21.

(B) The transfer robot 11 of the workpiece peeling apparatus 10 moves the robot hand 12 to the loading table 21 and attracts the workpiece 40 to the robot hand 12.

(C) The transfer robot 11 of the workpiece peeling apparatus 10 moves the robot hand 12 and the workpiece 40 to the carrier hole 32a of the workpiece carrier 32 at the loading position, causes the robot hand 12 to remove the workpiece 40, and removes the workpiece 40 from the workpiece 40. The carrier 32 is inserted into the carrier hole 32a.
In this way, the workpiece 40 is loaded.

Next, unloading of the workpiece 40 from the double-side polishing apparatus 30 will be described.
(A) After the transfer robot 11 of the workpiece peeling apparatus 10 moves the robot hand 12 to the carrier hole 32a of the work carrier 32 in the unloading position, the processed workpiece 40 is attracted to the robot hand 12, and then the lower surface plate Peel from 31.

(B) The transfer robot 11 of the workpiece peeling apparatus 10 moves the robot hand 12 and the workpiece 40 to the unloading table 24, detaches the workpiece 40 from the robot hand 12, and the workpiece 40 becomes the unloading table 24. Put it on.

(C) The workpiece handling robot 27 of the workpiece supply / discharge device 20 takes out the workpiece 40 from the unloading table 24 and stores the workpiece 40 in the first unloading cassette 25 (or the second unloading cassette 26).
The loading and unloading of the workpiece 40 in the polishing system 1 is performed in this way.

  Such a workpiece peeling apparatus 10 has a function of injecting water so that the workpiece 40 fitted in the carrier hole 32a of the workpiece carrier 32 can be easily peeled off. 3 is a plan view of the robot hand 12 at the tip of the transfer robot 11, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the same. FIGS. 3 and 4 show state diagrams when the robot hand 12 descends from the upper side to the work position in the carrier hole 32a and positions it, and a plurality of relatively large works 40 (one piece / work carrier) are shown. In this example, the plurality of fluid ejecting devices 123 are arranged toward the workpiece 40 on the side where the workpiece 40 is first peeled (sequentially pulled up from the right side).

  The robot hand 12 further includes a pad plate 121, a suction pad 122, a fluid ejection device 123, a hand cover 124, and a force sensor (see particularly FIG. 4) 125.

  The pad plate 121 is a large plate corresponding to the workpiece 40 having a large diameter, and a plurality of suction pads 122 and a plurality of fluid ejection devices 123 are mechanically attached thereto.

  The suction pad 122 is connected to a suction unit such as a vacuum pump via an air tube (not shown), and sucks the work 40 when the suction part sucks the work 40 in a contact state. When a workpiece having a large area is used as in this embodiment, a plurality (specifically, four) of suction pads 122 are applied. A single workpiece 40 is sucked at a plurality of locations so as to be reliably sucked. Each suction pad 122 has a mechanical system having a degree of freedom of linear motion in the vertical direction, and is normally in a state of being extended downward by a compression spring. The suction pad 122 is on a circle eccentric from the center of the workpiece 40 as shown in FIG. 3, and as shown in FIG. 4, the peeling start position (right side) in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the workpiece 40 as viewed from the side. The center position of the workpiece 40 (middle side) and the position opposite to the workpiece peeling start position (left side) are provided.

  The fluid ejecting device 123 is connected to a water supply device (not shown) via a tube, and has a function of ejecting water as a specific example of the fluid. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the fluid ejecting device 123 has a fan shape and a radial shape when viewed from the plane, and a film shape and a linear shape when viewed from the side surface. It adjusts so that water may be injected in the direction which enters the crevice formed with an end. A plurality (specifically, four) of fluid ejecting devices 123 are disposed so as to be located near the outer periphery of the work 40 and to be ejected to the end of the work 40. One fluid ejecting device 123 is disposed near the suction pad 122 immediately above the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the workpiece and on the outer peripheral side of the workpiece. The other two fluid ejection devices 123 adjacent to the fluid ejection device 123 in the vicinity of the peeling start position are near the suction pad 122 at the center position of the workpiece 40 and on the outer peripheral side of the workpiece 40 when viewed from the side. Has been placed.

  The hand cover 124 covers the pad plate 121 and protects the connection portion with the suction pad 122 and the fluid ejection device 123 from getting wet with water.

As shown in FIG. 4, the force sensor 125 is installed at a connection point between the transfer robot 11 and the robot hand 12. The force sensor 125 detects a total of six axial force components, that is, the axial force in each of the three axes (X axis, Y axis, Z axis) in the three-dimensional space and the three moments around each of the three axes. It is a possible sensor. By installing this force sensor 125 at the tip of the transfer robot 11, the six component forces acting on the robot hand 12 can be detected with high sensitivity. The force sensor 125 measures the pulling force during the pulling operation of the workpiece 40 and uses it for controlling the pulling operation.
The configuration of the robot hand 12 is as described above.

  Next, the peeling of the workpiece 40 in the carrier hole 32a by the workpiece peeling device 10 will be described. In this method, a workpiece having a relatively large area is peeled off from a suction surface (surface plate surface) stably (without applying a load to the workpiece) and smoothly (minimizing tact).

  The transfer robot 11 and the robot hand 12 of the workpiece peeling apparatus 10 are driven based on a command from a control calculation unit (not shown). At this time, a control calculation unit (not shown) performs control using a detection signal from the force sensor 125 as necessary. The transfer robot 11 of the workpiece peeling device 10 moves and positions, and the robot hand 12 descends downward from the workpiece 40 in the carrier hole 32a of the workpiece carrier 32 to the workpiece 40 as shown in FIG. Abut.

  The front view of the robot hand of the workpiece peeling apparatus shown in FIGS. 4 and 6 shows a state immediately before the workpiece 40 is vacuum-sucked by the plurality of suction pads 122 to the workpiece 40 after being processed to perform a pulling operation (peeling operation). Show. Each suction pad 122 is sucked in a state where a different amount of pushing is applied. Since the suction pad 122 is generally made of a rubber-based soft material, even if the suction pad 122 is pressed against the work surface, only a slight load acts and the work 40 is not affected.

  4 and 6, it is assumed that the workpiece 40 is peeled off from the right end of the figure. In particular, as shown in FIG. 4, the pushing allowance is changed at each position, and the pushing allowance is increased from the left. A, middle b, and small c. For the intermediate suction pad 122, the push-in allowance of another suction pad 122 on the back side (the pad located on the uppermost side in FIG. 3) is also set to b in the middle. As described above, the pushing margin of the suction pad at the right end in FIG. 4 is small, and the pushing margin is set so as to increase gradually toward the left. Therefore, when the robot hand 12 is lifted, the initial pulling force is the right end of the workpiece 40. Then, the peeling proceeds from here, and then the workpiece central portion and finally the left end of the workpiece are peeled off. Finally, the entire workpiece is sucked and handled to a predetermined position.

  Note that the pushing allowance of each suction pad 122, that is, the contribution timing in the pulling operation of the work 40, is greatly influenced by the size of the work 40, the state of sticking to the lower surface plate 31, and the placement of the suction pad 122. The optimum design method described above will be determined experimentally under each peripheral condition. By evaluating the “sticking force = lifting force” described later, the workpiece 40 can be smoothly loaded without applying a load. The action can be performed.

  This “smooth” means that the operation is late and there is no problem if the workpiece 40 is lifted from the end portion at a “sufficiently small speed”, but the productivity is low and the adoption becomes impossible. Further, if the robot hand 12 is pulled up at a high speed forcibly, a bending moment is generated at the boundary between the peeled portion and the pasted portion of the workpiece 40, cracking or the like occurs, or stress remains and the quality deteriorates. It will be. Further, if the suction force of the suction pad 122 is not sufficient, the suction pad 122 will be peeled off from the upper surface of the workpiece 40. Taking these into consideration, it is pulled up at an optimum speed. These settings are registered in a control calculation unit (not shown), and a smooth peeling operation is repeatedly performed at an optimum speed.

  FIG. 6 shows a state in which the robot hand pulls up the work in the carrier hole from the right end. The robot hand 12 is lifted from the state in FIG. When the robot hand 12 is further lifted, the pulling force acts on the workpiece 40 around the suction surface of the suction pad 122, and the workpiece 40 is peeled off from the right end.

  The fluid ejection device 123 starts ejection from a state where the work 40 is slightly lifted. In addition, since a load is applied to the workpiece 40, it is not always necessary to supply a vigorous jet. The sticking of the boundary surface between the workpiece 40 and the lower surface plate 31 is considered to be greatly affected by the viscosity of the liquid to water existing at the interface or the thickness of the liquid layer, and a relatively low viscosity liquid such as water. The effect of supplying to the interface is enormous.

  7 (a) and 7 (b) are linear and film-like and have a small thickness when viewed from the side (enhance liquid penetration into the interface), and spread radially and fan-likely when viewed from above (a wide range of liquids). This is a water flow pattern.

  In addition, in order to promote the peeling of the center side of the workpiece 40 (the adsorption area is large), a water flow is blown from the right side surface of the workpiece into the gap formed on the end surface by the fluid ejecting device 123 to infiltrate the fluid into the internal interface. Advance peeling. Further, when the peeling progresses, the intermediate suction pad 122 is applied to further advance the peeling operation of the entire workpiece, and at the same time, the inside of the sticking surface remaining by blowing out a water flow from the gap formed on the end surface from the oblique side surface. Infiltrate the fluid throughout and promote peeling of the entire workpiece.

  Finally, FIG. 8 shows a state in which the robot hand of the workpiece peeling apparatus pulls up the entire workpiece in the carrier hole. The robot hand 12 is further lifted from the state shown in FIG. 6, and the pushing-in allowance for the suction pad 122 at the left end is almost eliminated. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, a water flow is supplied from the fluid ejecting device 123 at the right end toward the lower surface of the work 40, and the peeling of the work 40 is promoted.

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of detection of force / moment by the force sensor. Basically, the pulling-up operation of the workpiece 40 can be favorably progressed by the slow pulling speed and the promotion of separation by supplying the liquid to the interface between the workpiece 40 and the lower surface plate 31 by the fluid ejecting device 123.

  However, when it is necessary to increase productivity by increasing the pulling speed, it is necessary to obtain the set speed by trial and error. Even in such a case, the sticking conditions generally change due to changes in the retention conditions of the abrasive and the rinse, and the lifting speed and the like must be set on the safe side (low speed side). Is the current situation.

  The force sensor 125 disposed on the upper part of the robot hand 12 can detect the axial force in the three-axis direction and the moment force around the three axes generated on the robot hand 12. As shown in the underlined portion in FIGS. 6 and 8, a control operation unit (not shown) is transferred by managing the force “F” or the moment “M” (hereinafter collectively referred to as the pulling force) during the pulling. The pulling speed can be optimized while controlling the load on the workpiece 40 by controlling the robot 11 and the robot hand 12.

  The “threshold value” of the lifting force set as described above needs to be obtained from the actual “condition for attaching the robot hand structure and the workpiece”. In this case, a lifting force that does not affect the work 40 is roughly calculated, and this lifting force is set as a “threshold value”. Generally, there is a correlation between the pulling speed and pulling force of the hand (because it is governed by the flow rate of the liquid at the interface to the viscous behavior). If it exceeds, the pulling speed can be reduced, and if it is sufficiently smaller than the “threshold value”, the pulling speed can be increased under certain restrictions, so that the productivity can be significantly improved while maintaining the quality of the work. .

  As in the present invention, the jet of the fluid ejecting device 123 blows out a water flow (a pattern flow having a thin film extending in the left and right directions) into a gap of several mm order, and permeates the water flow into the gap, thereby lifting the workpiece 40. By continuing the supply of fluid to the gaps that are sequentially generated while the operation proceeds, the pulling operation can be performed smoothly with a small pulling force. That is, it is not necessary to inject the fluid at a high pressure, and it is not necessary to strictly adjust the injection position and the injection angle, so that the operation is simple. Moreover, since it is not high pressure injection, the load which acts on a workpiece | work will also be in a very small state. The mechanical configuration is simple and can be configured at low cost.

  In addition, by increasing the thickness of the liquid layer by allowing fluid to enter the sticking interface, the sticking force can be remarkably reduced, and the workpiece 40 can be smoothly peeled and pulled up without applying a load. be able to.

  Furthermore, in order to confirm the progress of the peeling state, the lifting force of the entire workpiece is measured, and when a lifting force equal to or higher than the “threshold” of the lifting force calculated in advance is measured, the lifting speed of the workpiece 40 is set to a low speed. On the other hand, when a pulling force sufficiently smaller than the “threshold value” of the pulling force calculated in advance is measured, the pulling speed is increased stepwise so that the peeling operation can be performed smoothly. it can.

  Therefore, even if the sticking state of the workpiece 40 fluctuates due to a change in environmental conditions, the peeling operation can be performed smoothly without applying a large load to the workpiece 40. From experience, if the vacuum applied to the suction pad is too low, the work 40 may be slightly deformed by the robot hand 12 and a load may be applied to the work 40. Adsorbed.

  In such a case, when the sticking force of the workpiece 40 is large and the pulling speed is large, a phenomenon occurs that the suction pad 122 is detached from the workpiece 40 (this is also a means for avoiding a large load acting on the workpiece 40). However, in such a case, such a phenomenon can be avoided by setting the pulling speed of the workpiece 40 small. However, if the tact time is increased, the productivity is greatly reduced, which is not preferable.

  The present embodiment has been described above. Various modifications are possible. For example, in the suction pad layout shown in FIG. 2, the suction pad to be pulled up first is one, the “pad placement” part with the largest work width in the middle is pulled up by the two left and right suction pads, and sucked to the last peeling part One pad is arranged.

  However, each suction pad arrangement structure may arrange one suction pad slightly symmetrically with two (plural) suction pads left and right symmetrically (relative to the direction of pulling up), and the last peeling portion It is possible to omit the suction pad arranged in the case.

  The point is that the end peeling portion (right side in FIG. 4 in this embodiment) at the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the workpiece is basically a small area, so it may be one or two suction pads 122, and a wide portion at the center position of the workpiece. It is important that the peeling portion (in the center in FIG. 4 in this embodiment) is pulled up as much as possible in the width direction with two or more suction pads as much as possible. Since the portion (left side in FIG. 4 in this embodiment) is still a small area, one or two suction pads are arranged, or even if omitted, a plurality of suction pads arranged in a wide part have already been sucked. Therefore, the peeling operation itself may not be affected. In this case, the final peeling edge is slightly lowered due to its own weight. Such a form can be selected as appropriate.

  Next, another embodiment will be described. As shown in the explanatory diagrams of the other double-side polishing apparatus and the work carrier in FIGS. 10 and 11, four carrier holes 52 a are formed in one work carrier 52, and four works 40 can be inserted. it can. The workpiece peeling device 60 includes a transfer robot 11 and a robot hand 61. As shown in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the robot hand 61 further includes the previously described pad plate 121, the previously described suction pad 122, the previously described fluid ejection device 123, and the previously described. A force sensor 125 is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, the robot hand 61 arranges one set with four suction pads 122 and sucks four workpieces 40 with a total of 16 sets. Yes. The fluid ejecting device 123 is arranged on the side to be peeled off at the beginning of each workpiece 40, and the direction from which each workpiece is peeled is only limited in terms of design or environment. Then, as shown in FIG. 13, the four workpieces 40 are attracted and collected from the work carrier 52 at a time. Such a form may be adopted.

  Next, another embodiment will be described. In the embodiment described above, a plurality of suction pads are applied to a workpiece having a large area. However, in this embodiment, a robot hand having one suction pad is used for a workpiece having a relatively small area. FIG. 14 is a four-piece work handling diagram. This is an application example of a robot hand in the case of 1 suction pad / work and 4 workpieces / carrier. This is an example in which one suction pad 122 and one fluid ejecting device 123 are added to a single work 40 having a relatively small diameter, and a force sensor 125 (not shown) is arranged. The suction pad 122 is arranged at an eccentric position with respect to the work 40, and the work 40 is gradually peeled from the end on the suction pad 122 side and pulled up. Detection by the force sensor 125 is also performed, and the rising speed is adjusted in the same manner as described above. Such a configuration may be adopted.

  In such a workpiece peeling apparatus and fitting method, the suction pad can take various configurations from single to plural depending on the shape and size of the workpiece. Usually, the suction function and the peeling function after polishing are also taken into consideration. Arrangement etc. will be decided.

The work peeling apparatus and the peeling method of the present invention have been described above. According to these workpiece peeling apparatuses and peeling methods, the shape of the workpiece end face is not limited to an appropriate round or chamfered shape, and can be applied to peeling of a normal workpiece without chamfering.
In addition, since a workpiece having a large suction area is sequentially peeled off at a plurality of locations, sticking of the entire workpiece can be reliably released.

In addition, the fluid injection condition allows the fluid to permeate the adsorption surface as a jet with a low energy density and a weak momentum, and a simple facility can be constructed.
In addition, even if a jet flow hits the peeled workpiece, it is a jet with low momentum, so the load of fluid on the workpiece surface is small, and the possibility of occurrence of scratches or cracks is reduced.
In addition, the jet is radial when viewed from the plane and is linear when viewed from the side, making it easy to enter the gap, ensuring a sufficient effect for separation.

  Such a workpiece peeling apparatus can be applied to a double-side polishing apparatus using a 3-way system or a 4-way planetary gear system.

  The workpiece peeling apparatus and the fitting method according to the present invention as described above are particularly suitable for mounting on a polishing system that performs polishing by automation.

1: Polishing system 10, 60, 70: Work peeling device 11: Transfer robot 12, 61, 71: Robot hand 121: Pad plate 122: Suction pad 123: Fluid ejecting device 124: Hand cover 125: Force sensor 20: Work feeding / discharging device 21: loading platform 22: first loading cassette 23: second loading cassette 24: unloading loading table 25: first unloading cassette 26: second unloading cassette 27: workpiece Handling robot 30: Double-side polishing device 31: Lower surface plate 32: Work carrier 32a: Carrier hole 33: Internal gear 34: Sun gear 40: Work

Claims (6)

A workpiece peeling device for peeling a workpiece in a carrier hole of a work carrier on a lower surface plate of a polishing device,
A transfer robot,
A robot hand that is moved by a transfer robot and sucks the workpiece by a suction pad directly above the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the workpiece;
A fluid ejecting device mounted on the robot hand and ejecting fluid to the outer peripheral side of the workpiece in the vicinity of the peeling start position;
The robot hand is positioned directly above the workpiece fitted in the carrier hole, and is lifted at a low speed while sucking the workpiece by the suction pad of the robot hand. A work peeling apparatus in which a fluid ejecting apparatus ejects a fluid to separate a work so as to enter a vertical gap formed by an outer peripheral end. The workpiece peeling apparatus according to claim 1,
A force sensor is provided at a connection portion between the transfer robot and the robot hand,
When the vertical peeling force acting on the force sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold when the robot hand raises the workpiece at a low speed while adsorbing the workpiece and peels the workpiece from the lower surface plate. Is a peeling device characterized in that the ascent rate is set small and the ascent rate is gradually increased when the vertical peel force acting on the force sensor is smaller than a predetermined threshold value. The workpiece peeling apparatus according to claim 1,
The suction pad peels the workpiece having a large shape and a large peeling area, and has a support structure having a degree of freedom of expansion and contraction in the vertical direction with respect to the suction surface, and is a circle eccentric from the center of the workpiece. It is on and is provided at a position opposite to the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the work, the center position of the work and the peeling start position of the work as viewed from the side,
When the workpiece is lifted at a low speed while being sucked by the robot hand, a force for pulling up the workpiece in the vertical direction is applied to each suction pad arranged at each position when the workpiece is peeled from the lower surface plate. The workpiece peeling apparatus, wherein the timing is set to be different, and the timing is determined by a rising position of the robot hand. In the workpiece peeling apparatus according to claim 3,
A force sensor is provided at a connection portion between the transfer robot and the robot hand,
When the vertical peeling force acting on the force sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold when the robot hand raises the workpiece at a low speed while adsorbing the workpiece and peels the workpiece from the lower surface plate. The peeling apparatus is characterized in that the rising speed is set small and the rising speed is gradually increased when the vertical peeling force acting on the force sensor is smaller than a predetermined threshold value. It is the peeling method using the workpiece | work peeling apparatus of Claim 3,
In the step of raising the robot hand at a low speed while adsorbing workpieces by all the adsorption pads, and peeling the workpiece from the lower surface plate,
The force of pulling up the workpiece from the suction pad arranged in the vicinity of the outer periphery of the workpiece acts, and gradually peels off the peeling start position of the workpiece,
With respect to the vertical gap between the lower surface plate generated at the end of the workpiece due to this peeling, the fluid ejecting device located at the opposite position blows fluid to the boundary surface to which the inside is adhered. While exfoliating by infiltrating the fluid,
A force for pulling up the workpieces acts in the order of the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the workpiece, the center position of the workpiece, and the position opposite to the peeling start position of the workpiece as viewed from the side. The whole workpiece is peeled off as
The peeling method characterized by the above-mentioned. A peeling method using the workpiece peeling device according to claim 4,
In the step of raising the robot hand at a low speed while adsorbing workpieces by all the adsorption pads, and peeling the workpiece from the lower surface plate,
The force of pulling up the workpiece from the suction pad arranged at a position eccentric from the center of the workpiece acts, and the workpiece is gradually peeled off from the peeling start position,
With respect to the vertical gap between the lower surface plate generated at the end of the workpiece due to this peeling, the fluid ejecting device located at the opposite position blows fluid to the boundary surface to which the inside is adhered. While exfoliating by infiltrating the fluid,
A force for pulling up the workpieces acts in the order of the peeling start position near the outer periphery of the workpiece, the center position of the workpiece, and the position opposite to the peeling start position of the workpiece as viewed from the side. When the peeling force in the vertical direction acting on the force sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold during this time, the rising speed is set small, and the force sensor If the acting vertical peel force is smaller than the threshold value determined in advance, the rising speed is set gradually larger.
The peeling method characterized by the above-mentioned.

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