JP2018039058A - Work carrying-in-and-out device and plane processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a work carrying-in-and-out device and a plane processing system for reducing equipment cost by simplification of a structure and reduction in a space, and capable of easily carrying a work by enhancing work storage efficiency.SOLUTION: A work carrying-in-and-out device comprises a work loading part P1 for loading an unprocessed work in a carrier 20 on a pallet 10, a loading part P2 successively laminated from below by carrying the carrier 20 having the unprocessed work together with the pallet 10, a carrier carrying-in-and-out part P3 for carrying in and out the pallet 10 between a plane processing device 100 and itself, a work recovery part P4 for separating and recovering a processed work from the carrier 20, an unloading part P5 successively laminated from above by carrying the pallet 10 for mounting the carrier after recovering the processed work and a plurality of hand parts 40A, 40B1, etc., and the pallet 10 is laminated via a recess-projection structure formed on a laminate surface of spacers 11, 12, 18 and 19 for securing an interval of a thickness or more of the unprocessed work in the laminate direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a workpiece to / from a surface polishing device or a surface grinding device (hereinafter collectively referred to as a surface processing device), and the workpiece loading / unloading device and the surface processing device. The present invention relates to a planar processing system comprising:

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various workpiece carry-in / out devices for a planar processing device have been provided.
For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-88022), a carrier in which a plurality of workpieces are held between a polishing processing unit and a workpiece mounting unit arranged adjacent thereto is transferred by a transfer robot. A polishing apparatus for carrying in and out is described.
In this polishing apparatus, the overall size of the polishing apparatus is reduced by using the workpiece mounting portion as a housing portion for the unprocessed workpiece and the processed workpiece.

In Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-184725), a carrier on which a plurality of workpieces are held is carried out to and from a lapping machine through an openable / closable opening formed in an internal gear of the lapping machine. A work loading / unloading device for a lapping machine is described.
According to this workpiece loading / unloading apparatus, a plurality of workpieces can be loaded / unloaded with respect to the lapping machine in units of carriers, and the time required for exchanging workpieces before and after machining can be greatly reduced.

On the other hand, the following devices are known as devices for temporarily stocking substrates in the transfer process of various substrates.
For example, Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2-144308) discloses a circuit board that is arranged along a conveyance direction, a carry-in conveyor that carries a circuit board, a rising circulation elevator that raises the loaded circuit board, and the circuit board. A circuit board stocking device is described that includes a descending circulation elevator that lowers the circuit board and a carry-out conveyor that carries the lowered circuit board.
According to this stock apparatus, the first-in / first-out operation of the circuit board can be performed smoothly in response to the state of conveyance of the board, and the installation space of the entire apparatus is relatively small.

Further, in Patent Document 4 (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-129342 / Utility Model Registration No. 2507416), a cassette is disposed above the substrate conveyance path, and when a failure occurs in a subsequent processing step, A substrate buffer device is described in which the substrate is raised and collected one by one in the cassette, and when the failure is resolved, the substrate in the cassette is discharged and lowered to return to the substrate conveyance path. .
In this prior art, the buffer processing of the substrate is performed in the space above the substrate transport path, so that the installation area of the buffer device is kept within a range that does not protrude greatly from the width of the substrate transport path, thereby reducing the size of the entire apparatus. Yes.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-88022 (FIGS. 1, 7 to 12, etc.) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-184725 (FIGS. 3, 4, etc.) JP-A-2-144308 (FIGS. 1 to 3 etc.) Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 2-129342 / Utility Model Registration No. 2507416 (FIGS. 1 to 3 etc.)

In the prior art according to Patent Document 1, since the planar occupation area of the workpiece mounting portion is equal to or greater than that of the polishing processing portion, the installation area of the entire apparatus is increased, and space saving is difficult.
Moreover, in the prior art which concerns on patent document 2, the opening / closing mechanism of the common port for carrying a carrier in / out of a lapping machine is complicated, and it requires much time for the opening / closing control, and it is difficult to improve productivity. There is a problem.

  Furthermore, in the prior art according to Patent Document 3, when the circuit board loading / unloading timing is shifted, it is inevitable that an empty space in which the circuit board does not exist is created in the intermediate stock section, and the interval between the stock sections is constant. Therefore, it cannot be said that the substrate accommodation efficiency is necessarily high.

In the prior art according to Patent Document 4, first-in first-out operation of a workpiece can be performed by appropriately managing the stock information and loading / unloading information of the workpiece in the cassette and controlling the drive timing of the collection means and the dispensing means. There is a problem that the control method becomes complicated.
Also, since two lifting devices with a large operating range are required as the collection means and the paying-out means, the equipment cost becomes high, and these lifting devices move the arm holding the substrate up and down within a predetermined range, so that power consumption Is also big. Furthermore, since the size of the cassette for storing the substrates is limited, it has been difficult to increase the accommodation amount and the accommodation efficiency of the substrates.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the problem to be solved by the present invention is to simplify the overall structure and reduce the occupied space, reduce the equipment cost, increase the work accommodation efficiency, and do not need a complicated control operation. The present invention is to provide a workpiece carry-in / out device that can be easily transported, and a planar processing system that includes the workpiece carry-in / out device and a planar processing device.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, a workpiece carry-in / out device according to claim 1 is a workpiece carry-in / out device for carrying in / out a workpiece loaded on a carrier with respect to a planar processing device,
A workpiece loading section for loading a plurality of unprocessed workpieces stored in a workpiece stocker onto a carrier placed on a pallet;
Carriers having unprocessed workpieces are transported together with the pallets from the workpiece loading unit, the pallets are sequentially stacked from below and waited, and the standby pallets are sequentially transported upward while holding the carriers and the unprocessed workpieces. A loading section;
A fixed loading table on which the uppermost pallet sequentially taken out from the loading unit is mounted; a carrier loading / unloading unit for loading and unloading the pallet to and from the conveyance table of the planar processing apparatus;
A workpiece recovery unit that separates and recovers a processed workpiece from a carrier on a pallet that is processed by the planar processing apparatus and is sequentially transferred out via the carrier loading / unloading unit;
A pallet loaded with the carrier after the processed workpiece is collected from the workpiece collection unit, the pallet is sequentially stacked from above, and an unloading unit that waits.
A plurality of hand portions arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction in order to grip the pallet and convey it to a predetermined position; and
The pallet is provided with a spacer capable of securing an interval equal to or greater than the thickness of the unprocessed workpiece in the pallet stacking direction, and a plurality of pallets can be stacked via a concavo-convex structure formed on each stacking surface of the spacer. It is characterized by.

  A workpiece loading / unloading device according to claim 2 is the workpiece loading / unloading device according to claim 1, wherein the pallet transported from the workpiece loading unit is transferred to the loading unit, the carrier loading / unloading unit, the workpiece collection unit, and the unloading unit. A gripping and transporting operation is sequentially performed by the hand unit in order of the loading unit and the workpiece loading unit, and is circulated and transported.

  A workpiece loading / unloading device according to claim 3 is the workpiece loading / unloading device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the pallet includes a fixed intermediate plate and a movable intermediate plate arranged between the workpiece and the workpiece collection device. The part has a structure in which the workpiece is dropped and collected while the carrier is held by the movement of the movable intermediate plate.

The workpiece loading / unloading device according to claim 4 is the workpiece loading / unloading device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the unloading unit includes:
A plurality of stacked pallets are supported by an open / close-type table, and the lowermost pallet of the stacked pallets is taken out by a lower hand part by the mutual operation of the open / close-type table and a lifter disposed below it. The pallet of the workpiece collection unit is conveyed by a middle hand unit and sequentially stacked from the uppermost stage while being conveyed to the workpiece loading unit.

  The workpiece loading / unloading device according to claim 5 is the workpiece loading / unloading device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the loading unit supports a plurality of stacked pallets by an openable table, By the mutual operation of the openable table and the lifter arranged in the lower layer, the uppermost pallet of the stacked pallets is taken out by the upper hand part and conveyed to the carrier carry-in / out part, and the pallet of the work loading part is It is transported by a lower hand part and sequentially stacked from the lowermost stage.

A planar processing system according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is disposed adjacent to the lower surface plate, an upper and lower surface plate, a non-rotating internal gear provided with a pin gear, an internal gear elevating part for elevating a part of the internal gear, and the lower surface plate. And a plane processing apparatus having at least a carrier transport robot that loads and unloads the carrier through the transport table having the pin gear insertion hole,
The work loading / unloading device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
In the pre-processing step, the internal gear lifting / lowering unit is lowered to move the fixed intermediate plate and the movable plate of the pallet on which the surface of the lower surface plate, the surface of the transfer table, and the unprocessed workpiece on the fixed table are mounted. The surface of the intermediate plate is formed as a continuous plane, and the carrier transport robot moves the carrier holding the unprocessed workpiece on the continuous plane from the surface of the fixed intermediate plate and the movable intermediate plate to the surface of the lower surface plate. Bring it into the lower surface plate
In the post-processing step, the carrier transfer robot includes the fixed intermediate plate and the movable intermediate plate of the pallet on which the surface of the lower surface plate, the surface of the transfer table, and the processed workpiece on the fixed table are mounted. The carrier that holds the processed workpiece is carried out from the lower surface plate on a continuous plane up to the surface.

In the present invention, it is possible to directly stack a plurality of pallets via a spacer, and omit the equipment such as shelves for storing in the loading unit, the unloading unit and the like so that the plurality of pallets are stacked. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the occupied space and reduce the equipment cost. Also, by stacking pallets in multiple stages, the work storage efficiency is improved, and pallet first-in and first-out operations can be performed reliably without the need for complicated control operations for pallet transport, and a simple configuration Thus, a workpiece carry-in / out device can be realized.
In addition, by applying this workpiece carry-in / out device to a planar processing device, it is possible to efficiently implement the workpiece carry-in / out and machining, and to construct a space-saving and low-cost planar machining system.

In embodiment of this invention, it is explanatory drawing of the state which mounted the carrier with which the some workpiece | work was loaded in the pallet. It is a top view of the hand part in an embodiment. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a planar processing system to which an embodiment is applied. It is a top view (Drawing 4 (a)) and a front view (Drawing 4 (b)) of a surface polish device to which an embodiment is applied. It is explanatory drawing of the operation | movement which takes out the uppermost pallet from the pallet group of a lamination | stacking state in the loading part of embodiment. It is a top view (Drawing 6 (a)) and a front view (Drawing 6 (b)) showing positional relationships, such as a conveyance stand, a pallet, a career, and a fixed stand in an embodiment. It is a side view which shows positional relationships, such as a lower surface plate, a conveyance stand, and an internal gear in embodiment. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the workpiece | work collection | recovery part in embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the dresser mounting pallet in embodiment. It is a figure which shows arrangement | positioning of conveyance paths, such as a pallet and a workpiece | work, and a position detection sensor in embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the operation | movement which takes out the lowest pallet from the pallet group of a lamination | stacking state in the loading part of embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
First, FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a carrier loaded with a plurality of (for example, six) workpieces is mounted on a pallet, FIG. 1 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 1 (b) is FIG. ) Is a front view of FIG. 1 (c).

  In these drawings, the flat pallet 10 is formed with a circular through-hole 10a for dropping a work 30 loaded on a carrier 20 (described later) downward. Upper spacers 11 and 12 are fixed on the left and right sides of the surface of the pallet 10, and lower spacers 18 and 19 are fixed on the left and right sides of the rear surface of the pallet 10 at positions corresponding to the upper spacers 11 and 12, respectively. .

A pair of engaging projections 11a and 12a are formed at the front and rear ends of the upper spacers 11 and 12, respectively, and the front and rear ends of the lower spacers 18 and 19 are stacked in a lower stage. A pair of engaging recesses 18a and 19a are formed to engage with the engaging protrusions 11a and 12a of the upper spacers 11 and 12, respectively.
That is, the pallet 10 integrated with the upper spacers 11 and 12 and the lower spacers 18 and 19 can be stacked in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction by the engagement of the engaging convex portions 11a and 12a and the engaging concave portions 18a and 19a. is there. Here, the heights of the upper spacers 11 and 12 and the lower spacers 18 and 19 are determined according to the thicknesses of the carrier 20 and the workpiece 30. Specifically, the heights are engaged with the engaging protrusions 11a and 12a. In a state where the two pallets 10 are stacked by engaging the recesses 18 a and 19 a, it is necessary to ensure an interval equal to or greater than the thickness of the unprocessed workpiece 30 in the stacking direction (vertical direction) of the pallets 10. .
In addition, the number, position, etc. of the engagement convex portions and the engagement concave portions respectively formed on the laminated surface of the pallet 10 (the upper spacers 11 and 12 and the lower spacers 18 and 19) are not limited to the illustrated example. .

Before and after the surface of the pallet 10, fixed intermediate plates 13 and 14 are arranged so as to be orthogonal to the upper spacers 11 and 12, and in the central part sandwiched between these fixed intermediate plates 13 and 14, FIG. The movable intermediate plate 15 is slidable in the X direction. The movable intermediate plate 15 slides with the side surfaces of the fixed intermediate plates 13 and 14 and the surface of the pallet 10 as well as the upper surface of the notch formed in the upper spacer 12 as a guide.
A pair of fitting holes 15a are formed at one end of the movable intermediate plate 15, and as will be described later, the movable intermediate plate drive device 90 is movable in a state in which the fitting pins 94 are fitted into the fitting holes 15a. The intermediate plate 15 can be pulled out in the horizontal direction.

On one fixed intermediate plate 14, an arc-shaped positioning jig 14a and a pair of roller-shaped positioning jigs 14b are arranged. Here, the arc-shaped positioning jig 14 a is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the gear-shaped carrier 20 placed on the movable intermediate plate 15, and the positioning jig 14 b is loosely engaged with the teeth of the carrier 20. It is supposed to be. The positioning jigs 14a and 14b and the upper spacers 11 and 12 are used to prevent the positional deviation of the carrier 20 during conveyance and during the workpiece collection operation.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, gripping recesses 16 and 17 having slightly larger shapes than gripping protrusions 43a and 44a of the hand portion 40 described later are formed in the vicinity of the rear portions of the left and right ends of the pallet 10, respectively. ing.

Next, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the hand unit 40 for gripping and transporting the pallet 10.
The structure of the hand portion 40 is common to the lower hand portion 40A, the pair of upper hand portions 40B1 and 40B2, and the pair of middle hand portions 40C1 and 40C2 shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, the hand portion 40 is U-shaped when viewed from above, and includes a hand base portion 41 at the center of the base portion 42, and side portions 43 and 44 integrally formed at both ends of the base portion 42. And gripping convex portions 43a and 44a are provided at the tips of the side portions 43 and 44, respectively, inward.
The pallet 10 shown in FIG. 1A is accommodated in the space surrounded by the base part 42 and the side parts 43 and 44. As described above, the shape of the gripping recesses 16 and 17 of the pallet 10 is slightly larger than the gripping protrusions 43a and 44a, and the gripping protrusions 43a and 44a move the gripping recesses 16 and 17 in the vertical direction (FIG. 1 (a), 2 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2). Although not shown in the drawing, the contact surface between the hand portion 40 and the pallet 10 is provided with a structure such as the above-described engaging convex portions 11a and 12a and engaging concave portions 18a and 19a. Positioning and gripping can be performed more reliably.

Next, a planar machining system in which the workpiece carry-in / out apparatus according to the present embodiment is applied to a planar polishing apparatus that is a kind of planar machining apparatus will be described.
FIG. 3 shows the overall configuration of the planar machining system, FIG. 3 (a) is a plan view of the planar machining system, and FIG. 3 (b) is the main work loading / unloading device corresponding to FIG. 3 (a). It is a front view of a part.

  In FIG. 3A, the planar polishing apparatus 100 is disposed at the center of the lower surface plate 101 and a lower surface plate 101 on which a plurality of gear-like carriers 20 loaded with a plurality of workpieces 30 are disposed along the circumferential direction. The upper gear presses the work 30 between the sun gear 102 that meshes with the carrier 20, the internal gear 103 that is arranged on the outer peripheral portion of the lower surface plate 101 and meshes with the carrier 20, and rotates around the support 104. A surface plate 109 (see FIG. 4), a carrier 105 arranged outside along the radial direction of the lower surface plate 101, and the carrier 20 gripped by the robot hand 106a between the lower surface plate 101 and the external pallet 10 And a carrier transport robot 106 for transporting through the transport table 105.

  The plurality of carriers 20 mesh with the rotating sun gear 102 and the non-rotating internal gear 103 between the lower surface plate 101 and the upper surface plate 109, and rotate the lower surface plate 101, the upper surface plate 109, and the sun gear 102. A so-called planetary gear motion that revolves while rotating is performed. Thereby, the front and back surfaces of the plurality of workpieces 30 loaded on the carrier 20 are polished by the lower surface plate 101 and the upper surface plate 109.

Here, FIG. 4 shows a main part of the planar polishing apparatus 100, FIG. 4 (a) is a plan view, and FIG. 4 (b) is a front view.
In FIG. 4A, 107 is an upper surface plate supporting revolving arm that revolves around the column 104, 108 is an upper surface plate raising / lowering cylinder provided at the tip of the revolving arm 107, and 109 is an upper surface plate. In FIG. 4B, reference numeral 110 denotes a processing apparatus main body, 111 denotes a cover, and 111 a denotes a notch formed in the cover 111 and capable of accommodating the transport table 105.
In addition, the operation | movement which carries in or carries out the carrier 20 between the lower surface plates 101 via the conveyance stand 105 is mentioned later.

Next, returning to FIG. 3, the configuration and operation of the workpiece loading / unloading device for loading / unloading the workpiece 30 to / from the flat polishing apparatus 100 will be described.
First, in the work stocker 50, a large number of works 30 to be polished are stacked and accommodated on the circumference. These workpieces 30 are moved to the take-out position by the workpiece loading robot 60, and the workpieces 30 are gripped by, for example, a lift-up method and sequentially loaded onto the carrier 20 on the pallet 10 of the workpiece loading unit P1. The pallet 10 of the workpiece loading unit P1 is gripped by the lower hand unit 40A and transferred from an unloading unit P5 described later.
The structure and operation of the workpiece stocker 50, the workpiece loading robot 60, the workpiece loading unit P1, and the like may be appropriately selected according to the shape and weight of the workpiece 30, the number of loads on the carrier 20, and the like, and are not limited to the illustrated example. It is not a thing.

The carrier 20 loaded with a predetermined number of workpieces 30 is gripped by the lower hand unit 40A together with the pallet 10 and conveyed onto the lifter 71 of the next loading unit P2 by an appropriate conveying device.
An opening / closing table 81 is arranged in the loading portion P2. The opening / closing table 81 is opened outward to lift the lifter 71 and the pallet 10, and then the opening / closing table 81 is closed to the inside. Both ends of the lower surface of the pallet 10 are held by an openable / closable table 81. If the above operation is repeated, the pallet 10 on which the carrier 20 is placed can be stacked on the openable table 81 in multiple stages. Here, it is desirable that the number of pallets 10 to be stacked is one batch (for example, five) or more, ideally about two batches (10) of workpiece loading carriers to be polished simultaneously.

  When the pallets 10 are stacked in multiple stages, the engaging protrusions 11a and 12a and the engaging recesses 18a and 19a shown in FIG. 1 are directly engaged with each other, so that the overall height of the stacked pallet group is increased. Therefore, it is possible to save space.

  Among the pallet groups stacked on the loading unit P2, the uppermost pallet 10 is held by the upper hand unit 40B1 and linked to the next carrier while interlocking with the operation of taking out and transporting the pallet 10 from the lower surface plate 101 described later. It is conveyed onto the fixed table 83 of the carry-in / out part P3. The pair of upper hand portions 40B1 and 40B2 have hand base portions 41 connected to each other, and both can move integrally in the horizontal direction.

FIG. 5 shows an operation of taking out the pallet 10 by the upper hand unit 40B1.
Since the gripping convex portions 43a and 44a of the upper hand portion 40B1 in FIG. 5A can pass through the gripping concave portions 16 and 17 on the pallet 10 side, the upper hand portion 40B1 is lowered and shown in FIG. 5B. The upper hand portion 40B1 is positioned below the uppermost pallet 10.
Thereafter, the upper hand part 40B1 is slightly moved horizontally in the direction of arrow Y in FIG. 5B, and as shown in FIG. 5C, the four corners of the pallet 10 are positioned at both ends of the gripping convex parts 43a and 44a and the base part 42. Lock to the part. If the upper hand part 40B1 is raised in the arrow Z direction in this state, only the uppermost pallet 10 can be taken out.

Returning to FIG. 3, the carrier 20 on the pallet 10 placed on the stationary table 83 of the carrier carry-in / out section P3 is gripped by the robot hand 106a, and the lower surface plate 101 of the planar polishing apparatus 100 is passed through the transport table 105. Transported up.
Here, FIG. 6A is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the transport table 105, the pallet 10, the carrier, the fixed table 83, etc. in the carrier loading / unloading section P3, and FIG. 6B is the pallet 10, the fixed table 83, etc. It is a front view which shows these positional relationships.

When the carrier 20 on the transport table 105 is transported to the lower surface plate 101 by the carrier transport robot 106, as shown in FIG. 7, a part (pin gear) of the internal gear 103 in the vicinity of the transport table 105 is penetrated upward in advance. When the carrier 20 is unloaded, only the internal gear 103 is lowered so that the surface of the transport table 105 and the surface of the lower surface plate 101 are substantially flush with each other. By doing so, the above-described series of operations can be smoothly and speeded up.
That is, from the state in which the pin gear of the internal gear 103 protrudes from the insertion hole of the transport table 105 (FIG. 7A), the internal gear lifting / lowering unit 112 is lowered to bring the surface of the transport table 105 and the surface of the lower platen 101 almost into the surface. Using the robot hand 106a of the carrier transfer robot 106, the carrier 20 loaded with the unprocessed workpiece 30 is carried onto the lower surface plate 101 from the transfer table 105 (see FIG. 7B). 7 (c)). And the internal gear raising / lowering part 112 is raised, and the tooth | gear of the outer periphery of the carrier 20 is meshed | engaged with a pin gear (FIG.7 (d)).
In addition, when carrying out the processed workpiece | work 30 with the carrier 20, the operation | movement contrary to the above should just be performed.

  The process of sequentially arranging the carrier 20 loaded with the work 30 at a predetermined position of the lower surface plate 101, and the process itself of polishing the front and back surfaces of the work 30 using the lower surface plate 101 and the upper surface plate of the present invention. Since it is not a gist, detailed description is omitted here.

An unloading part P5 is arranged below the fixed table 83 of the carrier carry-in / out part P3. In the unloading section P5, a plurality of pallets 10 on which the workpieces 30 that have been processed are collected by the workpiece collection section P4 at the subsequent stage and only the carrier 20 is placed are stacked on the openable table 82. The operation of the open / close table 82 is the same as that of the open / close table 81 of the loading portion P2.
Also, a lifter 72 is disposed below the openable table 82. With this lifter 72, the stacked pallet 10 can be taken out from the lowermost stage, and the taken-out pallet 10 is gripped by the lower hand part 40A. The workpiece is transferred to the work loading section P1.

  Although the description will be mixed, as the operation from the initial state to the start of the polishing process, the pallet 10 in the stacked state of the unloading part P5 is moved to the lower hand part when the removal of the uppermost pallet 10 from the loading part P2 has started. The workpiece is gripped by 40A and transferred to the workpiece loading section P1, and the loading operation of the workpiece 30 is started. Then, the pallet 10 after loading the work 30 is gripped by the lower hand part 40A and conveyed above the lifter 71 of the loading part P2, and the top of the stacked pallet group is operated by the operation of the openable table 81 and the lifter 71. Stored in the bottom row.

  The carrier 20 is transported to the lower surface plate 101 in the carrier carry-in / out section P3, and the pallet 10 that has been emptied is gripped by the upper stage hand section 40B2 and placed on the lift table 84 of the workpiece collection section P4. Next, the elevating table 84 is lowered by the lifter 73, and the pallet 10 on the elevating table 84 is gripped by the middle hand portion 40C2 and placed on the lifter 74 of the preliminary accommodating unit P6. In addition, the middle base portions 40C1 and 40C2 are also connected to the hand base portions 41, and both can move integrally in the horizontal direction.

However, functionally, the middle stage hand unit 40C2 can be omitted, and the transverse operation range of the middle stage hand unit 40C1 can be expanded and operated. In addition, when only the first process of processing is performed by manual operation and the processing is started by sequentially loading the carriers 20 loaded with workpieces from the left side of FIG. 3A, the preliminary storage portion P6 is omitted. Is possible.
By repeating the above operation four times, the four carriers 20 loaded with the work 30 are arranged on the lower surface plate 101.

Next, after the fifth carrier 20 is transported to the lower surface plate 101 by the carrier transport robot 106, the empty pallet 10 is left on the fixed table 83 of the carrier loading / unloading section P3, and the pallet group of the loading section P2 Therefore, the next pallet 10 on which the work loaded carrier 20 is placed is held by the upper arm portion 40B1.
In this state, all the workpieces 30 for one batch are polished by the flat polishing apparatus 100 and wait until the processing is completed.

  When the polishing process for one batch is completed, the carrier 20 is taken out from the lower surface plate 101 by the carrier carrying robot 106 and is stored in the pallet 10 on the fixed table 83 of the carrier carry-in / out section P3. When the carrier 20 is taken out, the pin gear of the internal gear 103 is lowered so that the surface of the transport table 105 and the surface of the lower surface plate 101 are substantially flush with each other, as in the case of loading into the lower surface plate 101.

Thereafter, the pallet 10 on the stationary table 83 is gripped by the upper hand unit 40B2, the pallet 10 in which the processed workpiece 30 is accommodated is transported, and placed on the lifting table 84 of the workpiece collection unit P4. And the operation | movement which accommodates the pallet 10 with which the unprocessed workpiece | work 30 currently hold | gripped by the upper stage hand part 40B1 was loaded on the fixed mounting base 83 of the carrier carrying in / out part P3 is performed simultaneously.
The upper hand portions 40B2 and 40B1 that have moved to the workpiece collection portion P4 and the carrier carry-in / out portion P3 in this way, after placing the pallet 10 on the placing tables 84 and 83, respectively, that is, the carrier carry-in / out portion P3 and the loading portion. Return to P2 respectively.

In this state, there is one pallet 10 having the carrier 20 loaded with the unprocessed workpiece 30 in the carrier loading / unloading section P3, and the loading section P2 has the carrier 20 loaded with the unprocessed workpiece 30 in the same manner. A plurality of pallets 10 are stacked. In addition, the lower surface plate 101 of the flat polishing apparatus 100 has a space for one carrier 20 carried out.
Therefore, the carrier 20 loaded with the unprocessed workpiece 30 present in the carrier carry-in / out section P <b> 3 can be conveyed to the space of the lower surface plate 101 by the carrier conveyance robot 106.
Thereby, unloading and loading of one carrier 20 are completed. Further, in the planar polishing apparatus 100, the carrier 20 having the processed workpiece 30 to be unloaded next from the lower surface plate 101 is conveyed by performing a self-revolving operation of each carrier by raising the internal gear 103 and rotating the sun gear 102. Transfer to the loading / unloading position on the stage 105 side.
By repeating the above operation, the carrier 20 for one batch is carried in and out.

In this embodiment, the operation of carrying in the carrier 20 having the unprocessed workpiece 30 is repeated five times following the operation of carrying out the carrier 20 having the processed workpiece 30 to proceed to the next step. . However, as another basic step, the operation of unloading the carrier 20 having the processed workpiece 30 is performed five times, and then the operation of loading the carrier 20 having the unprocessed workpiece 30 is performed five times, and the next step is performed. It is also possible to proceed.
Also in this case, if the preliminary accommodating portion P6 is used, the operation process can be applied without any problem.

During this time, the workpiece loading unit P1 and the loading unit P2 perform the loading operation of the workpiece 30 onto the carrier 20 and the stacking operation of the pallet 10, respectively, and at least the unprocessed workpiece 30 is removed before starting the processing of the next batch. A series of operations is performed so that the loaded carrier 20 for one batch is made to wait in the loading unit P2.
As described above, storing unprocessed workpieces 30 of up to about 2 batches in the loading unit P2 before processing of 1 batch is completed is a continuous circulation operation and automatic processing operation of the pallet 10. It means that it is possible.

Next, the collection | recovery operation | movement of the processed workpiece | work 30 is demonstrated.
FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the workpiece collection unit P4. One batch of processed workpieces 30 is slid in a horizontal direction by a movable intermediate plate driving device 90 on a movable intermediate plate 15 (see FIG. 1) of the pallet 10 placed on the elevating table 84 of the workpiece collection unit P4. Then, the processed workpiece 30 loaded on the carrier 20 is dropped from the through hole 10a of the pallet 10.
That is, the movable intermediate plate driving device 90 includes an intermediate plate support plate 91 that supports the movable intermediate plate 15 drawn from the pallet 10, a guide portion 92 disposed above the intermediate plate support plate 91, and the movable intermediate plate 15. A fitting pin 94 that fits into the fitting hole 15a is provided with a pin fitting portion 93 formed at the lower end, and the pin fitting portion 93 is movable in the left-right direction in FIG. is there.

A recovery box 86 is fixed below the lifting / lowering table 84 of the workpiece recovery unit P4. The lifting / lowering table 84 and the recovery box 86 can be moved up and down integrally by the operation of the lifter 73. Further, in the collection box 86, a table 85 for receiving the processed workpiece 30 dropped from the carrier 20 is provided.
The processed workpieces 30 may be collected in an aligned state or may be collected in a loose state.

The collection operation of the processed workpiece 30 is as follows.
First, as shown in FIG. 8A, the fitting pin 94 of the pin fitting portion 93 is fitted into the fitting hole 15a of the movable intermediate plate 15, and the pin fitting portion 93 is moved along the guide portion 92 in the drawing. The movable intermediate plate 15 is pulled out by moving to the right side, and the state shown in FIG. Thereby, since the through-hole 10a of the pallet 10 is located below all the workpieces 30 in the carrier 20, all the workpieces 30 fall on the table 85 in the collection box 86 through the through-holes 10a. In addition, the height which receives the workpiece | work 30 which falls is arrange | positioned by arrange | positioning the raising / lowering apparatus which is not shown in figure under the mounting base 85, and minimizes the impact when a workpiece | work contacts, and prevents the workpiece | work 30 from being damaged. Is also effective.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, the pin fitting portion 93 is returned to the left side of the drawing along the guide portion 92, and then the lifter 73 is lowered as shown in FIG. 8D.
Further, as shown in FIG. 8 (e), the middle stage hand portion 40C1 is moved above the pallet 10, and the gripping convex portions 43a and 44a are passed through the gripping concave portions 16 and 17 as in FIG. 5 (b). Then, as shown in FIG. 8F, the middle stage hand portion 40C1 is disposed below the pallet 10. In this state, the elevating table 84 and the collection box 86 are lowered, and the middle stage hand portion 40C1 is moved slightly back and forth to the same state as in FIG. 5C, and as shown in FIG. The part 40C1 and the pallet 10 are separated from the elevating table 84.
Thereafter, the pallet 10 on which the carrier 20 is placed is gripped by the middle hand portion 40C1 and transferred to the unloading portion P5, and the middle hand portion 40C1 is moved upward in the state shown in FIG. The pallet 10 is placed on the uppermost stage of the stacked pallet group.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, since the recovery operation of the processed workpiece 30 can be realized at high speed with a simple structure, there is no carrier transfer operation between the workpiece loading / unloading device and the planar polishing device. The entire process can be carried out smoothly without affecting it.

  Note that the other middle hand portion 40C2 that moves integrally with the middle hand portion 40C1 is an empty pallet 10 that does not hold the carrier 20 between the work collection portion P5 and the next-stage preliminary accommodating portion P6, and will be described later. It is used to automatically convey a dresser-mounted pallet.

When the processing step of the workpiece 30 is completely completed, the first carrier 20 having the processed workpiece 30 is unloaded from the planar polishing apparatus 100, the processed workpiece 30 is collected, and only the carrier 20 is placed. The pallet 10 is gripped by the middle stage hand part 40C1, transferred to the unloading part P5, and stacked. During this time, of course, the pallet 10 is not removed from the loading portion P2.
At the same time, the empty pallet 10 in which the carrier 30 is not held, which is stored in advance in the preliminary accommodating part P6, is gripped by the middle stage hand part 40C2 and placed on the lifting table 84 of the work collecting part P4. The pallet 10 is gripped by the upper hand part 40B2 and placed on the fixed table 83 of the unloading part P5.
In the flat polishing apparatus 100, the carrier 20 loaded with the processed workpiece 30 to be recovered next is positioned by the procedure described above, and is carried out to the pallet 10 on the fixed table 83.
Thereafter, by repeating the above operation, all the processed workpieces 30 are collected, and the pallet 10 on which only the carrier 20 is placed is transferred to the unloading part P5 and stacked. All empty pallets 10 stored in P6 are removed.

In addition, if at least one batch of the dresser-mounted pallet 10D of FIG. 9 in which the dresser is mounted under the empty pallet 10 is stacked in the preliminary accommodating portion P6, after the processing step is completed, The dressing operation for the lower surface plate 101 and the upper surface plate can be performed continuously.
As shown in FIG. 9, the dresser mounting pallet 10D is configured by mounting a dresser 25 on a dedicated pallet 10 ′.

When performing a dressing operation, the dresser-mounted pallet 10D of the preliminary accommodating portion P6 is held by the middle stage hand portion 40C2, and the dresser 25 is carried into the planar polishing apparatus 100 via the elevating table 84 and the fixed table 83. In addition, the dedicated pallet 10 ′ after the dresser 25 is unloaded is stacked on the unloading part P <b> 5 via the elevating table 84.
By repeating this operation, the required number of dressers 25 are sequentially carried into the flat polishing apparatus 100 and dressing is performed.
When collecting the dresser 25, the dedicated pallet 10 'stacked on the unloading section P5 is transferred to the end of the transport table 105 via the lifting table 84 and the fixed table 83, and after the dresser is collected. The dresser-mounted pallet 10 </ b> D is stacked on the preliminary accommodating portion P <b> 6 via the elevating table 84.

  Here, FIG. 10 shows the conveyance paths for pallets, workpieces and the like in this embodiment together with the arrangement of the position detection sensors S1 to S8. Note that the transport path is represented by a one-way arrow, and the transport path for pallets, workpieces, and the like is clear from the above description, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

The functions of the position detection sensors S1 to S8 are as follows.
Basically, each of the hand units 40A, 40B1, 40B2, 40C1, 40C2 and the lifters 71 to 74 have a positioning control function, and a sensor for detecting the end of each operation even in a single action operation of a cylinder or the like. I have. For this reason, if the initial state of each pallet 10 is recognized, the operation state of each pallet 10 can be roughly grasped, and the entire operation can be controlled based on this information.

However, when an emergency operation such as resetting the control device or taking out or inserting the pallet 10 individually when some trouble occurs, there is a concern of causing mechanical interference at the time of restart.
In the present embodiment, the positional relationship between the upper hand portions 40B1 and 40B2 and the middle hand portions 40C1 and 40C2 and the pallet is important above the stacked pallet group, but the position detection sensors S1 to S5 as shown in FIG. And the like, it is possible to detect the rising end position of the pallet by the lifters 71, 72, and 74, thereby contributing to prevention of mechanical interference between the parts. As a result, a series of carry-in / out operations can be performed reliably regardless of the number of stacked pallets, and it is not always necessary to rely on management information.

  For the lower hand part 40A, sensors S6 to S8 for detecting the position of the lower hand 40A are arranged in order to reliably detect mechanical interference with the lifters 71 and 72 of the loading part P2 and the unloading part P5. Has been. For example, when the lifter 71 is operated, it is possible to operate on the condition that the right end of the lower hand portion 40A is detected by the position detection sensor S8.

In the above-described embodiment, the pallet group in the stacked state in the loading unit P2 is unloaded from the uppermost pallet 10, but depending on the type and structure of the planar processing device, the positional relationship with the planar processing device, etc. You may operate so that it may carry out from the lowest pallet 10 as shown in FIG.
That is, as shown in FIGS. 11A to 11F, the lowermost pallet 10 is taken out from the stacked pallet group by the operation of the openable table 81 and the lifter 71, and subsequently, FIGS. ), The removed pallet 10 can be moved in the horizontal direction by the operation of the lower hand portion 40A and the lifter 71. It goes without saying that if this operation is followed in reverse, the pallet can be inserted into the lowest stage of the stacked pallet group.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used as a workpiece loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a workpiece to / from a plane machining apparatus such as a surface polishing apparatus or a surface grinding apparatus, and a plane machining system including the whole. The present invention can be applied to any one-side processing apparatus or both-side processing apparatus.

10: Pallet 10 ': Dedicated pallet 10D: Dresser-mounted pallet 10a: Through hole 11, 12: Upper spacer 11a, 12a: Engaging projection 13, 14: Fixed intermediate plate 14a: Carrier positioning jig 1
14b: Carrier positioning jig 2
15: movable intermediate plate 15a: fitting hole 16, 17: gripping recess 18, 19: lower spacer 18a, 19a: engagement recess 20: carrier 25: dresser 30: work 40: hand part 40A: lower hand part 40B1, 40B2 : Upper hand part 40C1, 40C2: Middle hand part 41: Hand base part 42: Base part 43, 44: Side part 43a, 44a: Grasping convex part 50: Work stocker 60: Work loading robots 71, 72, 73, 74 : Lifter 81, 82: Opening / closing type mounting table 83: Fixed type mounting table 84: Lifting type mounting table 85: Mounting table 86: Collection box 90: Movable intermediate plate drive device 91: Intermediate plate support plate 92: Guide portion 93: Pin fitting portion 94 : Fitting pin 100: Flat surface polishing device 101: Lower surface plate 102: Sun gear 103: Internal gear 104: Post 105: Carriage 106: Carrier conveyance Feeding robot 106a: Robot hand 107: Upper surface plate support turning arm 108: Upper surface plate lifting cylinder 109: Upper surface plate 110: Processing apparatus body 111: Cover 111a: Notch portion 112: Internal gear lifting portion P1: Work loading portion P2 : Loading unit P3: Carrier loading / unloading unit P4: Work collection unit P5: Unloading unit P6: Preliminary storage units S1 to S8: Position detection sensor

Claims (6)

In a workpiece loading / unloading device for loading / unloading a workpiece loaded in a carrier with respect to a planar processing device,
A workpiece loading section for loading a plurality of unprocessed workpieces stored in a workpiece stocker onto a carrier placed on a pallet;
Carriers having unprocessed workpieces are transported together with the pallets from the workpiece loading unit, the pallets are sequentially stacked from below and waited, and the standby pallets are sequentially transported upward while holding the carriers and the unprocessed workpieces. A loading section;
A fixed loading table on which the uppermost pallet sequentially taken out from the loading unit is mounted; a carrier loading / unloading unit for loading and unloading the pallet to and from the conveyance table of the planar processing apparatus;
A workpiece recovery unit that separates and recovers a processed workpiece from a carrier on a pallet that is processed by the planar processing apparatus and is sequentially transferred out via the carrier loading / unloading unit;
A pallet loaded with the carrier after the processed workpiece is collected from the workpiece collection unit, the pallet is sequentially stacked from above, and an unloading unit that waits.
A plurality of hand portions arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction to grip the pallet and convey it to a predetermined position;
Comprising at least
The pallet is provided with a spacer capable of securing an interval equal to or greater than the thickness of the unprocessed workpiece in the pallet stacking direction, and a plurality of pallets can be stacked via a concavo-convex structure formed on each stacking surface of the spacer. A work loading / unloading device. In the workpiece carry-in / out device according to claim 1,
The pallet conveyed from the workpiece loading unit is circulated by sequentially holding and conveying operations by the hand unit in the order of the loading unit, the carrier loading / unloading unit, the workpiece collection unit, the unloading unit, and the workpiece loading unit. A workpiece carry-in / out device characterized by carrying. In the work loading / unloading device according to claim 1 or 2,
The pallet includes a fixed intermediate plate and a movable intermediate plate that are arranged between the pallet and the workpiece collecting unit, and the workpiece collecting unit drops and collects the workpiece while holding the carrier by the movement of the movable intermediate plate. A workpiece carry-in / out device characterized by comprising: In the work carrying in / out apparatus described in any one of Claims 1-3,
In the unloading part,
A plurality of stacked pallets are supported by an open / close-type table, and the lowermost pallet of the stacked pallets is taken out by a lower hand part by the mutual operation of the open / close-type table and a lifter disposed below it. A work loading / unloading apparatus characterized in that, while being transported to a work loading section, the pallet of the work collection section is transported by an intermediate hand section and sequentially stacked from the uppermost stage. In the workpiece carrying-in / out apparatus described in any one of Claims 1-4,
In the loading section,
A plurality of stacked pallets are supported by an open / close pedestal, and the uppermost pallet of the stacked pallets is taken out by an upper hand part by the interaction between the open / close pedestal and a lifter disposed below the pallet. A workpiece loading / unloading apparatus, wherein the workpiece loading / unloading unit is transported to a carrier loading / unloading unit, and the pallet of the workpiece loading unit is conveyed by a lower hand unit and sequentially stacked from the lowermost layer. The upper and lower surface plates, a non-rotating internal gear provided with a pin gear, an internal gear elevating part for raising and lowering a part of the internal gear, and the pin gear insertion hole arranged adjacent to the lower surface plate A plane processing apparatus having at least a carrier transfer robot that carries a carrier in and out via a transfer table;
The work loading / unloading device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
With
In the pre-processing step, the internal gear lifting / lowering unit is lowered to move the fixed intermediate plate and the movable plate of the pallet on which the surface of the lower surface plate, the surface of the transfer table, and the unprocessed workpiece on the fixed table are mounted. The surface of the intermediate plate is formed as a continuous plane, and the carrier transport robot moves the carrier holding the unprocessed workpiece on the continuous plane from the surface of the fixed intermediate plate and the movable intermediate plate to the surface of the lower surface plate. Bring it into the lower surface plate
In the post-processing step, the carrier transfer robot includes the fixed intermediate plate and the movable intermediate plate of the pallet on which the surface of the lower surface plate, the surface of the transfer table, and the processed workpiece on the fixed table are mounted. A planar processing system, wherein a carrier holding a processed workpiece is carried out from the lower surface plate on a continuous plane up to the surface.

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