JP4467369B2 - Transport cart - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport cart.

  Currently, a carrier for storing and transporting a plurality of wafers having a diameter of 300 mm or more has a weight of 7 to 8 kg or more, and is usually transported by automation. However, when automation is not possible (in the case of a custom LSI manufacturing process, trial production line, etc.), it is necessary to carry the carrier manually.

  In a 300mm diffusion line that is not automated, one transport carriage (PGV (Personal Guided Vehicle)) on which one person can place one 300mm FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) is used. Is being carried.

  As an example of such a transport carriage, there is a technique described in Patent Document 1. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a conventional carrier carriage for a semiconductor substrate carrier described in Patent Document 1. As shown in FIG.

  This transfer carriage includes a carriage main body 1 on which a carrier 10 in which a plurality of wafers 18 are stored is placed on a cargo bed and moved manually in various directions. In addition, this transport cart has a function of stopping the cart body 1 when it approaches the station 8 of the device to which the carrier 10 is to be transferred so that the cart body 1 does not collide, and is inserted into the hole 11 on the floor surface. And the positioning mechanism 2 provided with the pin 5 which fixes the position of the trolley | bogie main body 1 is provided.

  In addition, the loading platform of the carriage main body 1 is provided with a fork 4 that extends in one direction with the carrier 10 mounted thereon and transfers the carrier 10 onto the rail 13 of the station 8. In addition, a fork guide 9 that guides the movement of the fork 4 is provided in the loading platform of the cart body 1. Further, a proximity switch 3 for detecting a target of the station when the cart body 1 approaches a predetermined distance in front of the station 8 is provided on the front surface of the cart body 1.

  On the other hand, casters 12 are attached to the four corners of the lower surface of the cart body 1 so that the cart body 1 can easily change direction and travel. Therefore, the cart body 1 can be driven in various directions by operating the handle 15. The positioning mechanism 2 is an inexpensive and simple mechanism, and includes a rail pin 5 that slides in the cylindrical portion 7 and is inserted into the hole 11 on the floor surface. Note that the hole 11 to be inserted is about 40 mm in diameter at most, and the insertion hole 11 does not clog the foot. In addition, the pin 5 is kept in a state where it is positioned when the cart body 1 is running. That is, when the pin 5 is lifted up, the lever 6 with the slit 14 as a guide is lifted and locked in the notch in the lateral direction, so that the pin 5 is kept in the upper position.

  In the transport cart described in Patent Document 1, the carrier cart and the rail 13 on the station 8 are aligned when the carrier 10 is transferred (unloaded and loaded) to the process device or the inspection device. Thereafter, the carrier 10 is held by the fork 4 installed on the transport carriage, and is transferred to and from the rail 13 on the station 8 of the apparatus.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 describes a transport carriage including a mechanism for moving the carrier in the horizontal direction and a mechanism for moving the carrier in the height direction. In this transport cart, transport personnel are configured to operate these mechanisms independently.
JP 2003-243473 A JP 2002-205652 A

  However, the prior art described in the above literature has room for improvement in the following points.

  First, the transport cart described in Patent Document 1 is not provided with a mechanism for moving the carrier 10 in the height direction. For this reason, when the height of the fork 4 of the transport carriage is different from the height of the rail 13 of the station 8, it is difficult to adjust the position of the carrier 10 in the vertical direction.

  Secondly, in the transport carriage described in Patent Document 2, when the wafer diameter is 300 mm or more, the weight of the carrier is nearly 10 kg. For this reason, it becomes difficult for the transport personnel to smoothly operate the movement of the arm that holds the carrier, and to efficiently transfer the carrier between the transport carriage and the port portion of the apparatus. Further, since the transport personnel operate the two mechanisms independently, the operation is complicated, and it takes time to align the carrier in the horizontal and vertical directions, and it is difficult to improve the efficiency. .

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport carriage capable of efficiently adjusting the position of a wafer carrier in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

  According to the present invention, the main body of the carriage, the holding part that is provided on the upper part of the main body of the carriage, holds the wafer carrier, the horizontal movement mechanism that moves the holding part in the horizontal direction, and the vertical movement that moves the horizontal movement mechanism in the vertical direction. A moving mechanism, and an operating lever for operating the horizontal moving mechanism and the vertical moving mechanism. The horizontal moving mechanism includes a rail that guides the holding portion in the horizontal direction, and the vertical moving mechanism is an eccentric that supports the horizontal moving mechanism. A cam and a rotating shaft configured to pass through the eccentric cam and be rotatable by the operation lever. When an external force in the rail extending direction is applied to the operation lever, the operation lever moves on the rail together with the holding portion. There is provided a transport carriage configured to move in the direction of an external force and rotate when the operation lever rotates, and the eccentric cam rotates in conjunction with the horizontal movement mechanism.

  According to this configuration, when the operator applies an external force in the rail extending direction to the operation lever, the holding member moves on the rail along with the operation lever in the direction of the external force. The horizontal position of the holding part can be adjusted. In addition, when the operator rotates the operation lever of the transport carriage, the eccentric cam rotates in conjunction with the rotation center of the operation lever, and the horizontal movement mechanism moves in the vertical direction. The vertical position of can be adjusted. Then, the operator can efficiently move the holding portion of the wafer carrier in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction only by operating the operation lever.

  Here, the wafer carrier is a container for storing a workpiece such as a wafer or a ring.

  Further, operating the operation lever includes applying an external force to the operation lever.

  According to the present invention, since the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement mechanism having a specific configuration are provided, a transport carriage capable of efficiently adjusting the position of the wafer carrier in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction is provided.

  In the transport carriage according to the present invention, the operation lever is provided on a side surface of the holding portion that is substantially orthogonal to the rail extending direction, and rotates in a plane that is substantially orthogonal to the rail extending direction. It can be configured.

  According to this configuration, when an operator applies an external force in the direction in which the rail extends to the operation lever, it is possible to suppress an erroneous operation in which the operation lever rotates unintentionally. In addition, when the operator rotates the operation lever of the transport carriage, it is possible to suppress an erroneous operation in which the operation lever and the holding unit unintentionally move in the rail extending direction. For this reason, the workability | operativity at the time of adjusting the position of a wafer carrier about a horizontal direction and an up-down direction improves.

  In the transport carriage according to the present invention, the rotation shaft may be configured to be inserted through one end of the operation lever, and the operation lever may be movable along the rotation shaft.

  According to this configuration, when an operator applies an external force in the rail extension direction to the operation lever, the operation lever moves along the rotation axis, and the holding portion provided with the operation lever moves on the rail. To do. Further, when the operator turns the operation lever of the transport carriage, the rotation shaft and the eccentric cam rotate in conjunction with each other, and the horizontal movement mechanism moves up and down. For this reason, the position of the wafer carrier can be adjusted efficiently in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

  In the transport carriage according to the present invention, a plurality of the eccentric cams can be provided.

  According to this configuration, since the eccentric cam supports the horizontal movement mechanism at a plurality of locations, the stability of the horizontal movement mechanism is improved. In addition, since the vertical movement of the horizontal movement mechanism is controlled at a plurality of locations, the vertical position of the horizontal movement mechanism can be precisely controlled.

  In the transport cart according to the present invention, the cart body can be configured to be movable by a manual push operation.

  According to this configuration, since the operating personnel can move the transport carriage by a manual push operation, the degree of freedom of movement of the transport carriage is improved. For this reason, a conveyance cart can be used suitably also in the manufacturing line of a semiconductor device which is difficult to automate.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In all the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to the same components, and the description will be omitted as appropriate.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view for explaining a transport carriage according to an embodiment. FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing one state of the transport carriage. FIG.1 (b) is a perspective view which shows another state of a conveyance trolley | bogie.

  The configuration of the transport cart 100 according to this embodiment will be described below.

  A transport cart 100 according to the present embodiment is a transport cart 100 in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers or the like are stored and on which a wafer carrier such as a FOUP can be placed. The wafer carrier is placed on an arm 102 and moved by a manual operation. It is a possible transport cart.

  That is, the transfer carriage 100 includes a carriage body 106, an arm support portion 104 provided on the carriage body 106, and two arms 102 supported by the arm support portion 104 (the wafer carrier holding portion is The arm support 104 and the two arms 102). Further, the transport cart 100 includes a horizontal movement mechanism that moves the two arms 102 in the horizontal direction, a vertical movement mechanism that moves the horizontal movement mechanism in the vertical direction, and an operation lever 108 that operates the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement mechanism. And comprising.

  The horizontal movement mechanism has two rails 103 that support the arm support portion 104, and when an external force in the extending direction of the rail 103 is applied to the operation lever 108, the arm support portion 104 moves the operation lever on the rail 103. It is comprised so that it may move to the direction of an external force with 108.

  The vertical movement mechanism includes an eccentric cam 110 that supports the horizontal movement mechanism and is connected to the rotary disk 109 of the operation lever 108. When the operation lever 108 rotates, the eccentric cam 110 is interlocked with the rotary disk 109 of the operation lever 108. And the horizontal movement mechanism is configured to move up and down.

  The transport cart 100 includes four wheels 107 (casters) at the lower portion of the cart body so that the transport cart 100 can be moved by the hand of the transport personnel. The transport cart 100 includes a handle (not shown) that is gripped by a human hand so that transport personnel can easily move the transport cart by hand.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view and an enlarged view for explaining the transport carriage according to the embodiment. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the transport carriage as viewed from the operator side. FIG. 2B is an enlarged view showing one state of the vertical movement mechanism of the transport carriage. FIG.2 (c) is an enlarged view which shows another state of the up-and-down moving mechanism of a conveyance trolley.

  In the transport carriage 100, two rails 103 provided in the horizontal movement mechanism are provided in parallel. Further, the vertical movement mechanism has a plate-like member 113 provided at both ends of the rail 103 so as to be orthogonal to the extending direction of the rail 103. The plate-like members 113 are provided at two locations on the top of the top surface 105 of the carriage main body 106, on the front and rear sides of the transport carriage 100. That is, the two rails 103 and the two plate-like members 113 form a rectangular frame.

  The plate-like member 113 is joined to the rail 103 and is provided so as to support the two rails 103. The eccentric cam 110 is attached to the plate-like member 113 and rotates around the rotation center 121. The eccentric cam 110 is configured to support the plate-like member 113 at the rotation center 121.

  A roll support portion 127 is provided on the top surface 105 of the cart body 106. A roll 123 is attached to the roll support portion 127. The roll 123 is provided below the eccentric cam 110 so as to contact the eccentric cam 110.

  When the eccentric cam 110 rotates, the roll 123 rotates about the rotation center 125 in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the eccentric cam 110 due to friction with the eccentric cam 110. The roll 123 is a disk-shaped member made of a material such as resin. That is, the roll 123 is configured to be rotatable in a state where it is in contact with the eccentric cam 110 so that the eccentric cam 110 can be smoothly rotated.

  The two eccentric cams 110 are connected to the rotary disk 109 of the operation lever 108 and the shaft 111. The shaft 111 is provided on the top surface 105 of the carriage body 106, and eccentric cams 110 are connected to both ends thereof. The extending direction of the shaft 111 is substantially parallel to the direction of the picture material of the two rails 103. When the rotating disk 109 of the operation lever 108 rotates, the two eccentric cams 110 rotate in the same rotational direction as the rotating disk 109 via the shaft 111.

  The rotating disk 109 of the operation lever 108 is configured to be movable along the extending direction of the shaft 111. A shaft 111 is inserted through a through hole provided at the center of the rotating disk 109. The cross-sectional shape of the through hole is, for example, a quadrangle. At this time, the cross-sectional shape of the shaft 111 is also a quadrangle. For this reason, when the turntable 109 of the operation lever 108 rotates, the corner portion of the shaft 111 having a quadrangular cross section comes into contact with the corner portion of the through hole of the turntable 109. For this reason, the shaft 111 rotates in the same direction in conjunction with the rotation of the turntable 109. As a result, when the operator rotates the operation lever 108, the eccentric cam 110 provided at the end of the shaft 111 rotates, and the horizontal movement mechanism moves up and down.

  Further, since the shaft 111 is not fixed to the turntable 109 and is inserted through a through hole provided at the center of the turntable 109, the turntable 109 of the operation lever 108 is extended from the shaft 111. It is possible to move along the current direction. Therefore, when the operator applies an external force in the extending direction of the shaft 111 to the operating lever 108, the operating lever 108 and the rotating disk 109 are moved in the direction in which the external force is applied along the extending direction of the shaft 111. Moving. The holding unit 104 provided with the rotating disk 109 moves on the rail in a direction in which an external force is applied.

  When the operator applies an external force in a specific direction to the operation lever 108, it is not necessary for all components of the external force to be in the specific direction. That is, it is only necessary that a part of the external force component applied to the operation lever 108 by the operator is directed in a specific direction. Therefore, the operator may apply an external force to the operation lever 108 in an oblique direction with respect to the extending direction of the rail 103 or the extending direction of the shaft 111. At this time, since the operation lever 108 is provided with a stopper mechanism (not shown) with respect to the rotating direction of the rotating disk, if the stopper mechanism is in a stop state, the operation lever 108 will rotate unintentionally. Can be suppressed. For this reason, the workability | operativity at the time of adjusting the position of a wafer carrier about a horizontal direction and an up-down direction improves.

  The eccentric cams 110 are provided in two places, have the same shape, and are arranged in the same direction. Therefore, when the eccentric cam 110 rotates on a roll (not shown), the height of the eccentric cam 110 changes from the state shown in FIG. 2B to the state shown in FIG. The two plate-like members 113 to be raised ascend while maintaining the horizontal state stably. Conversely, when the height of the eccentric cam 110 changes from the state shown in FIG. 2C to the state shown in FIG. 2B, the two plate-like members 113 supported by the eccentric cam 110 are in a horizontal state. Descent while maintaining stable.

  Since the plate-like member 113 supports the two rails 103, when the plate-like member 113 is raised and lowered by the above operation, the two rails 103 are similarly raised and lowered while maintaining a stable horizontal state. That is, the frame formed by the two rails 103 and the two plate-like members 113 moves up and down while maintaining the horizontal state stably by the rotation of the eccentric cam 110.

  The transport carriage 100 further includes a guide portion 112 that is different from the eccentric cam 110 and guides the vertical movement of the two plate-like members 113. The guide portions 112 are provided on both sides of the eccentric cam 110 and are connected to the two plate-like members 113. Four guide portions 112 are provided on the top surface 105 of the carriage main body 106. The guide portion 112 has a structure in which a rod-shaped member enters and exits a through hole provided in the top surface 105 of the carriage main body 106.

  The effects of the transport carriage according to this embodiment will be described below.

  FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining how the wafer carrier is carried in and out between the transport carriage and the port of the apparatus according to the embodiment. According to the transport carriage 100 according to the present embodiment, the two arms 102 holding the wafer carrier 101 can be efficiently moved in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction only by operating the operation lever 108 by an operator. The effect is exhibited.

  The operator grasps a handle (not shown) provided on the carriage main body 106 to move the transport carriage, and moves it to the front of the ports of various devices 115 provided in the semiconductor device manufacturing line. At this time, the positioning of the port of the various devices 115 and the transport cart 100 is performed by matching the position mark (not shown) of the transport cart 100 with a position mark determined in advance for each of the various devices. In addition, since the fixing device 117 of the transport cart 100 is provided on the front surface of each device, the operator can connect the transport cart 100 to the port of the device 115 from the front surface. The operator can connect and remove the transport carriage 100 to and from the fixing device 117 by a simple operation.

  An operator delivers the wafer carrier 101 between the transport carriage 100 and a port of the apparatus 115 such as a process apparatus or an inspection apparatus. For this reason, the two arms 102 are configured to be able to hold the receiving portion 119 of the wafer carrier 101. The receiving portion 119 functions as a guide mechanism for transporting / transferring the wafer carrier 101.

  The two arms 102 hold the receiving portion 119 of the wafer carrier 101, move the wafer carrier 101 back and forth, and carry the wafer carrier 101 in and out of the ports of the various apparatuses 115.

  A rotary disk 109 of the operation lever 108 is connected to the arm support portion 104. For this reason, when an operator applies an external force in the extending direction of the rail 103 to the operation lever 108, the arm support portion 104 moves on the rail 103. At this time, the turntable 109 and the operation lever 108 coupled to the arm support portion 104 also move in the same direction as the arm support portion 104 along the shaft 111. Therefore, the operator can adjust the horizontal position of the two arms 102 by applying an external force to the operation lever 108.

  There is an arm 102 at the top of the transport carriage 106. The two arms 102 hold the receiving part 119 of the wafer carrier 101. Then, the arm support portion 104 that supports the arm 102 is slid in the horizontal direction by the operation lever 108 along the rail 103 with the wafer carrier 101 placed on the arm 102. An eccentric cam 110 is provided below the plate member 113 that further supports the rail 103 that supports the arm support portion 104. When the rotating disk 109 of the operation lever 108 rotates, the eccentric cam 110 also rotates, and the plate member 113 that further supports the rail 103 that supports the arm support portion 104 is raised and lowered. Therefore, the operator can adjust the vertical position of the two arms 102 by operating the operation lever 108.

  As a result, the operator can efficiently perform the horizontal movement and the vertical movement of the two arms 102 only by operating the operation lever 108. That is, according to the transport carriage 100, the position of the wafer carrier can be adjusted efficiently in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

  On the other hand, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a state in which a wafer carrier is carried in and out between a transport carriage that does not include the lifting mechanism according to the embodiment and a port of the apparatus.

  According to this transport cart, the operating personnel operates the slide lever 318 in order to move the arm support portion 304 that supports the two arms 302 that hold the wafer carrier 301 in the receiving portion 321 in the horizontal direction. Further, the operating person operates the elevating lever 308 in order to move the arm support portion 304 in the vertical direction. For this reason, since the operator operates both the slide lever 318 and the lift lever 308, the operation becomes complicated. As a result, it takes time for the operator to accurately align the position of the wafer carrier 301 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and it is difficult to improve the operation efficiency.

  On the other hand, according to the transport cart 100 according to the present embodiment, the operator can slide and swing the arm 102 in the horizontal direction and move up and down in the vertical direction by sliding and turning one operation lever 108. it can. For this reason, the operator can efficiently adjust the position of the wafer carrier 101 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described with reference to drawings, these are the illustrations of this invention, Various structures other than the above are also employable.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the number of the eccentric cams 110 is two, but is not particularly limited, and may be three or more.

  Moreover, although the cross-sectional shape of the shaft 111 is a square, it is not particularly limited, and may be another polygon such as a triangle.

It is a perspective view for demonstrating the conveyance trolley | bogie which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing one state of the transport carriage. FIG.1 (b) is a perspective view which shows another state of a conveyance trolley | bogie. It is the perspective view and enlarged view for demonstrating the conveyance trolley | bogie which concerns on embodiment. FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the transport carriage as viewed from the operator side. FIG. 2B is an enlarged view showing one state of the vertical movement mechanism of the transport carriage. FIG.2 (c) is an enlarged view which shows another state of the up-and-down moving mechanism of a conveyance trolley. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating a mode that the wafer carrier is carried in / out between the conveyance trolley | bogie which concerns on embodiment, and the port of an apparatus. It is sectional drawing for demonstrating a mode that the wafer carrier is carried in / out between the conveyance trolley | bogie which is not provided with the raising / lowering mechanism which concerns on embodiment, and the port of an apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the conveyance cart of the conventional carrier for semiconductor substrates.

Explanation of symbols

1 Cart body 2 Positioning mechanism 3 Proximity switch 4 Fork 5 Pin 6 Lever 7 Tube portion 8 Station 9 Fork guide 10 Carrier 11 Hole 12 Caster 13 Rail 15 Handle 18 Wafer 100 Transport carriage 101 Wafer carrier 102 Arm 103 Rail 104 Arm support portion 105 Top surface 106 Bogie body 107 Wheel 108 Operation lever 109 Rotating shaft 110 Eccentric cam 111 Shaft 112 Guide portion 113 Plate member 115 Various devices 117 Fixing device 119 Receiving portion 121 Rotation center 123 Roll 125 Rotation center 127 Roll support portion 301 Wafer carrier 302 Arm 304 Arm support portion 306 Carriage body 307 Wheel 308 Lifting lever 315 Device 317 Fixing device 318 Slide lever 321 Receiving portion

Claims (4)

The cart body,
A holding unit that is provided on an upper portion of the carriage body and holds a wafer carrier;
A horizontal movement mechanism for moving the holding portion in a horizontal direction;
A vertical movement mechanism for moving the horizontal movement mechanism in the vertical direction;
An operation lever for operating the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement mechanism;
With
The horizontal movement mechanism includes a rail that guides the holding portion in a horizontal direction,
The vertical movement mechanism is
An eccentric cam that supports the horizontal movement mechanism;
A rotating shaft configured to pass through the eccentric cam and be rotatable by the operation lever;
Including
The operation lever is provided on a side surface of the holding portion that is substantially orthogonal to the extending direction of the rail, and rotates in a plane that is approximately orthogonal to the extending direction of the rail.
When an external force in the extending direction of the rail is applied to the operating lever, the operating lever moves on the rail along with the holding portion in the direction of the external force,
When the operation lever rotates, the eccentric cam rotates in conjunction with each other, and the horizontal movement mechanism moves in the vertical direction. The cart body,
A holding unit that is provided on an upper portion of the carriage body and holds a wafer carrier;
A horizontal movement mechanism for moving the holding portion in a horizontal direction;
A vertical movement mechanism for moving the horizontal movement mechanism in the vertical direction;
An operation lever for operating the horizontal movement mechanism and the vertical movement mechanism;
With
The horizontal movement mechanism includes a rail that guides the holding portion in a horizontal direction,
The vertical movement mechanism is
An eccentric cam that supports the horizontal movement mechanism;
A rotating shaft configured to pass through the eccentric cam and be rotatable by the operation lever;
Including
The rotating shaft is inserted through one end of the operation lever,
The operation lever is configured to be movable along the rotation axis,
When an external force in the extending direction of the rail is applied to the operating lever, the operating lever moves on the rail along with the holding portion in the direction of the external force,
When the operation lever rotates, the eccentric cam rotates in conjunction with each other, and the horizontal movement mechanism moves in the vertical direction. In the conveyance trolley | bogie of Claim 1 or 2 ,
A conveying cart characterized in that a plurality of the eccentric cams are provided. In the conveyance trolley | bogie in any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3 ,
The carriage main body can be moved by a manual push operation.

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