JP4919173B2 - Transport device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a transport apparatus that transports an object to be transported.

Generally, the in-vacuum container transfer device is for transferring a semiconductor in a vacuum container so that dust is not attached to a substrate in the manufacture of the semiconductor. Conventionally, for example, there is one in which a transport base is fixed to a chain belt, and the chain belt is wound around a rotary motor fixed to one end in a vacuum vessel and a gear fixed to the other end. Then, by rotating this rotary motor, the transport table is moved in the vacuum container by so-called chain drive that drives the transport table.
In addition, the vacuum container is provided with a gate for carrying / carrying the object to be conveyed in and out of the vacuum container, and the conveyance table is provided with a transfer mechanism for taking in / out the object to be conveyed through the gate.

However, in this in-vacuum container transfer device, since the rotary motor is arranged inside the vacuum container, dust generated from the power cable connected to the rotary motor has been a problem.
Further, since the transport table is moved by chain driving, there is a problem that the positioning accuracy of the transport table is low.
Further, since the transfer table is provided with a transfer mechanism, a large amount of electric power is required to drive the transfer table, and there is a problem that the maintenance cost of the transfer device in the vacuum container becomes high.

  Here, as a method for solving the problem of dust generation, it is conceivable to use a magnetic coupling to move the transport base arranged inside the vacuum container by a driving mechanism arranged outside the vacuum container.

  This is because a magnetic coupling is provided in each of the transport table inside the vacuum vessel and the drive mechanism outside the vacuum vessel, and the magnetic coupling outside the vacuum vessel moves along the wall of the vacuum vessel, The driving force is transmitted to the magnetic coupling inside the vacuum vessel, and the transfer table moves inside the vacuum vessel.

Therefore, it is possible to prevent dust from being generated in the vacuum container by placing the drive mechanism of the transport table outside the vacuum container.
The two magnetic couplings have a magnetic pole fixed in a certain direction like a permanent magnet. The external drive mechanism includes a rotation motor and a ball screw.

However, in this in-vacuum container transfer device, when the relative positions of the magnetic couplings such as permanent magnets are close to each other, that is, when the magnetic couplings are in synchronization with each other, the driving force by the magnetic attractive force is reduced. Little transmission occurs.
For this reason, when stopping a conveyance stand in the target position, there existed a problem that the position control precision of a conveyance stand could not be raised by the friction which generate | occur | produces with the movement of a conveyance stand.

  In addition, when the carriage is moved at a constant speed, the magnetic couplings are in a synchronized state, so the friction associated with the movement of the carriage cannot be controlled, and the movement speed of the carriage is increased. Becomes unstable. Therefore, there is a problem in that the object to be conveyed placed on the conveying table is adversely affected and a long time is required until the object is stopped at a desired position.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport apparatus that can improve the positioning accuracy of a transport base and can safely transport an object to be transported at a constant speed.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention proposes the following means.
The invention according to claim 1 includes a conveying table for conveying a predetermined object to be conveyed, and the secondary side magnetic pole which is connected to the transfer table, an armature provided with respect to the secondary side magnetic pole, the An armature moving mechanism for moving the armature , wherein the secondary side magnetic poles are arranged at least two apart from each other in the extending direction of the track as the moving direction, and are adjacent to each other. The magnetic pole and the carrier are connected by a pair of connecting members, and the pair of connecting members are attached to two secondary magnetic poles adjacent to each other with one end thereof orthogonal to the extending direction. The other end side of the pair of connecting members is connected to the transport table so that the transport table moves in a direction crossing the track according to the interval between the two secondary magnetic poles, and the armature moving mechanism is , Constituted by the secondary side magnetic pole and the armature The linear motors have proposed a conveying apparatus characterized by being constituted by a separate linear motor.

According to the transfer device in the vacuum container according to the present invention, since the linear motor is constituted by the secondary side magnetic pole and the armature, the secondary side in the vacuum container is moved when the armature is moved. The magnetic pole follows the magnetic attraction force, and the transport table moves. Moreover, since the secondary side magnetic pole can be moved by switching the magnetic poles of the armature, the position accuracy of the transport table with respect to the position of the armature can be improved.
When the armature is moving, by switching the magnetic poles of the armature, it is possible to finely control the movement of the secondary side magnetic poles and move the transport table at a constant speed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the linear motor is constituted by the secondary side magnetic pole and the armature, it is possible to improve the position accuracy of the transport table with respect to the position of the armature. In addition, since the transport table can be moved at a constant speed, the object to be transported can be transported safely.

Hereinafter, a vacuum container transfer device according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the in-vacuum container transfer apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is arranged in a vacuum container 2, and includes a transfer table 4 that holds and transfers a predetermined object 3, and a transfer table. A secondary-side magnetic pole 5 (hereinafter referred to as a secondary magnetic pole 5) fixed to the lower surface 4a of the motor 4, and an electric machine arranged outside the vacuum vessel 2 so as to be movable along the outer wall surface 2b of the vacuum vessel 2. A child 6 and an armature moving mechanism 7 for moving the armature 6 are provided.

The vacuum vessel 2 is provided with a gate 8 so that the transferred object 3 can be taken in and out of the vacuum vessel 2.
On the lower surface 4 a side of the transfer table 4, a track 9 for moving the transfer table 4 along the length direction of the vacuum vessel 2 is provided.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the secondary magnetic pole 5 is formed by alternately arranging a plurality of permanent magnets 5 b having different polarities in the holding member 5 a along the length direction of the track 9.
The armature 6 includes a holding member 6a and a plurality of cores 6b and coils 6c. When the coil 6c is energized, a magnetic pole is formed on each core 6b. The magnetic pole of each core 6b can be switched by controlling energization to the coil 6c. These secondary magnetic pole 5 and armature 6 constitute a linear motor 20.

  Further, the secondary magnetic pole 5 and the armature 6 constituting the linear motor 20 may be as shown in FIG. That is, the secondary magnetic pole 5 has pole teeth 5c arranged at regular intervals instead of the permanent magnet 5b, and the armature 6 has a thin plate-like permanent magnet 6d embedded in the core 6b and a coil in the core 6b. 6c may be wound. In this configuration, when the magnetic path H is formed between the secondary magnetic pole 5 and the armature 6, the secondary magnetic pole 5 moves in the I direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the armature moving mechanism 7 includes a rotation motor 11 serving as a drive source, a ball screw 12 connected to a rotation shaft of the rotation motor 11, and a female screw portion 13 screwed to the ball screw 12. Has been.
The ball screw 12 is disposed in a direction parallel to the linear motion bearing 9, and the armature 6 is fixed to the female screw portion 13. Therefore, when the rotary motor 11 rotates, the armature 6 moves in the length direction of the ball screw 12 together with the female screw portion 13.

  Further, a position sensor (position detecting means) 14 that detects position information of the transfer table 4 is provided in the transfer table 4, and a position sensor (not shown) that detects position information of the armature 6 is provided in the armature 6. These two position sensors are connected to a control device 15 that controls the rotary motor 11 and the armature 6.

Here, the position sensor 14 includes a device that transmits the position information of the transport table 4 from the inside of the vacuum vessel 2 to the outside, and is provided by an optical switch, a light wave distance meter, a magnetic sensor, a resolver, or the like. It may be.
Further, not limited to the position sensor 14, for example, a transparent portion may be provided in the vacuum vessel 2 and sensing from the outside by an optical method, an eddy current method, or a camera.

  The control device 15 finely controls the position of the secondary magnetic pole 5 by controlling the armature 6 based on the position information of the carriage 4 and the armature 6 detected by the two position sensors. For example, in the case of the linear motor 20 shown in FIG. 3A, the position of the secondary magnetic pole 5 is controlled by switching the magnetic pole of the armature 6.

The operation of the vacuum container transfer device 1 configured as described above will be described below.
That is, when the rotary motor 11 is driven, as shown in FIG. 4, the ball screw 12 rotates in the B direction, and the armature 6 moves in the A direction together with the female screw portion. At this time, the carriage 4 moves in the A direction following the armature 6 together with the secondary magnetic pole 5 so that the armature 6 and the secondary magnetic pole 5 attract each other.

  During this movement, the relative position between the carriage 4 and the armature 6 is detected by two position sensors and the position of the secondary magnetic pole 5 is controlled by the control device 15. The relative position of can be kept constant.

  When the transport table 4 reaches the target position and stops, the position of the transport table 4 is detected by the position sensor 10, and the position of the secondary magnetic pole is controlled by the control device, so that the transport table 4 becomes minute. It can move and stop at the proper position.

  As described above, according to the in-vacuum container transfer device 1 according to the present embodiment, the transfer table 4 can be moved by configuring the linear motor 20 with the wall portion of the vacuum container 2 interposed therebetween. For this reason, since the position of the secondary magnetic pole 5 is finely controlled by the control of the control device 15, the position accuracy of the carriage 4 with respect to the position of the armature 6 is increased regardless of the friction between the carriage 4 and the track 9. Can be improved.

When the armature 6 is moving, the position of the secondary magnetic pole 5 is finely controlled by the control device 15 so that the transport table 4 can be moved at a constant speed. Therefore, the to-be-conveyed object 3 can be conveyed safely.
Further, the position of the secondary magnetic pole 5 can be finely controlled by the control device 15 so that the transport table 4 can be stopped at a target stop position with high accuracy and in a short time.

  Further, since the linear motor 20 constitutes the transport mechanism moving mechanism, the armature moving mechanism 7 is not required to have high control accuracy. Therefore, the position sensor accuracy of the armature 6 is not required, and the vacuum vessel is inexpensively provided. The transport apparatus 1 can be configured.

In the present embodiment, the track 9 is formed in a straight line, but is not limited to this configuration, and may be curved according to the shape of the vacuum vessel 2.
Further, the trajectory 9 is not limited to being arranged on a two-dimensional plane, but may be arranged on a two-dimensional curved surface. Therefore, for example, the track 9 may be arranged in a circular shape on a plane, or may be arranged on a circumferential surface of a cylinder.

Further, the transport table 4 and the secondary magnetic pole 5 are moved along the track 9. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the transport table 4 is provided with wheels and moves along the inner wall surface of the vacuum vessel 2. It is good.
In addition, the armature moving mechanism 7 is configured by the rotary motor 11, the ball screw 12, and the female screw portion 13. However, the armature moving mechanism 7 is not limited thereto. Good. Moreover, you may comprise with a linear motor or a fluid direct acting cylinder.

Further, when a rotary motor is used as a drive source for the armature moving mechanism 7, the position detection of the armature 6 is not limited to being performed by a position sensor provided in the armature. The position may be detected.
Furthermore, although the relative position detection of the linear motor 20 is performed by the position sensors on both the carriage 4 and the armature 6, it is not limited to this and may be performed directly on the armature 6 side. That is, the mutual positional relationship may be obtained by detecting the position of the secondary magnetic pole 5 in the vacuum vessel 2 with a position sensor in the armature 6.

Next, a vacuum container transfer device according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described below.
In the description of the in-vacuum container transfer device according to the present embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the portions having the same configuration as the in-vacuum container transfer device 1 according to the first embodiment described above, and the description is omitted. I will do it.

As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the in-vacuum container transfer device 21 according to the present embodiment is provided with a track 9 in the vacuum container 2, and a pair of sliders 22, along the extending direction of the track 9, 23 can run.
Secondary magnetic poles 5 are attached to the lower surfaces 22a and 23a of the sliders 22 and 23, respectively. Further, on the upper surface 22b, 23b side of the sliders 22, 23, one end sides 24a, 25a of the first and second links (connecting members) 24, 25 are about the axis C perpendicular to the extending direction of the track 9. Each is swingably attached.
Further, the other ends 24 b and 25 b of the first and second links 24 and 25 are attached to the transport table 4 so as to be swingable around the axis C.

In this embodiment, a control device 15 is provided as in the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the position of the secondary magnetic pole 5 is finely controlled by the control device 15 so as to adjust the slider. The mutual distance between 22 and 23 can be controlled.
The armature 6 that moves the sliders 22 and 23 is moved along the wall 2c of the vacuum vessel 2 by the armature moving mechanism 7. The armature moving mechanism 7 is located below the armature 6. It comprises two linear motors 20 provided on the side.

The operation of the in-vacuum container transfer device 21 configured as described above will be described below.
Similarly to the first embodiment, when the transport table 4 is transported in the A direction, the control device 15 controls the distance between the sliders 22 and 23 so that the transport table 4 is along the length direction of the track 9. It can be moved in the width direction (DE direction) orthogonal to the transport path.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, when the first and second links 24 and 25 are at the positions indicated by the solid lines, the transport table 4 is located in the middle of the two tracks 9. If the sliders 22 and 23 are moved in the A direction while maintaining the distance between the sliders 22 and 23 in this state, the transport base 4 can be moved in the A direction while maintaining a state in the middle of the track 9. become.
On the other hand, as indicated by a two-dot chain line, when the distance between the sliders 22 and 23 is narrowed by the control device 15, the transport table 4 moves in the D direction.

As described above, according to the in-vacuum container transfer device 21 according to the present embodiment, the transfer table 4 can be moved in the width direction (DE direction) of the transfer passage. For example, as shown in FIG. When the process chambers 31 are provided through the gates 8 of the vacuum vessel 2, various necessary operations can be performed by moving the transfer platform 4 carrying the object 3 to the side for each process chamber 31. it can.
Moreover, since it is not necessary to separately provide a transfer mechanism for transferring the transfer table 4 to the side, the weight of the transfer table 4 can be reduced, and the driving force for transferring the transfer table 4 can be saved.

  In the present embodiment, the armature moving mechanism 7 for moving the two armatures 6 is composed of the two linear motors 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. A single linear motor 20 may be used. In this case, the lengths of the two armatures 6 fixed to the armature moving mechanism 7 at a predetermined interval are formed to be long along the moving direction of the sliders 22 and 23 so that the sliders 22 and 23 move. The range that can be made should be widened.

In addition, the first and second links 24 and 25 are used as the configuration for moving the transport table 4 to the side of the track 9, but the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and the transport table 4 is moved to the side. Any configuration can be used.
In addition, the transport table 4 is moved in the DE direction orthogonal to the track 9. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be moved in the direction intersecting the track 9. Therefore, for example, a mechanism that moves in a direction crossing the track 9 so as to rotate the transport table 4 by a rack and pinion may be configured.

In addition, although the one carriage 4 is moved in the direction intersecting the track 9 (DE direction) by the two sliders 22 and 23, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, as shown in FIG. The two carriages 4, 4 may be moved in the DE direction by the three sliders 22, 23, 26. In this case, the two sliders 22 and 23 adjacent to each transport table 4 or the sliders 23 and 26 are controlled independently so that each transport table 4 can move independently.
In this configuration, since the number of sliders for moving the plurality of transfer tables 4 can be saved, it is possible to reduce the manufacturing cost and the maintenance cost of the transfer device 21 in the vacuum container.

Furthermore, the sliders 22 and 23 move along the track 9, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the sliders 22 and 23 may be moved along the inner wall surface of the vacuum vessel 2 by providing wheels. .
Furthermore, although the first and second links 24 and 25 are swingably connected to the transport table 4, the present invention is not limited to this, and at least one link swings relative to the transport table 4. What is necessary is just to be connected freely.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

It is a front view which shows the conveying apparatus in a vacuum vessel which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the conveyance apparatus in a vacuum vessel of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows an example of the linear motor comprised by a secondary side magnetic pole and an armature in the conveyance apparatus in a vacuum vessel of FIG. 1, (a) is what uses a permanent magnet as a secondary side magnetic pole, (b ) Shows an arrangement of pole teeth. It is a front view which shows operation | movement of the conveyance apparatus in a vacuum vessel of FIG. It is a top view which shows the conveyance apparatus in a vacuum vessel which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 6 is a front sectional view of the in-vacuum container transfer device of FIG. 5. It is a front sectional view of a transfer device in a vacuum container according to another embodiment. It is a top view of the conveyance apparatus in a vacuum vessel concerning other embodiments.

Explanation of symbols

1, 21 Transport device 2 in vacuum container 2 Vacuum container 3 Transported object 4 Transport base 5 Secondary side magnetic pole 6 Armature 7 Armature moving mechanism 15 Control device 24 First link (connecting member)
25 Second link (connection member)

Claims (1)

A transport table for transporting a predetermined object to be transported;
A secondary magnetic pole connected to the carrier,
An armature provided for the secondary magnetic pole;
An armature moving mechanism for moving the armature ,
The secondary side magnetic poles are arranged at least two positions apart from each other in the extending direction of the orbit which is the moving direction thereof,
Two secondary magnetic poles adjacent to each other and the carriage are connected by a pair of connecting members, and the pair of connecting members are connected to two secondary magnetic poles adjacent to each other, and one end side thereof extends in the extending direction. Mounted with orthogonal axes,
The other ends of the pair of connecting members are connected to the transport table so that the transport table moves in a direction crossing the track, according to the interval between the two secondary magnetic poles ,
The said armature moving mechanism is comprised by the linear motor different from the linear motor comprised by the said secondary side magnetic pole and the said armature, The conveying apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

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