JP5206528B2 - Work conveying device and work conveying method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a workpiece transfer device that is attached as an end effector to an industrial transfer machine such as a robot hand in order to suck and transfer a thin plate-like workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer, and the workpiece transfer device. The present invention relates to a work transfer method using an industrial transfer machine.

  When a semiconductor wafer or the like is transferred from the carrier to the facility, it is usually performed by using an industrial transfer machine such as a teaching robot hand. In the case of this semiconductor wafer, there is a circuit pattern surface in the center, and since this surface cannot be directly gripped or adsorbed, for example, the end effector at the tip of the hand is used to scoop up the wafer from below, Next, it is currently transporting to a desired position.

  However, in the transfer method described above, for example, when the transferred wafer is placed on a table, the wafer is delivered via a separate device in order to avoid interference between the table and the hand, end effector, etc. Is placed on the table. As described above, it is easy to understand that the transfer accuracy of the wafer is lowered because one or more delivery processes are performed in the process of transporting the wafer and placing it at a desired position. The production efficiency will be significantly reduced. Furthermore, the cost required for the conveying device is inevitably increased, for example, because it requires high-precision and delicate control at the time of delivery, and for example, it becomes necessary to equip the apparatus with a precise positioning pre-aligner.

  In addition, the fact that the surface of the semiconductor wafer is not contaminated with dust is an important factor in the manufacturing process, but if the wafer is slightly damaged when it is held by a device, this damage is caused. There is a risk of dust generation. If this generated dust adheres to the circuit pattern surface, the circuit performance will be degraded, so it is necessary to avoid dust generation reliably. For this reason, it is important to prevent dust generation during wafer transfer. It is a problem. Therefore, when the wafer is gripped, the device and the end effector are required to have a performance that does not damage the wafer or can grip the wafer with as little stress as possible.

  Therefore, as described above, instead of the method of scooping up the wafer from below and transporting it to the desired position, it relates to a method of transporting the wafer (thin plate-like workpiece) while attracting the non-circuit pattern surface of the wafer periphery with the suction pad, For this purpose, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique related to a workpiece conveying finger.

  By using these fingers, it is possible to solve the problem of an increase in the process accompanying delivery, which is one of the problems that may occur in the method of picking up a wafer from below and transporting it to a desired position. However, in this finger, as is clear from FIG. 1, most of the finger protrudes from the main body, and the leaf spring on which the suction pad is arranged bends toward the workpiece when the workpiece is gripped. Inevitably, the bending of the leaf spring does not solve the above-described separate problem, that is, the problem of damaging the wafer when the wafer is held.

JP-A-10-95542

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. When a thin workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer is sucked and transported using an industrial transport machine, the wafer is transported and placed at a desired position. The process of transferring to a separate device in the process up to and including the work transfer equipment attached to the industrial transfer machine that does not damage the wafer and the work transfer equipment was installed. An object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece transfer method using an industrial transfer machine.

  In order to achieve the above object, a workpiece transfer device according to the present invention is a workpiece transfer device that is attached to an industrial transfer machine and transfers a thin plate workpiece while adsorbing the workpiece. And at least two holding members each having a suction hole for adsorbing the thin plate-like workpiece, and a main body member for integrally fixing the two or more holding members. The opened area is projected from the side end of the main body member to form an overhanging location, and a deflection preventing member is arranged on the side surface of the thin plate-like workpiece to be adsorbed in the main body member so that the overhanging location is formed. It supports and at least prevents the overhanging portion from bending toward the thin plate workpiece.

  The apparatus for conveying a workpiece according to the present invention has a body member that integrally fixes a plurality of gripping members that directly grip a workpiece, and a region that includes a suction hole that is opened in the gripping member and sucks the workpiece is at least of the body member. Although it protrudes from the side end to the side, it can bend to the opposite side (for example, the upper side) of the adsorbed work, but it is bent to the adsorbed work side (for example, the lower side). It is provided with a deflection preventing member that reliably suppresses the above.

  The gripping member is as thin as possible (for example, a thickness of less than 1 mm), and in the posture where it protrudes by a predetermined length from the side end of the main body member, the protruding portion is in the initial posture under the support of the bending prevention member. Although it can be held, it is preferable that the workpiece has rigidity or flexibility that can be appropriately bent when the work is sucked and sucked. Such rigidity and flexibility of the protruding portion of the gripping member are determined by the material, cross-sectional rigidity, protruding length, and the like.

  When the work piece is sucked, an excessive pressing force is applied to the work piece because the main body member is provided with a bending prevention member for preventing the protruding portion of the gripping member from bending toward the work piece that has been sucked and sucked. Is suppressed from acting. For example, an embodiment in which the deflection preventing member is made of a thin layer plate, a part of which is fixed to the work side surface (for example, the lower surface) of the main body member, and the other part is fixed to a part of the protruding portion of the gripping member. In this case, the deflection preventing member supports the protruding portion of the gripping member from the workpiece side, and has a protruding portion on the same level as the protruding portion of the gripping member, so that the gripping member is opposite to the workpiece. It is permissible to bend to the side. However, as described in the gripping member, the bend prevention member also has sufficient rigidity to support at least the weight of the protruding portion of the gripping member without bending itself, and when the workpiece is sucked and adsorbed, It is desirable to have flexibility that can be flexed to the opposite side of the workpiece in synchronization with the overhanging portion.

  The workpiece transfer device of the present invention can attract and hold a thin plate workpiece with two or more gripping members, and the workpiece transfer device does not bend toward the workpiece in the posture of holding the workpiece. Without giving damage and stress, for example, the upper surface can be sucked and held, and after transferring to a desired position, the lower surface can be transferred to the desired position with the original upper surface facing upward.

  Here, the gripping member is formed of a laminated body in which a first plate, an intermediate plate, and a second plate facing the thin plate workpiece are stacked, and the intermediate plate has a comb-like flow path. A form in which the suction holes are formed and formed in the second plate so as to communicate with the comb-shaped flow path can be applied.

  By setting it as the three-layer laminated structure of three plates, the bending rigidity to the workpiece | work side of the protrusion location of a holding member can be improved as mentioned above.

  Further, since the comb-like flow path is formed in the intermediate plate, and therefore, the plurality of partition walls constituting the comb teeth are provided, the fluid communication is made with the suction hole provided in the second plate. It is possible to prevent clogging of the flow path. For example, exemplifying a case where these three plates are diffusion-bonded in a high-pressure and high-temperature atmosphere. If a wide flow path is formed inside the laminate, the flow path may be blocked under this high-pressure atmosphere. There is. In addition, even when some external pressure is applied when the workpiece transfer device is in use, there is a risk that the flow path is blocked by this external pressure. On the other hand, since the first and second plates define the flow path while maintaining the separation between the plurality of partition walls constituting the comb teeth, external pressure and the like acted at the time of manufacturing and in service. Even in this case, blockage of the flow path can be suppressed as desired.

  Furthermore, in the workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention, it is preferable that a suction pad having a through-hole communicating with the suction hole is disposed on a side surface of the gripping member facing the thin plate-like workpiece.

  For example, there is elasticity, and a suction pad having a through hole that is in fluid communication with the suction hole is disposed on the side surface of the gripping member facing the thin plate-like workpiece, and by directly sucking and gripping the workpiece with this suction pad, It is possible to further reduce the stress that can act on the workpiece during the adsorption. The thickness of the suction pad is adjusted to be equal to or greater than the thickness of the portion of the main body member where the deflection preventing means is formed, so that the work side surface (for example, the lower surface) of the main body member and the end surface of the suction pad are flush or A posture in which the suction pad slightly protrudes toward the workpiece can be formed.

  Here, examples of the thin plate-like workpiece include the semiconductor wafer described above. When the semiconductor wafer is composed of a central circuit pattern surface and a peripheral non-circuit pattern surface, the two or more semiconductor wafers may be used. It is preferable that the gripping member attracts two or more portions of the non-circuit pattern surface.

  By gripping and gripping the non-circuit pattern surface of a semiconductor wafer at a plurality of locations with the workpiece transfer device of the present invention, the wafer is securely gripped without causing any damage to the wafer. It is possible to accurately convey and place the workpiece from the initial position to the desired transfer position without delivering to the device.

  The work conveying method according to the present invention includes at least two or more gripping members each having a suction hole for sucking a thin plate-like work, and a main body member that integrally fixes the two or more gripping members, Among the members, at least a region where the suction hole is opened projects from the side end of the main body member to form an overhanging portion, and the deflection preventing member is formed on the side surface of the main body member on the side of the thin plate workpiece to be adsorbed. An industrial transfer machine with a work transfer device attached thereto, which supports the overhanging portion and at least prevents the overhanging portion from bending toward the thin plate workpiece. A workpiece transfer method to be used, wherein the suction holes of the two or more gripping members are positioned in each of the two or more suctionable portions of the thin plate workpiece, the suction means is operated, The thin plate-like workpiece is sucked by the suction force acting through the drawing hole, the industrial transport machine operates in the posture where the thin plate-like workpiece is sucked, the thin plate-like workpiece is transferred to the desired position, and the suction means operates. The thin plate workpiece is placed at the desired position after being released.

  By using an industrial transport machine to which the above-described work transport device of the present invention is attached, the work is sucked, transported, and placed at a desired position without damaging the work, High-precision transfer is possible without contamination of the workpiece surface due to dust generation or the like, and the production efficiency including the workpiece conveyance can be dramatically improved.

  As can be understood from the above description, according to the work transporting apparatus of the present invention and the work transporting method using the industrial transporting machine having the work transporting apparatus, the work transporting apparatus can adsorb the thin plate work. When gripping, it is possible to bend to the opposite side of the workpiece moderately, and since the bending to the workpiece side is suppressed, it is highly accurate and high without causing any damage to the workpiece. The workpiece can be efficiently transferred to a desired position.

It is the top view which showed one Embodiment of the apparatus for workpiece conveyance of this invention, Comprising: It is the figure which showed the internal structure together. It is an II-II arrow line view of FIG. It is the top view which showed three plates which comprise the holding member of 3 layer structure. It is the top view explaining the state where the semiconductor wafer is attracted and held using the work transfer device of the present invention.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the illustrated example, the non-circuit pattern surface of the semiconductor wafer is sucked and gripped by four gripping members. However, the number of gripping members and the number of branching portions of the main body member relative to the gripping member are limited to the illustrated example. Needless to say, the thin plate workpiece to be adsorbed is not limited to the semiconductor wafer shown in the drawing.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a workpiece transfer apparatus according to the present invention, showing the internal structure thereof, and FIG. 2 is a view taken along the arrow II-II in FIG. is there.

  A workpiece conveying device 10 shown in the figure is fixed to a main body member 1 composed of a trunk portion 11 and four branch portions 12 extending radially from one end of the trunk portion 11, and the respective branch portions 12. The gripping members 2... The work transfer device 10 is an end effector, and one end 11b of the work transfer device 10 is attached to an industrial transfer machine such as a robot hand via a desired joint mechanism.

  A suction nozzle 11a that is in fluid communication with a suction means (suction pump or the like) (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the end of the trunk part 11, and the suction part 11 is provided inside the trunk part 11 and the branch parts 12,. A desired linear flow path 13 is provided in fluid communication with the nozzle 11a.

  When the semiconductor wafer W (workpiece) indicated by the alternate long and short dash line is sucked and adsorbed to the lower surface of the branching portion 12, that is, as shown in FIG. A thin plate-like bending prevention member 14 that protrudes to the side of 12a is fixed.

  In addition, the gripping member 2 is fixed to the tip of the branching portion 12 so as to penetrate a part of the gripping member 2 into the branching portion 12, and protrudes from the tip 12a of the branching portion 12 in this fixed posture. Overhang portion 2 'is formed. An elastic suction pad 3 is arranged at the tip of the gripping member 2, and stress that can act on the work W when the work W is sucked can be reduced by the suction pad 3. Yes.

One end side of the deflection preventing member 14 is fixed to the side surface on the workpiece side of the branching portion 12, and the other end side is fixed to a tip portion where the suction pad 3 of the gripping member 2 is disposed.
Here, the gripping member 2 has a three-layer structure in which three plates (first plate 21, intermediate plate 22, and second plate 23) are stacked, and is formed on the intermediate plate 22 positioned in the middle thereof. The flow path thus formed is in fluid communication with the suction hole 2 a formed in the second plate 23. When a suction unit (not shown) is operated, the workpiece W is adsorbed to the suction hole 2a (X2 direction) via the suction hole 2a via the suction nozzle 11a and the flow path 13 (X1 direction).

  The thickness of the gripping member 2 composed of the three plates described above is, for example, 1 mm or less (for example, the thickness of the first and second plates 21 and 23 is 0.1 mm and the intermediate plate is 0.4 mm in total 0.6 mm). When the workpiece W is sucked by this thin layer, the protruding portion 2 ′ of the gripping member 2 is appropriately opposite to the workpiece W (in the upper Z direction in FIG. 2). Can be bent. More specifically, in order to induce an appropriate upward deflection, the three plates are formed from an appropriate metal material (aluminum, an alloy thereof, stainless steel, etc.), and the overhang length of the overhang portion 2 ′ is desired. It is good to adjust to. Furthermore, the deflection preventing member 3 can be formed of a metal material similar to those of the plates 21, 22 and 23, or may be formed of ceramics or the like.

  When the projecting portion 2 ′ of the gripping member 2 sucks the workpiece W, it bends to the opposite side of the workpiece W, thereby reducing the stress that can be applied to the workpiece W when the workpiece is attracted. In addition, the bending prevention member 3 prevents the overhanging portion 2 ′ from being bent toward the workpiece W, and there is no risk of applying an excessive pressing force to the workpiece W.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing three plates constituting the gripping member 2 having a three-layer structure. Here, in order from the workpiece W side to be sucked and gripped, the suction hole 2a is stacked on the second plate 23 opened at the tip, the intermediate plate 22 stacked on the second plate, and the intermediate plate 22. It becomes the 1st plate 21, these are integrated by diffusion bonding etc., and the holding member 2 is formed.

  Here, a plurality of comb teeth 22a,... Are formed on the intermediate plate 22, and inter-comb flow paths 22b are formed between adjacent comb teeth 22a, 22a. The inter-channel 22 b communicates with the suction hole 2 a opened in the second plate 23.

  Since the comb teeth 22a,... Are formed in the intermediate plate 22, for example, when performing diffusion bonding or the like in a high-pressure and high-temperature atmosphere, a flow path (in communication with the suction hole 2a provided in the second plate 23) ( Here, it is possible to effectively prevent the interdental channel 22b,.

  FIG. 4 shows a semiconductor wafer W having a disk shape in plan view. More specifically, the circuit pattern surface W1 is similar to the outer circle at the center side, and the ring-shaped non-circuit pattern surface is at the peripheral side. Each suction hole 2a,... Formed in each of the four gripping members 2,... Constituting the workpiece transfer device 10 with respect to the semiconductor wafer W having W2 stably holds and grips the non-circuit pattern surface W2. It shows the state. In addition, the length of each branch part 12, more specifically, the position of the projecting end of the gripping member 2 projecting from the branch part 12 is appropriately adjusted according to the shape of the workpiece to be attracted and its suction location. If the outline of the workpiece W is changed, the position of the protruding end of the gripping member 2 is also changed accordingly.

  As is clear from the figure, the non-circuit pattern surface W2 of the semiconductor wafer W is sucked and held by using the workpiece transfer device 10, so that no stress is applied to the circuit pattern surface W1. The semiconductor wafer W can be stably suctioned and held without applying stress that generates dust on the non-circuit pattern surface W2, and is transported to a desired transport position with the illustrated surface facing upward, for example. The semiconductor wafer W can be positioned and placed with high accuracy at the transfer position.

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and there are design changes and the like without departing from the gist of the present invention. They are also included in the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body member, 11 ... Trunk part, 11a ... Suction nozzle, 12 ... Branch part, 12a ... Side end, 13 ... Flow path, 14 ... Deflection prevention member, 2 ... Gripping member, 2a ... Suction hole, 21 ... 1st 22 ... intermediate plate, 22a ... comb teeth, 22b ... inter-comb channel, 23 ... second plate (work side plate), 3 ... adsorption pad, 10 ... work transfer equipment, W ... semiconductor wafer ( Work), W1 ... Circuit pattern surface, W2 ... Non-circuit pattern surface

Claims (6)

A workpiece transfer device that is mounted on an industrial transfer machine and transfers a thin plate workpiece while adsorbing it.
The workpiece transfer device is:
Two or more gripping members provided on the lower surface thereof with suction holes for adsorbing the thin plate workpiece;
A main body member that integrally fixes the two or more gripping members, and
Of the gripping member, at least the region where the suction hole is opened projects from the side end of the main body member to form a projecting portion,
Wherein the lower surface of the body member and supporting said projecting portion is disposed is prevented deflectable member, the protruding portion when said protruding portion is aspirated upper surface of the thin plate-shaped work is so deflected vertically upward The work transfer equipment. The gripping member is composed of a laminate in which a first plate, an intermediate plate, and a second plate facing a thin plate workpiece are laminated,
The workpiece conveyance according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate plate is formed with a comb-shaped flow path, and the second plate is formed with the suction hole communicating with the comb-shaped flow path. machine.   The workpiece conveying device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a suction pad having a through hole in fluid communication with the suction hole is disposed on a side surface of the gripping member facing the thin plate workpiece.   The thin plate-like workpiece is a wafer comprising a central circuit pattern surface and a peripheral non-circuit pattern surface, and the two or more gripping members adsorb two or more portions of the non-circuit pattern surface. The apparatus for workpiece conveyance according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Two or more gripping members provided on the lower surface thereof with suction holes for adsorbing the thin plate workpiece;
A main body member that integrally fixes the two or more gripping members, and
Of the gripping member, at least the region where the suction hole is opened projects from the side end of the main body member to form a projecting portion,
Wherein the lower surface of the body member and supporting said projecting portion is disposed is prevented deflectable member, the protruding portion when said protruding portion is aspirated upper surface of the thin plate-shaped work is so deflected vertically upward Is a work transfer method using an industrial transfer machine equipped with a work transfer device,
Positioning the suction holes of the two or more gripping members in each of the two or more suckable places on the upper surface of the thin plate workpiece,
Operate the suction means, suck the thin plate workpiece by the suction force acting through the suction hole,
An industrial transport machine operates in a posture in which the thin plate workpiece is adsorbed, the thin plate workpiece is transported to a desired position, and the operation of the suction means is released to place the thin plate workpiece on the desired position. Method.   The thin plate-like workpiece is a wafer comprising a central circuit pattern surface and a non-circuit pattern surface on the outer periphery thereof, and the suction holes of the two or more gripping members adsorb two or more locations on the non-circuit pattern surface. The workpiece transfer method according to claim 5, wherein the workpiece transfer method is performed.

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