JP7315820B2 - Work transfer device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a work transfer device, and more particularly to a work transfer device provided in a processing apparatus for processing a work such as a semiconductor wafer.

A dicing apparatus is an apparatus that performs cutting such as cutting or grooving a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer having electronic components formed on its surface using a blade that rotates at high speed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Such a dicing apparatus has a cassette accommodating section, a work cutting section, a cleaning section, a work conveying device, and the like in the apparatus main body. A cassette accommodating a plurality of wafers is accommodated in the cassette accommodating portion, and the wafers accommodated in the cassette are drawn out one by one by the work conveying device and conveyed to the work cutting portion. In this work processing section, the wafers are cut into dice by a blade, and the cut wafers are transferred to the cleaning section by the work transfer device, and after cleaning are returned to the cassette by the work transfer device.

Patent Literature 2 discloses a work transfer device (transfer mechanism) provided in a dicing device. This work conveying device conveys a wafer adhered to a protective tape, and has a plurality of suction pads for sucking the upper surface of a support frame on which the protective tape is attached.

Further, Patent Literature 3 discloses a work transfer device (wafer transfer device) that suctions and transfers a wafer in a non-contact state. This work conveying device is provided in a surface processing apparatus for grinding the back surface of a wafer, and conveys the wafer between various processing units of the surface processing apparatus.

JP-A-2002-299287 JP-A-2003-243483 JP 2017-92397 A

By the way, in recent years, depending on the type of work, it is required to directly hold and convey the work in the work conveying apparatus. However, the work transfer apparatus of Patent Document 2 is an apparatus that indirectly transfers a wafer via a support frame and a protective tape, and is not an apparatus that directly holds and transfers a work.

On the other hand, the work transfer device of Patent Document 3 is a device for sucking and transferring a wafer in a non-contact state. had the problem that the work could not be stably conveyed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a work conveying apparatus capable of directly holding and conveying a work even if the work has a warped surface. .

In order to achieve the object of the present invention, a work conveying apparatus of the present invention is a work conveying apparatus for directly holding and conveying a work, comprising: work holding means for directly holding the work; The workpiece holding means is a base connected to the carrying means, and a pair of workpiece attracting means provided on the base at positions facing each other with a space therebetween, and attracts the lower surface of the workpiece. and a gap changing means for changing the gap between the pair of workpiece attracting means.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the control section for controlling the work conveying device is provided, and the control section controls the gap changing means and the work attracting means to cause the lower surface of the work to be attracted by the pair of work attracting means. After the work is held by the work holding means, it is preferable to carry the work holding means by controlling the conveying means.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a support member is provided for supporting the adsorption means so as to be movable in the vertical direction with respect to the base, and the support member is a first biasing member capable of urging the adsorption means upward. and a second biasing member capable of biasing the pair of suction means downward.

According to the present invention, even a work having a warped surface can be directly held and conveyed.

1 is a perspective view of a dicing device to which a work conveying device of an embodiment is applied; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the processing section of the dicing apparatus of FIG. 1; Functional block diagram of the control device of the work transfer device Overall perspective view of a suction unit that constitutes a work transfer device Front view of the adsorption unit shown in FIG. Explanatory diagram showing the operation of conveying a workpiece in chronological order Explanatory diagram showing the operation of conveying a workpiece in chronological order Front view showing the structure of the floating support mechanism A perspective view of the floating support mechanism shown in FIG. A perspective view of the floating support mechanism shown in FIG. Explanatory drawing showing the action of the floating support mechanism Explanatory diagram showing variations in the shape of the workpiece and chuck table

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a work transfer device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in the embodiment, a dicing machine will be exemplified as a processing machine.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dicing device 12 provided with a work conveying device 10 of an embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the dicing apparatus 12 includes a processing unit 14 for processing a work W such as a semiconductor wafer, a cleaning unit 16 for spin cleaning the processed work W, and a plurality of A load port 18 is provided on which a cassette storing one work W is placed. The work W processed by the dicing device 12 has an electronic component (not shown) formed on its upper surface.

In this specification, a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system of three axial directions (X-axis direction, Y-axis direction, Z-axis direction) will be used for description. The X-axis direction shown in FIG. 1 is the horizontal direction and indicates the cutting feed direction of an X table 20 (see FIG. 2), which will be described later. The Y-axis direction is a horizontal direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction, and indicates an index feeding direction of the blade 22, which will be described later. Furthermore, the Z-axis direction is a vertical direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction, and indicates the cutting feed direction of the blade 22 .

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the processing section 14. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 14 has an X table 20 guided by a pair of X guide rails 26, 26 of an X base 24 and moved in the X axis direction by a linear motor 28. . A work table (chuck table) 32 is provided on the X table 20 via a rotary table 30 that rotates in the .theta. direction.

As an example, the work table 32 is configured in a disk shape, and has a horizontally flat suction surface 34 on its upper surface, to which the workpiece W (see FIG. 1) is vacuum-sucked and fixed. .

A Y base 36 is erected above the X base 24 so as to straddle the X base 24 . A pair of Y tables 40 , 40 guided by a pair of Y guide rails 38 , 38 and movable in the Y-axis direction are provided on the front of the Y base 36 . The Y tables 40 , 40 are moved in the Y-axis direction by a Y-axis drive mechanism (not shown) provided on the Y base 36 .

The Y tables 40, 40 are provided with Z tables 44, 44 that are driven in the Z-axis direction by a Z-axis drive mechanism (not shown). High-frequency motor built-in spindle motors 46, 46 are fixed to the Z tables 44, 44 so as to face each other in the Y-axis direction. are fixed in a state of facing each other. These spindle motors 46 , 46 are supported by Y tables 40 , 40 via Z tables 44 , 44 , and spindles 48 , 48 have Y axes whose axes are in the moving direction of Y tables 40 , 40 . arranged along the direction.

The blade 22 is, for example, an electrodeposited blade in which diamond abrasive grains or CBN (cubic boron nitride) abrasive grains are electrodeposited with nickel. In addition to the electrodeposition blade, a metal-resin bond blade bonded with a resin mixed with metal powder can also be used. This blade 22 is rotated at a high speed of, for example, 6000 rpm to 80000 rpm by a spindle motor 46 .

According to the processing unit 14 configured as described above, the work table 32 is fed by the X table 20 in the X-axis direction and rotated in the θ direction by the rotary table 30 . The blades 22, 22 are index-fed in the Y-axis direction by the Y-axis drive mechanism and are cut-fed in the Z-axis direction by the Z-axis drive mechanism. The workpiece W is cut in a grid pattern by the operation of the processing unit 14 as described above.

Returning to FIG. 1, the cleaning unit 16 includes a spinner table (chuck table) 52 having a suction surface 50 on its upper surface, and a nozzle (not shown) for injecting cleaning water toward the workpiece on the spinner table 52 . ing. The work W processed by the processing unit 14 is transported from the work table 32 to the spinner table 52 by the work transport device 10, then after being adsorbed by the adsorption surface 50, it is rotated and washed with washing water sprayed from the nozzle. be done.

Next, the work conveying device 10 of the embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the work transfer device 10 includes an arm 60 and a suction unit 62. As shown in FIG. Here, the suction unit 62 is an example of the workpiece holding means of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the operation of the work conveying device 10 of the embodiment is controlled by a control device 63 that controls the dicing device 12 .

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the control device 63 of the dicing device 12. As shown in FIG. In the functional block diagram of FIG. 3, only elements related to the work conveying device 10 are illustrated, and elements not directly related to the work conveying device 10 are omitted. Here, the controller 63 is an example of the controller of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 63 includes each arithmetic processing circuit including a CPU (central processing unit) (not shown), a memory such as ROM (Read Only Memory) or RAM (Random Access Memory), and a keyboard. It has an input device and an output device such as a monitor. The control device 63 realizes the functions of each part of the control device 63 by executing a program stored in the memory by the CPU. As shown in FIG. 3, the control device 63 has an integrated control section 63A, and this integrated control section 63A performs integrated control of a transport control section 63B, an interval change control section 63C, and a suction control section 63D.

The transport controller 63B controls the transport device 66 . The transfer device 66 has a horizontal drive section for horizontally moving the arm 60 along the XY horizontal plane, and an elevation drive section for vertically moving the arm 60 up and down. Specifically, a rotation shaft 64 (see FIG. 1) arranged along the vertical axis at the base end of the arm 60 is connected to the output shaft of the motor that constitutes the horizontal drive section. Thereby, the arm 60 is horizontally moved by the motor of the horizontal driving section. In addition, the elevation driving section has a motor for moving the arm 60 in the vertical direction. As a result, the arm 60 is vertically moved by the motor of the lift drive. Here, the conveying device 66 is an example of conveying means of the present invention.

The space changer 63B controls cylinder devices 76, 76 to change the space between suction pads 74, 74 (see FIG. 5), which will be described later. Here, the cylinder devices 76, 76 are an example of the interval changing means of the present invention.

The suction control section 63D controls the suction device 68 that applies a suction force to the suction pads 74, 74 (see FIG. 5).

Returning to FIG. 1 , a suction unit 62 is provided at the tip of the arm 60 via a connecting member 70 . With such a configuration, the suction unit 62 is transported horizontally and vertically by the transport device 66 shown in FIG.

4 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the adsorption unit 62, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the adsorption unit 62 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the suction unit 62 includes a base 72, a pair of suction pads 74, 74, and a pair of cylinder devices 76, 76. As shown in FIGS. Here, the base 72 is an example of the base of the present invention, and the pair of suction pads 74, 74 is an example of a pair of suction means of the present invention.

The base 72 has, for example, a rectangular plate shape. The base 72 also has a connecting portion 78 at its central portion, and is connected to the distal end portion of the arm 60 by connecting the connecting member 70 (see FIG. 1) to this connecting portion 78 . In FIG. 4, the long side 72A of the base 72 is arranged along the X-axis direction, and the short side 72B is arranged along the Y-axis direction.

The pair of suction pads 74, 74 are arranged on the short side portions 72B, 72B facing each other on the base 72 in the direction of the long side 72A, so as to be spaced apart from each other on the base 72, and hooks 80, 80 are provided respectively. It is provided on the base 72 via. These suction pads 74 are fixed to the lower portion 80A of the hook 80 with their suction ports 82 facing upward. The suction pad 74 is configured in a rectangular parallelepiped shape as an example, and is fixed to the hook 80 with its long side 74A along the short side 72B. A plurality of suction ports 82 are arranged along the long side 74A.

The hook 80 has an opening 80B through which the base 72 penetrates in its center. A linear guide 84 is fixed to the lower surface of the upper portion 80C of the hook 80. As shown in FIG. The linear guide 84 is movably engaged with a guide rail 86 arranged on the upper surface of the base 72 along the long side 72A. As a result, the pair of suction pads 74, 74 together with the hooks 80, 80 are movably provided between the close position close to each other and the spaced position separated from each other in the direction of the long side 72A.

An L-shaped bracket 88 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper portion 80C of the hook 80, and a piston 90 (see FIG. 5) of the cylinder device 76 is fixed to this bracket 88. As shown in FIG. The cylinder device 76 is fixed to a base 92 so that the axial direction of the piston 90 is along the direction of the long side 72A. Therefore, when the pistons 90, 90 are simultaneously extended and contracted by the pair of cylinder devices 76, 76, the pair of suction pads 74, 74 together with the hooks 80, 80 are moved between the spaced position and the close position. , the spacing between the suction pads 74, 74 is changed.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the pistons 90, 90 are contracted simultaneously by the cylinder devices 76, 76 and the suction pads 74, 74 are arranged at the adjacent positions, the edges WA on both sides of the back surface (lower surface) of the work W are , WA are sucked and held by the suction ports 82 , 82 of the suction pads 74 , 74 . The edge portions WA, WA are configured as non-attracted surfaces positioned outside the to-be-attracted surface WB rather than the to-be-attracted surface WB to be attracted by the attracting surface 34 of the work table 32 and the attracting surface 50 of the spinner table 52. ing.

Next, the operation of the work conveying device 10 constructed as described above will be described.

The operation diagrams of the work conveying device 10 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 show the operation of conveying the work W from the work table 32 to the spinner table 52 in time series. 6 and 7, the conveying operation of the arm 60, the interval changing operation of the suction pads 74, 74, and the suction operation of the suction pads 74, 74 are performed by the integrated control unit 63A of the control device 63 shown in FIG. , the transport control section 63B, the interval change control section 63C, and the suction control section 63D.

First, 6A of FIG. 6 shows an initial state before the work W adsorbed and held on the work table 32 is unloaded by the work conveying device 10 . In this initial state, the arm 60 is located at a retracted position retracted upward from the work table 32, and the suction pads 74, 74 (hooks 80, 80 are the same) are located at the close position by the cylinder devices 76, 76. FIG. At this time, the suction operation of the suction pads 74, 74 is OFF, the suction state of the work table 32 is ON, and the suction state of the spinner table 52 (see FIG. 1) is OFF.

Next, 6B of FIG. 6 shows a state in which the pistons 90, 90 of the cylinder devices 76, 76 are respectively extended to dispose the suction pads 74, 74 (hooks 80, 80 are the same) from the close position to the separated position. ing. At this time, the suction states of the suction pads 74, 74, the work table 32, and the spinner table 52 are also in the initial state of 6A in FIG.

Next, 6C of FIG. 6 shows a state in which the arm 60 is lowered by the carrier device 66 (see FIG. 3) and the hooks 80, 80 are arranged at the hook opening/closing operation position. At this time, the suction states of the suction pads 74, 74, the work table 32, and the spinner table 52 are also in the initial state of 6A in FIG. The hook opening/closing operation position is a position where the suction port 82 (see FIG. 4) of the suction pad 74 is positioned below the suction surface 34 of the work table 32 .

Next, in 6D of FIG. 6, the pistons 90, 90 of the cylinder devices 76, 76 are respectively contracted to move the suction pads 74, 74 (hooks 80, 80 as well) from the distant position (see 6B of FIG. 6) to the close position. It shows a state where it is placed in By this operation, the suction ports 82, 82 of the suction pads 74, 74 are arranged at positions directly below the warped edges WA, WA of the work W. As shown in FIG. At this time, the suction states of the suction pads 74, 74, the work table 32, and the spinner table 52 are also in the initial state of 6A in FIG.

Next, 6E in FIG. 6 is a state in which the arm 60 is lifted to the receiving position of the workpiece W by the conveying device 66 (see FIG. 3), and the suction operation of the suction pads 74, 74 is switched from the OFF state to the ON state. is shown. 6E of FIG. 6 shows a state in which the suction state of the work table 32 is switched from the ON state to the OFF state, and also switched to an air blow operation in which air is jetted from the suction surface 34 of the work table 32 to the outside. As a result, the workpiece W attracted to the work table 32 can be smoothly transferred to the suction pads 74, 74 side. The receiving position of the work W is a position where the suction port 82 abuts against the warped edges WA, WA, and is a position set above the suction surface 34 of the work table 32 .

Next, 7A of FIG. 7 shows a state in which the arm 60 is moved upward by the lifting device 68 (see FIG. 3) and the workpiece W is placed at the horizontal transport position. At this time, the suction operation of the suction pads 74, 74 is ON, and the air blow operation of the work table 32 is stopped and the suction state is OFF.

Next, in 7B of FIG. 7, the arm 60 is horizontally moved by the transfer device 66 (see FIG. 3) to place the work W at a position directly above the spinner table 52, and then the work W is transferred to the spinner table 52. After the arm 60 has been moved downward by the conveying device 66 to , the suction state of the spinner table 52 is switched from the OFF state to the ON state. 7B, the suction port 82 (see FIG. 4) is moved to a position on the same plane as the suction surface 50 of the spinner table 52 when the suction pads 74, 74 move downward toward the suction surface 50 of the spinner table 52. In FIG. is shown.

As a result, even if the central portion of the workpiece W is curved downward, the suction port 82 (see FIG. 4) that adsorbs the edge WA and the WA can be placed on the same plane as the adsorption surface 50. Since it has moved to the position of , it can be reliably attracted and held by the spinner table 52 .

Next, in 7C of FIG. 7, the suction state of the suction pads 74, 74 is switched from the ON state to the OFF state. It shows a state switched to an air blow operation that injects into the air. Thereby, the attraction between the suction port 82 and the edges WA, WA can be smoothly released.

Next, in 7D of FIG. 7, the pistons 90, 90 of the cylinder devices 76, 76 are respectively extended to move the suction pads 74, 74 (hooks 80, 80 are the same) to the hook opening/closing operation position (see 6C of FIG. 6). It shows the arranged state. By this operation, the suction pads 74, 74 are retracted outward from the positions immediately below the edge portions WA, WA of the work W. As shown in FIG.

Next, 7E of FIG. 7 shows a state in which the arm 60 is lifted from the spinner table 52 by the transfer device 66 (FIG. 3). After that, the work W is cleaned by rotating the spinner table 52 . After cleaning, the work W is held by the work transfer device 10 and stored in a cassette of the load port 18 (see FIG. 1). The method of conveying the workpiece from the spinner table 52 to the load port 18 by the work conveying device 10 is substantially the same as the conveying method from the work table 32 to the spinner table 52 described above, so the explanation thereof will be omitted.

As described above, according to the work transport device 10 of the embodiment, the adsorption unit 62 directly holding the work W and the transport device 66 transporting the adsorption unit 62 are provided. a base 72, a pair of suction pads 74, 74 provided at positions facing each other and spaced apart from the base 72 for sucking the lower surface of the workpiece W, and a cylinder device 76 for changing the interval between the pair of suction pads 74, 74; 76, it is possible to directly hold and convey even a work W having a warped surface.

Further, according to the work conveying device 10 of the embodiment, after the suction ports 82 of the suction pad 74 suck the edge portions WA, WA of the back surface of the work W, the suction ports 82 and WA are moved to the position on the same plane as the suction surface 50 . Since 82 is moved downward, the warped workpiece W can be reliably attracted to the spinner table 52 .

Also, as a preferred mode, it is preferable that the suction ports 74 move the suction port 82 to a position beyond the position on the same plane in the downward direction toward the suction surface 50 of the spinner table 52 . As a result, the suction surface WB (see FIG. 5) of the workpiece W can be pressed against the suction surface 50 of the spinner table 52 while the edges WA are suctioned by the suction pads 74, 74. The spinner table 52 can be effectively sucked and held. The position beyond the position on the same plane is, for example, a position where the workpiece W is not damaged even when the suction port 82 is moved to a position beyond the position on the same plane. It is set according to the rigidity of the workpiece W and the like.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing the structure of a floating support mechanism 100 that supports the suction pad 74 on the base 72 in a floating state. 9 and 10 are perspective views of the floating support mechanism 100 shown in FIG. 8 as seen from different directions.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the floating support mechanism 100 has pad support members 102, 102 that support the pair of suction pads 74, 74 so as to be vertically movable with respect to the base 72. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 9, the pad support member 102 includes a rectangular base 104 connected to the piston 90 of the cylinder device 76, and a crank-shaped bracket connected to the base 104 and having the suction pad 74 fixed to the bottom. 106 and a shaft 112 arranged along the vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 10, the bracket 106 has a pair of vertically elongated holes 114, 114 formed in its upper portion, and is attached to the base 104 via pins 116, 116 inserted into the elongated holes 114, 114. concatenated. As a result, the base 104 and the bracket 106 are connected so as to be relatively movable in the vertical direction by means of linear motion guide members composed of the elongated holes 114, 114 and the pins 116, 116. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 8, the shaft 112 is disposed vertically through the through hole 108 of the base 104 via a sleeve bearing 110 (see FIG. 11). Thereby, the base 104 and the shaft 112 are connected by the sleeve bearing 110 so as to be relatively movable in the vertical direction. A lower portion of the shaft 112 is fixed to the horizontal portion 107 of the bracket 106 with screws 118 (see FIG. 11).

As shown in FIG. 8, the pad support member 102 configured in this manner includes a coil spring 120 capable of urging the suction pad 74 upward and a coil spring 122 capable of urging the suction pad 74 downward. .

The coil spring 120 is mounted on the shaft 112 and arranged between the upper flange portion 113 of the shaft 112 and the upper surface of the base 104 . Also, the coil spring 122 is mounted on the shaft 112 and arranged between the lower surface of the base 104 and the horizontal portion 107 of the bracket 106 . By providing such coil springs 120 and 122 , the suction pad 74 is supported in a floating state on the base 104 via the bracket 106 and the shaft 112 . Here, the coil springs 120 and 122 are examples of the first biasing member and the second biasing member of the present invention.

Next, the operation of the floating support mechanism 100 constructed as described above will be described with reference to the cross-sectional view shown in FIG.

The sectional view shown in FIG. 11 shows, as an example, the case of lifting the work W from the work table 32 (see 6E in FIG. 6). Note that the workpiece W shown in FIG. 11 is intended for a workpiece having a shape in which the central portion is curved downward.

As indicated by 11A in FIG. 11, after the suction pad 74 comes into contact with the edge WA of the back surface of the workpiece, when the base 72 (see FIG. 9) moves upward to raise the suction pad 74 via the base 104, Since the suction pad 74 is in contact with the edge WA, the suction pad 74, the bracket 106 and the shaft 112 are restricted from moving upward, and the base 104 moves upward along the shaft 112. As shown in FIG. Then, as indicated by 11B in FIG. 11, the coil spring 120 contracts from the state of 11A in FIG. is transmitted to the suction pad 74 via the suction pad 74, and the suction pad 74 is urged upward. As a result, the suction pad 74 can be effectively pressed against the edge WA of the workpiece W using the biasing force of the coil spring 120 .

Further, when the amount of warp of the edge portion WA is not uniform over the entire edge portion WA, the suction pad 74 is supported by the floating support mechanism 100 in this manner, and the base 104 is moved upward as indicated by 11B in FIG. , all the suction pads 74 can be attracted to the edge WA. In addition, when the base 104 is lifted, the coil spring 120 contracts and absorbs the excess force applied to the edge WA from the suction pad 74, so that damage to the edge WA due to the lifting of the base 104 can be prevented. can be done.

When the suction state of the work table 32 is switched from the ON state to the OFF state in the state of 11B in FIG. 11, the shaft 112 and the bracket 106 are moved upward by the biasing force of the coil spring 120, and the suction pad 74 is moved upward. . As a result, the work W can be effectively lifted from the work table 32 using the biasing force of the coil spring 120 .

On the other hand, when the workpiece W whose edge WA is sucked by the suction pad 74 is to be sucked to the spinner table 52 (see 7B in FIG. 7), the arm 60 moves the base 104 downward. At this time, if an attempt is made to move the suction port 82 beyond the position on the same plane as the suction surface 50, the suction surface WB of the work W is in contact with the spinner table 52. 106 and shaft 112 are restricted from moving downward, and base 104 moves downward along shaft 112 . Then, since the coil spring 122 contracts from the state of 11A in FIG. is urged downward. As a result, the workpiece W can be effectively pressed against the spinner table 52 using the biasing force of the coil spring 122 .

Also, in the case of a workpiece W whose central portion is warped upward or has no warp, and when the workpiece W is lifted from the work table 32, the suction pad 74 is set slightly higher than the back surface of the workpiece W. At this time, the coil spring 120 contracts and absorbs the excess force applied from the suction pad 74 to the edge WA, so that damage to the edge WA due to the rise of the base 104 can be prevented. .

Further, in the case of a workpiece W whose center portion is warped upwardly or has no warp, when the workpiece W whose edge WA is sucked by the suction pad 74 is sucked to the spinner table 52, The suction pad 74 is moved to a position slightly lower than the back surface of the work W. At this time, the extra force applied from the suction pad 74 to the edge WA is absorbed by the contraction of the coil spring 122. It is possible to prevent the edge WA from being damaged.

As described above, by adopting the above-described floating support mechanism 100 to the work conveying device 10, even if the work W has a shape in which the central portion is curved downward, the central portion can be bent upward. Even if the workpiece W has a warped shape, the edge WA thereof can be effectively sucked, and the workpiece W can be effectively pressed against the chuck table.

12A to 12F of FIG. 12 are explanatory diagrams showing variations of workpieces and chuck tables applicable to the workpiece transfer device of the present invention. The workpieces shown in FIG. 12 are denoted by W1 to W6, and the chuck tables are denoted by C1 to C6.

A workpiece W1 shown in 12A of FIG. 12 is configured to have a substantially square shape in a plan view, and a chuck table C1 is configured to have a substantially square shape that is slightly smaller than the outer shape of the workpiece W1. Four suction pads 74 are shown in 12A of FIG. 12, and two suction pads 74 each suction two edges of the workpiece W1 facing each other.

A workpiece W2 shown in 12B of FIG. 12 is configured to have a substantially square shape in plan view, and a chuck table C2 is configured to have a substantially square shape substantially equal to the outer shape of the workpiece W2. In the figure, four suction pads 74 are shown, and two suction pads 74 are used to suck two edges of the workpiece W2 facing each other. Also, recessed relief grooves 130 in which the four suction pads 74 are accommodated are formed in two edges of the chuck table C2 facing each other. By providing the chuck table C2 with such a relief groove 130, the size of the chuck table C2 can be brought close to the size of the work W2, so that the holding force of the work W2 by the chuck table C2 can be improved.

A work W3 shown in 12C of FIG. 12 is formed in an octagonal shape in a plan view, and a chuck table C3 is formed in an octagonal shape slightly smaller than the external shape of the work W3. In the figure, four suction pads 74 are shown, and two suction pads 74 each suction two edges of the workpiece W3 facing each other.

A workpiece W4 shown in 12D in FIG. 12 is octagonal in plan view, and a chuck table C4 is octagonal in shape substantially equal to the outer shape of the workpiece W4. In the figure, four suction pads 74 are shown, and two suction pads 74 are used to suck two edges of the workpiece W4 facing each other. In addition, two edges of the chuck table C4 facing each other are formed with recessed escape grooves 132 in which the four suction pads 74 are accommodated. It is possible to improve the holding force of the workpiece W4 by the chuck table C4.

The work W5 shown in 12E of FIG. 12 is circular in plan view, and the chuck table C5 is circular slightly smaller than the outer shape of the work W5. Four suction pads 74 are shown in the figure, and two suction pads 74 are used to suck the mutually facing peripheral edge portions of the workpiece W5.

A workpiece W6 shown in 12F of FIG. 12 is configured in a circular shape in plan view, and a chuck table C6 is configured in a circular shape substantially equal to the outer shape of the workpiece W6. Four suction pads 74 are shown in the figure, and two suction pads 74 are used to suck the mutually facing peripheral edge portions of the workpiece W6. 12B and 12D, the chuck table C2 shown in 12B and 12D of FIG. , C4, the holding force of the workpiece W6 by the chuck table C6 can be improved.

In addition, in the embodiment, the workpiece W having a warped surface is transported, but the workpiece W to be transported is not limited to this. That is, according to the work conveying apparatus of the present invention, even if the work has irregularities on the surface or the work has variations in thickness, the work has no warp or irregularities and the surface is parallel to the chuck table. can be directly held and transported.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and of course various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. .

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Work conveyance apparatus, 12... Dicing apparatus, 14... Processing part, 16... Washing part, 18... Load port, 20... X table, 22... Blade, 24... X base, 26... X guide rail, 28... Linear motor , 30... Rotary table, 32... Work table, 34... Attraction surface, 36... Y base, 38... Y guide rail, 40... Y table, 44... Z table, 46... Spindle motor, 48... Spindle, 50... Attraction surface , 52... Spinner table, 60... Arm, 62... Suction unit, 63... Control device, 64... Rotating shaft, 66... Conveying device, 68... Suction device, 70... Connecting member, 72... Base, 74... Suction pad, 76 Cylinder device 78 Connecting portion 80 Hook 82 Suction port 84 Linear guide 86 Guide rail 88 Bracket 90 Piston 92 Base 100 Floating support mechanism 102 Pad Support member 104 Base 106 Bracket 107 Horizontal portion 108 Through hole 110 Sleeve bearing 112 Shaft 114 Long hole 116 Pin 118 Screw 120 Coil spring 122 Coil spring

Claims (4)

consisting of wafers A work conveying device for directly holding and conveying a work,
Work holding means for directly holding the work;
a conveying means for conveying the workpiece holding means;
with
The workpiece holding means is
a base coupled to the carrier;
a pair of work suction means provided on the base at positions facing each other with a space therebetween, the work suction means for sucking the lower surface of the work;
an interval changing means for changing the interval between the pair of workpiece adsorption means;
having
Work transfer device. A control unit for controlling the work conveying device,
The control section controls the gap changing means and the workpiece adsorption means to cause the lower surface of the workpiece to be adsorbed by the pair of workpiece adsorption means to hold the workpiece in the workpiece holding means, and then the conveying means. to convey the workpiece holding means by controlling
The work conveying device according to claim 1. a support member that supports the workpiece adsorption means so as to be movable in the vertical direction with respect to the base;
The support member includes a first biasing member capable of biasing the workpiece attracting means upward, a second biasing member capable of biasing the workpiece attracting means downward;
has a
3. The work transfer device according to claim 1 or 2. a support member that supports the workpiece adsorption means so as to be movable in the vertical direction with respect to the base;
The support member is connected to a base member, a bracket movable in the vertical direction with respect to the base member and to which the workpiece attracting means is fixed, and the base member so as to be movable in the vertical direction. a shaft, and
a first biasing member that biases the shaft in one of the vertical directions with respect to the base member; a second biasing member that biases the bracket in the other vertical direction with respect to the base member; and a floating mechanism that supports the workpiece adsorption means in a floating state on the base member via the bracket and the shaft,
3. The work transfer device according to claim 1 or 2 .

Images