JP7378772B2 - Layering device for extremely small objects - Google Patents

Description

The present invention is a device that evens out the overlapping state when extremely small parts, such as semiconductor elements or electronic/electrical elements, are transported in a disorderly manner and are stacked in multiple layers or piled up. Regarding.

During the transportation of parts and materials, if they overlap in multiple layers or pile up, which may cause problems in the next process, it is necessary to level out the overlapping state. In order to level a pile of materials or parts, it is generally known to rock or vibrate the mounting surface or conveyance surface on which the pile of parts or materials is placed, or to use a spatula. , for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 are known.

For example, Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-316714) describes a spatula-like flattener that reciprocates in the width direction above the conveyor in order to flatten the materials and parts that are deposited on the conveyor and transported. A configuration is disclosed in which a restraining member is provided and the conveyance path of the conveyor is provided with a downward slope toward the downstream.

In addition, Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2012-41139) discloses that the bottom of a storage container for materials and parts can be moved up and down by a bottom moving means so that the workpieces piled up can be easily grasped by a picking device or a handling device. The three-dimensional posture recognition device recognizes the position and posture of the piled-up workpieces, outputs a signal indicating a change in the piled-up condition, and based on this signal, the bottom moving means operates to break the piled-up condition. is disclosed.

In the present invention, ultrathin and extremely small, such as semiconductor elements and electronic/electronic elements (hereinafter referred to as extremely small objects) corresponding to the above-mentioned parts and materials, are simply flattened to a predetermined thickness or have a flat surface as described above. In addition to this, there is a need to further strengthen the system for the following reasons.

The reason for this is that after the manufacturing process, there is a process such as appearance (surface) inspection, and at that time, if the extremely small objects overlap each other, individual inspection cannot be performed, or when moving the extremely small objects to the appearance inspection process or packaging process, This is because objects cannot be picked or handled properly if they overlap.

However, with the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, which involve rocking or vibrating the placement surface or conveyance surface or using a spatula, it is difficult to level a pile of materials or parts to a predetermined thickness or flatten the surface. Although it is possible to do this, it is not suitable for layering a pile of extremely small objects, and as a result, there was no effective method.

In other words, rocking or vibration causes the mounting surface or conveyance surface on which the extremely small object is placed in contact with it to rock or vibrate, so the extremely small object may rub or collide, causing physical damage. There is a possibility of giving. Furthermore, when a spatula is used, there is a possibility that a laminated miniature object may be caught between the spatula and the mounting surface or conveyance surface, or the spatula may rub against the tiny object, causing physical damage as described above.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-316714 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-41139

The problem to be solved by the present invention is that the methods disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, which involve rocking or vibrating the placement surface or conveyance surface with which an extremely small object comes into contact, or using a spatula, damage the extremely small object. This is not suitable because of the possibility of this, and in the end, there is no effective way to make a pile of extremely small objects into one layer.

In order to solve the above problems, the device for layering extremely small objects of the present invention includes a mounting table whose interior is hollow and has a large number of holes smaller than the object on the mounting surface of the extremely small object, and this mounting table. an intake/exhaust mechanism that is connected to and generates positive pressure or negative pressure inside the mounting base; a swing mechanism that swings the mounting base; and control that drives and controls the intake/exhaust mechanism and the swing mechanism. The apparatus further includes a sensor that scans an area above the height of the object on the object mounting surface of the mounting table in the width direction or length direction of the mounting table.

According to the present invention, when a pile of extremely small objects is placed on a mounting table, the intake and exhaust mechanism is driven and controlled via the control unit to generate positive pressure within the mounting table, and this positive pressure causes the upper surface of the mounting table to rise. Since air is ejected from a large number of holes to break up the pile of extremely small objects, at this point the extremely small objects are not rubbed or subjected to impact by other components other than the extremely small objects.

According to the present invention, the rocking mechanism is driven and controlled via the control unit to rock the mounting table while the air is being blown out. Therefore, the extremely small object can be rocked in a slightly levitated state. (the many holes of the mounting table swing relative to the extremely small object), and therefore, the overlapping extremely small objects can be layered without applying any external force to the extremely small objects. Further, since the present invention includes a sensor that scans an area above the height of the object on the object mounting surface of the mounting table in the width direction or length direction of the mounting table, it is possible to can be confirmed with certainty.

1A is a schematic end view of necessary parts as seen from the side, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of FIG. FIG. 1A is a schematic end view of necessary parts as seen from the downstream side in the transport direction, and FIG. 1B is a schematic diagram of FIG. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an apparatus for layering extremely small objects according to the present invention. (a) to (e) are diagrams showing the procedure for layering extremely small objects in the device for layering extremely small objects according to the present invention. (a) to (e) are diagrams for explaining in more detail (c) and (d) of FIG. 4 of the procedure for layering extremely small objects in the layering device for extremely small objects of the present invention. (a) to (c) are diagrams for explaining another method of layering a very small object in the device for layering a very small object according to the present invention. (a) is a diagram showing a modified configuration of the porous plate used in the device for layering extremely small objects according to the present invention, (b) is a partial cross-sectional view taken along line AA in (a), and (c) is a diagram showing B-- in (a). It is a partial sectional view taken along line B.

The present invention aims to establish an effective method for stacking a pile of extremely small objects into a single layer, and the present invention provides a mounting table that has a large number of holes smaller than the objects on the mounting surface of the extremely small objects, and is hollow inside. , a suction/exhaust mechanism connected to the mounting table to generate positive or negative pressure inside the mounting table; a swinging mechanism for swinging the mounting table; driving and controlling the suction/exhaust mechanism and the swinging mechanism. The apparatus further includes a sensor that scans an area above the height of the object on the object mounting surface of the mounting table in the width direction or length direction of the mounting table.

Regarding the large number of holes smaller than the microscopic object on the mounting surface of the mounting table, for example, the upper surface of the mounting table may be open, and a porous plate with air permeability formed with a large number of microscopic holes may be provided on this open surface. Of course, an infinite number of extremely small holes may be formed on the top surface of the mounting table.

The suction/exhaust mechanism is controlled by the control unit to generate positive or negative pressure inside the mounting table, and the swinging mechanism is controlled by the control unit to swing the mounting table forward, backward, left, right, and forward/backward at a predetermined angle in a plane. make it move. For example, in order to break up a pile of extremely small objects that are transported from an upstream process and are initially deposited on a mounting table, positive pressure is generated and air is blown out from a number of holes. The positive pressure applied to the mounting table may be continuous or intermittent.

As a result, the mountain collapses, and the extremely small objects are dispersed to some extent on the mounting table, and the extremely small objects that are no longer deposited above are slightly lifted off the mounting table by the jet of air. Then, a positive pressure is generated to blow out air, and then the mounting table is swung back and forth, left and right, and forward and backward at a predetermined angle in a plane by a swinging mechanism. As a result, the extremely small objects in a floating state or easily movable state become easier to move on the mounting table, and the extremely small objects are further dispersed and diffused on the mounting table.

In the present invention, by blowing out air from the mounting table and swinging, the extremely small objects are changed from an unstable stacked state to a stable state, that is, into a single layer. In addition, after air is ejected and oscillated for a predetermined period of time, a negative pressure is generated in the mounting table by the suction and exhaust mechanism, and the extremely small objects that were already present at the positions of many holes are suctioned and fixed. It is also possible to perform rocking and then rock the mounting table again while blowing out air.

Furthermore, since the present invention includes a sensor that scans an area above the height of the object on the object mounting surface of the mounting table in the width direction or length direction of the mounting table, can be confirmed with certainty.

Further, in the present invention, a wall surface may be provided at the edge of the upper surface of the mounting table. By doing so, it is possible to suppress the extremely small objects that are dispersed and diffused from falling off the mounting table.

Furthermore, in the present invention, an internal hollow wall surface may be provided at the edge of the upper surface of the mounting table to apply positive pressure to the inside of the wall surface. By doing this, extremely small objects will not remain near the corner between the wall surface and the top surface of the mounting table, and it will be possible to easily consolidate the extremely small objects into one layer by horizontally blowing air from the wall surface. .

Further, the present invention may include an inversion mechanism that inverts the upper and lower surfaces of the mounting table. By doing this, by turning the mounting table upside down while applying negative pressure inside the mounting table, it is possible to drop the extremely small object that is stacked on the extremely small object that is being sucked, and it is possible to ensure that the objects are stacked in one layer. I can do it.

Further, in the present invention, a pit into which only one extremely small object can fit may be formed on the top surface of the mounting table. By doing so, layering and alignment of extremely small objects can be performed at the same time.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Specific embodiments of the device for layering extremely small objects according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Reference numeral 1 denotes a very small object layering device (hereinafter referred to as layering device 1) for layering a large number of very small objects placed in a pile. Note that, hereinafter, the extremely small object will be referred to as a workpiece W. In this embodiment, the layering device 1 has the following configuration.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a mounting table on which the workpiece W is placed, which is hollow inside and has an open top surface in this example, and is provided with a porous plate 2A in which a large number of holes smaller than the workpiece W are formed. It is being

Furthermore, in this example, the mounting table 2 is provided with a wall surface 2B at each edge portion. In this example, the wall surface 2B is separate from the mounting table 2 and is hollow with an open inner surface facing the center of the mounting table 2, and the porous plate 2A is provided on this open surface.

Reference numeral 3 denotes an intake/exhaust mechanism that is connected to the mounting table 2 and generates positive pressure or negative pressure inside the mounting table 2. In this example, the intake/exhaust mechanism 3 does not perform intake/exhaust operations with respect to the wall surface 2B. Reference numeral 4 denotes a swinging mechanism for swinging the mounting table 2, and this swinging is performed in any one or more of forward and backward, left and right, normal rotation at a predetermined angle, and reverse rotation.

5 is a wall exhaust mechanism connected to the wall surface 2B in this example for generating positive pressure within the wall surface 2B and injecting intake air through the porous plate 2A. In other words, the layering device 1 in this example has a configuration in which the placement surface 2 is sucked and exhausted by the suction/exhaust mechanism 3, and the wall surface 2B is exhausted (only) by the wall exhaust mechanism 5. It has become. Therefore, the wall surface 2B is provided separately from the mounting table 2.

In this example, by providing an internal hollow wall surface 2B and a wall surface exhaust mechanism 5 that exhausts air to this wall surface 2B, the work W to be moved to a corner or a corner portion between the wall surface 2B and the upper surface of the mounting table 2 is centered. This can prevent the workpiece W from remaining in the corners and corners.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a reversing mechanism for reversing the mounting table 2 from front to back about an axis provided in the transport direction at the center of the mounting table 2 in the width direction (longitudinal direction = direction orthogonal to the transport direction). In order to detect the presence or absence of a portion that is not layered, the workpiece W is transported above the height of the object on the mounting surface of the mounting table 2, for example in the width direction of the mounting table 2. This is a scanning sensor consisting of a light emitting/receiving element that scans in the direction.

8 is a control unit that controls the intake and exhaust mechanism 3, the swing mechanism 4, the wall exhaust mechanism 5, the reversing mechanism 6, and the scanning sensor 7. The layering device 1 operates, for example, as follows by the control unit 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the overall operation is as shown in FIG. are placed in a heap on the mounting table 2.

Thereafter, as shown in (c), the control unit 8 causes the suction and exhaust mechanism 3 to apply positive pressure to the mounting table 2 and the wall exhaust mechanism 5 to apply positive pressure to the wall surface 2B. Air is injected from the plate 2A, and the mounting table 2 is swung by the swiveling mechanism 4.

After (c), as shown in (d), the control unit 8 activates the scanning sensor 7 to check whether there are any areas where two or more layers are still present on the mounting table 2, If they are layered, a signal to that effect is output to the next step, for example, the picking mechanism P in this example, and the works W are individually transported by the picking mechanism P as shown in (e).

If a non-stratified area is detected, the mounting table 2 may be oscillated while ejecting air, or, for example, air may be sucked to form a single layer until the scanning sensor 7 confirms the formation of a single layer. The process of swinging the mounting table 2 while fixing the workpiece W is repeated.

Here, FIGS. 4(c) and 4(d) will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5(a), the workpieces W piled up on the mounting table 2 are first moved by the air ejected from the upper surface of the mounting table 2 by the suction/exhaust mechanism 3, as shown in FIG. 5(b). As W is blown up from below, the foot of the mountain becomes wider and the height of the mountain becomes lower than in the initial state.

The less the work W is piled up, the easier it is to levitate with the air ejected from the mounting table 2, and if it levitates, it becomes easier to move, so the hem of the pile widens, and it gradually spreads and disperses over a wider area. Become. Note that at this time, the wall exhaust mechanism 5 is also exhausted at the same time as the air intake and exhaust mechanism 3 is exhausted, so that the gradually spreading workpiece W does not enter the corner or corner between the mounting table 2 and the wall surface 2B. Prevented.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 5(c), with the intake/exhaust mechanism 3 and the wall exhaust mechanism 5 activated, the rocking mechanism 4 swings the mounting table 2 back and forth, left and right, forward and backward at a predetermined angle. By repeating this, in addition to becoming easier to move due to levitation, the workpieces W try to change from the unstable stacked state to the layered state, and the workpieces W move into the gaps between the workpieces W. It will move, which means it will become more layered.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5(d), when the process shown in FIG. 5(c) is carried out for a certain period of time, the scanning sensor 7 detects whether there are any areas that are not layered. This scanning sensor 7 scans the workpiece W at a height corresponding to two layers, and if a portion at that height still exists, as described above, the process returns to FIG. In this example, the operations shown in FIGS. 5(c) and 5(d) are repeated until one layer is formed.

When it is confirmed in FIG. 5(d) that the layer is single-layered, the control unit 8 finally applies negative pressure to the mounting table 2 using the suction/exhaust mechanism 3, as shown in FIG. 5(e). Air is sucked from the mounting table 2, and the layered workpiece W is positioned on the mounting table 2 at that position. By inhaling air with the intake/exhaust mechanism 3 and positioning the workpiece W on the mounting table 2 in this way, the position and posture of the workpiece W will not shift during picking by the picking mechanism P, and the workpiece W will be It can be stably placed on the mounting table 2.

Note that a procedure using the reversing mechanism 6 shown in FIG. 6 may be added instead of the step of confirming the layering using the scanning sensor 7 of FIG. 5(d), or immediately before the step of FIG. 5(d). FIG. 6 will be described as an alternative to the procedure for confirming single layer formation using the scanning sensor 7.

That is, after performing the process shown in FIG. 5(c) for a predetermined period of time, as shown in FIG. Aspirate W. Then, after positioning the tray T below the mounting table 2 while sucking the workpiece W onto the mounting table 2, the reversing mechanism 6 is activated to turn the mounting table 2 from front to back as shown in FIG. 6(b). Invert.

When the mounting table 2 is reversed, the work W that is not attracted to the mounting table 2 among the two or more layers falls onto the tray T. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6(c), the reversing mechanism 6 is operated again to reverse the mounting table 2 from front to back, thereby making it possible to more reliably stack the work W in one layer.

Note that in the above description, the reversing mechanism 6 is provided in place of the scanning sensor 7 because the workpiece W can be reliably made into a single layer. The control may be such that the reversing mechanism 6 is operated when there is a portion where the rotation is not performed.

In addition, although the rocking mechanism 4 is configured to rock the mounting table 2 horizontally, front to back, right and left, and at a predetermined angle in forward and reverse directions, the rocking mechanism 4 can also swing the mounting table 2 in a planar manner by rotating forward and backward at a predetermined angle. A function to provide may be added. However, this vibration must not have such an amplitude as to give an impact to the workpiece W, nor must it have such a number of vibrations per unit time.

Furthermore, in the above description, the porous plate 2A has a large number of holes smaller than the size of the workpiece W, but as shown in FIGS. 7(a) to 7(c), for example, A pit 2C into which only one workpiece W can be inserted may be formed.

The pit 2C has a side wall extending from the top surface of the porous plate 2A to the inner bottom surface of the pit 2C, and is sloped downward toward the inner bottom surface, so that the workpiece W can be easily inserted into the pit 2C.

By employing the porous plate 2A in which the pits 2C are formed and carrying out the layering of the above steps, when the layers are layered, the work W is aligned in its posture on the porous plate 2A. , it becomes extremely easy to handle the workpiece W in subsequent steps.

According to the present invention, a suction/exhaust mechanism generates positive pressure or negative pressure in a large number of holes smaller than the object to be placed formed on the mounting surface, and a vibration mechanism controls the mounting table to swing. Therefore, extremely small objects placed in multiple layers can be flattened and become one stable layer.Also, by providing a wall at the edge of the top of the mounting table, or by making the wall hollow and applying positive pressure. , it is possible to more reliably layer extremely small objects in a short time.

1 (Minimum object) layering device 2 Mounting table 2A Porous plate 2B Wall surface 2C Pit 3 Intake/exhaust mechanism 4 Rocking mechanism 5 Wall exhaust mechanism 6 Reversing mechanism 7 Scanning sensor 8 Control section

Claims (5)

A mounting table that has a large number of holes even smaller than the object on the mounting surface of the extremely small object and is hollow inside, and a suction unit that is connected to this mounting table and generates positive pressure or negative pressure inside the mounting table. an exhaust mechanism, a swing mechanism that swings the mounting table, and a control section that drives and controls the suction/exhaust mechanism and the swing mechanism; 1. An apparatus for layering a large amount of extremely small objects placed in a pile, characterized by having a sensor that scans the upper part of the stack in the width direction or length direction of the mounting table . 2. The device for layering extremely small objects according to claim 1, wherein a wall surface is provided at the edge of the upper surface of the mounting table. 2. The device for layering extremely small objects according to claim 1, wherein an internal hollow wall surface is provided at the edge of the upper surface of the mounting table, and positive pressure is applied to the inside of the wall surface. 4. The device for layering extremely small objects according to claim 1, further comprising an inversion mechanism for inverting the upper and lower surfaces of the mounting table. 5. The apparatus for layering extremely small objects according to claim 1, wherein a pit into which only one extremely small object fits is formed on the top surface of the mounting table.

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