JPH01184843A - Magazine transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To realize a magazine transfer apparatus capable of moving magazines in a linear direction without generating pulsation, by moving two arms in the manner in which the two arms form always an isosceles triangle. CONSTITUTION:The length of a first arm 11 is equal to that of a second arm 12. The rotation angle theta2 of a second rotating mechanism M22 is constituted so as to be twice the rotation angle theta1 of a first rotating mechanism M11. An up-and-down mechanism 14 expands and contracts an arms 15 in the manner in which the chuck 13 comes at the height of a point A. The chuck 13 pinches a magazine at this point. When the magazine is pinched, the chuck 13 is again made to ascend by the up-and-down mechanism from the point A to a point B. Next, the second rotating mechanism M12 is rotated at a speed twice the first rotating mechanism M11, and the chuck 13 is horizontally transferred from the point B to a point C. Therefore the horizontal displacement from the point B to the point C can be performed by a complete linear motion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a magazine conveyance device, and more particularly to a magazine conveyance device that conveys a magazine in a linear direction.

(Prior Art) In a charged beam device such as an electron beam lithography device or a focused ion beam device, a beam emitted from a charged beam source is accelerated and focused, and then irradiated onto a material. In this type of device, a charged beam source, a route through which the beam passes, materials, etc. are placed in a vacuum chamber such as a lens barrel and maintained in a vacuum state. Since the material needs to be replaced each time, a material chamber is provided within the device. In general, a method is adopted in which a plurality of materials are loaded in a magazine and the magazine is transported into the material chamber. A magazine transport device is generally used to transport the magazine to the material chamber. After the material such as a wafer is grabbed by the magazine's gripping mechanism outside the vacuum chamber, it is transported into the material chamber by the magazine transporting mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional configuration of a magazine conveying device. In the figure, 1 has rotating mechanisms Ml and M2 at both ends.
A first arm 2 has one end connected to the first arm 1 via a rotation mechanism M2, and a second arm 2 has a magazine gripping mechanism 3 attached to the other end for gripping the magazine. It is the arm of For example, a motor is used as a drive source for the rotation mechanisms M1 and M2, and a chuck as shown in the figure is used as the magazine gripping mechanism 3.

In the device configured as described above, when moving the magazine (not shown) from point a to point b in the figure, first fix the rotating mechanism M1, and then rotate it so that it moves along this trajectory l. Rotation angle θ1 of mechanisms M1 and M2. Control θ2.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As can be seen from the configuration of FIG. 3, the conventional device has a vector coordinate system. Therefore, in order to move the gripping mechanism 3 along the trajectory l, each rotation mechanism Ml, M
2 rotation angle θ1. It is necessary to control θ2. In order to perform linear motion using such a solid coordinate system,
Vector coordinate is X.

Converted to y coordinate. For this reason, high-speed linear movement is extremely difficult. Therefore, in order to realize horizontal movement,
As shown in FIG. 4, it is approximated by a plurality of circular arcs. Therefore, when moving the magazine using the conventional device, large vibrations and minute vibrations are generated, causing problems such as difficulty in accurately positioning the material.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and
(The purpose of this is to realize a magazine transport device that can move in a straight line without pulsating.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, includes a first arm having a rotatable first rotation mechanism and a second rotation mechanism attached to both ends thereof; a second arm, one end of which is connected to one end of the first arm via a second rotation mechanism and a magazine gripping mechanism attached to the other end; and the other end of the first arm. a vertical mechanism connected to the first rotation mechanism to move the arm in the vertical direction, the first arm and the second arm are made equal in length, and the rotation of the second rotation mechanism is It is characterized in that the angle is twice the rotation angle of the first rotation mechanism.

(Function) By keeping the ratio of the lengths of the two arms and the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism that rotates these arms at a predetermined value,
A magazine transport mechanism with a vector coordinate system is used to achieve linear motion without pulsation.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a mechanical configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 11 is a first arm 1 to which a rotatable first rotation mechanism M11 and a second rotation mechanism M12 are attached to both ends. A magazine gripping mechanism (chuck in this case) 1 is connected to the other end via a second rotating mechanism M12.
3 is the second arm attached. 14 is the first
The arms 11 and 12 are connected to the first rotating mechanism M11 at the other end of the arm 11 through a telescopic arm 15.
It is a vertical mechanism that moves the vertical direction. The first arm 11 and the second arm 12 have the same length, and are configured such that the rotation angle θ2 of the second rotation mechanism M12 is twice the rotation angle θ1 of the first rotation mechanism M11. has been done. The first rotating mechanism M11 and the chuck 13 are at the same height.

The operation of the device configured as described above will be explained as follows.

A case will be described in which the chuck 13 is moved along a trajectory l' from point A to point D using the apparatus shown in the figure. First of all,
A vertical mechanism 14 extends and contracts the arm 15 so that the chuck 13 is at the height of point A.

The chuck 13 then grips a magazine (not shown) at this position. After gripping the magazine, the chuck 13 is raised again from point A to point B by the vertical mechanism 14. Chuck 1
3 reaches point B, the second rotating mechanism M12 is rotated at twice the speed of the first rotating mechanism M11 to remove the chuck 13.
horizontally move from point B to point 0. According to the invention,
This horizontal movement from point B to point 0 can be made into a complete linear movement (details will be discussed).

When the chuck 13 reaches the 0 point, the chuck 13 is again lowered from the 0 point to the D point by the vertical mechanism 14, and when the chuck 13 reaches the D point, the chuck 13 releases the magazine (not shown). The magazine can be moved from point A to point D by the sequence shown above. Moreover, no pulsation such as shaking or vibration occurs in the magazine during movement.

Next, using FIG. 2, it will be explained that the horizontal movement from point 8 to point 0 is a complete linear movement.

In triangle OPQ, side OP is the length of first arm 11 and side PQ is the length of second arm 12. As described above, side oP=side PQ, and point 0 and point Q are at the same height. Therefore, triangle OPQ becomes an isosceles triangle. Here, if the length of each side is R, then the 0 point is the origin (0
, 0), the coordinates of point Q are (2RCO8θ1.O).

Here, if only O1 is rotated clockwise by Δθ1, point Q moves to point 01. The coordinates of point 01 at this time are expressed by the following equation.

X coordinate of point 01 -2RCO3θ1 Y coordinate -14πRCO8θ1·(Δθ1/360) Furthermore, if only O2 is rotated counterclockwise by Δθ2, point Q moves to point 02. The coordinates of point 02 at this time are expressed by the following equation.

X coordinate of point 02 = 2RCO8θ1+ (2πR・Δθ2/360)CO8(O2/2)y coordinate=(2πR・Δθ2/360)xSIN(O2/2) Here, the conditions of O1 and 02 at the same time and 2Δθ1−Δθ2 If it is rotated by , then point Q moves to point 03. This can be expressed as a vector as shown in the following equation.

QQ3-QQl +QQ2 Then, the X and y coordinates of point 03 are the following formula% Formula% From the above, the y coordinate is y coordinate - 2πR (Δθt/360) , the y coordinate is always O, so O1 and 02 are expressed as 2Δθ1−Δθ
If you move it continuously while maintaining the condition of 2, the Q point will be 0 and Q
Move in the positive direction on the line connecting . Therefore, chuck 13
will perform linear motion.

Here, in order to realize 2Δθ1−Δθ2, the first and second rotation mechanisms M11. For example, a method may be used in which step motors are used as M12 and the driving frequency of these step motors is set to 1:2, or a method in which the same frequency is used but the ratio of rotation angles is changed by a gear ratio. Also,
By adding a rotation mechanism to the vertical mechanism 14, the degree of freedom of movement can be increased.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above in detail, according to the present invention, the magazine can be moved in a straight line without causing pulsation by moving the two arms so that they always form an isosceles triangle. It is possible to realize a magazine conveying device that can.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a mechanical configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the movement locus of the magazine, Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a conventional device, and Fig. 4 is a diagram showing the magazine in the conventional device. FIG. 11.12.15... Arm 13... Chuck 14... Vertical mechanism M11
．． M12...Rotating mechanism Yusho 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4

Claims (1)

[Claims] A first arm has a first rotatable mechanism and a second rotary mechanism attached to both ends thereof, and one end of the first arm is connected to the second rotary mechanism via one end of the first arm and the second rotary mechanism. a second arm connected to the first arm and having a magazine gripping mechanism attached to the other end; and a vertical mechanism connected to the first rotation mechanism at the other end of the first arm to move the arm in the vertical direction. The length of the first arm and the second arm are equal, and the rotation angle of the second rotation mechanism is equal to the length of the second arm.
A magazine transport device configured to have a rotation angle twice as large as the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism.