JPH01261841A - Transfer apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to mount two cassettes in close proximity and to implement the compact configuration for an entire apparatus and high working efficiency, by providing a rotary shaft which is supported with a rotary arm rotating around a fixed shaft and rotated in the reverse direction with respect to the rotary arm at a ratio of 1:2, providing a sucking means which is attached to the rotary shaft and reaches the upper part of the fixed shaft, and providing a lifting means which lifts and lowers a material to be transferred. CONSTITUTION:When a rotary arm 22 is rotated by 180 deg., a sucking arm 32 is rotated in the reverse direction by 360 deg.. Since the rotary angle of the sucking arm 32 with respect to a frame 9 is 180 deg., however, the direction of a wafer A which is sucked with the sucking arm 32 is reversed. The wafer A is moved to a cassette B' from a cassette B. After the wafer A has been moved to the cassette B', a motor on the side of the cassette B' is rotated, and the cassette B' is slightly lifted. When the upper surface of a supporting stage 3 is brought into contact with the wafer A, a solenoid valve is operated. Atmosphere is introduced into the sucking arm 32. The sucking of the wafer A is released through an air intake port 31. Thus, the wafer A is transferred. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the direction during the transfer movement. Since a supporting means for a material to be transferred can be provided in the vicinity of the side of the sucking means, the entire apparatus can be made compact.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to silicon wafers (hereinafter referred to as wafers) that are housed in large numbers in a cassette and used in the manufacture of LSIs.

The present invention relates to an improvement of a transfer device that transfers items such as ) one by one from one cassette 7) to another cassette.

[Conventional technology]

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a part of the circumference of the wafer A used for LSI is orientation flat 1.
(hereinafter referred to as orientation flat) is formed into a disk shape cut into a straight line.

The wafers A are placed one by one on the support stage 3 of a cassette B, which has a plurality of support stages 3 arranged on the side wall 2, with the orientation flat 1 in a fixed direction.

One of the supporting devices for transferring such a wafer A from one cassette B to another cassette B is as described below.

This transfer device places cassette B containing wafer A at an angle of 90 degrees from the center and cassette B into which wafer A is being transferred, with the entrance and exit of wafer A facing inward. and cents.

Then, extend the extendable arm from the center and insert it into the cassette B. After adsorbing the wafer A with its tip, retract the arm and pull out the wafer A to the center. Next, change the direction of the arm by 90" and Stretch it out and insert wafer A into case 7)B'.

After that, release the adsorption of wafer A and transfer it to cassette B.
When the wafer A is placed within the wafer A and the transfer is completed, the arm contracts and returns to the center point, and this process is repeated to complete the transfer of all wafers A.

By transferring wafer A in this way, cassette B is created.

The orientation of the orientation flat 1 of the wafer A in B is kept in the same direction.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In the above-mentioned conventional transfer device, the direction is changed after pulling out the wafer A from the cassette B, which increases the size of the entire device and requires time to change the direction, resulting in low work efficiency and the need to extend and retract the arm. Two drive systems are required: one for driving and one for changing direction.

In addition, with the belt-type device, when inserting the wafer into the cassette, the wafer was positioned by making it contact the back surface of the cassette B°, which had the disadvantage of causing minute cracks in the wafer A. .

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the conventional transfer i12 device, and by eliminating the need to change the direction of the arm that holds the wafer, it is possible to install two cassettes close to each other, and the device The purpose of Fig. 1 is to reduce the overall size, improve work efficiency, and enable operation with a single drive system.

By tilting the cassette, the insertion depth of the wafer is made constant, the cassette can be easily attached to and removed from the support base, and the wafer is prevented from hitting the suction means and the wafer is damaged during this attachment and detachment. The second purpose is to

(Means for Solving the Problem!!) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the transfer device of the present invention includes a fixed shaft, a rotating arm rotated around the fixed shaft by a driving means, and a rotary arm that is rotated around the fixed shaft by a driving means. a rotating shaft supported by the arm and rotated in the opposite direction to the rotating arm at a ratio of 1:2; a suction means attached to the rotary shaft reaching the upper part of the fixed shaft; and a side of the suction means. located opposite the
A support means for supporting transferred objects and a suction means for transferred objects! !
The support means is provided with a lifting means for raising and lowering the support means to place and separate the support means.

Further, when the transferred object is a wafer housed in a cassette serving as a support means, a tilting means is provided for tilting the support table to which the cassette is attached and which is raised and lowered by the raising and lowering means when it is raised to the highest position. is effective.

[Operation] In the transfer device of the present invention, when the rotary arm rotates, the rotary shaft provided on the rotary arm rotates in the opposite direction to the rotary arm at a ratio of 1:2, so that the rotation center of the rotary arm The point of the suction means that coincides with this will move on a straight line passing through this center of rotation.

However, this point of the suction means rotates by 180 m while passing on the above-mentioned straight line.

Due to the linear movement of the suction means due to the rotation of this rotating arm,
A suction means is inserted under the object to be transferred that is supported by one of the supporting means, and the object to be transferred is lowered by the elevating means, and the object to be transferred is placed on the suction means and adsorbed.

Next, the rotary arm is rotated 1800 times, and the transferred object is inserted into the other supporting means by the linear movement of the suction means, and then the adsorption of the transferred object by the suction means is released, and this supporting means is moved by the lifting means. It rises to support the load.

In addition, if the transferred item is a wafer stored in a cassette,
When attaching or detaching a cassette, the support table is raised to the highest position, tilted by a tilting means, and the wafer is moved to the back of the support table to align the front and back positions of the wafer with respect to the cassette.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Next, as an example of the implementation of the present invention, a cassette wafer transfer device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6.

In this transfer device, the seventh
The cassette B shown in FIGS. A pair of supports 5 are provided as shown in FIG.

Each support platform 5 is attached to the elevator platform 6 so that the opposite side thereof can be raised by a shaft 7 of the elevator platform 6,
The tilt due to the rise is caused by the support platform 5 being the lifting platform 6.
By hitting the target, the board is kept from tilting.

This elevating table 6 is attached to the upper end of a support rod 12 of an elevating block 11 that can be raised and lowered by a guide shaft 10 of a frame 9, and the elevating block 11 is threadedly engaged with an insert pin 14 driven by a motor 13.

Therefore, when the insert pin 14 is rotated by the motor 13, the elevating block 11 screwed thereon is moved to the guide shaft 1.
Since the lifting platform 6 is raised and lowered while being guided by the support ring 12, the lifting platform 6 is also raised and lowered by the support ring 12.

A protruding piece 15 is provided on one side of the support base 5 so that when the elevating table 6 rises as described above, the protruding piece 15 hits the locking piece 16 provided on the frame 9 near the end. It has become.

Therefore, if the lifting platform 6 rises further, the locking piece 1
6 prevents the protrusion 15 from rising, so the support base 5
is inclined at an angle such that the center side rises with respect to the axis 7.

Therefore, the cassette B is attached to the support stand 5.

Bo is tilted so that the distance between its opposing upper ends is widened, but normally the support base 5 does not tilt to the extent that it hits the stopper 8, but if the support base 5 tries to tilt further due to some force. At this time, the stopper 8 prevents this.

The sensor 17 detects the position of the block at a fixed reference position, and the sensor signal thus detected is transmitted to the motor 13 to control its rotation.

On the other hand, a transfer operation section C is installed on a frame 9 between the opposing support tables 5.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this transfer operation section C includes:
A rotating arm 22 is attached to a central shaft 21 driven by a motor 20.
are integrally installed.

A space 23 serving as a vacuum passage is provided around the central axis 21.
A fixed shaft 24 fixed to the frame 9 via
is provided.

Further, a rotating shaft 26 formed in a hollow 25 is rotatably supported on the rotating arm 22, and the hollow 25 and the space 23 are communicated through a passage hole 27 of the rotating arm 22.

A pulley 28 is attached to the fixed shaft 24, a pulley 29 having half the diameter of the pulley 28 is attached to the rotating shaft 26, and a timing belt 30 is installed between the pulleys 28 and 29.

Therefore, when the rotary arm 22 is rotated by the motor 20, the timing belt 3 installed between the pulleys 28 and 29
0, the rotating shaft 26 rotates in the opposite direction by an angle twice the rotation angle of the rotating arm 22.

A suction arm 32 having an intake hole 31 on its upper surface is attached to the upper end of the rotating shaft 26, with the intake hole 31 communicating with the hollow space 25.

Then, as shown in the two-dot chain line in Fig. 6, both force sensor)B
, B', that is, when the rotary arm 22 is located at a position between the two support stands 5, the suction arm 32 is at a position overlapping the rotary arm 22.

Therefore, when the rotary arm 22 rotates in the direction indicated by the one-dot chain line in the figure, the suction arm 32 rotates in the opposite direction by an angle twice that, so that the dot that was aligned with the center of the fixed shaft 24 of the suction arm 32 is , cassettes B and B' on the straight line E-E° connecting the centers of the cassettes B and B'.

When the rotation angle of the rotary arm 22 reaches 901, the suction arm 32 also reaches the dotted line EE', and the dot coincides with the center F of the wafer A stored in the cassette B. It is something.

Next, this transfer! The operation at position a will be explained. First,
The left and right support stands 5 are raised as described above by the rotation of the motors 13, respectively. When the sensor 17 detects that the lifting block 11 has reached a certain level l, the motors 13 are then rotated by a certain amount. After tilting the support base 5, the motor 13 stops.

In this state, the cassette B is placed on each of the two support stands 5.

When installing cassette B, cassette B is also tilted, so even if the front and rear positions of wafers A stored in cassette B are uneven, wafers A will slide into the rear side of cassette B and the cassette It touches the back side of B and is aligned at a certain position.

In addition, this inclination reduces the risk of cassette B and wafer A hitting the suction arm 32, preventing damage to wafer A and the thin suction arm 32, and making it easy to attach and detach cassettes B and B' that are close to each other. becomes.

The above-mentioned alignment of wafers A with respect to cassette B is carried out in the same way when the transfer is completed and cassette B' containing wafers A is removed.

When the installation of cassettes B and B' is completed as described above, the motor 13 on the cassette B side rotates in the opposite direction, and the lifting platform 6
After lowering the protruding piece 15 and the locking piece 16 and returning the support stand 5 to the horizontal position, the lower surface of the lowermost wafer A in the cassette B is positioned slightly above the upper surface of the suction arm 32. Lower it until it stops and stop.

At the same time, the motor 13 on the cassette B° side also rotates in the opposite direction to return the support stand 5 to the horizontal position, until the upper surface of the uppermost support stage 3 of the cassette B is positioned slightly above the upper surface of the suction arm 32. Lower it and stop.

During the downward movement of these cassettes B and B', the suction arm 32
is located at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 6, but the above case line)
When B and B' have finished lowering, the rotation @22 rotates 90'' to the solid line position A'' in the figure, and the suction arm 32 enters the lower surface of the wafer A in a straight line therewith.

At this time, the point on the suction arm 32 and the center F of the wafer A are aligned, and then the motor 13 on the cassette B side
rotates slightly to lower the cassette B, bringing the lower surface of the wafer A into contact with the upper surface of the suction arm 32.

Then, a solenoid valve (not shown) connected to the space 23 through a connection path 33 is operated, and in order to make this into a vacuum state, the suction arm 32 is moved through the passage hole 23 and the hollow space 25.
The suction arm 32 suctions the wafer A.

Next, since the rotary arm 22 rotates 180 degrees, the suction arm 32
rotates 360'' in the opposite direction.

However, the rotation angle of the suction arm 32 with respect to the frame 9 is
Since 360"-180"=180', the suction arm 32
The wafer A attracted by the wafer A is rotated by 180'', that is, the direction is reversed.

When the rotary arm 22 rotates, the dot of the suction arm 32 moves on the dotted line E-E', so the center F of the aligned wafers A coincides with the dot, so the center F is straight &1lE-E.
Wafer A moves from cassette B to cassette B°.

In addition to this transfer of wafer A, the position of orientation flat 1 with respect to cassette B° when wafer A is transferred to cassette B° is the same as that when wafer A is accommodated in cassette B because wafer A is rotated 1809 degrees as described above. This is the same relationship as the position of the orientation flat 1.

Also, since the center F of the wafer A moves on the straight line F, -E', its circumference hits the wall surface 2 of the cassette B, B',
The suction arm 32 and the wafer A will not be damaged due to contact.

After the wafer A is transferred to the cassette B, the motor 13 on the cassette B side rotates to transfer the wafer A to the cassette B.

After the upper surface of the support stage 3 is brought into contact with the wafer A, the 1i magnetic valve is operated to introduce atmospheric air into the suction arm 32 and eliminate the suction of the wafer A by the suction hole 31. , the transfer of wafer A is completed.

After that, the rotary arm 22 is rotated 180 degrees and returned to the position indicated by the solid line on the side of the cassette B in FIG. Lower it to the top and cassette B at the same time.

is raised to raise the upper surface of the next supporting stage 3 to slightly above the upper surface of the suction arm 32.

Then, by repeating the operation of rotating the rotary arm 22, all the wafers A in the cassette B are transferred to the cassette B°.

The present invention relates to a wafer A housed in the above-mentioned cassette.
In addition to the transfer described above, the present invention can be used as a transfer device that transfers various objects by reversing the angle thereof, and each part thereof can be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the present invention, there is no need to change the direction of movement of the suction means during the transfer operation of the transferred object, unlike on a branch, and the means for supporting the transferred object can be installed close to the side of the suction means. The entire device can be made smaller, and since a mechanism for changing the direction is not required, the configuration can be simplified, and the time and cost for changing the direction can be shortened and the operating distance can be shortened, making it possible to transfer the device at high speed.

When the transferred object is transferred to the support means, the speed of the suction means in the transfer direction becomes 0, so there is a risk that the transferred object, especially the wafer, will hit the cassette and cause damage such as minute chips or cracks. Nor.

Furthermore, since the transferred object is rotated by 180 degrees during the transfer, the direction relative to the support means is kept the same before and after the transfer, and in the case of a wafer, the position of the orientation flat relative to the cassette is Since it is made constant, it is possible to eliminate the need for alignment later.

Furthermore, by connecting the rotating shaft and the fixed shaft with a planetary gear, a belt, etc., the transfer driving means can be driven by a single driving means.

If used to transfer wafers housed in a cassette, tilting the cassette when loading or unloading the cassette aligns the wafers, making the position of the wafers sucked by the suction means constant, and keeping the center straight. Since it can be moved, there is no chance of the wafer coming into contact with the cassette and becoming unadsorbed.

Furthermore, in addition to making it easier to attach and detach cassettes in close proximity, since the cassettes are inserted into a small space between wafers, there is a risk that the thin and easily damaged suction means will collide with the wafers or cassettes, causing damage to them. This has the effect of reducing

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the transfer operation section of one embodiment of the present invention;
The figure is a plan view, Figure 3 is a front view of the whole, Figure 4 is a side view, Figure 5 is a plan view, and Figure 6 is a plane showing the relationship between the arrangement of the cassette, the suction arm, and the rotating arm. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the cassette, and FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional view thereof. A...Wafer B, B'...Cassette C...Ppfi! Operating part 130. OriFla 2...
・Side wall 3...Support stage 5...Support stand
6... Elevating table 9... Frame 11... Elevating block 14, , , Vibration rod 15... Protruding piece 1
6... Locking piece 21... Central shaft 22... Rotating arm 24... Fixed shaft 26... Rotating shaft 28
．． 29...Pulley 30...Timing belt 3
1...Intake hole 32...Suction arm

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A fixed shaft, a rotating arm rotated around the fixed shaft by a driving means, and a rotary arm that is pivotally supported by the rotating arm and rotates in the opposite direction with a ratio of 1:2. a rotating shaft, a suction means attached to the rotary shaft and reaching an upper part of the fixed shaft, and located opposite to the side of the suction means,
1. A transfer device comprising a support means for supporting an object to be transferred, and an elevating means for raising and lowering the support means to place and separate the object on an adsorption means. 2. The transferred object is a wafer, the support means is a cassette, and the cassette is attached to the support table, which is raised and lowered by the lifting means, and when the support table is raised and lowered by the lifting means, the support table is tilted by tilting means. A transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising: a transfer device according to claim 1;