JPH0139375B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to load transport equipment in a clean room, which is used to transport loads such as wafers, which should be protected against dirt and dust, within the clean room.

Conventional configuration and its problems Conventionally, a configuration has been adopted in which rails are provided in a clean room and a self-propelled trolley is provided which is guided by the rails and can freely travel back and forth on a fixed route. Here, the self-propelled trolley has a drive motor for traveling, and further has a direction change drive motor when a load support part whose direction can be changed is provided on the upper part. This has led to the self-propelled trolley becoming larger and heavier, and as a result, the entire load transfer equipment has become larger and the space occupied by the equipment in the clean room has become larger. In addition, with the conventional type, dust is generated when the wheels of the self-propelled cart roll in contact with the rails, or when the current collection brush on the self-propelled cart comes into contact with the power supply rail laid on the rails, making it difficult to clean. This will have a negative impact on the In order to deal with this dust, it has been considered to install rails inside the duct, but this would make the load transport equipment even larger.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide load transport equipment in a clean room that can solve the above-mentioned conventional problems.

Composition of the Invention In order to achieve the above object, the load transfer equipment in a clean room according to the present invention is provided with a box-shaped duct having a suction duct attached to the lower outer surface side, and a guide body is laid on the bottom surface of the box-shaped duct. The guided body, which is guided by the guide body in a sliding manner, is attached to a movable base disposed within a box-shaped duct, a cable body is disposed within the box-shaped duct, and a suitable position of this cable body is attached to the movable base disposed within the box-shaped duct. A driving device for reciprocating the cable in the longitudinal direction is provided in an operating chamber formed at the end of the box-shaped duct, and a vertical axis passing through a slit formed in the top plate of the box-shaped duct is provided. is rotatably attached to the movable base, a rectangular plate-shaped load support part is attached to the protrusion of the vertical shaft with one end in the longitudinal direction, a push-pull rod is provided on the movable base, and the push-pull rod is provided on the movable base, and The two are interlocked and connected so that the vertical axis can be rotated in forward and reverse directions by the pushing and pulling movements of the rod, and a load transfer device is provided outside the box-shaped duct at a suitable location, and at the appropriate location, the rod can be freely operated to face the pushing and pulling rod. The device is installed in the box-shaped duct.

Embodiment and operation An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings. 1 is a box-shaped duct installed in a clean room 2, and is composed of a bottom plate 1A, a pair of left and right side plates 1B, and a top plate 1C. In addition to forming the slit 3, a large number of suction holes 4 are also formed in the bottom plate 1A. On the bottom plate 1A in the box-shaped duct 1,
A guide body 5, which is one side of the LM guide structure, is laid over the entire length in the longitudinal direction, and the other guided body 6, which is guided in contact with this guide body 5, is disposed within the box-shaped duct (1). It is attached to the lower part of the movable table 7. Inside the box-shaped duct 1 is an endless cable 8.
are arranged along the length. That is, on one end side of the box-shaped duct 1, a pair of guide wheels 9, 10 whose phases are shifted in the front and rear as well as up and down directions, and a drive wheel 11 located below these guide wheels 9, 10 are arranged. Further, on the other end side, a pair of guide wheels 12 and 13 whose phases are shifted in the front and rear as well as up and down directions, and a tension wheel 14 located below these guide wheels 12 and 13 are arranged. The cable body 8 is disposed between these rings 9 to 14, and therefore, in the box-shaped duct 1, it is located in a pair of upper and lower parts on one side and over the entire length in the length direction. In the box-shaped duct 1, several receiving rings 15 are provided to prevent the cables 8 from sagging. The appropriate position in the upper straight part of the cable body 8 is the movable base 7.
They are connected by a connecting member 16 from. A working chamber 18 is formed by a cover frame 17 at one end of the box-shaped duct 1, and a drive device 19 for reciprocating the cable 8 in the longitudinal direction is provided within the working chamber 18. This drive device 19 includes a motor 20 and a transmission mechanism 23 that interlocks an output shaft 21 of this motor 20 and a drive wheel shaft 21. An adjustment chamber 25 is formed by a cover frame 24 on the other end side of the box-shaped duct 1, and a weight 27 that can be raised and lowered by being guided by a guide rod 26 is provided in this adjustment chamber 25. The tension ring 14 is attached to the upper part. Therefore, by driving the drive device 19 forward and backward, the movable base 7 can be moved back and forth within the box-shaped duct 1. A vertical shaft 29 is rotatably provided at the upper part of the other end of the movable table 7 via a bearing device 28.
9 projects outward through the slit 3. A rectangular plate-shaped (rectangular plate-shaped) load support part 30 is attached to the protrusion of the vertical shaft 29 at one end in the length direction, and a position regulating plate 31 is further attached to the upper surface of the load support part 30. A carrier (which stores wafers and is an example of a load) 32 can be placed at the intermediate portion and the other end of the load support section 30 in the length direction, respectively. The carrier 32 has a locking portion 32A projecting laterally at the upper end of the movable base 7.
A pair of left and right support brackets 33 are provided on the top,
A plurality of upper and lower guide rods 34 are attached between these support brackets 33. The block 35 is guided by these guide rods 34 and can be moved left and right.
The block 35 is urged to move toward the other side by a spring 36 provided between the block 35 and the support bracket 33 on one side. The block 35 has a push rod 37 along the guide rod 34.
A stopper plate 38 is attached to one side of the push/pull rod 37, and an operation receiver 39 is attached to the other side. Said push/pull rod 37
is pulled out and biased toward the other side by a spring 40 provided between the operation receiver 39 and the block 35, and the other side of the operation receiver 39 is aligned with a positioning surface 39a that is V-shaped in plan view. It has been formed. Note that the elastic force of the gentle spring 40 is set to be greater than the elastic force of the spring 36. Therefore, the push/pull rod 37
When the block 35 is pushed in and moved, the block 35 moves integrally against the spring 36. A rack portion 41 is provided on the block 35, and a pinion 42 that engages with the rack portion 41 is attached to the vertical shaft 29, so that the vertical shaft 29 can be rotated in forward and reverse directions by the push and pull movement of the push-pull rod 37. Both 37 and 29 are interlocked and connected. Here, when the push-pull rod 37 is pulled out to the farthest side, the load support section 31 is set so that its length direction is along the length direction of the box-shaped duct 1.
A cargo transfer device 43 is provided on one side of the box-shaped duct 1 at a proper location outside the box-shaped duct 1, and an operating device 44 that can freely oppose the push-pull rod 37 is provided on the other side of the box-shaped duct 1. . The operating device 44
The drive unit 45 and the operation receiver 3 are driven by the drive unit 45.
9, and a roller 47 attached to the inner end of the operating rod 46. The outside of the box-shaped duct 1 is entirely covered by a cover 49. Here, the stroke of the operating rod 46 is
The length is set to be necessary to rotate the load support part 30 by [90+α] degrees, and at that time, the load support part 30
A stopper bracket 50 is provided to restrict the rotation to 90 degrees, and the rotation is configured to be absorbed by the slack spring 40. Note that the stopper bracket 50 is attached to the vertical shaft 29 and receives the load support section 30. The cargo delivery device 43 is
A rectangular cylindrical body 51 standing upright, and this prismatic cylindrical body 51
A vertical slit 52 formed in the center of the front surface of the
, a movable body 53 located inside and outside of the rectangular cylinder 51 through the slit 52 , and a vertical guide rail 54 attached to the rear inner surface of the rectangular cylinder 51 .
It consists of a guided body 55 guided by the guide rail 54 and integrated with the movable body 53, a chain-driven lifting drive device 56, and a load holder 57 attached to the front surface of the movable body 53, This load holder 57 has a pair of holding arms 57a, 57a. The distance between the inner surfaces of both holding arms 57a is set to a dimension that allows passage of the carrier 32 but does not allow passage of the locking portion 32A. 58 indicates a locate pin. A suction duct 59 is arranged on the outside (lower surface side) of the bottom plate 1A of the box-shaped duct 1,
A suction pipe 60 communicates with this suction duct 59 .

The operation of the above embodiment will be explained below. Here, the operation of transferring the carrier 32 on the load support section 30 to the floor side by the load transfer device 43 will be explained. It can be transferred to the above. When the carrier 32 is placed on the load support part 30, the length direction of the load support part 30 is along the length direction of the box-shaped duct 1, and the load support part 30 is accommodated within the width of the box-shaped duct 1. There is. At this time, both springs 36 and 40 are fully extended, as shown by solid lines in FIG. 5, and both the block 35 and the push-pull rod 37 have moved to the other side the most. In this state, the drive device 19 is operated to move the cable 8. Then, the cable body 8 is connected via the connecting member 16 etc.
A movable platform 7, which is integral with the carrier, moves guided by the guide body via the guided body 6, and stops at the location of the load transfer device 43 and the operating device 44 as detected by a suitable detection means. Next, the operating device 44 is actuated to control the roller 47 via the operating rod 46.
advance. Then, first, the roller comes into contact with the positioning surface 39a, and pushes and moves the push-pull rod 37 as one unit. At this time, since the elastic force of the loose spring 40 is greater than the elastic force of the spring 36, the block 35 moves against the spring 36, and the vertical shaft 29 rotates via the rack portion 41 and pinion 42. As a result, the load support section 30 swings together with the vertical shaft 29, causing the carrier 32 to protrude outward from one side of the box-shaped duct 1. When the load support part 30 is swung 90 degrees at right angles, the bearing device 28 is held against the stopper bracket 5.
0, and further swinging is prevented. After that, the operating rod 46 moves a little (α minute), but
The amount of movement is absorbed by the elastic deformation of the spring 40, resulting in the state shown by the imaginary line in FIG. When the carrier 32 is extended, the holding arm 57a is located below the carrier 32 as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, and in this state, the lifting drive device 56 is operated to raise the holding arm 57a. Both the holding arms 57a move up on the sides of the carrier 32 and are engaged with the locking portions 32A, so that the carrier 32 is moved up as shown by the imaginary line A in FIG.
from the load support section 30. after that,
The operating device 44 is reversely operated to retract the operating rod 46. Then, the push-pull rod 37 is pushed out by the elastic force of the gentle spring 40, and then the spring 36
The elastic force causes the block 35 to move toward the other side. By this movement, the vertical shaft 29 of the rack part 41 is rotated through the pinion 42 in the opposite direction to that described above, and the empty load support part 30 is swung so as to fit within the box-shaped duct 1 as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. make it move. The movable base 7 is then moved back. The carrier 3 received by the holding arm 57a as shown by the imaginary line A in FIG.
2 is received with high accuracy because it is received via the locate pin 58. After the load support part 30 escapes as described above, the lifting drive device 56 is reversely operated to lower the holding arm 57a.
As a result, the carrier 32 is lowered as shown by the phantom line B in FIG. The dropped carrier 32 is removed mechanically or manually.

During the above-mentioned work, an air current is generated on the box-shaped duct 1 side, flowing from the slit 3 into the box-shaped duct 1, through the suction hole 4, into the suction duct 59, and into the suction pipe 60. The dust generated in the duct 1 is transferred from the slit 3 to the clean room 2.
It is removed by suction through the suction tube 60 without leaking into the interior.

As shown in the above embodiment, by employing the combination structure of the positioning surface 39a and the roller 47, it is possible to achieve high positioning accuracy. Further, the configuration of the stopper bracket 50 and the relief spring 40 allows rotation of 90 degrees at all times by setting the amount of operation of the operating device 44 to (90+α) degrees.

Effects of the Invention According to the load transport equipment in a clean room configured according to the present invention, the following effects can be expected. In other words, since the travel drive device and load support rotation drive device are not provided on the movable platform (traveling platform) side, the movable platform can be expected to be smaller and lighter. This makes it possible to reduce the space occupied by equipment in the clean room.
It can be easily arranged in terms of space.
Additionally, since no wheels or current collection mechanisms are used, the generation of dust inside the box-shaped duct can be minimized.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical side view, Fig. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view, Fig. 3 is a front view, and Fig. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the main part. , FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional plan view of the main part, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal cross-sectional front view of the same. 1...Box-shaped duct, 1A...Bottom plate, 1B...Side plate, 1C...Top plate, 2...Clean room, 3...
...Slit, 5...Guide body, ...Guided body,
7...Movable platform, 8...Cable body, 18...Working chamber, 1
9... Drive device, 25... Adjustment chamber, 29... Vertical axis, 30... Load support section, 32... Carrier (load),
32A...Locking portion, 35...Block, 36...
Spring, 37...Push/pull rod, 38...Stopper plate, 39...Operation receiver, 39a...Positioning surface, 40...Slow spring, 41...Rack part, 42
...Pinion, 43...Cargo delivery device, 44...
...Operating device, 46... Operating rod, 47... Roller,
50... Stopping bracket, 53... Movable body,
56... Lifting drive device, 57... Load holder, 57
a... Holding arm, 59... Suction duct.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A box-shaped duct with a suction duct attached to the outer surface of the lower part is provided, a guide body is laid on the bottom surface of this box-shaped duct, and a guided body that is slidably guided by this guide body is arranged inside the box-shaped duct. Attach it to the movable platform provided,
A cable body is disposed within the box-shaped duct, and a driving device that connects a suitable position of the cable body to the movable table and reciprocates the cable body in the length direction is installed at an end side of the box-shaped duct. A vertical shaft passing through a slit formed in the top plate of the box-shaped duct is rotatably attached to the movable table, and a short plate-shaped load support part is attached to the protrusion of the vertical shaft. A push-pull rod is provided on the movable base, and the two are interlocked and connected so that the vertical axis can be rotated in forward and reverse directions by the push-pull motion of the push-pull rod, and the box-shaped duct is mounted at the appropriate position. 1. A cargo transport facility in a clean room, characterized in that a cargo transfer device is provided on the outside, and an operating device that can freely oppose the push/pull rod is provided in the box-shaped duct at the appropriate location.