JPH041016Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field This invention relates to a carrier transfer device (hereinafter referred to as a carrier liner) used for wafer processing, and more specifically, to a carrier clamp device for a carrier liner.

2. Description of the Related Art Wafers are processed into semiconductor products through various processing steps, and these processing steps will be briefly explained. First, after wafers are stored in the carrier, wafer counting is performed to confirm the number of wafers stored, and orientation flat alignment is performed to align the orientation flats of the wafers. After this process is completed, the carrier is placed on a carrier liner and transported to a transfer section, where the wafers in the carrier are transferred to a wafer board. Thereafter, the wafer board is placed in a heat treatment furnace, and the wafer is heat treated.

On the other hand, the empty carrier on the carrier liner is unloaded from the liner and stored in the stocker section.

After the heat treatment is completed, the wafer board is taken out of the heat treatment furnace and moved to a transfer section. and,
After placing an empty carrier in the stocker section on the carrier liner, the wafer in the wafer board is transferred to the carrier, the carrier liner is driven to move the carrier, and the heat-treated wafer is placed at a predetermined location. carry it to A conventional carrier liner is provided with a truck and a plurality of sets of positioning plates and clamp plates, and the clamp plates are moved by an actuator such as an air cylinder to clamp or release the carrier.

Problems that the invention aims to solve However, in the conventional example, the carrier liner moves with a long stroke, which causes the actuator's sensor, wiring, piping, etc. to drag, causing trouble.

Means for Solving the Problems This invention provides a loading/unloading section for carriers in the conveyance path of the truck, a plurality of pairs of positioning plates and clamp plates on the truck, and a plurality of pairs of positioning plates and clamp plates on one side of the clamp plate. is fixed to a clamp bar, the clamp bar is loosely fitted to a bar support, a spring is inserted between the support and the spring stopper of the clamp bar, and the clamp bar is fixed to the loading/unloading section of the carrier. The above problem is solved by providing a resistor that slides in the opening direction.

Operation The clamp plate is constantly pushed in the direction of the positioning plate by the action of the spring, so the carrier is pressed against the positioning plate and fixed to the truck.
In this fixed state, the carrier liner moves on the conveyance path, and when the liner reaches the loading/unloading part of the carrier, it moves in the opposite direction to the traveling direction of the trolley while resisting the reaction force of the spring by the resistor, and the clamp plate The clamps on each carrier are released simultaneously to move the carriers in the same direction, thereby lowering the carriers from the liner. Further, when the carrier in the stock portion is placed between the clamp plate and the positioning plate of the liner and the liner is moved in the direction of the original position, the restriction by the resistor is released, and
Due to the action of the spring, the clamp plate moves in the direction of the positioning plate and fixes the carrier.

Example Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the figure, 1 is a carrier liner, and a truck 2 has a plurality of positioning plates 3, 4, arranged at equal pitches with high accuracy.
5 is fixed.

Numerals 6, 7, and 8 are clamp plates that are slidably provided opposite to the positioning plates 3, 4, and 5, and springs 12, 13, and 14 that hold down the carriers 9, 10, and 11 are provided in the center of the clamp plates. ing. 15,
A guide rod 16 is loosely fitted to the positioning plates 3, 4, 5 and the clamp plates 6, 7, 8, and its one ends 15a, 16a are fixed to the positioning plate 3.

Clamp bar 1 on one side of clamp plates 6, 7, 8
7 is fixed, one end of the clamp bar 17 is loosely fitted to the bar support 18, and the bar support 18 is fixed to the positioning plate 3, and the bar support 18 and the spring stopper 17a of the clamp bar are connected. A spring 19 is inserted between them. 20 is a resistor,
For example, it is a stopper, which is disposed at the carrier loading/unloading section 31 in the conveyance path 30 of the truck 2, and is opposed to the spring stopper section 17a.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

Positioning plates 3 to 5 and clamp plates 6 to 5 of the carrier liner 1 are placed at a mounting location (not shown) in the conveyance path 30.
Carriers 9 to 11 containing wafers are disposed between the carriers 8 and 8. Then, the clamp bar 17 moves in the direction of arrow A17 due to the elasticity of the spring 19, and the carriers 9, 10, 11 move the clamp plate 6,
It is fixed to the positioning plates 3, 4, 5 while being pushed by the springs 12, 13, 14 of 7, 8.

In this fixed state, the carrier liner 1 is
0 in the direction of arrow A17, and when it reaches the unloading section 31 of the carrier, the wafers in the carrier are transferred to the wafer board. When the carrier liner 1 is further moved in the same direction after the wafer transfer is completed, the spring stopper 17a of the clamp bar
, comes into contact with a stopper 20 provided on the loading/unloading section 31 of the carrier. When the liner 1 is further advanced in the same direction, the clamp bar 17 is moved by the spring 19.
is moved in the opening direction, that is, in the direction in which the clamp plate moves away from the positioning plate, while compressing the clamp plate 6,
7 and 8 in the opposite direction to arrow A17. Therefore, the carriers 9, 10, and 11 are opened at the same time, so the carriers 9 to 11 are taken down from the carrier liner 1 and stored in the stock section, and the empty carriers stored in the stock section are removed from the clamp plate of the liner 1. and the positioning plate.
Thereafter, when the carrier liner 1 is moved in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow A17, the spring stopper 17a of the clamp bar gradually separates from the stopper 20. Then, the elastic force of the spring 19 moves the clamp bar 17 in the closing direction, that is, in the direction in which the clamp plate approaches the positioning plate, and the carrier is fixed. In this state, after the heat-treated wafer is transferred to the carrier, the carrier liner is driven to transport the carrier to a storage location.

Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. For example, instead of providing the spring stopper at the head of the clamp bar, the spring stopper is provided at the center or rear part of the clamp bar, and the spring stopper and the bar support are provided. A spring may be inserted between the tool and the tool.

Furthermore, the resistor may be a flat cam instead of a stopper, as shown in FIG. That is, the roller 24 at one end of the connecting arm 23, which is rotatably supported by a pin 22a, is connected to the planar cam 21 provided on the floor of the conveyance path 30.
a, and the other end is brought into contact with the clamp bar 17.
Rotatably connects to.

In this case, since the planar cam 21a is provided on the floor surface of the conveyance path 30, the position (height) of the roller 24 changes, and with this change, the clamp bar 17 moves in the axial direction. Open and close the clamp plate.

Effects of the invention Since this invention is configured as described above, the carrier liner can simultaneously clamp a plurality of carriers and move them along the conveyance path, and simultaneously release them at the carrier loading/unloading section. Further, since a resistor for sliding the clamp bar in the opening direction is provided in the unloading section of the carrier, there is no need to provide wiring or piping as in the conventional example. Therefore, troubles like those in the conventional example do not occur.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of another embodiment. 2... Cart, 3, 4, 5... Positioning plate, 6,
7, 8...clamp plate, 17...clamp bar,
17a... Spring stopper, 18... Bar support, 19... Spring, 20... Stopper,
30... Conveyance path, 31... Carrier loading/unloading section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A carrier loading/unloading section is provided in the conveyance path of the truck, and the truck is provided with a plurality of pairs of positioning plates and clamp plates, one side of the clamp plate is fixed to a clamp bar, and the clamp bar is attached to the bar. A resistor is provided in the loading/unloading section of the carrier for loosely fitting the support, inserting a spring between the support and the spring stopper of the clamp bar, and for causing the clamp bar to slide in the opening direction. A carrier liner clamping device characterized by: