JPH05198655A - Wafer reversing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a device for smoothly reversing a front surface of a wafer to the rear without damaging the wafer. CONSTITUTION:A head 1 rotatable together with a rotating machine 5 is provided in the machine 5 arranged at one side of a conveying passage 7, a first arm 2 is mounted across the passage 7, a force sensor 6 for instructing reverse rotation of the machine 5 is contained in the arm 2, and an L-shaped second arm 3 is pivotally secured to the other end of the head 1. Further, a wafer reversing device comprises a pair of optical sensors 9a, 9b for instructing rotation and return of the arm 3 to its original position symmetrically on the passage 7 and reverse rotation of the machine 5 again after a reversed wafer is completely conveyed to a next step to be arranged with the arm 2 as a center, and rotates the machine 5 while an edge of the wafer 11 is held by the arms 2, 3 thereby to reverse the wafer 11 by 180 deg..

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer reversing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional wafer reversing device of this type will be described with reference to FIG. A head 2 that can be raised and lowered by an elevator 25 on one side of the transport path 26.
1, a rotary machine 22 is attached to the head 21, and an air suction hole 24 for suctioning the wafer 20 is formed at an end of an arm 23 provided on the rotary machine 22. The arm 23 of the rotating machine 22 that has descended together with the head 21 can be accommodated in the long groove 27 formed at a right angle to the transport path 26 by operating the elevator 25. Reference numeral 28 is a stopper provided so as to be retractable in the transfer path 26 to regulate the movement of the wafer 20, and reference numeral 29 is an optical sensor for detecting the position of the wafer 20. The wafer 20 moved from the left side toward the drawing while floating the upper surface of the long groove 27 in a state where the elevator 25 descends and the arm 23 is housed in the long groove 27.
At the floating position, while being adsorbed by the air adsorption hole 24 of the arm 23 located below the floating position, when the elevator 25 rises to reach a predetermined height, the rotating machine 22 operates and the arm 23 rotates once. Then, the wafer 20 is inverted.
Further, the stopper 28 is submerged in the transport path 26. Next, when the elevator 25 descends, the wafer 20 stops in a floating state while maintaining an appropriate space with the optical sensor 29 arranged in the transfer path 26 and the transfer path 26. The wafer 20 floats and moves to the right toward FIG. 6 in order to be sent to the next step.

[0003]

In the conventional suction-type wafer reversing device, the reversal action is performed after the front surface of the wafer is adsorbed by the arm. Due to the action, there was a problem that unwanted dust was absorbed. Furthermore, a complicated structure such as raising and lowering the wafer reversing arm by an elevator, and disposing a stopper or the like that can be retracted and retracted in the transfer path in order to restrict the movement of the wafer is required and dust is generated. There were problems such as.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and means for achieving the object will be disclosed below by using the reference numerals adopted in the accompanying drawings. The rotary machine 5 disposed on one side of the transport path 7 is provided with the head 1 rotatable with the rotary machine 5, and the first arm 2 is attached to the head 1 across the transport path 7 to reverse the rotary machine 5. A force sensor 6 for indicating is incorporated in the first arm 2, an L-shaped second arm 3 is pivotally attached to the other end of the head 1, and the first arm 2 is centered to be symmetrical on the transport path 7. A pair of optical sensors 9a and 9b are provided for instructing the rotation of the second arm 3 and the return to the original position thereof, and the reversal of the rotating machine 5 after the completion of the conveyance of the reversed wafer to the next process. The first arm 2 and the second arm 3 make the wafer 1
The wafer reversing device is characterized in that the wafer 11 is reversed by 180 ° by rotating the rotating machine 5 while holding the edge portion of the wafer 1.

[0005]

Operation: The wafer 11 that has been levitated and transferred is transferred to the first arm 2
The second arm 3 rotates toward the wafer 11 according to a command from the first optical sensor 9a that senses that the wafer 11 is in a predetermined position by contacting with the first arm 2 and clamps the wafer 11 together with the first arm 2. In response to a command from the force sensor 6 that has sensed, the movement of the second arm 3 is stopped, and at the same time, the rotating machine 5 is rotated 180 °. The second optical sensor 9 which detects that the wafer 11 is completely in the inverted state and is present at its predetermined position.
The second arm 3 returns to the original position in response to the command from b. When the wafer 11 is lifted from the first arm 2 and the second arm 3 and is floated and carried to the next step, the rotating machine 5 is reversed and returned to its original position according to a command from the second optical sensor 9b.

[0006]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The rotary machine 5 provided on one side of the transport path 7 includes a head 1 which is rotatable integrally with the rotary machine. The head 1 is provided with a first arm 2 rotatably extending across the transport path 7 in a right angle direction. An inverted L-shaped second arm 3 is pivotally mounted 10 on the opposite side of the head 1 on which the first arm 2 is mounted.
To do. Cushion members 4 are attached to the inner surfaces of the first arm 2 and the second arm 3, respectively. Cushion member 4
As will be described later, an arc-shaped recess for holding the first arm 2 and the second arm 3 so as not to slip down on the outer periphery of the wafer 11 is formed. Further, the force sensor 6 is arranged substantially in the center of the first arm 2. A semi-circular groove 8 for smoothing the rotatable displacement of the first arm 2 is formed in the transport path 7 below the first arm 2, and the first arm 2 rotates about the center of the groove 8. It is arranged freely. Further, a first optical sensor 9a and a second optical sensor 9b are arranged on both sides of the transfer path 7 with the same distance as the diameter of the wafer 11 sandwiching the first arm 2.
These optical sensors detect the position of the wafer 11 described later.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described. First, when the second arm 3 is in the open state as shown in FIG. 1, the ring-shaped wafer 11 transferred from the left side in FIG. It is floated inside the first arm 2 with its ends in contact with each other. When the first optical sensor 9a arranged on the transfer path 7 below the wafer 11 confirms the above-mentioned position of the wafer 11, a rotation instruction signal for the second arm 3 is sent to a control circuit (not shown). According to the instruction, the second arm 3 rotates toward the wafer 11 with the pivot portion 10 as a core, and the wafer 4 is rotated by the cushion 4 together with the first arm 2.
(Fig. 2). When the wafer 11 is sandwiched between the second arm 3 and the first arm 2 in this way, the force sensor 6 installed on the first arm 2 operates, the wafer 11 is not damaged, and the wafer 11 slips from the arms 2 and 3. When a signal is sent to the control circuit by detecting whether or not the second arm 3 is held so as not to fall, the movement of the second arm 3 is stopped by a command from the control circuit. At the same time, the rotary machine 5 is instructed to turn over 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. The rotating machine 5 rotates 180 degrees about the first arm 2 in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 4 while sandwiching the wafer 11 by the first arm 2 and the second arm 3, so that the wafer 11 moves the first arm 2, The direction is changed to the opposite side of the transport path 7 together with the second arm 3 (FIG. 4). FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing the state in which the rotating machine 5 is reversed together with the wafer 11. In the process of reaching the state of FIG. 5,
The detection information of the force sensor 6 is continuously sent to the control circuit, which always indicates that the wafer 11 is present between the first arm 2 and the second arm 3, and some trouble occurs, When the wafer 11 is no longer present, the detection information of the force sensor 6 is interrupted and an alarm display (not shown) is used to inform the control circuit of the malfunction. When the wafer 11 is completely inverted and in the state of FIG. 5,
When the second optical sensor 9b provided on the transfer path 7 detects that the wafer 11 exists at the localization value and sends the information to the control circuit, the control circuit causes the second arm 3 to return to its original position. Order. Thereupon, the second arm 3 rotates 180 ° around the pivotal portion 10 as a core and returns to the original position. Second arm 3
Rapidly returns to the localization value, the wafer 11 is transported to the next step while being separated from the first arm 2 while floating in the right direction (toward FIG. 5). When the wafer 11 is completely transferred to the next process, the second optical sensor 9b stops sensing the information, and this signal is sent to the control circuit to issue a command to the rotating machine 5 to return to the original position. 5 is 1
It reverses 80 ° and returns to the state of FIG. The above operation is repeated. Since the second arm 3 can be detached from the head 1 by the pivotally attaching portion 10, the wafer 1 to be held is held.
It is possible to replace with a suitable size corresponding to the size of the diameter of 1. Also, the first arm 2 and the second arm 3
The cushion 4 may be made of a material that does not easily generate dust, such as Teflon, and may be detachably attached to the first arm 2 and the second arm 3.

[0008]

According to the present invention, since the first arm and the second arm invert the wafer by 180 degrees while holding the edge of the wafer, it is possible to raise and lower the arm as in the conventional apparatus. A complicated structure such as a mechanism and a stopper for positioning the wafer is not required, and damage to the surface of the wafer or contamination of the wafer due to adhesion of dust or the like is prevented. Further, since the sensor and the control circuit are adopted, there is an effect such that the wafer reversing device operates smoothly.

[Brief description of drawings] [Explanation of symbols]

 1 Head 2 1st Arm 3 2nd Arm 4 Cushion 5 Rotating Machine 6 Force Sensor 7 Conveyance Path 8 Groove 9a 1st Optical Sensor 9b 2nd Optical Sensor 10 Pivot 11 Wafer

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] December 15, 1992

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Name of item to be corrected] Brief description of the drawing

[Correction method] Added

[Correction content]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an initial state of the configuration of a wafer reversing device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a state where the wafer reversing device of the present invention sandwiches a wafer.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the reversing device is reversed to the left.

5 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a conventional suction type wafer reversing device.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 head 2 first arm 3 second arm 4 cushion 5 rotating machine 6 force sensor 7 transport path 8 groove 9a first optical sensor 9b second optical sensor 10 pivot portion 11 wafer

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location B65G 49/07 9244-3F B65H 15/00 A 8922-3F

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A head rotatable with a rotating machine disposed on one side of a transport path is provided, a first arm is attached to the head across the transport path, and a second arm is pivotally attached to the other end of the head. The wafer reversing device, wherein the wafer is turned over by 180 ° by rotating the rotating machine while holding the wafer edge portion by the first arm and the second arm. 2. A head capable of rotating together with a rotating machine disposed on one side of the transport path is provided, and a first arm is attached to the head across the transport path, and a force sensor for instructing reversal of the rotary machine is provided. It is built in one arm, and an L-shaped second arm is pivotally attached to the other end of the head, and it is directed to symmetrically rotate the second arm around the first arm and return to its original position. By arranging a pair of first and second optical sensors on the transfer path, and rotating the rotating machine while holding the edge portion of the wafer between the first arm and the second arm, the wafer is inverted by 180 °. A wafer reversing device. 3. The wafer reversing device according to claim 1, wherein the distance between the pair of optical sensors symmetrically provided on the transfer path is equal to the diameter of the reversing wafer. 4. The wafer reversing device according to claim 1, wherein a cushion having an arcuate recess is detachably provided on the side of the first arm and the second arm that holds the wafer. 5. A semicircular elongated groove having a diameter larger than the diameter of the first arm is bored in the conveyance path below the first arm, and the first arm is rotatable in the elongated groove. The wafer reversing device according to 1 or 2. 6. A first light for instructing the second arm to rotate, by sensing that the wafer that has been levitated and carried is in contact with the first arm and is in a position where it can be held between the first arm and the second arm. With the wafer sandwiched between the sensor, the first arm and the second arm, after the wafer is inverted by 180 °, it is sensed that the wafer is at a predetermined position, and the second arm returns to its original position and the inverted wafer is detected. 3. The wafer reversing device according to claim 1, further comprising a second optical sensor that instructs the rotary machine to be reversed again to return to the original position when the conveyance to the next step is completed. 7. The rotating machine detects that the first arm and the second arm are clamped with an appropriate pressure so as to prevent the wafer from falling off, and the movement of the second arm is stopped, and at the same time, the rotating machine is operated.
The wafer reversing device according to claim 1, wherein the force sensor for instructing to rotate 0 ° is built in the first arm.