JPH0579941U - Article gripping device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To provide an article gripping device having a simple and small operating mechanism structure and capable of highly reliable operation control. [Structure] The air cylinder 13 is used for cam means 17, 18
When is driven, the rotary shaft 9 pivotally supported by the device body 8 is rotated by the urging force of the compression spring 16 or against this urging force, and the gripping arms 6 and 6 are opened and closed. The gripping arm 6 and the rotary shaft 9 have an integrated structure, and the gripping arm 6 is directly linked to the cam means 17 and 18, so that the gripping arm 6 can be quickly operated and accurately positioned.
The operating mechanism of the gripping arm 6 is entirely provided in the device body 8,
The structure is also a compact design provided between the rotating shafts 9, 9, and the overall size and weight of the device can be reduced.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to an article gripping apparatus, and more particularly to an article gripping apparatus that is preferably used in a surface treatment apparatus that performs a surface treatment such as cleaning on a thin plate-shaped article such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 The semiconductor wafer surface cleaning device is equipped with a transfer processing device for transferring these semiconductor wafers from the supply position and immersing them in the required liquid tank. Conventionally, various structures of gripping devices have been developed. An example of the structure is shown in FIG.

This device a is installed on the upper end of a support b of a transfer device, and a pair of left and right gripping arms c, c are pivotally supported by a device body d so as to be swingable. These gripping arms c, c are connected to each other via fan gears e, e so that they can interlock with each other, and one fan gear e is connected to a cylinder of an air cylinder i via a connecting bracket f and a connecting rod g. It is connected to the rod j.

The air cylinder i is attached to the upper end support block h of the column b, and the connecting rod g connects the support block h and the support block m that supports the apparatus main body d. It is inserted through the inside of the pipe k. Further, the entire outer periphery of the device a is covered with a vinyl chloride cover.

When the cylinder rod j of the air cylinder i moves forward (projects), the gripping arms c and c are contracted and closed via the connecting rod g, the connecting bracket f, and the fan gears e and e. , Hold a cassette (article) l containing a semiconductor wafer (see the solid line). On the contrary, when the cylinder rod j moves back (retracts), the gripping arms c and c expand to open the gripped state of the cassette 1 (see the chain double-dashed line).

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, such a structure has various problems as described below, and improvement thereof has been demanded.

That is, since the actuating mechanism itself of the gripping arms c, c is complicated and large in size and heavy in weight, the size of the above-described transfer device and surface cleaning device provided with the same is increased.

Moreover, because of the structure of the surface cleaning device, it is necessary to set a large horizontal distance between the support b of the transfer device and the gripping arms c, c (the gripping arms c, c are located above the processing tank). (Because of the relationship), the distance between the air cylinder i which is the driving means and the gripping arms c and c which are the operating portions is large, and a plurality of operating mechanisms (the connecting rod g, the connecting bracket f, the fan gears e and e) are provided between them. It costs. For this reason, it is relatively difficult to perform quick movements and accurate positioning of the gripping arms c, c, and reliable operation control cannot be performed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional problems, and provides an article gripping device which has a simple structure of an operating mechanism, is small in size, and is light in weight, and is capable of highly reliable operation control. To aim.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve this object, in the article gripping device of the present invention, a pair of left and right gripping arms for gripping an article from both sides are respectively attached to the tips of a pair of rotating shafts extending in parallel, and these rotating shafts are mounted on the main body of the device. The rotation of the rotary shafts is controlled by the driving means, and the base ends of the rotary shafts are rotatably supported by the apparatus main body, and the rotary shafts are located between the base ends. Is provided with an urging means for elastically urging the rod in one direction and a cam means for controlling rotation in the other direction. And cam followers respectively provided on the opposite inner sides, and both of these cam followers are driven by the drive cam in synchronism with each other.

[0011]

[Action]

 When the cam means is driven by the drive means, the rotary shaft pivotally supported by the main body of the apparatus is rotated by the urging force of the urging means or against the urging force, and the gripping arm at the tip end thereof opens and closes.

In this case, since the gripping arm and the rotary shaft have an integral structure, the gripping arm is directly linked to the cam means, which enables quick operation and accurate positioning of the gripping arm. ..

Further, the operating mechanism of the gripping arm is all provided in the main body of the apparatus, and the structure thereof is also a compact design in which it is provided between the rotating shafts, and the overall size and weight of the apparatus are reduced.

[0014]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

An article gripping device according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the article gripping device 1 is basically a transfer processing device 2 in a semiconductor wafer surface cleaning device, as shown in FIG. It is to be installed.

The transfer processing apparatus 2 includes a base 4 provided so as to be movable in parallel in a direction in which a plurality of processing tanks 3, 3, ... Which are continuously provided are arranged (arrow A direction). The base 4 is composed of a column 5 that can be moved up and down in the vertical direction (arrow B direction), and the article gripping device 1 attached to the upper end of the column 5 at a predetermined supply position ( A plurality of semiconductor wafers (wafers to be processed) W, W, ... Received by (not shown) are successively immersed in the cleaning liquid in the processing baths 3, 3 ,. … Configured to clean the surface. These washing steps are performed by automatic control.

The article gripping device 1 is provided with a pair of left and right gripping arms 6 and 6 and a control section 7 for controlling the opening and closing of these as the main parts.

The pair of gripping arms 6 and 6 grips the wafers W to be processed from both sides thereof, and has a pair of rotary shafts 9 and 9 extending in parallel from the main body 8 of the apparatus, respectively. Installed. The lower end of the gripping arm 6 is provided with a plurality of pairs of upper and lower gripping claws 6a and 6b that grip the peripheral edge of each semiconductor wafer W. The gripping claws 6a and 6b define the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer W. A holding groove for inserting and holding is provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, both rotary shafts 9 and 9 have a hollow cylindrical lightweight structure, and the base end portions 9 a and 9 a thereof are connected to the main body 8 of the device via bearings 10 and 10. It is rotatably supported.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the control section 7 is composed of a biasing means 11, a cam means 12 and a driving means 13. These means are arranged in the apparatus main body 8 between the base end portions 9a, 9a of the both rotary shafts 9, 9 described above. In relation to this, a rotary lever 14 is fixed to the base end of the rotary shaft 9 by mounting bolts 15 and 15, and the pair of rotary levers 14 and 14 serve as shafts of the rotary shafts 9. It is provided so as to extend inward on the opposite side centering on the heart.

The urging means 11 is for elastically urging the rotary shafts 9, 9 in one direction (arrow Y direction), and includes a pair of compression springs 16, 16. Both ends of the compression spring 16 are hooked on the tip pin 14a of the rotary lever 14 and the support pin 8a of the apparatus main body 8, respectively. Is always urged in the opening direction Y.

The cam means 12 is for controlling the rotation of the rotary shafts 9 and 9 in the direction X opposite to the urging direction of the compression springs 16 and 16, and the drive cams 17 and 17 provided on the apparatus body 8 side. And the cam followers 18, 18 provided on the rotating shaft 9 side.

The drive cams 17, 17 are specifically in the form of a pair of cam rods as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and are arranged between the base end portions 9a, 9a of the rotary shafts. Has been done. As will be described later, the cam rods 17, 17 are moved back and forth in parallel with the axis of the rotary shaft 9 (direction of arrow C) by the driving means 13 to drive the cam followers 18, 18 by cam.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the tip portion 20 of the cam rod 17 is a cam surface formed of a tapered surface. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the base ends 21 of both cam rods 17, 17 are integrally coupled via a coupling board 22 and are coupled to the driving means 13.

The driving means 13 is composed of an air cylinder, is arranged between the cam rods 17, 17 in parallel with the cam rods, and the cylinder rod 13 a thereof is connected to the central portion of the connecting board 22. ing. As a result, when the cylinder rod 13a projects and retracts, the cam rods 17 and 17 integrally move forward and backward. The air cylinder 13 is automatically controlled in cooperation with other constituent devices of the transfer processing apparatus 2 and further with other constituent devices of the surface cleaning apparatus.

The cam followers 18, 18 are specifically in the form of a pair of cam rollers. The cam rollers 18, 18 are rotatably supported by the rotary levers 14, 14 respectively, and are rotatably engaged with the cam surfaces 20, 20 of the cam rods 17, 17, respectively. As a result, both cam rollers 18, 18 are cam-driven in synchronism with the advancing / retreating operations of both cam rods 17, 17.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), when the cam rods 17 and 17 are retracted to the maximum, both cam rollers 18 and 18 are located at the tip of the cam surface 20 on the small diameter side. The arms 6 and 6 are in the spread open state. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), when the cam rods 17 and 17 are fully advanced, both cam rollers 18 and 18 are located at the rear end of the cam surface 20 on the large-diameter side, and 6 and 6 are in the contracted grip state.

The interval L _max between the grip claws 6 a and 6 b and the grip claws 6 a and 6 b when the grip arms 6 and 6 are expanded and opened is defined by the cam surface 20, while the gap L in the contracted grip state is defined. _min is defined by the pair of stopper mechanisms 25, 25.

The stopper mechanism 25 includes a fixed-side stopper 26 attached to the apparatus body 8 and a movable-side stopper 27 attached to the rotating lever 14. The fixed side stopper 26 has a support bracket 26a fixedly mounted on the apparatus body 8, and a stopper member 26b made of an adjusting screw is provided on the support bracket 26a so that the stopper member 26b can be horizontally advanced and retracted.

The movable stopper 27 has a support bracket 27a fixed to the turning lever 14, and a stopper member 27b made of an adjusting screw provided on the support bracket 27a so as to be able to advance and retract.

When the tip end of the stopper member 27b of the movable side stopper 27 comes into contact with the tip end of the stopper member 26b of the fixed side stopper 26, the contracting / closing operation of the gripping arms 6 and 6 is stopped. The distance between the grip claws 6a and 6b and the grip claws 6a and 6b becomes the minimum dimension L _min . The minimum dimension L _min is adjusted by appropriately screwing the stopper members 26b and 27b with respect to the support brackets 26a and 27a in consideration of the outer diameter dimension of the semiconductor wafer W to be processed.

Thus, in the transfer processing apparatus 2 including the article gripping apparatus 1 configured as described above, the semiconductor wafers W, W, ... To be processed are transferred to the article gripping apparatus 1 at a predetermined supply position. After being gripped, the transfer processing device 2 is repeatedly moved (arrow A direction) and moved up and down (arrow B direction) with respect to the processing tanks 3, 3 ,. And the surface is washed. The semiconductor wafers W, W, ... Having finished the cleaning process in this way are released from the gripped state by the article gripping device 1 at a predetermined discharge position.

In this case, when the semiconductor wafers W, W, ... Are gripped by the article gripping device 1, the cylinder rod 13a of the air cylinder 13 moves in and out. Then, the cam rods 17 and 17 of the cam means 12 move forward, and the cam rollers 18 and 18 relatively move on the cam surfaces 20 and 20 from the small-diameter side front end portion to the large-diameter side rear end portion. As a result, the rotary levers 14 and further the rotary shaft 9 rotate in the contracting and closing direction X of the gripping arm 6 against the biasing force of the compression spring 16.

When the tip of the stopper member 27b of the movable side stopper 27 comes into contact with the tip of the stopper member 26b of the fixed side stopper 26, in other words, at the position where the cam rods 17 and 17 are most advanced, the cam roller 18 and 18 are located on the large diameter side rear end of the cam surface as described above (see FIG. 3 (b)). As a result, the two holding arms 6 and 6 are in the most closed state, and the outer peripheral edge portions of the semiconductor wafers W, W, ... Are held from both sides (see the solid line in FIG. 1).

On the contrary, from this state, when the semiconductor wafers W, W, ... Are released from the gripping device 1 by the article gripping device 1, each cam roller 18 moves on the cam surface 20 on the large-diameter side by a completely opposite operation. The rolling shaft 9 relatively rolls from the end portion toward the small diameter side tip portion, and accordingly, the rotating shaft 9 rotates in the expanding direction Y of the gripping arm 6 by the urging force of the compression spring 16.

At the position where the cam rods 17 and 17 are most retracted (at the time of maximum retreat), the both cam rollers 18 and 18 are located on the small diameter side tip portion of the cam surface as described above (see FIG. See a)). As a result, the holding arms 6 and 6 are in the most opened state, and the semiconductor wafers W, W, ... Are released from the held state (see the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1).

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various design changes are possible. For example, in the illustrated example, the article gripping device according to the present invention is used in a semiconductor wafer surface cleaning device. Although the case where the present invention is applied to the transport processing apparatus 2 has been described, the present invention can be applied to other apparatuses that perform similar operations, and can be used alone according to the purpose.

Further, the specific structure of each component is not limited to the illustrated example, and can be appropriately changed as long as it has a similar function.

[0039]

[Effect of the device]

 As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the operating mechanism of the gripping arm is provided in the main body of the apparatus, and the structure is also a simple and compact design in which it is provided between the rotating shafts. The structure is most suitable for a device such as a conveyance processing device in which a small size and a light weight are desired, which contributes to a reduction in the size and weight of the entire device.

Further, the gripping arm and the rotary shaft have an integrated structure, and the rotary shaft has a simple structure in which the rotary shaft is directly linked to the cam means, which enables quick operation and accurate positioning of the gripping arm. Thus, highly reliable operation control of the opening / closing operation of the gripping arm can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear view showing an article gripping device according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which an essential part is shown in an incised state.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing the article holding device, in which a part of a main part is shown in a cross section.

3 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the article gripping device taken along line III-III in FIG. 2, FIG. 3 (a) showing an expanded state of the gripping arm, and FIG. 3 (b) showing The collapsed state of the gripping arm is shown.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the article gripping device taken along line IV-IV in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a main part of the article gripping device taken along line VV in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a transfer processing device of a semiconductor wafer surface cleaning device including the article gripping device.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a part of the conventional article gripping device in section.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 article gripping device 2 transport processing device 3 processing tank 6 gripping arm 7 control unit 8 device body 9 rotary shaft 9a base end portion of rotary shaft 11 biasing means (a pair of compression springs) 12 cam means (a pair of cam rods and cam rollers) 13 Drive Means (Air Cylinder) 14 Rotating Lever 16 Compression Spring 17 Drive Cam (Cam Rod) 18 Cam Follower (Cam Roller) 20 Cam Surface 25 Stopper Mechanism 26 Fixed Side Stopper 27 Movable Side Stopper W Semiconductor Wafer (Processed Wafer) X Gripping arm retracting direction Y Gripping arm expanding direction

Claims (4)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A device in which a pair of left and right gripping arms for gripping an article from both sides are respectively attached to tip ends of a pair of rotating shafts extending in parallel, and these rotating shafts are rotationally controlled by drive means of a device body. The base ends of the both rotary shafts are rotatably supported by the apparatus main body, and a biasing means for elastically biasing the rotary shafts in one direction is provided between the base ends. A cam means for controlling rotation in the other direction is provided, and the cam means includes a drive cam driven by the drive means, and cam followers provided inside the base ends of the both rotary shafts facing each other. An article gripping device, wherein both cam followers are driven by the drive cam in synchronism with each other. 2. The urging means is composed of a pair of compression springs, and the compression springs are provided at a base end portion of the both rotary shafts, respectively. The article gripping device according to claim 1, wherein the article gripping device is interposed between the gripping arm and the rotary shaft, and the two rotating shafts are always elastically biased in a direction in which the pair of left and right gripping arms are opened. 3. The drive cam comprises a pair of cam rods, and the cam rods are reciprocated between the base end portions of the rotary shafts in parallel with the rotary shafts, and the tip end portions thereof have tapered taper surfaces. The cam follower is composed of a pair of cam rollers, and the cam rollers are freely rotatable by rotary levers projecting inwardly on opposite sides of the base ends of the rotary shafts. And is rotatably engaged with the cam surface of the cam rod, and when the cam rod is maximally advanced, the both cam rollers are located at the large-diameter rear end portion of the taper surface of the cam rod, The gripping arm is in the contracted and closed gripping state, and at the time of maximum retraction of the cam rod, both the cam rollers are located at the small-diameter side tip portion of the tapered surface of the cam rod,
The article gripping device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the gripping arm is in a spread open state. 4. The driving means is a cylinder device, and the cylinder device is arranged between the cam rods in parallel with the cam rods, and the cylinder rods are connected to the base end portions of the cam rods. The article gripping device according to claim 3.