JPH07235587A - Notched part aligning device and its method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily and surely align a plurality of members which have notches on the peripheral parts, and restrain the contact between the members and other members. CONSTITUTION:A notch alignment mechanism 7 is installed which has a base 8 capable of freely and vertically entering a cassette 4 through a lower side aperture part 6 of the cassette 4 containing a plurality of semiconductor wafers 3 having notches 2 in the peripheral parts. The notch alignment mechanism 7 is equipped with the following; a drive shaft 11 capable of rotating which is formed in the base 8 and has a plurality of engaging grooves with which the notches 2 of the semiconductor wafers 3 can engage, a notch moving shaft 20 capable of rotating which is formed in the base 8, a motor which rotates at least either the drive shaft 11 or the notch moving shaft 20, a motor 24 which retains and rotates the semiconductor wafers 3 in the state that the wafers are separated from the cassette 4 by the drive shaft 11 and the notch moving shaft 20, and a retainer 28 which is formed in the base 8 and retains the semiconductor wafer 3 so as not to rotate in the state that the notch 2 engages with the engaging groove of the drive shaft 11.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a notch portion aligning apparatus and method for aligning notch portions such as notches formed in the peripheral portion of a plurality of aligned objects such as semiconductor wafers in a predetermined direction. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is a technique for accommodating a plurality of semiconductor wafers (hereinafter referred to as wafers), which are notches having a radius of 5 mm in a peripheral portion, in a cassette and aligning these wafers in a predetermined state. , Issued in January 1972,
IBM Technical Disclosure (Technical Disclos
ure Bulletin) Vol. 14, No. 8 are disclosed. In this technique, a plurality of wafers accommodated in a cassette are lifted from below by a uniaxial roller having a diameter smaller than the notch diameter of the wafer, and the notches of the wafers are fitted into the rollers by rotating the rollers to align them. It is what makes me.

[0003]

However, in the conventional alignment apparatus of this type, when the wafer accommodated in the cassette is lifted by the uniaxial roller, the wafer is supported only by contact with the uniaxial roller. Therefore, the wafer comes into contact with the wafer receiving groove of the cassette. When the roller is rotated in this state, it is rotated along with the rotation of the wafer roller, and this rotation causes the peripheral edge portion of the wafer to be rubbed against the wafer accommodating groove of the cassette. When the peripheral edge of the wafer is rubbed with the wafer accommodating groove of the cassette in this way, the film formed on the wafer is peeled off or the wafer is damaged. As a result, dust generated due to peeling of the film and damage to the wafer floats in the air,
There is a problem in that this dust adheres to the devices formed on the wafer and reduces the device yield.

Further, it is difficult to move the notch of the wafer to a predetermined position, for example, right above the position facing the roller. In order to move the notch of the wafer right above, a separate movement guide means or the like is required, which causes a problem that the apparatus becomes large.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is possible to easily and surely align a plurality of objects to be aligned having notches such as notches in the peripheral edge thereof, and
An object of the present invention is to provide a notch position aligning device and method capable of suppressing contact between the aligning body and other members during the alignment work and enabling miniaturization of the device. Is.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the first cutout portion aligning device of the present invention is a cassette for accommodating a plurality of objects to be aligned having cutout portions in the peripheral edge thereof. A rotatable first rotating body having a base capable of moving up and down into the cassette through the lower opening and a plurality of fitting grooves provided in the base and into which the notches of the aligned objects can be fitted. And a second rotating body provided on the base and rotatable, the first rotating body and the second rotating body.
Driving means for rotating at least one of the rotating bodies, and the first rotating body and the second rotating body support and rotate the aligned body in a state of being separated from the cassette. And means provided on the base,
The cutout portion is provided with a support body that non-rotatably supports the aligned body fitted in the fitting groove of the first rotary body (claim 1).

The second notch position aligning device of the present invention is capable of moving up and down into the cassette through the lower opening of the cassette which accommodates a plurality of objects to be aligned having the notches at the peripheral edge thereof. Possible base, a rotatable first rotary body provided on the base and having a plurality of fitting grooves into which the cutout portions of the aligned bodies can fit, and a base provided and rotatable on the base A second rotating body; and a drive means for rotating at least one of the first rotating body and the second rotating body, wherein the aligned body is aligned by the first rotating body and the second rotating body. Rotation support means for supporting and rotating the body in a state in which the body is separated from the cassette; and a cutout portion provided in the base for immobilizing the aligned body fitted in the fitting groove of the first rotating body. A support to support,
The to-be-aligned body, which is provided in the base so as to be movable up and down and cooperates with the second rotating body and has the notch portion fitted in the fitting groove of the first rotating body, is removed from the first rotating body. And a third rotating body which is supported and rotated in a separated state (claim 2).

In the cutout position aligning device of the present invention, the cutout portion of the aligned body is fitted into the fitting groove of the first rotating body while maintaining a constant gap between the cutout portion and the first rotating body. It is preferable that it is formed so that it can be formed (Claim 3).

Further, it is preferable that the first rotating body is formed so as to be able to individually support each of the aligned bodies by each of the plurality of fitting grooves (claim 4).

Further, the first rotating body is rotated by the driving means, and the second rotating body is rotated by the rotation of the aligned body rotated by the first rotating body. It is preferable to construct it (Claim 5). In this case, the second rotating body includes a fixed shaft that is fixed to the base and that extends along the longitudinal direction of a row of a plurality of aligned objects that are accommodated in the cassette, and a plurality of fixed shafts that are mounted on the fixed shaft. An idle pulley, and the plurality of idle pulleys individually support the plurality of aligned bodies, and are individually rotatable with rotation of the aligned body rotated by the first rotating body. It is preferably formed (Claim 6).

The first rotating body is formed by a rotating shaft extending along the longitudinal direction of the plurality of rows of aligned bodies housed in the cassette and having the plurality of fitting grooves. Is preferred (Claim 7).

The first rotating body may be made of any material, but is preferably made of stainless steel and is provided with a fluororesin coating on the outer periphery, or the outer periphery of the stainless steel is preferably formed. It is better that the sleeve made of trifluoroethylene chloride resin is coated (claims 8 and 9).

On the other hand, according to the notch part alignment method of the present invention, in the notch part alignment method for aligning the notch parts formed on the peripheral edge of the plurality of objects to be aligned in a predetermined direction, the first rotation is performed. The body and the second rotating body are brought close to the plurality of aligned bodies housed in the cassette from below, and the plurality of aligned bodies are removed from the cassette by the first rotating body and the second rotating body. The plurality of aligned bodies are supported by the first rotating body and the second rotating body until the cutout portions of the aligned bodies are fitted into the grooves of the first rotating body while supporting the aligned bodies in a separated state. After rotating all the aligned bodies into the grooves of the first rotating body, the second rotating body and the third rotating body
And the second rotating body and the third rotating body rotate the plurality of aligned bodies to form a straight line. It is characterized in that the notches arranged in a line are moved to a predetermined position.

[0014]

According to the present invention, a plurality of aligned bodies can be supported by the first rotating body and the second rotating body in a state of being separated from the cassette, and for example, the first rotating body is rotated by the driving means. Since the aligned body can be rotated by this, the aligned body can be stably rotated in a predetermined posture without contacting the cassette.

Further, in cooperation with the second rotating body, the aligned body whose notch is fitted in the fitting groove of the first rotating body is supported and rotated in a state of being separated from the first rotating body. By providing the third rotating body, it is possible to reliably move the cutout portions of the plurality of aligned bodies aligned in a straight line to a predetermined position. Therefore, the device system can be made compact.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the notch part aligning device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a plurality of semiconductor wafers 3 as objects to be aligned.
A state in which (hereinafter, simply referred to as a wafer) is housed in the cassette 4 is shown.

The wafer 3 has, for example, a radius of 5 m on its peripheral portion.
m notch 2 (notch portion), for example, 25
A set of sheets is contained in the cassette 4. The cassette 4 is made of, for example, a hard resin such as fluororesin, and is mounted on a base 5 as a cassette mounting base.

The base 5 is provided with an opening 6 communicating with the inside of the cassette 4, and the cassette 4 is opened through this opening 6.
A notch alignment mechanism 7 that can enter the inside is arranged so as to be movable in the vertical direction (Z1 direction).

As shown in FIG. 2, the notch aligning mechanism 7 comprises two members constituting a rotation supporting means for aligning the wafers 3, that is, the drive shaft 11 (first rotating body).
And a driven rotary body 10 (second rotary body) are connected to a drive shaft of an air cylinder 29, and the base 8 and the driven rotary body 10 are vertically moved by expansion and contraction of the drive shaft of the air cylinder 29. It is configured to be movable in the (Z1 direction).

The drive shaft 11 is located at a predetermined distance from the center line 9 (see FIG. 1) of the wafer 3 in the right direction in the drawing, for example, a distance of about ¼ (L2) of the radius of the wafer. . The drive shaft 11 is the notch 2 of the wafer 3.
Has a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of, for example, 6 to 7 mm. The drive shaft 11 is made of stainless steel in consideration of contamination of the wafer 3, and its surface is coated with a fluororesin system, for example, Teflon (trade name) system. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the drive shaft 11 has a main body composed of a body portion 12 as a long shaft member, and the notch 2 of the wafer 3 is fitted on the outer peripheral surface of the body portion 12. An annular groove 13 is formed as a plurality of possible insertion grooves. The annular groove 13 is formed over substantially the entire length of the body portion 12, and has a width equal to or larger than the thickness of the wafer 3 so that the peripheral portion of the wafer 3 can be accommodated.

As shown in FIG. 1, the driven rotary member 10 is located at a predetermined distance from the center line 9 of the wafer 3 in the left direction in the drawing, for example, a distance of about 1/2 (L1) of the radius of the wafer. is doing. As shown in FIG. 4, the driven rotating body 10 has a plurality of idle pulleys 43 formed of a hard resin such as fluororesin, and these idle pulleys 43 are arranged along the peripheral surface of the wafer 3. It is configured so that they can be brought into contact with each other and rotated. That is, the driven rotating body 10 raises the base 8 to bring the drive shaft 11 and the wafer 3 into contact with each other, and the idle pulley 4
3 is located above the drive shaft 11 so that the wafer 3 can rotate with the wafer 3.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the driven rotary member 10 is concentrically mounted on the fixed shaft 40 made of, for example, stainless steel and the fixed shaft 40 corresponding to the arrangement interval (L4) of the wafers 3. It is composed of a plurality of idle pulleys 43. In this case, the idle pulley 43 can be individually rotated on the fixed shaft 40. Also,
The idle pulley 43 is provided over substantially the entire length of the fixed shaft 40 and is made of a fluororesin material such as Teflon (trade name). In order to prevent the idle pulley 43 from shifting in the longitudinal direction of the fixed shaft 40, a washer 41 made of fluororesin such as Teflon (trade name) is interposed between the adjacent idle pulleys 43. The annular groove 44 (fitting groove) of the idle pulley 43 has a width equal to or larger than the thickness of the wafer 3 so that the peripheral portion of the wafer 3 can be accommodated. With such a configuration, the plurality of wafers 3 can be independently supported by the idle pulley 43, and the plurality of wafers 3 can be independently rotated.
The annular groove 44 of the idle pulley 43 is formed in such a size that the notch 2 of the wafer 3 does not fit into the annular groove 44.

On the other hand, a ring-shaped pulley 14 is provided at the end of the drive shaft 11 (see FIGS. 2 and 5). The base 8 is provided with, for example, a motor 15 as a rotation driving unit that rotationally drives the drive shaft 11. The drive pulley 16 mounted on the rotating shaft of the motor 15 is connected to the pulley 14 by a belt 17. The rotating shaft of the motor 15 and the rotating force of the driving pulley 16 are transmitted to the pulley 14 via the belt 17. It has become so. In this configuration, when the belt 17 is driven by the rotation of the rotation shaft of the motor 15 and the drive pulley 16, the drive shaft 11 rotates together with the pulley 14. Then, the plurality of wafers 3 lifted by the driven rotary body 10 and the drive shaft 11 are rotated in the θ direction so as to interlock with this.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, a notch moving shaft 20 (third rotating body) which constitutes a notch aligning mechanism 7 can contact the base 8 along the peripheral surface of the wafer 3. It is arranged. The notch moving shaft 20 is located away from the center line 9 of the wafer 3 in the right direction in the drawing by a predetermined distance, for example, a distance of approximately ½ (L3) of the radius of the wafer. The notch moving shaft 20 is the air cylinder 2
Base 21 that is moved in the vertical direction (Z2 direction) by 2
Is attached to. In this case, the air cylinder 22
Is connected to the lower surface of the base 21, and the base 21 and the notch moving shaft 20 can be moved in the vertical direction (Z2 direction) by expansion and contraction of the drive shaft of the air cylinder 22.

Like the drive shaft 11, the notch moving shaft 20 has a body 12 as its main body, and an annular groove 13 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the body 12.
Are formed (see FIG. 3). The annular groove 13 has a width equal to or larger than the thickness of the wafer 3 so that the annular groove 13 can be housed in the peripheral portion of the wafer 3. Further, the annular groove 13 of the notch moving shaft 20 is formed in such a size that the notch 2 of the wafer 3 does not fit into the annular groove 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, an annular groove 23 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the end portion of the notch moving shaft 20.
The base 21 is provided with, for example, a motor 24 as a rotation driving unit that rotationally drives the notch moving shaft 20. The rotating shaft 25 of the motor 24 and the annular groove 23 form the belt 2
6 by which the motor 24
The rotational force of the rotating shaft 25 is transmitted to the notch moving shaft 20 via the belt 26. In this configuration, the belt 2 is rotated along with the rotation of the rotary shaft 25 of the motor 24.
When 6 is driven, the notch moving shaft 20 rotates, and the plurality of wafers 3 lifted by the notch moving shaft 20 rotate.

On the right side of the notch moving shaft 20 in the drawing,
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support 2 as a stopper
8 is formed integrally with the base 8. In the support 28, the notch 2 of the wafer 3 is the annular groove 13 of the drive shaft 11.
It has a groove portion 27 as a stopper for supporting the wafer 3 and stopping the rotation of the wafer 3 when the wafer 3 is fitted in the above and is displaced downward.

The base 5 is provided with a sensor section 52 for detecting the alignment of the notches 2 on the wafer 3. The sensor unit 52 is, for example, a light emitting diode (LED) 5
2a and a photodiode 52b. LED52
The a and the photodiode 52b are provided so as to face each other at a position where the alignment of the notches 2 can be detected. Further, the motors 15, 24 and the air cylinders 22, 29 are connected to the drive control unit 50, and the motors 15, 24 are controlled by the drive control unit 50 based on the information from the sensor unit 52.
24 and the air cylinders 22 and 29 are configured to be drive-controlled.

Next, a case where the plurality of wafers 3 accommodated in the cassette 4 are aligned in a predetermined state by using the notch aligning mechanism 7 having the above-mentioned structure will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

First, when the drive shaft of the air cylinder 29 is extended, the base 8 is inserted into the cassette 4 through the opening 6 of the base 5.
Each of the wafers 3 ascended into the cassette 4 is inserted into the annular groove 44 of the idle pulley 43 of the driven rotary body 10 and the annular groove 13 of the drive shaft 11 of the driven rotary body 10, and these wafers 3 are It is lifted by the drive shaft 11 and separated from the cassette 4. At this time, a clearance of about 0.5 mm is formed between the support 28 and the wafer 3 so that the support 28 and the wafer 3 do not come into contact with each other. That is, the support body 28 has a height and a groove portion 2 so that the support body 28 does not come into contact with the wafer 3 in a state where the wafer 3 is lifted by the driven rotary body 10 and the drive shaft 11.
The width 7 and the end shape thereof are formed.
At this time, the base 21 having the notch moving shaft 20 is arranged at a position where it does not contact the wafer 3. This state is shown in FIG.

Next, in this state, the drive shaft 11
Is rotated by the rotation drive of the motor 15. This rotation speed is, for example, 50 rpm. Drive shaft 11
When is rotated, each wafer 3 is rotated in the θ direction together with the idle pulley 43. When the notch 2 of each wafer 3 is fitted into the annular groove 13 of the drive shaft 11, the wafer 3 is displaced downward and is received by the groove portion 27 of the support body 28. As a result, the rotation of the wafer 3 is stopped. When the wafer 3 is accommodated in the cassette 4, since the position of the notch 2 is different for each wafer 3, the time until the rotation is stopped differs for each wafer 3. That is, the rotation of the wafer is individually stopped.

Several wafers 3 are formed in the groove 2 of the support 28.
Even when the rotation is stopped by the drive shaft 11, the drive shaft 11 is inserted into the annular groove 13 of the drive shaft 11 until the rotation of all the wafers 3 is stopped, that is, the notches 2 of all the wafers 3 are inserted. Rotate until done. The rotation time at this time is preset by a timer or the like.

Notch 2 of wafer 3 is drive shaft 1
In the state of being fitted in the first annular groove 13, a certain clearance (about 0.1 to 1 mm) generated due to the difference in diameter between the notch 2 and the annular groove 13 is formed between the notch 2 and the drive shaft 11. . Therefore, the rotating drive shaft 11 and the notch 2 of the wafer 3 which has already been stopped by fitting in the annular groove 13 of the drive shaft 11 are prevented from rubbing against each other more than necessary.

When the rotation of the wafer 3 is stopped, the rotation of the idle pulley 43 of the driven rotor 10 is also stopped corresponding to the stop of the rotation of the wafer 3. Therefore, the idle pulley 43 and the wafer 3 are prevented from rubbing against each other more than necessary. Note that FIG. 7A shows a state in which the notch 2 of the wafer 3 is fitted in the annular groove 13 of the drive shaft 11.

The rotation of all the wafers 3 is stopped,
That is, when the notches 2 of all the wafers 3 are fitted into the annular groove 13 of the drive shaft 11, as shown in FIG. 7B, the base 8 once descends and the sensor mounted on the base 5 is attached. It is confirmed by 52 whether the notches 2 are aligned (aligned), and if they are not aligned (aligned), the notches are aligned again. After this, the base 8 goes up,
The drive controller 50 drives the air cylinder 22. As a result, the drive shaft of the air cylinder 22 extends and the shaft base 21 is raised. In this case, the shaft base 2
1 is raised until the notch moving shaft 20 becomes substantially the same height as the driven rotary body 10 (see FIG. 8A). As a result, all the wafers 3 are notch moving shafts 20.
Is supported by the driven rotary body 10 and a constant gap 31 is formed between the drive shaft 11 and the wafer 3. At this time, the support of the wafer 3 by the groove 27 of the support 28 is also released.

In this state, the notch moving shaft 20 is rotated by driving the motor 24, and the notch 2 of each wafer 3 is moved to a predetermined position, for example, directly above the wafer (see FIG. 8B). Then, the drive shaft of the air cylinder 29 is contracted, and the base 8 is moved below the opening 6 of the base 5. At the time of this movement, the wafer 3 is transferred to the cassette 4, and the alignment process of the plurality of wafers 3 is completed.

As described above, in the notch aligning mechanism 7 of the above embodiment, the rotation of the wafer 3 is stopped when the notch 2 is fitted into the drive shaft 11 and is supported by the groove 27 of the support 28. However, at this time, since the constant gap 31 is formed between the notch 2 and the drive shaft 11, even if the drive shaft 11 rotates, the notch 2 and the drive shaft 11 may rub against each other more than necessary. To be prevented. Further, when the rotation of the wafer 3 is stopped, the rotation of the idle pulley 43 is also stopped corresponding to the stop of the rotation of the wafer 3, so that the idle pulley 43 and the wafer 3 are prevented from rubbing against each other more than necessary. It

As described above, in the notch aligning mechanism 7 of the above-described embodiment, when the wafers 3 are aligned, the rubbing between the wafer 3 and other members can be prevented as much as possible, so that the film formed on the wafer 3 is not peeled off. It is possible to prevent chipping due to damage of the wafer 3. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the dust caused by the peeling of the film and the damage of the wafer 3 from floating in the air and adhering to the device formed on the wafer 3, and the yield of the wafer 3 can be improved.

The notch aligning mechanism 7 as described above is
It can be attached to each device such as a heat treatment device, a plasma etching device, a CVD device, and an ion implantation device.

In the above embodiment, the drive shaft 1
1 is formed by coating a fluorocarbon resin coating such as Teflon (trade name) on a stainless steel rod. A stainless steel trifluoroethylene chloride (PCTFE) sleeve is press-fitted onto the stainless steel rod. It may be formed by coating. Further, each member of the notch moving shaft 20, the driven rotary body 10, and the support body 28 is not limited to the above-mentioned material, and may be formed of any material as long as it does not generate dust.

Further, in the above embodiment, the notch aligning mechanism 7 for aligning the notches 2 formed on the peripheral portion of the wafer 3 has been described as an example, but the wafer 3 has a linear orientation flat portion. In this case, it is needless to say that the mechanical structure of the above-mentioned embodiment can be applied also when performing the alignment of the orientation flat portion.

The driven rotating body 10 is composed of a plurality of wafers 3.
Any structure may be used as long as it can independently support the wafers and can individually rotate each wafer. Further, the drive shaft 11 and the notch moving shaft 20 may have any configuration as long as they can support and rotate the wafer.

[0043]

【The invention's effect】

1) According to the notch part alignment device of claim 1, the plurality of aligned objects can be stably rotated in a predetermined posture without contacting a cassette or the like, and the plurality of aligned objects can be cut. Since it is possible to suppress unnecessary rubbing of the cutout portion and further prevent unnecessary rubbing of the second rotating body and the aligned body, dust generated by rubbing of the aligned body during alignment of the aligned body It is possible to prevent the contamination of the aligned objects due to dust and improve the yield of the aligned objects.

2) According to the notch part aligning device of the second aspect, after the plurality of objects to be aligned are aligned, the notches of the objects to be aligned can be reliably moved to a predetermined position. In addition, a device for moving the notch of the aligned object to a predetermined position is unnecessary, and the device system can be made compact.

3) According to the notch alignment method of the tenth aspect, the plurality of aligned bodies are supported by the first rotating body and the second rotating body in a state of being separated from the cassette, The plurality of aligned bodies are rotated by the first rotating body and the second rotating body until the cutout portion of the aligning body is fitted into the groove of the first rotating body, and all the aligned bodies are in the first position. After being fitted in the groove of the rotating body, the aligned body is supported by the second rotating body and the third rotating body in a state of being separated from the first rotating body, and the second rotating body and the second rotating body are supported. By rotating the plurality of aligned bodies with the rotating body of 3, the notches aligned in a straight line are moved to a predetermined position, so that the alignment of the notches of the plurality of aligned bodies can be performed quickly and reliably. Therefore, the throughput can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a notch part alignment device according to the present invention.

2 is a schematic perspective view of the notch alignment device of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of a drive rotating body according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of a driven rotating body according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a wafer is supported by a drive shaft and an idle pulley according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which a wafer is supported by a drive shaft and an idle pulley.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state (a) in which a notch of a wafer is fitted in an annular groove of a drive shaft and a state (b) in which a position is detected by a sensor.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing states before and after moving notches of wafers aligned in a straight line by a notch moving shaft to an upper portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Notch (Notch) 3 Semiconductor Wafer (Aligned Object) 4 Cassette 7 Notch Alignment Mechanism 8 Base 10 Driven Rotating Body (Second Rotating Body) 11 Drive Shaft (First Rotating Body) 13 Annular Groove (Fitting) Groove 15 Motor (rotary drive means) 20 Notch moving shaft (third rotary body) 22 Air cylinder 24 Motor (rotary drive means) 28 Support 29 Air cylinder 40 Fixed shaft 43 Idle pulley

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A base which is capable of moving up and down into the cassette through a lower opening of the cassette which accommodates a plurality of objects to be aligned and which has a notch in the peripheral edge thereof; A rotatable first rotating body having a plurality of fitting grooves into which the notches of the aligned bodies can be fitted; a second rotating body provided on the base and rotatable; and the first rotating body. A drive means for rotating at least one of the second rotating bodies, and the first rotating body and the second rotating body support and rotate the aligned body in a state of being separated from the cassette. And a support body that is provided on the base and has a notch portion that non-rotatably supports the aligned body fitted in the fitting groove of the first rotary body. Notch alignment device. 2. A base which is capable of moving up and down into the cassette through a lower opening of the cassette which accommodates a plurality of objects to be aligned and which has a notch in the peripheral edge thereof, and which is provided on the base and A rotatable first rotating body having a plurality of fitting grooves into which the notches of the aligned bodies can be fitted; a second rotating body provided on the base and rotatable; and the first rotating body. A drive means for rotating at least one of the second rotating bodies, and the first rotating body and the second rotating body support and rotate the aligned body in a state of being separated from the cassette. Rotation support means, a support body provided on the base, the cutout portion supporting the aligned body fitted in the fitting groove of the first rotating body in a non-rotatable manner, and being vertically movable in the base. A notch provided in cooperation with the second rotating body. A third rotating body that supports and rotates the aligned body fitted in the fitting groove of the first rotating body in a state of being separated from the first rotating body. Notch alignment device. 3. The fitting groove of the first rotating body is formed so that the cutout portion of the aligned body can be fitted into the first rotating body with a certain gap maintained therebetween. The notch alignment device according to claim 1 or 2. 4. The cutout portion according to claim 1, wherein the first rotating body is formed so as to individually support each of the aligned bodies by each of the plurality of fitting grooves. Alignment device. 5. The first rotating body is rotated by the driving means, and the second rotating body is rotated by the rotation of the aligned body rotated by the first rotating body. The notch alignment device according to claim 1 or 2. 6. The second rotating body is attached to the fixed shaft, which is fixed to the base and extends along a longitudinal direction of a row of a plurality of aligned bodies housed in a cassette. A plurality of idle pulleys, the plurality of idle pulleys individually supporting the plurality of aligned bodies and rotating individually with the rotation of the aligned bodies rotated by the first rotating body. The cutout part alignment device according to claim 5, wherein the cutout part alignment device is formed so as to be capable. 7. The first rotating body extends along a longitudinal direction of a plurality of rows of aligned bodies housed in a cassette, and
The cutout part alignment device according to claim 1, wherein the cutout part alignment device is formed of a rotary shaft having the plurality of fitting grooves. 8. The notch alignment device according to claim 1, wherein the first rotating body is made of stainless steel, and a fluororesin coating is applied to the outer periphery of the first rotating body. 9. The first rotating body is formed of stainless steel, and a sleeve made of trifluoroethylene chloride resin is coated on the outer periphery of the first rotating body.
Alternatively, the notch alignment device described in 2. 10. A notch aligning method for aligning notches formed in the peripheral edge of a plurality of objects to be aligned in a predetermined direction, wherein a first rotating body and a second rotating body are provided in a cassette. The plurality of aligned bodies housed in the cassette from below, and the plurality of aligned bodies are supported by the first rotating body and the second rotating body in a state of being separated from the cassette. The plurality of aligned bodies are rotated by the first rotating body and the second rotating body until the cutout portions of the body fit into the grooves of the first rotating body. After being fitted into the groove of the first rotating body, the aligned body is supported by the second rotating body and the third rotating body in a state of being separated from the first rotating body, and the second rotating body is supported. A plurality of aligned bodies are rotated by the body and the third rotating body to form a straight line. Notches aligning method characterized by moving the uniform notches in place.