JPH0873193A - Transfer device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent the fall of a heavy article by providing a support member for braking the rotation of a ball screw via the surface contact of a brake shoe due to the load of the article, at the time of happening of a lift failure, regarding a transfer device to vertically carry a heavy article by use of a ball screw. CONSTITUTION: A lift mechanism for mounting a test head to inspect the semiconductor wafer or the like of a probe device, has a test head mounting frame body 26A lifted or lowered on the rotation of a motor-driven ball screw 34. This mechanism is fitted with a fall prevention mechanism 32. Also, the mechanism 32 has a brake shoe 35 on the lower end of the ball screw 34 screwed with a nut 33 on the frame body 26A, and the brake shoe 35 is point supported on a support member 36 via the preset gap. In this case, when a load acts on a spring member 38, a ball 37 retreats and the brake shoe 35 fills the gap to come in surface contact with a recess 40, thereby braking the rotation of the ball screw 34.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a carrier device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among conventional conveyors, there is one that conveys a heavy object in the vertical direction by using, for example, a ball screw.
This transfer device includes, for example, a support for supporting a heavy load,
The nut provided on the support, the ball screw provided on the base so as to be screwed into the nut, the pulley attached to the lower end protruding downward from the base of the ball screw, the pulley and the motor And a belt wound around pulleys attached to the rotary drive shaft. When a heavy load is transported in the vertical direction by this transport device, when the motor is driven, the ball screw rotates via the rotary drive shaft, the pulley, the belt, and the pulley attached to the ball screw. When the ball screw rotates,
The heavy object is moved up and down while the heavy object is supported via the nut attached to the heavy object to convey the heavy object from a predetermined position to a predetermined position.

[0003]

However, in the case of the conventional conveying device, the heavy object can be accurately conveyed to the predetermined position via the ball screw by controlling the driving of the motor. If there is an accident in the elevating mechanism such that the belt is cut and damaged due to factors such as the above, the support may suddenly drop due to the weight of the heavy object and damage the device. There was a problem in that there is a risk of personal injury due to being caught.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and even if an accident occurs in the lifting mechanism, it is possible to prevent heavy objects from falling and prevent damage to the device or personal injury. Is intended to provide.

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carrying device including a support mechanism for supporting a heavy object, and an elevating mechanism for elevating the heavy object via the supporting mechanism.
In a transport device for vertically transporting the heavy load via the lifting mechanism, a drop prevention mechanism for preventing the heavy load from falling is provided in the lift mechanism, and the fall prevention mechanism is provided in the support mechanism. A nut, a ball screw that is screwed to the nut, a brake shoe attached to the lower end of the ball screw, and a brake shoe that is point-supported through a predetermined gap and is loaded by the heavy load due to a failure of the lifting mechanism. The brake shoe is provided with a support member that fills the gap and comes into surface contact to brake the rotation of the ball screw.

Further, a carrying device according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises a supporting mechanism for supporting the test head of the probe device, and an elevating mechanism for elevating the test head via the supporting mechanism. In a transport device that transports the test head in the vertical direction via a mechanism and electrically contacts and separates from the interface portion of the probe device, a drop prevention mechanism that prevents the test head from falling is provided in the lifting mechanism, The fall prevention mechanism supports a nut provided on the support mechanism, a ball screw screwed to the nut, a brake shoe attached to a lower end of the ball screw, and a point support of the brake shoe through a predetermined gap. In addition, the load of the test head caused by the failure of the lifting mechanism causes the brake shoe to fill the gap and make surface contact with the ball. It is obtained by a bearing member for braking the rotation of di.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the transport apparatus according to the first aspect or the second aspect, the support member supports a spherical body for supporting the brake shoe at a point and the spherical body. And a recess for accommodating the brake shoe.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when a heavy object is being conveyed in the vertical direction by the elevating mechanism, the elevating mechanism should fail and drop due to the weight of the heavy object together with the supporting mechanism. When started, a heavy load is applied to the ball screw via the nut of the support mechanism and tries to fall according to the ball screw, but the weight of the heavy load is applied to the bearing member via the ball screw and the brake shoe that make up the fall prevention mechanism. With this, the brake shoe fills the gap and comes into surface contact with the support member to brake the rotation of the ball screw and automatically prevent the heavy object from falling.

Further, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the test head of the probe device is vertically moved by the elevating mechanism to electrically connect and disconnect the test head to the interface portion of the probe device. If the lifting mechanism breaks down and the weight of the test head starts to drop together with the support mechanism, the load of the test head is applied to the ball screw via the nut of the support mechanism and the ball screw tries to fall according to the ball screw. When the weight of the head hangs on the supporting member through the ball screw and the brake shoe that form the fall prevention mechanism, the brake shoe fills the gap and makes a surface contact with the supporting member to brake the rotation of the ball screw, and the test head probe device. Can be automatically prevented from falling to the interface section.

Further, according to the invention of claim 3 of the present invention, in the invention of claim 1 or 2,
Since the supporting member includes a spherical body that supports the brake shoe in a point manner, a spring member that supports the spherical body, a storage portion that accommodates both of them, and a concave portion that the brake shoe can be fitted to, the weight is lifted by the lifting mechanism. When the object or the test head is moved up and down, the ball screw freely rotates in the forward and reverse directions with the brake shoe in point contact with the sphere, so that the lifting mechanism can be smoothly driven. In the unlikely event that the lifting mechanism fails, the weight of the heavy load or the test head overcomes the spring force of the spring member that supports the sphere, and the brake shoe descends to fit into the recess of the support member and brake the rotation of the ball screw. However, it is possible to automatically prevent the heavy object or the test head from falling.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below based on the embodiments shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a probe device to which the carrying device of this embodiment is applied. This probe device 10
As shown in the figure, the device main body 11 and the device main body 11
A mounting table 12 which is disposed inside to mount the semiconductor wafer W thereon
A probing card 13 disposed above the mounting table 12 and pogo pins (not shown) corresponding to the probe needles 14 arranged on the back surface of the probing card 13.
A test head 1 having a connecting ring 15 having an end and a terminal that makes electrical contact with each pogo pin of the connecting ring 15.
6 is provided. And test head 1
6 is connected to the transfer device 20 of this embodiment via the support frame 17, and the transfer device 20 transfers the test head 16 in the X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, the Z-axis direction, and the θ direction, and The test head 16 is positioned with respect to the connection ring 15 of the main body 11, and the test head 16 and the semiconductor wafer W are electrically connected to each other through the connection ring 15 and the probing card 13, and the chips formed on the semiconductor wafer W are individually or A plurality of chips are electrically tested for each block. That is, the transfer device 20 of this embodiment is configured as a manipulator of the probe device 10. Therefore, in the following description, the transport device 20 will be described as the manipulator 20. The manipulator 20 of the present embodiment is described in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-318947 by the present applicant.
It is configured according to the manipulator of the test device for the device under test already proposed in No.

The manipulator 20 has a base 21 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the lifting mechanism 2 is mounted on the base 21.
2 are provided. The elevating mechanism 22 includes a base pillar 23 that stands vertically (Z-axis direction) on the base 21, a pair of guide rails 24 that are vertically arranged on the side surfaces of the base pillar 23, and each guide. Engaging member 2 that engages with the rail 24
And a box-shaped support body 26 having 5 on its side surface. The support 26 extends from the side surface of the base column 23 in the X-axis direction, has a hole formed in its bottom surface 26A, and a nut 27 is fixed to this hole. Further, a horizontal base 28 is horizontally extended from the side surface of the base 23 between the base 22 and the support 26, and a hole corresponding to the bottom surface 26A is formed in the horizontal base 28. A ball screw 29 penetrates 27. The upper end of the ball screw 29 is rotatably supported by a support member 23A extending from the base column 23 into the support holder 26, and the lower end penetrates the horizontal base 28. A vertical drive motor 30 is arranged on the horizontal base 28, and a drive shaft 30A of the motor 30 penetrates the horizontal base 28 downward. Pulleys (not shown) are attached to the lower end of the ball screw 29 and the lower end of the drive shaft ball screw 29 of the motor 30, and a belt 31 is wound around these pulleys. Therefore, the lifting mechanism 2
2, the drive shaft 30A is driven by the motor 30, and the ball screw 29 is normally and reversely rotated through the pulley, the belt 31, and the pulley, and the forward and reverse rotation of the ball screw 29 is supported by the nut 27 that is screwed into the ball screw 29. The body 26 is configured to move up and down.

A drop prevention mechanism 32 shown in FIG. 3 is arranged in the elevating mechanism 22. The fall preventing mechanism 32 has the support 26 of the test head 16 when the elevating mechanism 22 is damaged. It is configured to automatically operate to prevent the fall when it is attempted to fall due to weight. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the fall prevention mechanism 32 includes a nut 33 provided on the bottom surface 26A of the support 26,
A ball screw 34 screwed into the nut 33 and a brake shoe 35 attached to the lower end of the ball screw 34.
The brake shoe 35 is point-supported through a predetermined gap δ (for example, 1.0 to 1.5 mm), and the load of the test head 16 due to the failure of the lifting mechanism causes the brake shoe 35 to fill the gap δ. And a bearing member 36 that comes into contact with the ball screw 34 to brake the rotation of the ball screw 34. Further, the support member 36 is fitted with a metal ball 37 for supporting the brake shoe 35 at a point, a spring member 38 for supporting the ball 37, a storage hole 39 for storing the both 37, 38, and the brake shoe 35. And a recess 40 that can be fitted. The spring member 38 of the support member 36 has a spring force of, for example, 10 Kg / cm ² , and when a load higher than this is applied to the spring member 38 from the brake shoe 35, the ball 38 overcomes the spring force and the recess 40 holds the storage hole 39. And the brake shoe 35 fills the gap δ and the recess 4
The surface of the ball screw 34 is brought into surface contact with the inner surface of 0 to brake the rotation of the ball screw 34.

Therefore, when the test head 16 is being conveyed by the lifting mechanism 22, if the lifting mechanism 22 breaks down and its ball screw 29 becomes freely rotatable, the fall prevention mechanism 32 automatically operates as follows. Works. That is, when the test head 16 begins to drop together with the support body 26 due to its weight, the load of the test head 16 is applied to the ball screws 29 and 34 via the nuts 27 and 33 of the support body 26, and the test head 16 tries to fall according to the ball screws 29 and 34. However, when the weight of the test head 16 is applied to the supporting member 36 via the ball screw 34 and the brake shoe 35 that constitute the fall prevention mechanism 32, the load overcomes the spring force of the spring member 38 and the ball 37 is moved to the spring member. The brake shoe 35 at the lower end of the ball screw 34 presses against the recess 40 against the elastic force of 38 to press the recess 40, and a large frictional force acts between them to prevent the ball screw 34 from rotating and prevent the test head 16 from rotating. The fall can be prevented automatically.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the first horizontal arm 41 of the manipulator 20 is connected to the support 26, and the first horizontal arm 41 extends from the support 26 in the Y-axis direction (parallel to the side surface of the apparatus main body 11). Direction). At the tip of the first horizontal arm 41, a rotation shaft 42 that vertically rotates in the θ direction is vertically provided. The rotary shaft 42 is rotationally driven, for example, via an air cylinder 42A and a crank mechanism (not shown) housed in the first horizontal arm 41 so as to interlock with the air cylinder 42A. A second horizontal arm 43 is connected to the upper end of the rotary shaft 42, and the second horizontal arm 43 is horizontally oriented in the X-axis direction orthogonal to the first horizontal arm 41 (direction parallel to the back surface of the apparatus main body 11). It is installed in. Therefore, this second horizontal arm 4
The reference numeral 3 is adapted to be reciprocally rotated in the θ direction via the rotary shaft 42 so as to be retracted from the apparatus main body 11.

As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of parallel guide rails 44 are arranged above and below the side surface of the second horizontal arm 43 on the apparatus main body 11 side, and a slide block 45 reciprocates according to each guide rail 44. It is designed to move. That is, a rack 46 is arranged along the guide rail 44 at the lower end of the first horizontal arm 43, and a pinion (not shown) protruding from the lower end of the slide block 45 is meshed with the rack 46. . The pinion is connected to the drive shaft of the X-axis direction drive motor 47. The drive of the motor 47 causes the pinion to rotate along the rack 46, and the slide block 45 moves along the guide rail 44 in the X-axis direction. A positioning mechanism 48 is provided at both ends of the second horizontal arm 43, and the positioning mechanism 48 positions the slide block 45, that is, the test head 16 in the X-axis direction. Although the positioning in the Y-axis direction and the like are not shown, the positioning is performed by the position adjusting mechanism provided in the support frame 17 already proposed by the present applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 5-318947. is there.

Further, the slide block 45 is provided with a Y-axis drive motor 50 that rotates forward and reverse about an axis (Y-axis) perpendicular to the slide block 45, and the rotation axis of the motor 50 is the second.
Extending from the side surface of the horizontal arm 43 toward the device main body 11,
Support frame 1 supporting the test head 16 at its tip
7 are connected as described above. The motor 50 moves the test head 16 above the apparatus body 11 at a predetermined angle, for example, 180 degrees, when the test head 16 is maintained.
The rotation is performed in the normal and reverse directions, and the rotation is locked and positioned by the air cylinder 51 having the lock pin 51A. Reference numeral 52 denotes a side plate disposed so as to face the base pillar 23, and the manipulator 20 is connected and fixed to a side surface of the apparatus main body 11 through a hole formed in the side plate 52.

Next, the operation will be described. When the semiconductor wafer W is not inspected, the test head 16 is the device body 1
It is horizontally supported by the manipulator 20 at a position separated from 1. Then, when inspecting the semiconductor wafer W, the rotary shaft 42 of the manipulator 20 is rotated and the X-axis drive motor 47 is driven to drive the test head 1.
6 is positioned in the θ direction and the X axis direction. Also, Y
For the axial positioning and the like, as described above, the support frame 17
Position adjustment mechanism. After performing all the operations other than the vertical positioning in this manner, the lifting drive motor 30 of the lifting mechanism 22 is driven to lower the test head 16 so that the test head 16 is electrically connected to the connection ring 15 of the apparatus main body 11. Contact each other. When the test head 16 descends, the ball screw 29 is rotated by the drive of the motor 30 via the drive shaft 30A, the pulley, the belt 31, and the pulley, and the ball screw 34 of the fall prevention mechanism 32 is freely supported while being point-supported by the ball 37. Rotate. When the support 26 is lowered by a predetermined distance via the nut 27 due to the rotation of the ball screw 29, the lifting mechanism 22 automatically stops and the terminals of the test head 16 are attached to the pogo pin of the connection ring 15 attached to the apparatus body 11. To contact. At this time, the load of the test head 16 is mainly received by the ball screw 29 of the elevating mechanism 22 and only a slight load is applied to the ball screw 34 of the fall prevention mechanism 32. Therefore, the brake shoe 35 is in a state of being point-supported by the ball 37. maintain.

However, when the test head 16 is descending, for example, when the belt 31 of the lifting mechanism 22 is cut due to its fatigue and the ball screw 29 is released from the lifting drive motor 30, the test head 16 is released. Of 2
The weight of 00 to 300 Kg is suddenly applied to the ball screws 29 and 34 via the nuts 27 and 33, and the support body 26 starts to drop suddenly. However, in the present embodiment, when the support body 26 suddenly begins to fall, it cannot catch up with the rotation of the ball screw 34 or its descending speed, and a sudden large thrust load acts on the ball screw 34, and this load causes the elastic force of the spring member 38. And the ball screw 34 descends, and the brake shoe 3
5, the ball 37 is pushed into the accommodation hole 39 of the support member 36 so that the brake shoe 35 is recessed in the support member 36.
It fits in and is pressed. Due to this thrust load, a large frictional force is generated between the brake shoe 35 and the inner surface of the recess 40, and this frictional force brakes the rotation of the ball screw 34 and automatically stops the rotation of the ball screw 34. Stops without further dropping to prevent the test head 16 from colliding with the apparatus body 11.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the lifting mechanism 22 of the manipulator 20 is provided with the fall prevention mechanism 32 including the nut 33, the ball screw 34, the brake shoe 35 and the support member 36, the lifting mechanism 22 is provided. Even if the support 26 were to fall due to the weight of the test head 16 which is a heavy object due to a failure or the like, a large thrust load acts on the ball screw 34 of the fall prevention mechanism 32 to sink the beer screw 34, and the brake shoe at the lower end. 35 presses into the concave portion 40 of the support member 36, and these both 35, 3
The rotation of the ball screw 34 can be automatically stopped by the frictional force between the rollers 6, and thus the support 26 can be automatically prevented from falling. As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if the elevating mechanism 22 of the manipulator 20 fails, the test head 16 which is a heavy object is reliably prevented from falling and the probe device body 11 is prevented from being damaged. In addition, it is possible to prevent personal accidents. Further, according to the present embodiment, since the support member 36 of the fall prevention mechanism 32 is composed of the ball 37, the spring member 38, the storage hole 39 and the recess 40, the spring member 38 is loaded by the load of a heavy weight such as a test head. The spring force of can be set freely.

In the above embodiment, the manipulator 20 for vertically moving the test head 16 of the probe device 10 as a heavy object has been described as an example of the carrier device, but the carrier device of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The present invention can be applied to a machine tool or the like as long as it is not limited in any way, and is a carrying device having an elevating mechanism for carrying a heavy object in the vertical direction.

[0022]

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, even if an accident occurs in the elevating mechanism, a heavy load such as a test head is prevented from dropping and the probe device main body or the like is prevented. It is possible to provide a carrier device capable of preventing damage to the device and personal injury in advance.

According to the invention of claim 3 of the present invention, in the invention of claim 1 or 2,
It is possible to provide a carrier device in which the spring force of the spring member 38 can be freely set by the load of a heavy object.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an example of the configuration of a probe device to which an embodiment of a carrying device of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view specifically showing a carrying device of the probe device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a fall prevention mechanism of the lifting mechanism shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Probe Device 11 Device Main Body 15 Connection Ring (Interface) 16 Test Head 20 Manipulator (Conveyor) 22 Lifting Mechanism 26 Support 32 Fall Prevention Mechanism 33 Nut 34 Ball Screw 35 Brake Shoe 36 Bearing Member 37 Ball (Sphere) 38 Spring Member 39 Storage hole (storage section) 40 Recessed portion 41 First horizontal arm (support mechanism) 42 Rotating shaft (support mechanism) 43 Second horizontal arm (support mechanism) 50 Y-axis drive motor (support mechanism)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A support mechanism for supporting a heavy object, and an elevating mechanism for elevating the heavy object via the support mechanism,
In a transport device for vertically transporting the heavy load via the lifting mechanism, a drop prevention mechanism for preventing the heavy load from falling is provided in the lift mechanism, and the fall prevention mechanism is provided in the support mechanism. A nut, a ball screw that is screwed to the nut, a brake shoe attached to the lower end of the ball screw, and a brake shoe that is point-supported through a predetermined gap and is loaded by the heavy load due to a failure of the lifting mechanism. And a support member for braking the rotation of the ball screw by making surface contact with the brake shoe filling the gap. 2. A support mechanism for supporting the test head of the probe device, and an elevating mechanism for elevating the test head via the supporting mechanism, and conveying the test head in the vertical direction via the elevating mechanism. In a transfer device that electrically contacts and separates from the interface portion of the probe device, a drop prevention mechanism that prevents the test head from falling is provided in the lifting mechanism, and the drop prevention mechanism is a nut provided in the support mechanism. A ball screw screwed to the nut, a brake shoe attached to the lower end of the ball screw, the brake shoe is point-supported through a predetermined gap, and the load of the test head is caused by a failure of the lifting mechanism. The brake shoe includes a support member that fills the gap and makes surface contact to brake the rotation of the ball screw. Transport device to collect. 3. The support member includes a sphere for supporting the brake shoe in a point manner, a spring member for supporting the sphere, a storage portion for storing both of them, and a recess into which the brake shoe can be fitted. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the transport device is a transport device.